Bears bag top spot & boos for Rodgers - best of NFL week 13

A long, drawn-out week 13 including Thanksgiving and Black Friday games provided further evidence that this NFL season is the most wide open in years.

The Chicago Bears now lead the NFC after the Los Angeles Rams suffered a major speed bump, while the Dallas Cowboys are back in business after beating both sides from Super Bowl 2025 in a week.

Denver just about made it nine wins in a row and the Green Bay Packers are hotting up, while another surprise led to the Jacksonville Jaguars emerging as division leaders after Sunday.

The hot take after all that? It is impossible to predict in which direction this season will go after a hectic week 13 full of compelling storylines.

The breakdown: Trust in Bears after Rams letdown

Matthew Stafford had two interceptions in 11 games before throwing two in the first half in Carolina

Almost every team is giving us trust issues this season. The latest was veteran Matthew Stafford and the Rams ending a six-game winning streak with an upset loss in Carolina.

MVP candidate Stafford threw an NFL record 28th straight touchdown pass without an interception to start the game.

He had just two picks all season and recorded 317 passes without a mistake before throwing two interceptions in the first half - including a pick six. Stafford added a late fumble just for good measure.

From 12 points a game and 13 turnovers in the last six matches, the Rams defence allowed 31 points and generated zero takeaways, and went from 110 rushing yards allowed in those games to 164 in Carolina.

So if you cannot trust the Rams, who can you trust?

The surprising Chicago Bears now lead the way in the NFC, and with five wins in a row and nine in 10 they are the only ones showing real consistency right now.

Beating the Eagles in Philadelphia on Black Friday was a real statement that they are the real deal. So how have they done it?

Caleb Williams has amassed a team record of five fourth-quarter comebacks this season - at just 24 the 2024 first-round draft pick has been excellent in what is often a tricky second season in the NFL.

The defence has improved recently, allowing 20 points a game over the last four, but the standout is the turnovers they generate - a league-leading 26 - while only giving away nine.

That plus-17 turnover difference is eight better than the rest, and come play-off time that turnover battle is absolutely huge. Throw in the league's second-best rushing attack and you really do have a successful post-season formula.

In focus: Boos for birthday boy Rodgers

Aaron Rodgers turns 42 on Tuesday and might well be wondering what he is doing still playing after his travails on Sunday.

The veteran quarterback played with a cast on his fracture left wrist, got a bloodied and possibly broken nose... and then got booed by his own fans.

That was after the Buffalo Bills beat the Steelers at what traditionally is their own game, with a dominating ground attack that piled up 249 rushing yards - the most by a visiting team in Pittsburgh since 1975.

Josh Allen walked in a record 76th rushing score and James Cook ran the Steelers ragged - even when they knew it was coming.

That added to one of Rodgers' worst career performances and the natives got pretty restless as Pittsburgh lost their fifth game in seven.

"I totally understand the frustration," said Rodgers after the game. "That was a boo-worthy performance."

Rodgers completed just 10 passes, the fewest of his career when attempting 20 or more throws, and his third-lowest yardage total of 117.

Head coach Mike Tomlin is under severe pressure in his 19th season in Pittsburgh as they should have the division wrapped up after Baltimore's 1-5 start, but now face two showdowns with the Ravens for the AFC North crown.

Should Rodgers have even played given how limited he was in a cast? The four-time MVP was probably wondering himself as he returned to the game after having his nose patched up to a chorus of home boos.

Talking point: Are 49ers the best of the rest?

Brock Purdy and George Kittle have returned from injury to spark a San Francisco resurgence

Given the nature of the season, there are inevitably plenty of teams that are surprising us.

The Jaguars topping the AFC South and the Panthers challenging in the NFC South are certainly two, as are the efforts of the Bears, Broncos and Patriots.

But with all the injuries they have had, the San Francisco 49ers getting to 9-4 is impressive - as was the way they handled one of the best defences in tough conditions in Cleveland during their 26-8 victory on Sunday.

Brock Purdy was cool, calm and collected as the Niners had zero turnovers for just the third game this season and a defence starting to figure out how to manage without leaders Fred Warner and Nick Bosa had a second straight single-digit return.

After a third win in a row, Kyle Shanahan's side have an ideal late bye next week before playing the one-win Titans at home. A tough finish follows against the Colts, Bears and Seahawks but they are way ahead of where many thought they would be with their injury problems.

If they can keep superstar Christian McCaffrey fit they will be a match for anyone.

Week 14 preview: Pivotal divisional clashes on Sunday

The schedulers could not have drawn this up much better, because on Sunday there are three games between the top-two sides in their division.

These rivals will all meet twice before the end of the season in games that could very well decide the division titles - although teams like the Detroit Lions and the Houston Texans may have something to say about that.

Matches between these sides are usually pretty intense as it is, but with so much riding on them now, they will be something else.

Week 14's big games

• AFC South: Indianapolis Colts (8-4) @ Jacksonville Jaguars (8-4)

• AFC North: Pittsburgh Steelers (6-6) @ Baltimore Ravens (6-6)

• NFC North: Chicago Bears (9-3) @ Green Bay Packers (8-3-1)

We will have live text commentary on all of these games on the BBC Sport website and app on Sunday from 17:30 GMT.

NFL week 13 stats, records & games notes

Max Brosmer's four interceptions were the most thrown in a quarterback's first NFL start since Buffalo's Nathan Peterman threw five in 2017

It is that time of year when seasons start to end - with four more teams joining the Giants in being officially eliminated from the play-offs.

The Tennessee Titans, the Las Vegas Raiders, the New Orleans Saints and the Arizona Cardinals can all start planning for next season.

There was at least something to smile about for Saints kicker Charlie Smyth, as the Northern Irishman booted the first field goal of his NFL career, and from 56 yards as well.

Denver continue to live dangerously but beat the Commanders in overtime to go 10-2 with a ninth straight win. The Broncos defence had two more sacks to move to 49 for the season, as they chase the NFL record of 72 set by the 1984 Chicago Bears.

Tampa Bay went deep into the playbook as Baker Mayfield threw a touchdown pass to offensive lineman Tristan Wirfs in their 20-17 win over Arizona.

CJ Stroud returned to action for the Texans, but the Houston defence again was the star as they held the Colts' top-ranked offence to fewer than 20 points for the first time this season - winning 20-16 in Indianapolis.

The Texans have only conceded more than 20 points twice this season and if they get into the play-offs they will be a real headache for anyone.

A dominant Seahawks defence had their first shutout victory in a decade, but had rookie Vikings quarterback Max Brosmer to thanks for that as he threw four interceptions in a miserable first NFL start.

NFL week 13 - Thanksgiving highlights