It’s week 13 and the playoff picture is becoming clearer, as the Falcons, Patriots, Texans, and Broncos all clinched a playoff appearance. What isn’t becoming clearer is the quarterback situation in New York. Or how in the world Adrian Peterson healed from his ACL surgery so quickly and continues to ravage opposing defenses. I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s get to the Unexpected (and expected) from week 13.

Announcing seems like the easiest job in the world, but some current and former NFL players got a chance to find out just how difficult it can be during the broadcast boot camp at NFL Films. We put them to the test, as we had them call some of the most memorable plays in their team’s history.

The sixth annual DirecTV Celebrity Beach Bowl became a coming-out party for the gloriously obscene Snoop Dogg, who took MVP honors in a 34-21 win for Team Palladia over Team Spike TV.

For the past 26 years, die-hard Lions fan John Tracy has watched from afar as Detroit endured one mind-boggling, train-wreck season after another. Sure, this season’s playoff run was a boost to Tracy’s psyche, but DIRECTV went one step farther, naming him America’s Ultimate Displaced Fan.

Two developing problems for every college football program except one: (1) Hall of Fame RB Barry Sanders has a son, Barry Jr. (2) Barry Jr. plays football. He looks every bit as dangerous as Daddy. And he’s going to Stanford.

After he gained gained 98 rush yards on 16 carries against San Diego last week, Vikings RB Adrian Peterson now has rushed for 1,650 yards in 15 career games in the month of September. Peterson averages 110.0 rush yards per game in the month, which is the second-highest average in September in NFL history (minimum 10 games), behind only Hall of Famer Jim Brown. And when you consider the other names on this list, September success is impressive indeed.

Three…more…days.

If you’re a draftnik, and if you think Mike Mayock and Mel Kiper are like Axl and Slash, then you know what’s in three days. The path to prime time is getting short, as draft weekend starts Thursday.

So if the NFL draft is just three days away, then what are some good draft 3s?

It’s almost here. All the drama at Radio Music Hall, the culmination of the Path to Primetime, comes to pass 20 days from now. So what does 20 signify, at least in terms of the NFL draft?

With the myriad of off the field issues coming to a head today, we thought we would take a break and harken back to a simpler time with the help of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Today’s topic comes from their weekly historical series regarding the first player to break 1,000 yards rushing in a single season.

A look at some of the notable statistics and performances from Week 13.

Eli Manning‘s childhood Thanksgivings went as you might expect: turkey and gravy and all the fixings, a few passes in the backyard with his dad and his brothers, and of course football on TV. Eli’s favorite part of the backyard game wasn’t playing quarterback though, it was “making spectacular catches against my brothers.” Who inspired him to make his awesome moves against the other Mannings? Not a receiver. Actually, Eli’s motivation came from watching a running back, Hall of Famer Barry Sanders, shake off defenders. We spoke to a number of players this week and asked them about some of their favorite Thanksgiving memories. The Sidelines Blog will be featuring several of these players’ stories as the Thanksgiving holiday approaches. Patriots […]

It’s the morning after … nine games were on the NFL preseason slate on Saturday night, so let’s take a bullet-point look on thoughts and observations from around the league.

The Titans don’t expect to pull back the reins on Chris Johnson this season, but I still don’t think he’ll duplicate his 2009 totals.

With the threat of a training camp holdout gone, fantasy owners can now draft Chris Johnson with confidence.

Sitting here on a Friday afternoon wondering what time of celebration Barry Sanders would have had if had ever scored a goal in soccer. My guess, is that he would just turn around and run back to midfield. With his shirt on.