From Russell Wilson's big day to Bryce Young's resurgence, we hand out our Week 13 NFL Sunday awards...
I was there in London that day in October 2022 when Russell Wilson told reporters had been doing high-steps up and down the aisle of the plane during the flight over ahead of the Denver Broncos' clash with the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley. The quotes immediately went viral, being loaded up and fired out as another source of ridicule with which to pile into his difficult time in Denver.
Wilson had not looked the Wilson of spectacular old during his final season with the Seattle Seahawks as middle-of-the-field struggles resurfaced and his outer pocket mobility regressed, but he still carried the veteran nous and arm talent expected to thrust Denver into contention after arriving via a trade before signing a five-year, $245m contract extension in September 2022.
Year one was a disaster under one-and-done head coach Nathaniel Hackett as Wilson finished 4-11 as starter, before Sean Payton reverted to a conservative playbook designed to eradicate quarterback mistakes while giving him simple reads and leaning on the run game in year two, by the end of which the experiment was long over. A Super Bowl champion and one of the great quarterbacks of his era was suddenly the butt of jokes, Wilson being released in March 2024 before signing a one-year deal with the Steelers for a veteran's minimum $1.2m as Denver swallowed $85m of dead cap space in order to part ways.
Wilson and Justin Fields would feature in one of the least intriguing quarterback duels across the NFL during the summer, the former earning the starting spot only to suffer a calf injury ahead of the season. Wilson sat out the first five weeks before backing up Fields in Week Six and then eventually making his first start in Week Seven, since going 5-1 to help Pittsburgh take control of the AFC North ahead of the Baltimore Ravens as now Super Bowl contenders.
On Sunday he looked like the Wilson of old again, dicing up Lou Anarumo's Cincinnati Bengals defense as he completed 29 of 38 passes for 414 yards, three touchdowns and an interception that stemmed from a George Pickens stumble. He is hitting deep shots more frequently and doing so with the expert touch and ball placement of old, he still possesses a tempered but effective off-script athleticism to his armoury and he is punishing soft spots in defenses at will with slick reads, reviving a Steelers offense that had warranted concern under Arthur Smith as one of the steals of the offseason.
Najee Harris has awoken in the backfield, George Pickens is elevating his status as the NFL's own agent of chaos and Mike Tomlin's Steelers are bruising their way to the playoffs. All while TJ Watt spearheads one of the deepest defensive fronts in the NFL, blessed with a pick-your-poison pool of disruptors from Nick Herbig to Cam Heyward and Keeanu Benton to Larry Ogunjobi.
For most, it has always been hard to root against Wilson. Such was the disjointed mess in which he suffered in Denver, it is nice to receive a reminder of that moon ball magic.
Kevin Harlan reminded the NFL why he is one of the best play-by-play announcers across sport earlier this season with his quick-thinking to conjure his 'Thicc Pick!' line in response to 324lb defensive tackle Khalen Sanders' interception for the New Orleans Saints against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Leonard Williams produced his own 'Thicc Pick' on Sunday as he intercepted Aaron Rodgers before steamrolling his way to a 92-yard touchdown during Seattle's 26-21 victory. It marked the longest pick-six by a player weighing 300-plus pounds in NFL history, while clocking the fastest speed by a defensive tackle as a ball carrier since Week Four in 2019, per Next Gen Stats.
"I didn't expect to get that far with it, to be honest," said Williams. "Once I crossed the 50, I was actually looking to pitch it to somebody. But, I saw (Devon) Witherspoon and my whole defense, the whole cavalry, pretty much running down the field. They were pretty much more excited for me to get that touchdown than myself."
The Philadelphia Eagles bench was an entertaining witness to Saquon Barkley's staggering reverse hurdle against the Jacksonville Jaguars this season, Reed Blankenship the pick of the reactions as he imitated Edvard Munch's famous 'Scream' painting while Jordan Davis could barely look such was the embarrassment for the defensive counterpart in question.
Philly's sideline was brought to its feet again on Sunday at the sight of 198lb corner Cooper DeJean spearing 247lb Ravens running back Derrick Henry to stop him short the Offensive Player of the Year contender on third-and-11 in the fourth quarter as his side's 24-19 win.
"It was cool," said DeJean. "I didn't expect to fully pick him up and put him on the ground. It kind of just happened like that. I was just trying to do my job and make a tackle.
"Oh he's a big dude. I felt it for sure. You know, but luckily, he was just turning around so he didn't really see me coming. I was able to sneak up on him and make the tackle."
The rookie will be thinking about that for some time.
Things that are guaranteed in life: Death, taxes, one-score Kansas City Chiefs victories, Dak Prescott's 'Here we go' cadence, defensive backs celebrating an overthrown pass like it was their doing, and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine scoring a touchdown.
In a season of few bright spots, the weekly dose of Westbrook-Ikhine chunk play grabs has been a fun quirk to the Tennessee Titans offense and the Will Levis roller coaster. The wide receiver caught three passes from eight targets for two touchdowns in Sunday's 42-19 loss to the Washington Commanders, meaning he has now scored at least one touchdown in seven of his last eight games. Having made zero catches over the first four weeks, seven of his 18 catches since then have amounted to touchdowns, good for a 40 per cent touchdown rate.
How do you begin to contemplate cutting the best player ever to play his position? Because that is the conundrum facing John Harbaugh and the Baltimore Ravens right now as they seek to end their wait for a Super Bowl win with Lamar Jackson at the helm.
Justin Tucker missed an extra point and two field goals as Baltimore fell to a 24-19 defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles in what had been billed as a possible Super Bowl preview on Sunday, leaving him 19 of 27 on field goal attempts and just four of nine from 50-plus yards.
It cost the Ravens in the type of game and against the type of opponent they can expect to encounter during the playoffs, and Harbaugh knew it. Baltimore's head coach could be seen approaching Tucker on the sideline to offer his reassurance, but the kicking game is cutthroat, even for one of the best the NFL has seen.
"If you're asking me are we going to move on from Justin Tucker, I'm not really planning on doing that right now," Harbaugh said after the game.
Harbaugh instead pointed towards his offense's inability to cap drives, with the Ravens managing just two touchdowns from five red-zone visits in the game. Nevertheless, the conversation isn't going away.
The NFL had given up on Bryce Young, winding up to toss him into the pile of foiled first-round pick quarterbacks who promised so much only to falter at the highest level. He was too short and too slight, he could not diagnose defenses, his outer-pocket mobility was being nullified upon the realisation NFL defenders are two notches quicker than college defenders, and his playmaking ability had been depleted amid a confidence crisis. Dave Canales benched him, Andy Dalton entered as the latest bridge play-caller in Carolina and the Panthers were back to square one. Until, perhaps, they weren't.
A thumb injury would sideline Dalton and pave the way for Young's return to the lineup against the Denver Broncos in Week Eight, since which he has offered flashes of why he became the No 1 overall pick in 2023. Young has just reeled off two of his best performances since entering the NFL, throwing for 263 yards to take the Kansas City Chiefs down to the wire and warrant the vocal praise of Steve Spagnuolo before opening his menu of pocket-climbing and sliding off-platform strikes while throwing for 298 yards to take the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to overtime on Sunday. Granted, both ended in defeat, but the last four weeks represent as smooth and as notable upward trajectory seen from him since arriving in the league, a spike in confidence amplified by a stunning third-and-10 sideline strike to Tommy Tremble while slaloming away from pressure to his right. There might be something there, after all.
