Highs and lows

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TNS

Los Angeles Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa sacks and forces a fumble on Cleveland Browns quarterback DeShone Kizer as Denzel Perryman recovers the ball in the fourth quarter on Sunday, Dec. 3, 2017 at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)

Story by TJ Wall, staff writer

In week 13 of the NFL there were some good matchups between some good teams. However, on the other hand, there is still a team that is winless and looking to snatch the number one pick in this upcoming draft once again. Here’s what you need to know:

Battle of the Birds:

The Seattle Seahawks defeated the Philadelphia Eagles 24-10.

The Eagles had the best record in the league at 10-1 before their loss to the Seahawks. Both teams seemed to be, and still are seen as, legitimate threats in the NFC’s side of the playoffs. However, despite their current record of 8-4, I would put my money on the Seahawks to make the Super Bowl rather than the Eagles this year.

I wouldn’t take the Seahawks over the Eagles just because they beat them this past week. The reason I would take the Seahawks is because for one, they’ve been to the Super Bowl twice in the past five years so they have more experience in the postseason which makes a huge difference. Secondly, just as I stated in my previous article “Rock ’em, Sock ’em”, the Eagles have only beat one team (the Carolina Panthers) that is over the .500 mark which means that only one team they’ve defeated has won over half of their games.

I am still not yet sold on these Eagles of Philly and with good reason. Will they end up being the high powered team they seem to be in the playoffs? Most likely not.

Steelers Escape the Bengals’ Claws:

The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 on a last-second field goal as time expired.

The Steelers barely escaped Cincinnati with a win. At the first half of the third quarter, Cincinnati was winning 17-3. However, the Steelers made a comeback and won with a field goal by Chris Boswell as time expired.

The main thing that hurt the Bengals in this game was the fact that they committed 13 penalties which cost them 173 yards. If they got just a portion of those yards back, this game may have had a different outcome.

The Steelers seem to be the biggest threat to the New England Patriots in the AFC. However, no matter who you are, it will be extremely difficult to take down the Patriots who are led by the greatest quarterback of all time: Tom Brady.

Crumpling Cleveland:

The Cleveland Browns. What more do I need to say? Just hearing the name makes me cringe.

The Browns are the only team in the entire NFL who have not won a single game this season. This isn’t just “a bad year” either; this has been going on for the past few years now. Here’s an interesting yet depressing fact: From the year 2000 until their loss to the Los Angeles Chargers this week, the Browns have won 86 games and lost 284. That’s extremely disheartening especially considering the fact that Cleveland has had a high first-round pick in most of the past 15 or so drafts.

If you are a true and loyal Browns fan, I have nothing but respect for you. For someone to stick with a team despite their many depressing seasons, that takes true commitment. I honestly believe that Cleveland’s fan base is the most loyal of any fan base in the NFL. However, you may want to watch baseball or basketball for a few years (decades) until the Browns revive their franchise.