THE HFL CRIMSON CHRONICLE
Denver and Cincinnati both push to 11-0, Josh Allen throws for 501 yards and seven touchdowns and still loses, and a Cardinals quarterback outlasts a shootout in Carolina.
Brock Purdy threw for 389 yards and four touchdowns to outlast Carolina in a 41-38 shootout, and Arizona is 8-3 with a real case as one of the league's most complete teams. Denver and Cincinnati both won to stay perfect at 11-0 — the two unbeaten teams remain unbeaten — while Green Bay and Washington both won too, both sitting at 10-1. New England held off Jacksonville 36-29 in the Game of the Week behind Breece Hall's four rushing touchdowns, and elsewhere, in a game that wasn't the official pick but might have topped it on paper, Josh Allen threw for 501 yards and seven touchdowns for Buffalo and still lost, 53-50, to a New York Jets team that simply matched him play for play.
Week 12 Scoreboard
| Titans | 40 | Lions | 46 |
| Ravens | 24 | Raiders | 27 |
| Commanders | 28 | Texans | 19 |
| Broncos | 42 | Chargers | 28 |
| Falcons | 28 | Saints | 41 |
| Bears | 24 | Dolphins | 41 |
| Browns | 23 | Steelers | 16 |
| Giants | 28 | Eagles | 31 |
| Seahawks | 27 | 49ers | 45 |
| Patriots | 36 | Jaguars ★ | 29 |
| Bengals | 27 | Cowboys | 16 |
| Buccaneers | 38 | Chiefs | 28 |
| Bills | 50 | Jets | 53 |
| Vikings | 9 | Packers | 33 |
| Cardinals | 41 | Panthers | 38 |
All 32 teams were in action.
Breece Hall ran for 91 yards and four touchdowns out of the backfield, and Xavier Worthy added a 101-yard receiving day of his own, as New England pulled away from Jacksonville. Drake Maye threw for 190 yards and a touchdown despite two interceptions, leaning on Hall to do the heavy lifting.
Jacksonville did not go quietly. Jonathon Brooks caught ten passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns out of the backfield, and Bryce Young threw for 299 yards and two more scores while adding two rushing touchdowns himself, a 128.3 rating. Both teams finished with two takeaways and two giveaways apiece — an even turnover battle — and in the end it was Hall's four-touchdown afternoon that made the difference. New England improves to 5-6. Jacksonville falls to 4-7.
Around the League
C.J. Stroud threw for 458 yards and three touchdowns for Detroit, and Marco Ramirez caught a score among his 121 yards, but Dak Prescott answered with 363 yards and four touchdowns and Marvin Daniels caught ten passes for 213 yards and two scores for Tennessee. Chuba Hubbard's two rushing touchdowns and Chad Ryland's four made field goals were the difference for the Lions in a game that saw 972 combined yards. Detroit improves to 5-7. Tennessee falls to 6-6.
Jaxson Dart threw for 331 yards and three touchdowns, two of them to Marvin Harrison Jr., as Las Vegas held off Baltimore. J.J. McCarthy threw for 284 yards for the Ravens, and Michael Pittman Jr. caught a touchdown, but three Baltimore giveaways were too costly. Las Vegas improves to 2-10. Baltimore falls to 1-10.
Anthony Richardson Sr. accounted for four touchdowns — two passing, two rushing — going 17-of-21 for 181 yards and 61 rushing yards on top of it, and DeVonta Smith caught two of his scores. Houston's offense managed only 173 total yards, and Bijan Robinson's 80 total yards were the extent of the resistance. Washington improves to 10-1, tied with Green Bay atop the league. Houston falls to 7-4.
Jahmyr Gibbs ran for 177 yards and three touchdowns, an 86-yard run among them, as Denver stayed perfect. Shane Dressler threw for 358 yards and three touchdowns for Los Angeles, but four Chargers giveaways, including four Dressler interceptions, were too much to overcome. The Broncos are 11-0. Los Angeles falls to 8-4.
Jayden Higgins caught seven passes for 103 yards and two touchdowns, and Jevon Holland intercepted two passes — one of them returned for a touchdown — as New Orleans pulled away from Atlanta. Saquon Barkley ran for 116 yards and two touchdowns and caught seven passes for 83 more, and Jalen Hurts ran for 96 yards and a touchdown himself, a 55-yard burst included, but two Falcons giveaways were the difference. New Orleans improves to 8-3. Atlanta falls to 4-7.
Baker Mayfield threw for 250 yards and four touchdowns without an interception, a 155.8 rating, and Isiah Pacheco ran for 136 yards and a score, a 71-yard burst included, as Miami cruised. Keon Coleman caught nine passes for 169 yards and a touchdown for Chicago, and Lorenzo Whitworth threw for 332 yards, but it wasn't enough offense to keep pace. Miami improves to 7-4. Chicago falls to 6-5-1.
Emmett Bennett threw for 166 yards and ran for 49 more with a touchdown for Pittsburgh, but Shedeur Sanders threw for 260 yards and a touchdown and Ashton Jeanty added 117 total yards and a score for Cleveland. Jordan Garay made all three of his field goals for the Browns. Cleveland improves to 2-9. Pittsburgh falls to 2-9.
Jonathan Taylor ran for 173 yards and two touchdowns for Philadelphia, and Caleb Williams threw for 131 yards and two more scores. Jalin Hyatt caught two touchdown passes for New York, and Cam Skattebo added 130 total yards and a touchdown of his own, but three Giants giveaways proved too costly against an Eagles offense that turned it over zero times. Philadelphia improves to 8-4. New York falls to 5-6.
Drake London caught eight passes for 159 yards and four touchdowns, and De'Von Achane ran for 227 yards and two more scores, a 75-yard run included, as San Francisco piled up 439 total yards. Louis Geyer caught thirteen passes for 170 yards for Seattle, and Bo Nix threw for 286 yards and three touchdowns, but it wasn't nearly enough defense to slow San Francisco down. The 49ers improve to 8-3. Seattle falls to 1-10.
Josh Allen threw for 501 yards and seven touchdowns, a 123.0 rating, and it wasn't enough. Amon-Ra St. Brown caught seven for 159 yards and two scores, Dalton Kincaid added two touchdown catches of his own, and Buffalo put up 526 total yards as a team. New York matched it: Riley Leonard threw four touchdowns and ran for a fifth on a 62-yard scramble, a 135.4 rating, and both Dillon Day and Jameson Williams caught two touchdowns apiece. 103 combined points, 1,041 combined yards, and a final margin of three. The Jets improve to 9-3. Buffalo falls to 4-7 with the best losing performance of its season.
Jaydon Blue ran for 111 yards and a touchdown and caught a receiving score of his own, and Nicholas Battle threw for 199 yards and ran for a touchdown as Cincinnati stayed perfect. Tory Horton caught three passes for 104 yards and a touchdown for Dallas, and Spencer Rattler threw for 182 yards, but the Cowboys managed just 16 rushing yards as a team. The Bengals are 11-0. Dallas falls to 5-6.
Justin Herbert threw for 233 yards and four touchdowns without an interception, a 150.1 rating, and Ladd McConkey caught two of them for Tampa Bay. Jalen Milroe threw for 305 yards and three touchdowns and George Pickens caught seven for 175 yards for Kansas City, but Bucky Irving's 102 rushing yards gave Tampa Bay's offense balance all afternoon. Tampa Bay improves to 6-5. Kansas City falls to 4-8.
Sam LaPorta caught five passes for 140 yards and a touchdown, Jayden Daniels threw for 247 yards and two scores, and Maddux Trujillo made a 60-yard field goal among his four makes as Green Bay forced five Minnesota giveaways. The Vikings' offense never found any rhythm, managing only 156 total yards. Green Bay improves to 10-1, tied with Washington. Minnesota falls to 2-9.
Brock Purdy threw for 389 yards and four touchdowns, a 139.7 rating, and Arizona converted eight of eleven third downs to outlast a Carolina team that would not go away. Brandon Hart ran for 92 yards and caught a touchdown pass for 149 total yards, and Joe Burrow threw for 217 yards and four touchdowns of his own for the Panthers, but Arizona's third-down efficiency was enough to hold on in a shootout that finished 41-38. Arizona improves to 8-3. Carolina falls to 5-6.
The All-HFL Weekly Team
Week 12's honor roll, built straight from the box scores.
QB, Bills
HB, 49ers
WR, 49ers
TE, Packers
LEDGE, Bengals
FS, Saints
K, Packers
Streaks & Trends
- Denver and Cincinnati are both 11-0. Green Bay and Washington both won to sit right behind them at 10-1 apiece. Four teams, one game or less off a perfect season, twelve weeks in.
- Josh Allen threw for 501 yards and 7 touchdowns and lost. It's the best statistical passing performance the Chronicle has logged all season, and it came in a defeat — a reminder that this league's shootouts don't always reward the quarterback who wins the yardage battle.
- Drake London's four-touchdown day was matched by De'Von Achane's 227-yard, two-score game in the same box score. San Francisco's 45-27 win over Seattle produced two of the week's best individual performances on the same team.
- Maddux Trujillo made a 60-yard field goal — twelve yards short of Wil Lutz's still-standing record, and part of a perfect 4-for-4 day.
- Cincinnati is 11-0 and Cleveland is 2-9 — the same state, the widest possible gap in the standings. Ohio is producing this season's starkest in-state contrast.
Milestone Watch
- Jahmyr Gibbs, HB, Broncos. 1,931 rushing yards through 11 games — a 175.5-yard-per-game pace that projects to roughly 3,160 yards over a full eighteen-game season, still well clear of Bijan Robinson's single-season record of 2,924.
Record Book Watch
Nothing fell this week, but it was close. Josh Allen's 501 passing yards and 7 touchdowns are both short of the all-time single-game marks (594 yards, 8 touchdowns) — but it's the nearest anyone has come to either number in a long time, and he did it while losing.
Feature Story: 501 Yards, Seven Touchdowns, and a Loss
Josh Allen completed 30 of 41 passes for 501 yards and seven touchdowns on Sunday. By himself, in a league where the single-game passing record is 594 and the touchdown record is 8, that is one of the best individual afternoons any quarterback has produced all season. Buffalo lost by three.
The Jets simply matched him. Riley Leonard threw four touchdowns and ran for a fifth. New York put up 515 yards of its own. Nobody's defense showed up, both teams combined for 1,041 total yards and 103 points, and the game turned into the rare shootout where the losing quarterback's stat line reads better than most winners' entire seasons. Amon-Ra St. Brown caught seven passes for 159 yards. Dalton Kincaid caught two touchdowns. None of it was enough, because on the other sideline, New York had an answer for every single one of Buffalo's.
It's the kind of result that complicates how the Chronicle should think about "best performance of the week" as a category — Allen's box score is the best one on paper, and it belongs next to a loss. Buffalo is 4-7 tonight. On the strength of one Sunday, nobody watching would guess it.
Press Row & Transaction Wire
Press Row
A letter reached the desk this week, and it's a real one: Arizona Cardinals Head Coach and Owner Frankie Stanks, addressing the status of rookie running back Jabari Howard following Sunday's win over Carolina. Howard played in that game — eight carries, a modest day statistically, no fireworks — and flew home with the team afterward, but has since told coaches he has family matters to attend to this week, with his availability for Sunday's game against Philadelphia currently unclear.
Asked whether the situation complicates Arizona's game plan, or whether any disciplinary conversation is on the table, Coach Stanks said:
"We have a full running back room, this is something we prepare for long before training camp even starts. We obviously want all our guys to play 17 games. But will all 53 get to do that? No. If he's there to contribute, fantastic. But we support whatever he's got going on, and will have that conversation when the time comes."
— Frankie Stanks, Head Coach & Owner, Arizona Cardinals
The Chronicle wishes Howard well with whatever he's dealing with, and will note his availability — or lack of it — in next issue's Cardinals-Eagles recap rather than speculate further here. The rest of Press Row stays open. Send it in — a word about your own team, a shot across the division, a prediction you'll put your name to. It runs in Issue 13.
Transaction Wire & Injury Report
Nothing crossed the trade wire this week. One new name joined the injury report: Will McDonald IV, LEDGE, Dolphins, now on IR. Zach Sieler, DT, Dolphins, Bobby Brown III, DT, Dolphins, John Campa, TE, Vikings and Cam Beasley, FS, Patriots remain out with no change in status.
Rookie Watch
A quieter week for the rookies the Chronicle has tracked all season, plus a new name worth watching for a different reason.
- Warren Davis, QB, Broncos. 15-of-22 for 179 yards and three touchdowns in a win over the Chargers. Still 11-0 as a starter.
- Nicholas Battle, QB, Bengals. 19-of-32 for 199 yards and a passing touchdown, plus a rushing score of his own. Still 11-0 as a starter.
- Brandon Hart, HB, Panthers. 149 total yards and a receiving touchdown in a one-score loss to Arizona — his usual quiet productivity, even in a game his team didn't win.
- Jabari Howard, HB, Cardinals. Eight carries for 11 yards in Sunday's win — see Press Row above for the news that matters more than the stat line this week.
Offensive Rookie of the Year lean: Davis and Battle remain a combined 22-0 as starters. Brandon Hart's per-game production still deserves a seat at the table.
Defensive Rookie of the Year lean: still wide open. No rookie had a signature defensive week.
Upcoming Week Preview — Week 13
Detroit just put up 46 points and 527 total yards in a win over Tennessee; New York is fresh off outlasting Buffalo in a 103-point shootout of its own. Two offenses playing this well at the same time rarely stay quiet for long.
A housekeeping note: Bears, Chargers, Titans and Raiders are idle in Week 13. That leaves fourteen games on the board, and the picks below cover all of them.
Tampa Bay is 6-5 and just beat Kansas City; Dallas is 5-6.
Denver is 11-0; Kansas City is 4-8.
Two 10-1 teams meet, and Green Bay gets the nod at home in what might be the biggest game of the season so far.
Houston is 7-4; Jacksonville is 4-7 despite a big game from Jonathon Brooks last week.
Cincinnati is 11-0; Cleveland is 2-9.
Buffalo is 4-7 but just put up 526 yards and 50 points; Baltimore is 1-10.
Minnesota is 2-9 at home; Indianapolis is 1-10.
Miami is 7-4 and just scored 41 points; Los Angeles is 4-6-1.
New Orleans is 8-3 off a strong win; Carolina is 5-6 despite four touchdown passes from Joe Burrow last week.
Arizona is 8-3 and just won a shootout; Philadelphia is 8-4. The open question, per this issue's Press Row: whether Jabari Howard is even available for Arizona this week.
San Francisco is 8-3 and just posted 439 total yards; Atlanta is 4-7.
New England is 5-6 and just won a shootout of its own; Seattle is 1-10.
New York is 5-6; Pittsburgh is 2-9.
Eleven right, four wrong in Week 12 — the Lions over the Titans, the Raiders over the Ravens, the Browns over the Steelers and the Jaguars over the Patriots were the four the desk missed. A strong week to close out a stretch that's held steady above 72% all season.
Fan Mailbag
No letters reached the desk this week beyond the Press Row submission above, so the Chronicle wrote the questions it's confident somebody in this league is asking. The real mailbag is open and runs with your name on it.
League Poll
Results from last issue's poll are in: 5 votes on which Week 11 moment deserves its own place in Chronicle lore, and Lamar Jackson's 158.3 rating despite twelve sacks ran away with it — 3 votes (60%). Green Bay's streak ending and Las Vegas nearly upsetting Denver each got 1 (20%), and nobody picked Jonathan Taylor's touchdown day — which is its own small joke, since he's on this issue's cover as an afterthought to a game he was central to two issues ago.
Twelve weeks down, six to go, and the league has never been tighter at the top — four teams within a game of perfect, and two of them play each other next week. Somewhere in the middle, Josh Allen just authored the best passing game of anyone's season and has nothing to show for it but a loss.
And somewhere in Arizona, a locker room is figuring out how to be there for one of its own. The Chronicle will have more when there's more to report.
Press Row is open, the mailbag runs with your name on it, and the poll is live — vote, and the Chronicle will see everybody back here after Week 13.
Until next week, the Chronicle stands with all 32.
— Jenna Tulls, Senior HFL Correspondent
Beat Jenna
Every Game of the Week pick, scored. Jenna is 7-1 on the 8 games she has called.
| Member | W | L | Beat Jenna | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MrPlanters NE | 7 | 0 | 1/5 |
| 2 | luke2612 | 1 | 0 | 0/0 |
| 3 | skeem__ | 0 | 1 | 0/0 |
| — | Jenna Tulls DESK | 7 | 1 | — |
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