The Baltimore Ravens lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers on a failed two-point conversion, knocking Lamar Jackson & Co. from the top seed in the conference. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Chargers pulled away from the Cincinnati Bengals late to win a matchup that could prove to be big for playoff seeding.
With the Indianapolis Colts taking care of business down against the Houston Texans, there are now eight AFC teams with at least seven wins through Week 13. The AFC playoff picture is going to go down to the wire.
Now that the first run of PFF analysis has been finalized and made available in PFF's Premium Stats, it’s time to highlight Week 13’s top performers. Here, we present PFF’s Team of the Week and player awards from Week 13 of the 2021 NFL season.
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PFF TEAM OF THE WEEK
Offense
QB: Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins
RB: Miles Sanders, Philadelphia Eagles
WR: Justin Jefferson, Minnesota Vikings
WR: Cooper Kupp, Los Angeles Rams
TE: George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers
Flex: Dallas Goedert, Philadelphia Eagles
LT: Trent Williams, San Francisco 49ers
LG: Dalton Risner, Denver Broncos
C: Creed Humphrey, Kansas City Chiefs
RG: Trai Turner, Pittsburgh Steelers
RT: Rob Havenstein, Los Angeles Rams
Defense
DI: Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams
DI: Daron Payne, Washington Football Team
Edge: T.J. Watt, Pittsburgh Steelers
Edge: Demarcus Lawrence, Dallas Cowboys
LB: Germaine Pratt, Cincinnati Bengals
LB: Ernest Jones, Los Angeles Rams
CB: Kenny Moore II, Indianapolis Colts
CB: Xavien Howard, Miami Dolphins
S: Bobby McCain, Washington Football Team
S: Jalen Thompson, Arizona Cardinals
Flex: Xavier Rhodes, Indianapolis Colts
Offensive Player of the Week: TE George Kittle, San Francisco 49ers
Kittle’s 2021 campaign has been volatile and derailed by injury, but he looked back to his very best this past Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks. The star tight end earned a career-high 94.8 receiving grade for his nine-reception, 181-yard, two-touchdown performance.
Kittle's after-the-catch prowess shined bright as he broke three tackles and led all pass-catchers in yards after the catch (109) and yards after contact (76) for Week 13. He generated 6.46 yards per route run in total, over two yards more than any other receiver for the week.
GEORGE KITTLE IS SMASHING
How did he stay in bounds ???? pic.twitter.com/hMTy0KPYLB
— PFF Fantasy Football (@PFF_Fantasy) December 5, 2021
Defensive Player of the Week: DI Aaron Donald, Los Angeles Rams
To no surprise, Donald was unblockable against the Jacksonville Jaguars this past week. The star interior defensive lineman earned a career-high 95.8 PFF grade, his seventh single-game mark above 88.0 for the 2021 season. Donald recorded three run stops — two tackles for loss and one forced fumble — seven total pressures and a 38% pass-rush win rate.
everyone has become numb to Aaron Donald doing stuff like this on a weekly basis.
it's ridiculous that he isn't even top 3 in DPOY odds right now — the man has made PFF's Team of the Week in over half of his games and is on pace to be the NFL's highest-graded defender (again)! pic.twitter.com/8dwkFoCu2w
— Anthony Treash (@PFF_Anthony) December 6, 2021
Donald now owns a 93.7 PFF grade this season, which doesn't just lead all interior defensive linemen, but it also leads every single NFL defender by a couple of grading points. He is, once again, performing at a Defensive Player of the Year level.
Rookie of the Week: LB Ernest Jones, Los Angeles Rams
In just his fifth career start, Ernest Jones claims PFF Rookie of the Week for his strong all-around performance against the Jaguars. Jones produced in every facet of play en route to an 89.8 overall PFF grade for the game. Up until this point, his highest PFF grade in the NFL sat at 68.4.
The third-round rookie recorded five run stops, including three tackles for loss, and one sack. He also allowed only 13 yards in coverage on seven targets, forcing one incompletion along the way.
Offensive Line of the Week: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tom Brady dropped back to pass over 50 times against the Atlanta Falcons, and the offensive line kept him clean on almost every one of them. The five starters allowed only three total pressures on the day.
Tampa’s 5.9% pressure rate allowed was over four percentage points lower than any other team in Week 13 and over 22 points lower than the league average. Right tackle Tristan Wirfs especially shined, as he pitched a shutout with zero total losses.
Secret Superstar of the Week: LB Joe Bachie, Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati lost starting off-ball linebacker Logan Wilson mid-game against the Chargers in Week 13 because of an injury. And Bachie, a 2020 undrafted free agent with only 63 career snaps to his name, stepped in and exceeded expectations and then some.
The former Michigan State Spartan earned a 75.9 PFF grade across 39 snaps, secured all eight of his tackle attempts and recorded two defensive stops. He also allowed only one yard in coverage en route to a 77.3 coverage grade for the game.
With Wilson out for some time, Cincinnati will need that sound, disciplined play from Bachie in a larger role as they make a push toward the playoffs.
Play of the Week: The Detroit Lions win!
THE LIONS BEAT THE VIKINGS
pic.twitter.com/vHvwOp2Bhd— PFF (@PFF) December 5, 2021
Biggest Game-Changing Moment: The Los Angeles Chargers‘ fourth-quarter scoop-and-score
Cincinnati’s loss at home to L.A. was full of bad breaks the Chargers took advantage of. The most notable was an early Joe Burrow big-time throw to Ja’Marr Chase that should have been a touchdown, only for it to bobble out of Chase's hands and right into the grasp of the trailing cornerback.
Despite finding themselves down 24-0 at one point, the Bengals eventually clawed their way back to within two points early in the fourth quarter. That, however, would be spoiled by a Joe Mixon fumble that Tevaughn Campbell scooped up and took to the other end zone to make it a two-score game.
SO. MUCH. CANADA.
???????? CHRISTIAN COVINGTON WITH THE FORCED FUMBLE
???????? TEVAUGHN CAMPBELL WITH SCOOP AND THE TD
????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????@thetangibleC4 | @TevaughnsC pic.twitter.com/1GdZdoHozk
— NFL Canada (@NFLCanada) December 5, 2021
Chargers Win Probability Change: +43%
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