Players to Watch
David Yankey • OL • Carolina Panthers • 1st season • @papa_yank
Yankey made his NFL debut last Sunday at Oakland, becoming the 14th Australian-born player to suit up in an NFL regular season game. Carolina stuck around the Bay Area to prepare for Seattle, affording the former All-American time to visit Stanford's facilities on Tuesday. The Panthers take a banged-up offensive line to Seattle, and Yankey could yet see more playing time depending on the performances of backups ahead of him.
Michael Thomas • S • Miami Dolphins • 4th season • @Michael31Thomas
Miami has won six in a row after a 1-4 start and holds the final AFC playoff spot over the Denver Broncos, who also sit at 7-4. Michael Thomas has done it all for Miami this year on defense and special teams, leading the league with 14 special teams tackles. The two-time All-Pro special teamer is coming off his best game of the season, per Pro Football Focus, and looks to help Miami make the playoffs for the first time since 2008. A win against AFC North leaders Baltimore would go a long way in the Dolphins' bid for postseason football.
Doug Baldwin • WR • Seattle Seahawks • 6th season • @DougBaldwinJr
Baldwin has been kept out of the end zone for two straight weeks following a three-touchdown performance against New England. After last week's disappointing 14-5 loss at Tampa Bay, Baldwin and Seattle will look to rebound against a Carolina defense which ranks 26th in the league in pass coverage, per Pro Football Focus. Baldwin (87.1) is currently PFF's fifth-rated receiver out of 118 eligible players, sitting behind Mike Evans, Julio Jones, A.J. Green and Antonio Brown.
Matchup to WatchColts at Jets
Coming off of a loss against Pittsburgh without franchise player Andrew Luck in uniform, Indianapolis has a must-win trip to New York to face the Jets on Monday night. At 5-6, the Colts desperately need a win to keep them in the playoff hunt. They face a Jets team that has not won since October, and will look to exact revenge after a 20-7 home loss in 2015.
Injury Report
San Francisco placed Shayne Skov on injured reserve Tuesday morning after a knee injury in the 49ers' Week-12 visit to Miami. Skov had made two tackles on defense along with eight special teams tackles up until now. Fellow Stanford linebacker Blake Martinez also remains sidelined with an MCL sprain sustained in Week 11. He was expected to miss 2-6 weeks, but returned to practice Wednesday in a limited capacity. He is doubtful to play against Houston on Sunday.
Safety Jordan Richards exited Sunday's win at the New York Jets with a knee injury, but returned to finish the game. He was absent from the Patriots' practice on Wednesday. Andrew Luck, who sat out on Thanksgiving with a concussion, is expected to make his return on Monday night.
Week 13 Schedule
| Date | Time (PT)/TV Network | Matchup |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday, Dec. 4 | 10:00 a.m./CBS | Chiefs at Falcons (Austin Hooper, Levine Toilolo) |
| Sunday, Dec. 4 | 10:00 a.m./FOX | Lions (Johnson Bademosi) at Saints (Coby Fleener, Andrus Peat) |
| Sunday, Dec. 4 | 10:00 a.m./FOX | Rams at Patriots (Cameron Fleming, Jordan Richards) |
| Sunday, Dec. 4 | 10:00 a.m./CBS | Texans at Packers (Blake Martinez, Ty Montgomery, Kyle Murphy) |
| Sunday, Dec. 4 | 10:00 a.m./FOX | Eagles (Zach Ertz) at Bengals (Ryan Hewitt) |
| Sunday, Dec. 4 | 10:00 a.m./CBS | Dolphins (Michael Thomas) at Ravens |
| Sunday, Dec. 4 | 10:00 a.m./FOX | 49ers (Joshua Garnett) at Bears |
| Sunday, Dec. 4 | 1:25 p.m./FOX | Giants at Steelers (David DeCastro) |
| Sunday, Dec. 4 | 1:25 p.m./FOX | Redskins (Trent Murphy) at Cardinals (Josh Mauro, Stepfan Taylor) |
| Sunday, Dec. 4 | 5:30 p.m./FOX | Panthers (David Yankey) at Seahawks (Doug Baldwin, Richard Sherman) |
| Monday, Dec. 5 | 5:30 p.m./ESPN | Colts (Henry Anderson, Andrew Luck, David Parry) at Jets |
Week 13 Byes
Kevin Hogan • QB • Cleveland Browns • 1st season • @KHoagie8
Hogan was signed from the Browns practice squad prior to a Week 6 trip to Cincinnati, a game in which Hogan rushed for 104 yards and a touchdown. He remains behind Josh McCown and Cody Kessler on the depth chart, but injuries could very well hand Hogan another start before season's end.
Ed Reynolds • S • Cleveland Browns • 2nd season
No Brown has played more snaps than Ed Reynolds over the past three weeks, appearing in 199 of 229 possible defensive plays. In his four games this season, Reynolds has accumulated 19 tackles and two run stops, per Pro Football Focus.