The Packers fired Mike McCarthy, and the Rams became the first team to clinch a playoff spot.
There’s just one left month in the NFL regular season and the games are starting to heat up in intensity as the playoff picture comes into focus.
Week 13 kicked off with two teams in first place in their respective divisions when the New Orleans Saints traveled to take on the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium. The Saints were 8-point favorites and came into this game on a 10-game winning streak, but the Cowboys were able to pull the upset for a surprising 13-10 win. The Cowboys are now on a four-game winning streak and prevented the Saints from clinching a playoff spot this week.
Instead, the Rams became the first team to clinch a spot in the playoffs this season. The Raiders and 49ers were the first two teams to be officially eliminated.
Expert picks
It hasn’t been a great week for our experts. Our entire panel picked the Saints to beat the Cowboys (whoops) and the Bears over the Giants (double whoops). Only the coin flip went for the Cardinals over the heavily favored Packers, while just one person went with the Jaguars over their division rival, the Colts. See all of our Week 13 expert picks here.
Big news
After falling to the lowly Cardinals at home, the Packers fired Mike McCarthy. It was their third loss in a row. Joe Philbin will take over while they look for a new coach to pair with Aaron Rodgers in 2019.
Best moments
The Bears pulled off two incredible trick plays against the Giants. First, they paid homage to Refrigerator Perry by giving defensive lineman Akiem Hicks the ball on fourth-and-goal for a big-man touchdown. Then, with no time left, running back Tarik Cohen threw a touchdown to Anthony Miller to send the game to overtime. The Giants lost, but hats off to Matt Nagy.
The Giants had their own fun, though. Odell Beckham Jr. kept his perfect passer rating this season with a beauty of a touchdown throw to Sterling Shepard. According to Shepard, the play was a little freelanced— he wasn’t even supposed to be the target. Maybe it’s time for the Giants to bench Eli Manning for Beckham?
The Seahawks have, hands down, the best touchdown celebration game in the NFL right now. They welcomed Richard Sherman back to Seattle by recreating his NFC Championship tip after their first touchdown against the 49ers. On their next touchdown, they pretended to dig for gold. They reenacted a scene from the Eddie Murphy film Life. And they did the Macarena, with David Moore practicing it on the sideline beforehand.
In milestone news, TOM BRADY IS FINALLY A 1,000-YARD RUSHER.
NFL Week 13 schedule
Thursday, November 29
Dallas Cowboys 13, New Orleans Saints 10
Sunday, December 2
New York Giants 30, Chicago Bears 27 (OT).
Arizona Cardinals 20, Green Bay Packers 17
Houston Texans 29, Cleveland Browns 13
Miami Dolphins 21, Buffalo Bills 17
Jacksonville Jaguars 6, Indianapolis Colts 0
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24, Carolina Panthers 17
Denver Broncos 24, Cincinnati Bengals 10
Baltimore Ravens 26, Atlanta Falcons 16
Los Angeles Rams 30, Detroit Lions 16
Kansas City Chiefs 40, Oakland Raiders 33
Tennessee Titans 26, New York Jets 22
New England Patriots 24, Minnesota Vikings 10
Seattle Seahawks 43, San Francisco 49ers 16
Los Angeles Chargers 33, Pittsburgh Steelers 30
Monday, December 3
Philadelphia Eagles 28, Washington 13