Sunday Rundown: Instant takeaways from Week 12's early slate
Sunday Rundown recaps the most important developments from the day's action and examines their significance moving forward.
Chiefs stay alive
I was just about ready to give up on the Chiefs. Sunday's game at home against the Colts was an absolute must-win to maintain any sort of realistic playoff hope, and it wasn't looking good early. Somehow, even those stakes weren't enough for the offense to snap out of its funk. It did just enough to scratch and claw its way to overtime, though, and we all knew how it was going to end once Patrick Mahomes got the ball in his hands in the extra frame. The crucial win isn't nearly enough to take the pressure off in the weeks to come, as previous letdowns have put the Chiefs in a position where they'd lose head-to-head tiebreakers to the teams they're chasing for a wild card (Chargers, Bills, Jaguars). With that in mind, they probably can't afford anything more than one more loss down the stretch. That'll be a tough ask with games against the Cowboys, Texans, Chargers, and Broncos still ahead. And yet it feels like we can never truly count this team out. No matter what it looks like throughout the regular season, there's a real chance that the rest of the AFC would regret allowing the Chiefs to sneak in.
McCarthy needs to sit
Understanding that there was simply no world in which the Vikings were going to save their season with J.J. McCarthy playing at the level he has, I had basically concluded that the rest of this year would be about getting him the reps he needs. I'd like to make a slight alteration to that take after Sunday's game against the Packers. The new stance: it's time for McCarthy to take a seat. That's not to say he doesn't still have a chance at being the quarterback of the future in Minnesota. We're only six starts into his career. It would be far too early to write him off. But he's simply unplayable right now. If you want to look at this from a team perspective, the rest of the roster (and staff) deserve better than to be weighed down by a quarterback who is currently in over his head. Focusing specifically on McCarthy, it's also easy to see how these kinds of early failures may only do more damage. Why not give him some time to reset? Sunday's performance against the Packers - completing 12 of 19 passes for just 87 yards and a pair of interceptions - is his worst game by EPA/dropback, according to TruMedia. By that same metric, McCarthy now owns the single worst six-start stretch to open a career since at least 2000. Considering the favorable situation he was stepping into, it doesn't get much more disappointing than this.
Lions avoid disaster
Anyone who had mounting concerns about the Lions is unlikely to be moved by a narrow overtime victory over the Giants. For a team that has so consistently bounced back from the occasional disappointing loss under Dan Campbell, this should have been a spot where Detroit dominated. Instead, we've got major questions about both the defense, which allowed a season-high 517 yards to the two-win Giants, and an offense that continues to look like a completely different unit without Sam LaPorta. Thanks to Jahmyr Gibbs, the Lions can at least continue their search for answers with a relatively comfortable 7-4 record. The star running back put the team on his back with one of the best individual performances we'll see all season, posting 264 total yards and three scores, including a 69-yard touchdown on the first play of overtime.
Jameis doing it again
The Giants giving the Lions a scare wasn't just about the home side struggling. New York also deserves credit for the way the offense was able to move the ball up and down the field. We probably shouldn't be too surprised that Jameis Winston gave his team a chance. The former No. 1 overall pick has long been written off as a journeyman backup. The turnover issues are a big part of that equation, but his ability to push the ball downfield - often with a subpar supporting cast - has consistently shined through in his opportunities over the last few years. Even if we're long past the point that he gets a look as a low-level starter, Winston having to settle for the No. 3 job to start this season in New York was always a little bizarre. The Giants getting him on a two-year, $8-million deal is a steal, and they should be proactive about a potential extension to lock in a reliable veteran as a backup for Jaxson Dart.
JSN on record pace
What else can we say about Jaxon Smith-Njigba? The superstar wideout continued his incredible campaign with a 167-yard day against the Titans, breaking the Seahawks' single-season receiving record with six games still left to play. He's also currently on pace to surpass Calvin Johnson for the NFL single-season mark of 1,964. We've spent a lot of time talking about Jonathan Taylor's potentially historic season, and for good reason. But JSN might be a lock for Offensive Player of the Year honors if he can make that kind of history.
Patriots will be tested
The Patriots managing to avoid any sort of major injury losses had been a crucial part of their impressive start to the season. While the new staff had done some impressive work in bolstering the roster, it certainly helps when the depth isn't truly put to the test. That might change over the next few weeks. New England lost a pair of starting offensive linemen in Sunday's win over the Bengals, as rookies Will Campbell and Jared Wilson were carted off with injuries. If both are forced to miss time, that would push Vederian Lowe into the starting lineup for Campbell at left tackle and Ben Brown at left guard in place of Wilson. That's going to be a storyline to watch for an offensive line that has already surrendered 37 sacks, tied for the fourth-most league-wide. Next week's Monday night matchup with a stacked Giants pass-rush should give us a good idea about this group's chances of holding up down the stretch.
Dan Wilkins is theScore's senior NFL writer.