NFL 2023 Week 12: Biggest questions, risers and takeaways،
Week 12 of the NFL season began on Thanksgiving, as the underdog Green Bay Packers battled wire-to-wire in a 29-22 victory over the Detroit Lions.
The Dallas Cowboys continued by beating the Washington Commanders 45-10 behind four touchdown passes from Dak Prescott.
Our NFL Nation reporters reacted to all the action, answering lingering questions arising from each game and identifying who — or what — is going up and down for each team. Let’s go.
Access a match:
GB-DET | WSH-DAL
Cowboys
Is Dallas ready for its most important game of the season? They did what they had to do after losing to the Eagles on November 5th. They beat the Giants, Panthers and Commanders. Their next five games are against the Seahawks, Eagles, Dolphins, Bills and Lions. The Cowboys lost both of their matchups against teams with winning records, but they wiped out everyone else. If they can keep winning, they might be able to catch the Eagles in the NFC East and gain home-field advantage. With 13 consecutive home wins, that seems important.
Refuel after victory: Quarterback Dak Prescott. Prescott is in the hottest period of his career. He has 18 touchdown passes and just two interceptions in his last six games. He threw touchdown passes off a screen (Rico Dowdle), off a line drive (Brandin Cooks), on time (CeeDee Lamb) and off a rope (KaVontae Turpin). He also completed passes to 10 different receivers. Prescott’s name needs to come up in the MVP conversation at some point.
Reduced stock after victory: K.Brandon Aubrey. Nitpicks because Aubrey doesn’t miss placement attempts. With a 52-yarder Thursday, he made 22 consecutive 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 of the season. Let’s be clear though: that’s not what happened to Brett Maher last year. -Todd Archer
Next game: vs. Seahawks (Thursday, 8:15 p.m. ET)
Commanders
Will the owner of Commanders take action? New owner Josh Harris did not want to make a coaching change mid-season, especially with coach Ron Rivera. However, if Rivera wanted to make a change, Harris would definitely listen, a source said. So far, Rivera has been reluctant to make any changes, especially on defense under coordinator Jack Del Rio. There’s no obvious replacement, but the defense regressed, entering the day ranked last in points and 29th in yards.
Refuel after 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 falling after loss: Defense. Jack Del Rio’s defense allowed 431 yards, including 331 passing yards and four touchdowns to Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott. The secondary continues to give up big plays and the front has failed to put pressure on Prescott. -John Keim
Next game: vs. Dolphins (Sunday, December 3, 1 p.m. ET)
THURSDAY
Packers
Are the Packers playoff contenders? They’re still below .500, but the outlook is far from bleak. They entered the week with a 23% chance of making the playoffs. That number rose to 38% as soon as the Packers beat the Lions, according to ESPN Analytics. This was independent of any other results this weekend. Only two of the Packers’ last 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.
Refuel after victory: Safety Jonathan Owens. Owens had his best game since signing 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.
Reduced stock after victory: Anders Carlson. The rookie kicker can be forgiven for missing a 63-yard field goal late in 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, December 3, 8:20 p.m. ET)
the Lions
Is Jared Goff’s guarding just a one-week incident or evidence of a bigger problem? Goff was pressured on 45 percent of his dropbacks in the first half, or 9 of 20, and was sacked three times throughout the game. Detroit’s offensive line has been one of this team’s strengths, but it 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 November 14. This is certainly something to watch as the team looks to get the most out of linemen Kayode Awosika and rookie Colby Sorsdal.
Refuel after loss: Jameson Williams. The second-year receiver continues to feel more comfortable in the Lions’ offense as the trust level increases between his teammates. Williams, the No. 12 overall pick in 2022, had two catches for 51 yards, including a 38-yard reception in the fourth quarter.
Stock falling after 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 Sunday against the Chicago Bears. Before Thursday, he had gone 12 straight games without a lost fumble. — Eric Woodyard
Next game: at Saints (Sunday, December 3, 1 p.m. ET)
