WTF Happened in the NFL This Week

It was another news-worthy week in the NFL, with much of it being made in courtrooms. Both the Ray Rice appeal and Adrian Peterson child abuse hearings took place, beginning the next steps in each controversial player’s seemingly inevitable return to the field.

There was plenty to talk about on the field too, with nothing more heartwarming than Thursday night’s appearance by Leah Still at her dad Devon’s game. The Bengals may have lost in a blowout, but the halftime scene was enough to make the night a big success.

Several players chipped in standout performances and key moments as well, and we’ve got it all here for you as we recap WTF Happened in the NFL This Week.

Follow me on Twitter @dcsibor

The Colts rebounded nicely from an absolute beating suffered at the hands of the Steelers, going on the road and hanging 40 points on the Giants in a victory. Andrew Luck, unsurprisingly, was the star for Indy; the quarterback threw for 354 yards and four touchdowns, hitting four different receivers in the end zone. The Giants’ Eli Manning looked off balance all game, throwing for the majority of his 359 yards when the result was no longer in doubt. First round pick Odell Beckham Jr. was a bright spot for the Giants, as he set a career high with 156 receiving yards. Indy now hits their bye week at 6-3 and with a full two game lead in the weak AFC South, while the 3-5 Giants can ill-afford many more losses if they want a shot at the playoffs.

After admitting to whipping his four-year-old son with a “switch” (leaving him with several bruises and cuts) and smoking marijuana prior to his first court appearance, Vikings running back Adrian Peterson agreed to a plea deal in Texas court. Peterson pleaded no contest to one count of misdemeanor reckless assault in the case, and received probation, a $4,000 fine and 80 hours of community service in return. The only thing in the way of Peterson making his return to the field is a disciplinary ruling from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, and that should come soon.

The domestic violence trial of Panthers Pro Bowl defensive end Greg Hardy was scheduled to begin on November 17, but on Tuesday the Charlotte Mecklenburg District Attorney's office announced that the trial would be postponed until early 2015. The reason? Ongoing murder and homicide trials are taking longer and expected, and there aren’t enough courtrooms to go around. In terms of Hardy getting back on the field, this delay will undoubtedly slow things down even further. There is virtually no chance of Roger Goodell taking Hardy off the exempt list until Hardy’s legal situation is resolved, which means that it’s highly likely he won’t be playing at all this season.

It’s completely understandable that Jets fans are unhappy. After winning their first game of the season, they dropped eight in a row before finally winning earlier this afternoon. The discontent with coach Rex Ryan has extended to the front office, where GM John Idzik has come under fire for the quality (or lack thereof) of the Jets’ players. Not only did this banner fly for about 20 minutes over the Jets’ practice on Wednesday, but another group of fans have raised upwards of $10,000 to buy anti-Idzik billboards near MetLife Stadium.

If ever there were a poster child for the NCAA’s ridiculous policy on paying its athletes, it’s Marcus Lattimore. An absolute star at South Carolina who looked like a lock for NFL stardom, Lattimore helped vault the Gamecocks to national prominence (and the riches that come with it), only to suffer two different debilitating knee injuries. The 49ers took a flier on him in the 4th round of the 2013 NFL Draft despite the long odds, but Lattimore was never able to make it onto the field. On Wednesday, he announced his retirement at age 23, and while he’ll collect on a tax-free $1.7 million insurance policy, Lattimore will leave millions more on the table even as South Carolina continues to reap the benefits of his contributions.

The Ryan Fitzpatrick experience clearly wasn’t working for the Texans anymore after dropping four of their last five games, and on Wednesday coach Bill O’Brien announced that Ryan Mallett would become the starting quarterback following the bye week. Mallett came to the Texans via preseason trade from the New England Patriots, and has extensive experience in O’Brien’s system dating back to O’Brien’s days as the Pats’ offensive coordinator. Mallett doesn’t really have any experience, having completed one NFL pass on four attempts since being drafted in the 3rd round of the 2011 NFL Draft.

Despite efforts to avoid doing so at all costs, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell testified under oath at the appeal hearing for Ray Rice’s suspension. While no details of his testimony have been made available due to a gag order, Goodell was questioned for over two hours by NFLPA attorney Jeffrey Kessler, who one would have to imagine focused on the disconnect between Goodell’s and Rice’s assessments of how Rice’s disciplinary process was handled. Judge Barbara S. Jones is expected to rule on the case sometime next week.

After rumors surfaced that there would be as many as five NFL games in London next year, the league announced that they’d once again be playing three regular season games across the pond next season. One will be the first-ever divisional game, as the Jets take on the Dolphins in Week 4. The other two matchups will be the Bills and Jaguars in Week 7, and the Lions and Chiefs in Week 8. The NFL continues to flirt with the idea of putting a team in London, and it seems that a second consecutive year of three games is another small step in that direction.

Even though he only pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor, Adrian Peterson began to feel the fallout of his legal situation reaching its resolution as Nike dropped him from their roster of athletes. The shoe and apparel giant had previously suspended their contract with AP in September, and the plea deal confirmed the violation of the morals clause in his Nike deal. It’s the third major endorsement deal Peterson has lost, having already had his contracts with Castrol and EpiPen terminated when he was initially charged.

In an interesting twist in the Ray Rice appeal hearing, Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome directly contradicted commissioner Roger Goodell’s account of what transpired in the infamous meeting between Goodell, Rice, Newsome, and others. Newsome testified that Rice’s account of the incident to Goodell was neither “ambiguous” nor “inconsistent” with the elevator footage, and thus is saying that the commissioner is (at best) misremembering the entire proceeding.

The Cleveland Browns continued their surprising rise to the top of the AFC North, dismantling the first place Cincinnati Bengals 24-3 and moving into sole possession of the top spot in the division after Pittsburgh lost this afternoon. Cleveland’s 6-3 record is the team’s best start in 20 years, and broke a streak of 17 straight division losses on the road. The true star of the game, however, was Leah Still, the brave four-year-old daughter of Bengals’ defensive tackle Devon Still who is undergoing treatment for Stage 4 pediatric cancer. Leah was well enough to attend her first ever game, and at halftime the Bengals announced that they were donating $1.3 million to Cincinnati's Children's Hospital and Medical Center in Leah's name.

Need proof that we’re living in the age of the quarterback? 34-year-old Carson Palmer—he of two playoff appearances and zero wins—signed a three-year, $50 million extension with the Arizona Cardinals on Friday, with $20.5 million of that money guaranteed. Palmer has certainly been instrumental in getting the Cardinals to an NFL-best 8-1 record this season, but he also has a significant injury history. Things got even worse on Sunday, when in the 4th quarter of the Cardinals’ win over the Rams Palmer injured his left knee in a non-contact situation. The team fears it’s a torn ACL, which would be about as bad a start to the new deal as possible.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen reported this morning that the NFLPA sent a letter to the league on Friday requesting the immediate reinstatement of Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson from the commissioner’s exempt list. After Peterson agreed to a plea deal Tuesday, the NFLPA likely plans to file an expedited non-injury grievance should the NFL decline to reinstate the running back. The NFL will counter that this was the plan that had been agreed to when they placed Peterson on the exempt list, and that they are merely following the process as laid out in the personal conduct policy. Roger Goodell will likely want to clean his hands of this situation as soon as possible, and will probably make a quick decision.

The New Orleans Saints quickly went from ecstasy to agony at the SuperDome in their matchup with the 49ers, as a Drew Brees-Jimmy Graham game-winning Hail Mary on the last play was called back after this dubious pass interference call:

A Brees fumble in overtime led to a game-winning field goal from San Fran’s Phil Dawson, and the Saints were left to wonder what went wrong.

After today, Seattle might want to reconsider their position of “moving on” from Marshawn Lynch this offseason. The running back reminded the world what “Beast Mode” is all about, rushing for 140 yards and four touchdowns as the Seahawks steamrolled the Giants 38-17. Really, this run summarizes what the Seahawks were all about today: