NFL Week 13 takeaways: What we learned, big questions for every game and future team outlooks

The Eagles looked good in a 15-point win over the Jets without Jalen Hurts, and the Dolphins took care of business against the Giants to get their fifth straight win.

Plus, they each look at the bigger picture with their current team confidence rating — a 0-10 grade of how they feel about each team’s outlook coming out of the week.

What to know: After four straight wins, Washington is a team worth watching over the final five weeks thanks to another fourth-quarter comeback drive by quarterback Taylor Heinicke.

A 3-2 record is doable, but can Washington continue to win with a major emphasis on ball control? It’s keyed the four-game streak, but Washington will need more consistency — and chunk plays — from the pass game.

Del Rio, who was with the Raiders from 2015-17 and has the highest winning percentage of any Raiders coach since Hall of Famer Tom Flores resigned after the 1987 season, kept Carr uncomfortable and cautious through the first three quarters.

Carr is, by nature, a patient quarterback, one that infuriates fans who recall his more swashbuckling days under Del Rio in 2016.

Gutierrez’s confidence rating : 5.5, down from 7.5.

What to know: The Rams stopped a three-game losing streak with a win over the Jaguars, but it wasn’t exactly the type of victory that immediately returns the star-laden roster to the Super Bowl conversation.

Are the Rams ready for the Cardinals? Outside of an impressive Week 3 win over the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Rams have struggled to perform against the NFC’s top teams this season.

The offense showed signs of growth without Robert Woods and with the new pieces of Beckham and even Ben Skowronek, while the defense took advantage of turnover opportunities and played with an aggression that had been recently missing.

The Jaguars’ offense continues to flounder — there are no fixes available until the offseason — and injuries are beginning to mount.

The Jaguars have lost 15 in a row to NFC teams, dating back to a season-opening victory over the New York Giants in 2018.

The Vikings took a four-point lead with 1:50 left but the Lions fought back with the 75-yard TD drive despite missing running back D’Andre Swift, who was out with a shoulder injury.

Detroit played hard and kept teams close, even tying the Steelers, but against a Vikings team fighting to stay playoff-relevant, they took the next step and found a way to win.

Yes, the Lions got their first win, but it’s also not the time to throw a parade in the Motor City.

There is nothing to be proud of here for the Vikings, who regained the lead with 1:50 remaining only to lose it 14 plays later when Jared Goff hit Amon-Ra St.

Are the Vikings close to making changes to the coaching staff/front office? Have Vikings owners Zygi and Mark Wilf seen enough to want to change the direction of this franchise? Minnesota got embarrassed by a team with a 0-10-1 record and that led 20-6 at halftime.

Another loss would drop the Vikings to 5-8, put them further behind in the race for the No.

The result was four passing touchdowns , the Bucs gave up some big plays early, like a missed tackle on Cordarrelle Patterson on a pitch that was taken 39 yards — the longest run play given up by the Bucs all season.

Laine’s confidence rating : 8.5, up from 8.

This was the first time Atlanta rushed for 100-plus yards in back-to-back games since Weeks 2 and 3 last year — something to build on as the Falcons try to fight for a playoff spot.

What to know: Sometimes a team with the fewest mistakes wins the game; other times it’s a team with a lot of mistakes who recovers from them best.

Earlier in the week, Bengals coach Zac Taylor acknowledged Sunday was a chance to win three straight games, an opportunity that has slipped out of their grasp twice this season.

Are the Bengals going to be healthy enough to secure the playoff berth? Before Sunday, Cincinnati was one of the healthiest teams in the league.

There were a few odds and ends that the Cardinals need to clean up in their comfortable win in Chicago, but Sunday was the best they’ve looked after a bye in Kliff Kingsbury’s three seasons in Arizona.

Coming out of the bye with a big win over the Bears shows this team — and coaching staff — has taken significant strides from the past two seasons.

Weinfuss’ confidence rating : 8.8, up from 8.5.

Dalton’s picks led to 23 Arizona points in total, including 14 in the first quarter, which gave the Bears — losers of six of their past seven games — too large of a deficit to overcome.

How many games could the Bears win to finish the season? Chicago could win three more games down the stretch, with two games against the Vikings, plus one each against the Packers, Giants and Seahawks, still remaining on the schedule.

But they did run into a Cardinals team that might be the best in the NFL, and challenged it for most of the game.

He matched Donovan McNabb for highest first-half completion rate by an Eagles QB since 1991 and led the offense to scores on its first seven possessions.

With playmakers like Dallas Goedert and Miles Sanders coming alive, are the Eagles back in the playoff hunt? Goedert set a career high with 105 receiving yards and had his first multi-touchdown game as a pro, while Sanders finished with 144 total yards.

What to know: Rookie quarterback Zach Wilson conquered his first-half demons, leading touchdown drives on the Jets’ first three possessions.

To say they failed to adjust would be an understatement, as the Eagles scored on their first seven possessions.

They’ll have two weeks to prepare for the most pivotal stretch of their season with back-to-back games against New England and Arizona, teams that are likely headed to the playoffs, awaiting them on the other side of the bye.

That means he’ll need to average 163 yards over the final four games to become just the seventh running back to reach that milestone.

It has been clear all season that the Texans lack the talent to compete with the best in the NFL, but Sunday showed once again that they are not just a quarterback away from winning in the NFL.

Is it time to stay with Mills? Last week, coach David Culley said Mills would play only “if something happens to Tyrod .” Taylor was evaluated in the medical tent during the third quarter but was cleared to play, and the team said it was Culley’s decision to play Mills instead.

What to know: Until the Dolphins develop a more consistent run game, expect this kind of stat line from Tua Tagovailoa — a lot of attempts and a lot of short, quick passes.

Can the Dolphins win out? When Miami stopped its losing streak in Week 9, the goal was to get to .500 by the time it traveled to New Orleans in Week 16.

From the offensive line’s struggles to the missed throws by quarterback Mike Glennon, who was playing for an injured Daniel Jones, to key drops and communication issues.

But it’s not clear when he will return from his neck injury, and even if he does, what can he do behind this offense line and with the skill positions depleted? Even running back Saquon Barkley has something to prove.

Mike McCarthy, who was watching from Texas, called it “an adversity win.” It wasn’t pretty, but the Cowboys improved to 8-4 and extended their lead in the NFC East and kept up the possibility of earning home-field advantage and one of the top three spots in the playoffs.

They have to get hot now if they want to be a team with a legit chance to go far.

Maybe the Saints will find new life if stars like Alvin Kamara, Terron Armstead and Ryan Ramczyk return against the Jets on the road in Week 14.

But he also ran for 101 yards — and he does offer some needed juice if he can start throwing with more accuracy.

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