NFL Week 12 risers, fallers and biggest questions: Thanksgiving celebrations for victorious 49ers, Cowboys and Packers
-
NFL Nation, ESPN
Week 12 of the NFL season started on Thanksgiving, as the underdog Green Bay Packers went wire to wire in a 29-22 victory over the Detroit Lions.
The Dallas Cowboys followed that up by beating the Washington Commanders 45-10 behind four Dak Prescott touchdown passes.
In the Thanksgiving nightcap, the San Francisco 49ers ran away from the Seattle Seahawks 31-13 as Christian McCaffrey tallied a pair of touchdowns.
Our NFL Nation reporters reacted to all the action, answering lingering questions coming out of each game and picking out who — or what — is rising and falling for every team. Let’s get to it.
Jump to a matchup:
49ers
When will the 49ers clinch the NFC West division? The Niners have won 10 straight division games, including four in a row against Seattle. Once again it seems to be a matter of when, not if, they’ll wear the division crown. There’s a realistic path to that happening as soon as the Niners meet the Seahawks again on Dec. 10. That mostly requires the Niners winning their next two and getting some combination of losses for the Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams in their games. The path is clear, and once again it seems like the Niners will spend December and early January chasing the NFC’s top seed.
Stock up after the win: Pass rush. After posting just 18 sacks in the first eight games, the Niners have 15 in the past three, including six on Thursday night.
Stock down after the win: Kickoff coverage. San Francisco gave up a 66-yard return on its first kickoff and allowed Dee Eskridge to average 35 yards per return, which gives it something else to clean up before heading to Philadelphia. — Nick Wagoner
Next game: at Eagles (Sunday, Dec. 3, 4:25 p.m. ET)
Seahawks
Is the Seahawks’ season doomed? That may sound like an overreaction for a team that’s still a game over .500, but consider what lies ahead. They play the 8-3 Cowboys, the 9-1 Eagles and have a rematch with a 49ers team that just smoked them sandwiched in between. They could easily be 6-8 entering the final week of December, and this kind of blowout loss doesn’t leave any reason to think they can pull off an upset win. They could’ve given themselves some cushion by beating the Rams last Sunday, but they wasted that chance.
Stock up after the loss: Jordyn Brooks. The fourth-year inside linebacker gave the Seahawks some life in the third quarter when he came down with a tipped pass and returned his first career interception 12 yards for a touchdown. Brooks finished with a team-high 12 tackles.
Stock down after the loss: Geno Smith: The entire offense was out of sorts, but Smith was ineffective while completing 18 of 27 attempts for 180 yards and an interception. Two of his incompletions were DK Metcalf drops, though he threw another errant pass that was nearly picked off, and he took six sacks. He said the triceps contusion he suffered four days earlier didn’t affect him “at all.” — Brady Henderson
Next game: at Cowboys (Thursday, 8:15 p.m. ET)
Cowboys
Is Dallas ready for its most important stretch of the season? They’ve done what they needed to after losing to the Eagles on Nov. 5. They beat the Giants, Panthers and Commanders. Their next five games are against the Seahawks, Eagles, Dolphins, Bills and Lions. The Cowboys have lost their two matchups against teams with winning records, but they have obliterated everyone else. If they can continue to win, maybe they can catch the Eagles in the NFC East and get homefield advantage. With 13 straight home wins, that seems important.
Stock up after the win: QB Dak Prescott. Prescott is in the hottest stretch of his career. He has 18 touchdown passes and just two interceptions in his last six games. He had touchdown passes on a screen (Rico Dowdle), on a line (Brandin Cooks), on time (CeeDee Lamb) and on a rope (KaVontae Turpin). He also completed passes to 10 different receivers. Prescott’s name has to be in the MVP conversation at some point.
Stock down after the win: K Brandon Aubrey. Let’s nitpick because Aubrey does not miss field-goal attempts. With a 52-yarder Thursday, he has made 22 straight attempts to open his career. But he missed a point-after attempt against the Commanders, his second in the last two games and his third on the season. Let’s be clear, though: This is not what happened to Brett Maher last year. — Todd Archer
Next game: vs. Seahawks (Thursday, 8:15 p.m. ET)
Commanders
Will the Commanders’ owner make a move? New owner Josh Harris did not want to make an in-season coaching change, especially with coach Ron Rivera. However, if Rivera wanted to make a change, Harris certainly would listen, a source said. So far, Rivera has been reluctant to make any sort of changes, especially on defense with coordinator Jack Del Rio. There’s no obvious replacement, but the defense has regressed, entering the day ranked last in points and 29th in yards.
Stock up after the loss: WR Curtis Samuel. He was one of the few bright spots against the Cowboys, catching nine passes for his first 100-yard game (100 yards Thursday) since 2020. He was targeted a team-high 12 times.
Stock down after the loss: Defense. Jack Del Rio’s defense allowed 431 yards — including 331 yards passing and four touchdowns to Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott. The secondary continues to give up big plays, and the front failed to get pressure on Prescott. — John Keim
Next game: vs. Dolphins (Sunday, Dec. 3, 1 p.m. ET)
Thursday
Packers
Are the Packers playoff contenders? They’re still under .500, but the outlook is far from bleak. They entered the week with a 23% chance to make the playoffs. That number jumped to 38% as soon as the Packers beat the Lions, according to ESPN Analytics. That was independent of any other outcomes this weekend. Only two of the Packers’ final six opponents have winning records (the Chiefs and Vikings) and after next Sunday’s game against the Chiefs, it gets even easier with games against the Giants, Buccaneers, Panthers and Bears.
Stock up after the win: Safety Jonathan Owens. Owens had his best game since he signed with the Packers in the offseason. A week after missing a tackle that led to a touchdown last week against the Chargers, he recorded a season-high 12 tackles and returned a fumble for a touchdown.
Stock down after the win: Anders Carlson. The rookie kicker can be forgiven for missing a long-shot, 63-yard field goal at the end of the first half, but more problematic was that he missed an extra point for the third straight game. — Rob Demovsky
Next game: vs. Chiefs (Sunday, Dec. 3, 8:20 p.m. ET)
Lions
Was the protection of Jared Goff a one-week blip or evidence of a bigger problem? Goff was pressured on 45% of his dropbacks in the first half, going 9-of-20, and was sacked three times throughout the game. Detroit’s offensive line has been among the strengths of this roster, but struggled against the Packers while missing offensive lineman Jonah Jackson (wrist) for the second straight game. Veteran guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai was also placed on the injured reserve list on Nov. 14. It’s certainly something to watch as the team looks to get more out of linemen Kayode Awosika and rookie Colby Sorsdal.
Stock up after the loss: Jameson Williams. The second-year receiver continues to grow more comfortable in the Lions’ offense as the trust level increases among teammates. Williams, the No. 12 overall pick in 2022, made two catches for 51 yards, including a 38-yard reception in the fourth quarter.
Stock down after the loss: Goff. For the second straight game, the veteran quarterback struggled with turnovers. Against Green Bay, he lost three fumbles for the first time in his career after throwing three picks on Sunday against the Chicago Bears. Prior to Thursday, he went 12 straight games without a lost fumble. — Eric Woodyard
Next game: at Saints (Sunday, Dec. 3, 1 p.m. ET)
