Here at the Fifth Down, we like to highlight the strange, surprising and humorous moments that punctuate each Sunday in the NFL season. Some weeks are full of surprises, others are a little more tame. I'd say Week 11 falls somewhere right in the middle. Call it the George-Michael Bluth of NFL weekends. Not as out-there or surprising as Gob, but not as simple as Buster either. Enough pop-culture pandering -- it's Fifth Down.
It was the game that wouldn't end (or start)
Man, what an afternoon for the fans at Soldier Field. Not only did their game get delayed due to inclement weather for almost two hours, but the the Ravens and Bears took it to overtime! At least the Bears came out on top, and they now sit atop the NFC North thanks to losses by the Lions and Packers. So perhaps it wasn't a bad Sunday for Chicagoans after all.
The non-call of the year that was the right call
There was an uproar on Twitter after Ahmad Brooks drew a personal foul penalty after hitting Drew Brees violently near the neck. When you watch the replay in slo-mo, Brooks clearly hit Brees in the top of the shoulder pads, and Brees' neck made it look worth when it bended like a cartoon character. Nevertheless, Brooks came in unnecessarily high on Brees, and drew the foul. The right call. All Brooks had to do was lower his shoulder and hit Brees in the No. 9 and he would have been fine. Now, if you want to catch this hit in SUPER slo-mo, head here. Woof, what a hit.
Jaguars literally pull hair out in another losing effort
Even though the Jaguars offense scored twice early, their team ultimately fell to the Arizona Cardinals 27-14. That wasn't before Jason Babin got a piece of the Cardinals, however, when he pulled out a handful of Andre Ellington's hair on a rushing attempt. Ouch.
Dez Bryant, PS4 angel
Last week, fans of the new Sony Playstation 4 waited for hours in line to get a chance to spend $400 on the new gaming console. Unless they were waiting at a Walmart in Dallas. Unbeknownst to the eager patrons in line, their PS4 prayers were about to be answered as the Cowboys star wide receiver swooped in and bought them all a PS4. Heads up Bills, Bengals, Eagles and Seahawks fans -- your teams are on byes next week when the Xbox One comes out. Take a chance and camp out in front of your local Walmart and hope your team has an Xbox One angel similar to Dez.
Houston, you've got 99 problems...
The Texans 2013 meltdown continues as they dropped their eighth straight game on Sunday at the hands of Matt McGloin and the Oakland Raiders. In what could go down as the most baffling move of the season, Kubiak benched a healthy, adequately-performing Case Keenum for Matt Schaub early in the third quarter. The Schaub-led Texans couldn't muster a comeback, but hey, at least he didn't throw a pick six. The result of the Texans collapse and Schaub-swap provoked the usually well-mannered Andre Johnson to do lash out at Schaub in the video to the right. Yikes.
When it Rainey's in Atlanta, it pours
Bobby Rainey, in his first career NFL start, absolutely gashed the Atlanta defense for 163 rushing yards and two touchdowns on Sunday, helping the Buccaneers secure a 41-28 victory. This is the same Atlanta Falcons team that was in the NFC Championship game last year. At this point in the season last year the Falcons were 9-1 and the Chiefs were 1-9. My, how things can change in a hurry in the NFL.
Fantasy Football sacrificial lamb of the week: Case Keenum
After back-to-back solid fantasy outings, Keenum seemed to be in firm control of the Houston Texans starting quarterback position. That was until Gary Kubiak decided inexplicably to bench Keenum in favor of Mr. Pick Six himself, Matt Schaub. Injured? No. Performing poorly? Nope. It honestly appears as if Kubiak was sacrificing Keenum's performance to the fantasy gods in the hopes that Matt Schaub could lead his team to victory. That was not to be, however, as Schaub completed numerous passes to the field turf at Reliant Stadium, and the Oakland Raiders emerged victorious. Meanwhile, countless fantasy teams endured a tough defeat as Keenum's total stayed still at a pedestrian 8.8 points. Truth be told, this could have gone to A.J. Green today as well, but that was more Andy Dalton than anything else. Which is why Keenum fell on the fantasy sword in Week 11. Sorry Case. Go get 'em next week.
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