What We Learned in NFL Week 13: Steelers Have the Offense to Contend for AFC Title

Russell Wilson and the Pittsburgh offense bailed out the normally stout defense against the Bengals on Sunday, proving that Pittsburgh has the roster balance to make noise in the playoffs.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson celebrates following the win against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paycor Stadium. / Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

Here’s a sentence that won’t sit well with most football fans: The Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens might have given us a Super Bowl preview on Sunday.  

Sure, that could be considered a hot take, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if the Eagles advance to the big game in New Orleans after they exposed a few flaws for the Ravens during a signature victory in Baltimore. Philadelphia has the defense and MVP candidate Saquon Barkley to go toe-to-toe with the Detroit Lions in a potential postseason showdown.

But Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry and the rest of the Ravens might be headed for a short postseason run if they don’t get more contributions from kicker Justin Tucker (imagine saying that before the season). Baltimore also has an up-and-down defense and a thin group of pass catchers to address in the final weeks of the regular season.

How about another hot take? The Carolina Panthers might have found their franchise quarterback in Bryce Young, who went from being benched to delivering clutch performances. Young was impressive, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers prevailed in overtime to put more pressure on the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC South.    

Many Falcons fans want to see rookie quarterback Michael Penix Jr. after Kirk Cousins threw four interceptions against the Los Angeles Chargers to give Atlanta three consecutive losses. Falcons coach Raheem Morris should listen to his disgruntled fans because his offense desperately needs a spark with five games left in the regular season. 

If Morris needs more reasons to make the bold move, he should look at what the Washington Commanders and Denver Broncos have done this season with rookies Jayden Daniels and Box Nix, respectively. Morris can even look at what Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin did by pulling Justin Fields in favor of Russell Wilson, who has improved the offense and helped pick up an impressive victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.    

Here’s what we learned about the NFL during Week 13.

Eagles need more respect after exposing Ravens’ major flaws 

Enough with the narrative of the Eagles benefiting from an easy schedule. Enough with the narrative that coach Nick Sirianni is going to find a way to screw this up. 

The Eagles (10–2) have earned more respect and proved themselves as legitimate Super Bowl contenders after punching the Ravens (8–5) in the mouth and not allowing Jackson and his explosive offense to establish a rhythm during the 24–19 statement victory. 

The Eagles’ pass rushers put plenty of pressure on Jackson and the talented secondary exposed his lack of weapons in the passing game. Jackson only averaged 6.6 yards per attempt and didn’t have much help, especially after wide receiver Rashod Bateman was ruled out with a knee injury. The Ravens’ sluggish offensive performance was reminiscent of their 18–16 loss against the Steelers in Week 11.

But Sunday’s game wasn’t close (don’t let the final score fool you) because the Eagles’ offense took advantage of the defense shutting down Jackson and his passing game. Jalen Hurts (11-of-19 for 118 yards, one touchdown) had an efficient performance and leaned on Barkley, who might get more MVP chatter after outperforming Henry. Barkley finished with 107 rushing yards and a momentum-changing 25-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to give the Eagles a 21–12 advantage. 

Henry (82 rushing yards, 29 receiving yards) was also terrific on Sunday, but his effort was more of a one-man show. The Ravens are going to need to give  wide receiver Diontae Johnson more snaps to add depth on offense—Johnson has one catch for six yards since being traded from Carolina to Baltimore in October. And maybe it has gotten to the point where Baltimore will host kicker tryouts this week after Tucker missed two field-goal attempts and an extra point. Tucker is now 19-for-27 on field goals this season. 

The Ravens need strong offensive performances to overcome their flaws against the best teams in the league. The same can’t be said for the Eagles, who have a complete team and a strong shot of advancing to the Super Bowl for the second time in three years. 

Cousins threw four interceptions in Sunday's loss to the Chargers, his most since 2014. / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Falcons should bench Cousins after turnover fest vs. Chargers 

It’s time the Falcons bench Kirk Cousins after a brutal four-interception game during the 17–13 loss against the Chargers.

Morris probably won’t do it, especially because Cousins has a potential revenge game next week in Minnesota. But the 36-year-old Cousins again showed on Sunday he doesn’t have the mobility to escape pressure, and because of that, his aggressive play style has led to more killer mistakes than usual. 

Cousins, who has 17 touchdowns and 13 interceptions this season, had a head-scratching pick-six late in the third quarter to give Los Angeles a 17–10 lead. Two drives later, he threw an egregiously ill-advised lob in the end zone that was intercepted and ruined a surefire chance at points. He also ended the team’s comeback hopes with a pick to safety Derwin James with under a minute to play in the fourth. Now Cousins has to face the Vikings’ aggressive defense, which forced Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray into two interceptions on Sunday. 

Also, the Vikings are very familiar with Cousins, giving Morris another reason to start rookie Michael Penix Jr. to possibly spark the Falcons (6–6) and hold off the Buccaneers in the NFC South race. But if Morris doesn’t want to play Penix next week, he should strongly consider it in Week 15, when the Falcons face the Las Vegas Raiders before ending the regular season with the New York Giants, Washington Commanders and Carolina Panthers—four teams with subpar defenses.

With Cousins, the Falcons have had some highs, but the offense has been inconsistent throughout the season and there have been more lows than highs in the past month. Atlanta has been held to 17 points or fewer in three consecutive games. 

Morris can show the football public why Atlanta surprisingly drafted Penix in the first round by letting the Washington product prove himself during the final five games of the regular season.    

Bucs hold off red-hot Bryce Young to keep pace with Falcons 

The Buccaneers overcame a clutch performance from Young to defeat the Panthers in a 26–23 overtime thriller. 

Tampa Bay was on the verge of passing up a golden opportunity to gain ground in the NFC South standings after Young found Adam Thielen in the end zone for a 23–20 advantage with 30 seconds left in regulation. But Baker Mayfield, who briefly left the game with an ankle injury, managed to set up a game-tying field goal to take the game into overtime. From there, Mayfield leaned on Mike Evans and running backs Bucky Irving and Rachaad White to march upfield before Chase McLaughlin’s 30-yard game-winning kick.

The Buccaneers (6–6) are now tied with the reeling Falcons, who control the tiebreaker because they swept the season series over Tampa Bay. But the bigger story from this game was how well Young played. The 2023 No. 1 pick displayed arm talent and plenty of poise throughout the wild game that only added to his midseason turnaround. 

Young finished 26-of-46 for 298 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions, and has played confidently since returning from his benching. Just last month, many pundits wrote stories about the Panthers needing to trade Young and attempt another rebuild in Carolina. But these feisty Panthers have already laid the groundwork for a potential resurgent season in 2025. 

Young made some dazzling throws and could have a stout rushing tandem with Chuba Hubbard and rookie Jonathan Brooks, who flashed a few times against the Buccaneers.

The NFC South will come down to the Falcons and Buccaneers, but the Panthers could be a dangerous team next season with Young running the show for coach Dave Canales. 

Cardinals’ conservative game plan burns them late vs. Vikings 

The Arizona Cardinals went the safe route one too many times after settling for a field goal that allowed the Minnesota Vikings to erase a double-digit deficit and steal the 23–22 victory.

Every time the Cardinals found themselves in third-and-long in Vikings territory, it was either a run play or a quick, safe throw before a Chad Ryland field goal. It was a smart game plan to build a lead against Brian Flores’s aggressive defense, with the patient approach paying off after Murray connected with Marvin Harrison Jr. for a 19–6 advantage with 4:37 left in the third quarter.

But then the conservative game plan turned into poor situational awareness from coach Jonathan Gannon, who passed on a fourth-and-goal from Minnesota’s 4-yard line to take the three points and keep it a six-point game with 3:23 left in regulation. Gannon playing not to lose also erased the Cardinals’ strong defensive performance after Sam Darnold connected with Aaron Jones for the game-winning touchdown to cap an eight-play, 70-yard drive with 1:13 left in regulation. The Vikings lost the yardage battle 406–273, but found a way to improve to 10–2 on the season. 

Murray (31-of-45 for 260 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions) had enough time and all three timeouts to produce a game-winning field goal, but the Arizona offense isn’t built to score quickly and has struggled with generating explosive plays all season. Perhaps it’s time to question whether Murray is a legitimate franchise quarterback because this Drew Petzing offensive scheme treats Murray, the 2019 No. 1 pick, as if he’s a young signal-caller who’s better off taking the safe plays. 

Or maybe it’s the coaching staff that has hindered Murray by not allowing him to make plays away from the pocket by either pushing the ball vertically or moving the chains with his athleticism. The Cardinals’ coaching staff deserves credit for getting one of the worst rosters in the NFL last season in position to compete for a playoff spot in 2024, but this team has hit a wall the past two weeks and it might be because they refuse to remove the guard rails on the talented offense. Murray averaging 5.8 yards per attempt, like he did Sunday, won’t win many games.

The Cardinals (6–6) have now lost two straight and sit one game behind the team they lost to last week, the Seattle Seahawks (7–5), in the NFC West standings. The Seahawks escaped Sunday with a wild 26–21 road victory against the New York Jets. The Rams also have a 6–6 record after beating the New Orleans Saints, 21–14. 

Burrow and the Bengals have lost five games this season in which they have scored 27 or more points. / Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Steelers, Bengals ready for 2025 for opposite reasons 

The Cincinnati Bengals wasted another stellar Joe Burrow performance by allowing Russell Wilson to pick them apart en route to a 44–38 victory for the Pittsburgh Steelers. 

The Bengals (4–8) haven’t been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, but it’s time for the team to set its sights toward 2025. They can do that by benching a few defensive veterans to see what they have in the younger players. And it might not be a surprise if the Bengals fire defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo, whose unit continues to get worse on a weekly basis and hasn’t been good in a few seasons. But the Cincinnati front office has done Anarumo no favors by failing to hit on draft picks for the defensive side. 

It’s going to be critical for the Bengals to find defensive difference makers in the draft moving forward, especially if the team manages to lock down star wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase with a contract extension. If they don’t, the Bengals might lose more high-scoring affairs in 2025.

As for the Steelers (9–3), they’re all about the first month in 2025. Yes, they’re still in a battle with the Ravens for the AFC North, but what they displayed offensively on Sunday again proved why Mike Tomlin’s team is capable of making a long postseason run. 

On an off day for Pittsburgh's defense, Wilson stepped up by carving up the Bengals’ poor secondary, something he failed to do the prior two weeks against the Ravens and Cleveland Browns. After brushing off an early pick-six, Wilson finished 29-of-38 for 414 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. (Wilson was the first Steelers quarterback to throw for 400 yards in a game since Ben Roethlisberger in 2018.) 

Wilson received contributions from wide receiver George Pickens (three catches, 74 yards, one touchdown), tight end Pat Freiermuth (six catches, 68 yards, one touchdown) and running back Najee Harris (129 yards from scrimmage, one touchdown). If the Steelers’ offense does more of this on a weekly basis and the defense quickly returns to its dominant ways, Tomlin’s squad will be a tough out during the postseason.  

Many expected Tomlin’s lengthy streak of consecutive seasons with a winning record to end in 2024 because the offense didn’t look appealing on paper. But Tomlin took a chance on Wilson and the streak lives on for an 18th consecutive season.