What’s Hot and What’s Knott in Football – Week 13

By Rhys Knott

If Week 13 had a theme, it has to be “from the sublime to the ridiculous”. There are sublime catches, ridiculous pass protection, and an even more ridiculous interception!

Thanksgiving always provides a cornucopia of football delight’s and 2025’s version is no different. Thursday night’s slate alone provided flying receivers and record-breaking Ravens.

Finally, there’s a kicker we can all love, and you’ll never guess which quarterback is surprisingly hot.

Plus, Toyotathan began on the 19th of November, and you know what that means? Unstoppable Jordan Love is back! 

What’s Hot in Football – Week 13

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You know who is hot right now? Bryce Young. The Panthers’ quarterback is so hot that he’s just broken a record previously held by Josh Allen and Peyton Manning! 

Young isn’t the only quarterback doing hot things in Week 13. Patrick Mahomes is the new Harry Houdini! 

And Bo Nix is the new Patrick Mahomes! Now that’s hot.

Not to mention Jordan Love. Don’t be surprised if the Packers win their next five games.

Don’t forget about the running backs, though, well, one in particular. Derrick Henry and the Ravens aren’t having the best season, but King Henry is still breaking records. 

Turning the ball over may not be very helpful, but it is very hot in Week 13. Eight different defenders either forced a fumble or made an interception on Thursday alone! By the end of the weekend, 40 different defenders had created a turnover. Dallas Turner and Ernest Jones IV created two each! 

Back to the offense, and George Pickens is definitely hot, but he isn’t the perfect little soldier some analysts will have you believe. The former Steeler hauled in six catches for 88 yards, and he can fly!

Pickens isn’t the only receiver who left Earth’s atmosphere on Thanksgiving night. Have you ever seen a Lion fly? 

Detroit rookie Isaac TeSlaa is so good that the Lions can’t actually figure out how best to use him. There’s an obvious answer to their conundrum: use him as often as possible and in as many ways as possible. The rookie can do anything. 

On the topic of receivers demonstrating their sublime skills, Puka Nacua pulled off the really seen “one-handed catch whilst fighting the defensive back with the other hand” at Sofi. Take a bow, young fella. 

Not to be outdone, Brock Bowers snaffled this terrible pass from Geno Smith with minimal fuss. There are dying ducks who felt sorry for this ball! 

But Week 13’s catch of the week award goes to Treylon Burks (yes, THAT Treylon Burks). Not only did Burks haul in a pass that Marcus Mariota sent into orbit, but Burks did it with a finger that had been repaired a fortnight ago! 

Tristan Wirfs might not have grabbed his TD with one hand, but who doesn’t love a big guy hauling in a scoring pass? 

On the other side of that coin, defenders can make highlight reel catches too, you know. The Chargers looked to have botched this potential interception. Then Tony Jefferson arrived on the scene. We should probably take a moment to appreciate those colour rush uniforms too. 

It’s not very often we can say a kicker is hot, but Irish kicker Charlie Smyth is absolutely scorching! The former Gaelic footballer made his debut for the Saints in Miami. Not only did he nail a 56-yard field goal at an overcast Hard Rock Stadium, he also kicked a successful onside kick! 

My Cause My Cleats continues in Week 13, and while some of the organisations represented are more than a little problematic, other players highlighted causes that are worthy of more attention. 

Just when you thought Christian McCaffrey couldn’t be any more fantastic, he sets up a foundation to provide kids in hospitals with gaming consoles, allowing them to stay connected to their friends and family outside the hospital. 

C.J. Stroud also has his own foundation that helps single-parent families. Inspired by his own family situation, Stroud’s charity works with children who are dealing with a parent who is in prison.  

Devonta Smith might have the coolest cleats of the week. He wore these nifty little numbers to support the Eagles’ autism foundation. 

But Zaire Franklin wore the most important cleats in Week 13. The Colts’ linebacker and flag football ambassador took his opportunity to promote girls’ flag football and his own foundation, Shelice’s Angels. 

What’s Knott in Football – Week 13

While turnovers are hot in Week 13, George Pickens’ fumble is definitely Knott. Let’s hope he paid for Kavonte Turpin’s dinner. 

Pickens isn’t the only guy who forgot to hold on to the ball. James Cook’s fumble was actually worse because he knocked it out of his own hands! How does something this Knott happen during a game? Did he forget he has knees?

On the subject of ball security, what the actual heck is going on here, Max Brosmer? This pick may not be as bad as Josh Allen’s in Week 11, but it is very Knott! 

The Vikings quarterback play is absolutely Knott. But it’s not really even the quarterback play; it’s everything. Most people will tell you that it’s all J.J. McCarthy’s fault, but when three quarterbacks have an average 59.1 Passer Rating (out of 158.3), it appears to be a systemic failure. 

On the subject of systemic failure, Cincinnati’s defense is so Knott! The Bungles might have achieved a simple win in Baltimore, but they have missed 129 tackles in 2025! Not only is that more than 10 per game (!!), It’s also 35 more than the second-placed Steelers! 

The new tush push is Knott, too. Not to mention those Eagles’ black uniforms, just awful all the way around. 

The Chiefs’ defense might not be missing tackles for fun, but boy, are they Knott. Sreve Spagnolo’s unit just can’t cover receivers without drawing flags from the officials.

But the zebras aren’t entirely blameless in Week 13. Officiating is Knott once again! The Broncos’ game against the Commanders was mired in controversy. Land Clark’s crew seemed to be throwing flags for rules that none of the NBC crew knew or understood. Despite the phantom intentional grounding penalty and a false start that never happened, Land and the boys completely missed Marcus Mariota being tripped! 

Meanwhile, in Detroit, the officials awarded Dontayvion Wicks a touchdown when it appeared to everyone watching that the ball was still moving and he hadn’t secured it until he was out of bounds. 

And then the officials doubled down on the error by claiming that receivers are so good they can control while they’re completing the process of a catch. If that isn’t Knott, it’s certainly absolutely gobbeldygook! 

Elsewhere, just stop punching people who are wearing helmets already! How can something so Knott be a recurring issue? 

And has Jake Ferguson ever seen a roast turkey before? This looks very Knott!

You can put most of these things down to human error, plain and simple. But the Jets always do something that just leaves you speechless (and they won this week!). 

But there’s something even more Knott in Week 13, it’s a shirtless Ben Johnson. You might have a body to die for, Ben, but it’s freezing in Chicago. Forget about the free food, keep those clothes on, man!

RHYS KNOTT

NFL/FANTASY FOOTBALL ANALYST

Rhys has been watching the NFL for 30 something years and still hasn’t managed to pick a team to support. When he’s not fixatED on pass rushers you can find him blithering on about most sports on Twitter @wrhys_writes

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