The consensus around the NFL heading into the Thanksgiving Day showdown with the division rival Detroit Lions was that the Green Bay Packers could face their toughest challenge of the season and suffer the first loss of the year. Even though the Lions have a streaky football team over the last few weeks, Detroit still had the talent and potential to pull off the upset over the undefeated Packers.

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Unfortunately, despite giving the Packers a run for their money in the first half, the second half was a disaster for the Lions as they completely fell apart on both sides of the football. In the first half, Detroit was able to contain the potent offense of Green Bay and hold arguably the best team in the league to just one touchdown which came at the 4:51 mark in the second quarter with a touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers to Greg Jennings. The Lions couldn’t capitalize on the solid play from the defense though as they failed to score as well and headed into halftime down 7-0.

Green Bay Packers

Once the third quarter got underway, the Green Bay Packers started to fire on all cylinders by outscoring the Detroit Lions 17-0. The Packers were able to first get on the board in the second half with a one-yard run from John Kuhn which was followed by an impressive 65-yard passing touchdown from Aaron Rodgers to wideout James Jones. This touchdown was what really sparked the offense and the Packers moving forward. With just 1:51 left in the third, the Packers were able to get a 35-yard field goal from Mason Crosby which increased the lead to 24-0 heading into the fourth and final quarter.

With the Detroit Lions looking at a huge deficit and losing arguably their best defensive player in Ndamukong Suh (ejected), the hopes of ending the Green Bay Packers perfect season were slim to none as the offense just couldn’t get going and the defense found it difficult to put pressure on NFL MVP frontrunner Aaron Rodgers without Suh.

Despite the Lions looking like they were on the verge of getting shutout on Thanksgiving Day, Detroit was finally able to get in the endzone with a 16-yard run from Keiland Williams and a two-point conversion scored by a pass from Matthew Stafford to Titus Young. Even though the Lions made it a two possession game, Detroit was just too far behind and couldn’t contain Aaron Rodgers and company.

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With a second field goal on the day by kicker Mason Crosby from 32 yards out and a late touchdown pass from up-and-coming quarterback Matthew Stafford to perennial Pro Bowl wide receiver Calvin Johnson, the game was virtually over with the Detroit Lions only managing to put up 15 points on the board while the Green Bay Packers easily scored 27 and got their 11^th win of the season.

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The Cleveland Browns came into this NFL regular season with high hopes of finally being able to turn the corner and contend of a playoff spot in the AFC Conference. With the Browns playing in one of the toughest divisions in the NFL in the AFC North, the chances of competing for the division title with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens were slim, but contending for the AFC Wild Card was a possibility.

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With the struggling Browns franchise getting a breath of fresh air last season with the emergence of Pro Bowl running back Peyton Hillis and franchise quarterback Colt McCoy there was hope for the future, but it was uncertain whether or not this would be the season that this team would emerge as a legitimate force to be reckoned with.

Peyton Hillis

Unfortunately, the Cleveland Browns have failed to live up to expectations once again as Peyton Hillis has been a bust this year and Colt McCoy is still adjusting the professional level. There is no question that is team still has potential to turn it around in the near future, but this year is a lost cause as Cleveland sits in last place in the AFC North division with a disappointing 4-6 record.

Despite the making the playoffs in the AFC Conference being impossibility at this point in the season, the Cleveland Browns did get some good news heading into Week 12 as Peyton Hillis has been upgraded to a game-time decision. Last season Hollis may have been considered to be amongst the best of the best at his position with the likes of Arian Foster (Houston Texans), Chris Johnson (Tennessee Titans) and Adrian Peterson (Minnesota Vikings), but this year has been a struggle from start to finish as he has dealt with multiple injuries and a contract dispute with the Browns.

With Hollis’ future in Cleveland looking to be in serious doubt as the team is unsure of signing the up-and-coming running back to a long-term deal, the Pro Bowler has had a rough year and has thought about becoming a free agent and leaving. After missing the last six games with a severely sprained hamstring, Peyton Hollis’ value has gone through the floor for the Cleveland Browns, but with the star running back practicing again he could be ready to go this weekend against the division rival Cincinnati Bengals.

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Even if Peyton Hollis goes elsewhere next season, the Pro Bowl running back needs to get back on the field in order to help the Cleveland Browns finish the season with a .500 record and convince other teams around the league that last season was no fluke. After practicing on Friday, the Browns hope to get him back on the gridiron this Sunday, but as of right now he is nothing more than game-time decision and could very well be watching from the sidelines once again.

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One of the most competitive divisions in the NFL this season has been without doubt the AFC West division with all four teams seemingly in the running for the division title. The San Diego Chargers took yet another major blow to their playoff hopes in Week 11 with their fourth consecutive loss after losing the red-hot Chicago Bears, but despite being in fourth place in the division, the Chargers might still have a shot.

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Along with the San Diego Chargers, the Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos and the Oakland Raiders all could potentially be the division winner at season’s end, but Carson Palmer and company made some distance between the other teams with a second straight win with a victory over the Minnesota Vikings in Week 11.

The Vikings have been an interesting team this season as their defense has been one of the best in the league. The pass defense hasn’t been all that sharp this year as Minnesota gives up 259 passing yards a game (28^th in the NFL), but the run defense only gives up 100.7 rushing yards per game (5^th in the NFL) and would be Oakland’s toughest challenge.

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With perennial Pro Bowl running back Darren McFadden still on the sidelines with an ankle injury that has caused him to miss the last few games, the Oakland Raiders turned to backup Michael Bush once again. After an impressive performance against the division rival San Diego Chargers in Week 10, the Raiders had a lot of faith in Bush and for good reason as he rushed for a game-high 109 yards and a touchdown.

The Minnesota Vikings on the other hand were not so lucky in the running game as superstar running back Adrian Peterson went down with ankle sprain that kept him out of the game for the entire second half. Peterson still managed to score a rushing touchdown, but was pretty ineffective otherwise with just 26 rushing yards before injuring his ankle in the second quarter.

With Adrian Peterson helpless on the sidelines, the Vikings turned to rookie quarterback Christian Ponder to lead the offense and get this team back in the game against an Oakland Raiders squad that was firing on all cylinders in the first half. Despite being a rookie, Ponder played well enough in the second half to get Minnesota back in the game with two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter to Percy Harvin and Kyle Rudolph.

Even though Ponder was staging a comeback and looked like he might be able to lead the Vikings to victory, the three interceptions he had earlier in the game turned out to be too costly for Minnesota as they ultimately fell to Oakland, 27-21.

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This was another impressive performance by the new starting quarterback of the Raiders as Carson Palmer threw for 164 yards and a touchdown on 17-of-23 passing. Along with no turnovers and efficient numbers, Palmer also added a rushing touchdown as he now has two wins as the Raiders’ starter under center.

The Oakland Raiders now sit atop the AFC West division with a 6-4 record heading into Week 12 against the banged up Chicago Bears who just lost starting quarterback Jay Cutler to a broken thumb.

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Last year the Kansas City Chiefs went from being a perennial bottom feeder in the AFC Conference and transformed into the best running team in the NFL led by Pro Bowl running back Jamaal Charles with a defense that could hold leads with up-and-coming safety Eric Berry leading the way.

Coming into this NFL regular season, the Chiefs were hoping to defend the AFC West division title and make it back into the playoffs for a second straight season. Unfortunately, multiple season-ending injuries to big-name players on both sides of the football have really hurt this team’s chances as Jamaal Charles, Eric Berry and Tony Moeaki have all been placed on the Injured Reserve (IR).

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Even with all their injury problems, the Chiefs were able to bounce back a few weeks ago by winning four games in a row against the Minnesota Vikings (22-17), Indianapolis Colts (28-24), Oakland Raiders (28-0) and the San Diego Chargers (23-20 OT). Despite an impressive resurgence as of late, the Chiefs were destroyed by the lowly Miami Dolphins (31-3) and then lost to the division rival Denver Broncos (17-10) last week.

Not only was the loss to the Broncos costly due to the AFC West division standings and the fact that this team has seemed to lose its momentum, but they may have lost starting quarterback Matt Cassel in the process. With what is being called a significant injury to his throwing hand, Matt Cassel’s season is in serious doubt for the rest of the way.

Reportedly, Cassel has undergone surgery on his throwing hand to fix the problem. Even though the Chiefs’ starting quarterback has had surgery, head coach Todd Haley hasn’t ruled out the return of Matt Cassel this season, but in the meantime he will go with Tyler Palko as the starter for the foreseeable future.

With this injury to Matt Cassel, the Kansas City Chiefs might have to call it a season as they may no longer be able to contend with the likes of the Denver Broncos, San Diego Chargers or the division-leading Oakland Raiders in the AFC West. It remains to be seen whether or not Tyler Palko can come in and get the job done after just a week of practicing with the first team, but it would be safe to say that the Chiefs won’t be the same team without Cassel under center for the duration of the season.

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As for the rest of the teams in the AFC West, the Oakland Raiders are leading the way with a 5-4 record and appear to be in the driver’s seat with a division title on the horizon. There is still a chance that the San Diego Chargers or Denver Broncos could slip in and snatch the division title, but the Oakland Raiders are firing on all cylinders right now with new starting quarterback Carson Palmer back to form.

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