[View the story "NFL: 2012 second half in review" on Storify ]NFL: 2012 second half in review The 2012 season is over, and we've taken a look at what happened each week in the second half. What has the second half of the NFL regular season given us? Storified by Digital First Media · Wed, Jan 02 2013 15:46:05
Week 10: No longer perfect Who would have guessed that the Atlanta Falcons would enter Week 10 as the last unbeaten team in the NFL? But faced with a chance to go 9-0, the Falcons were outgunned by the New Orleans Saints. It didn't help that the Saints' Chris Ivory came out with an impressive 56-yard run in the first quarter.
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(image via The Big Lead)
The Saints took a 28-17 lead into the fourth quarter, but had to withstand a touchdown and a field goal on back to-back Atlanta drives. With a four-point lead, Matt Ryan drove down to the red zone, but was unable to score, as the Saints held on to win 31-27.
The week also featured the first tie in the NFL since 2008, as the St. Louis Rams and San Francisco 49ers played to a 24-24 draw.
Week 11: RGIII is perfect. In his
first professional game, Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week. But against the Philadelphia Eagles, RGIII's incredible rookie season went to new heights, as he became the second rookie ever to throw for a perfect game.
The 158.3 passer rating was made possible by completing 14 of 15 attempts, good for 200 passing yards and 84 rushing yards on 11 runs during a 31-6 rout of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Week 12: The Jets season turns butt-ugly In one moment, the New York Jets went from a subpar team to the LOL Jets. That moment came on Thanksgiving night, with the Jets already trailing 14-0 to the New England Patriots in the second. Mark Sanchez tried to sneak up the pocket, when this happened:
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Sanchez ran into his teammate's posterior, and fumbled. To add injury to insult, the Patriots recovered the fumble and took it 32 yards to the house. In that second quarter, the Jets were outscored 35-0. In that moment, Mark Sanchez's reputation was forever tarnished.
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Just watched 1st quarter of Knicks game. So far, no Knick has run into a teammate's ass and fumbled. I have low expectations for my teams.Jim Brady
Jets' Sanchez not rattled by butt-fumble blooperIt is a play that will live in Jets infamy, and until he starts throwing touchdown passes and stops throwing and fumbling the ball away a...
Week 13: The shooting On the morning of Dec. 1, one day before the Kansas City Chiefs were to host the Carolina Panthers, Jovan Belcher drove into the Chiefs' parking lot with a gun in his hand. He had already shot and killed his girlfriend, Kasandra Perkins. Belcher shot himself in front of the team's coaches and general manager.
Jovan Belcher, Girlfriend Murder-Suicide: Kansas City Chiefs Player's Death Shocks NFLabcnews
Week 14: The blowouts The Seattle Seahawks set a franchise record for the most lopsided win with a 58-0 thrashing of the Arizona Cardinals, in which Arizona fumbled five times, and lost four of them.
Meanwhile, the New York Giants, needing a win to stay ahead of division rivals Washington and Dallas, crushed the New Orleans Saints 52-27. Punt returner David Wilson returned four kicks for 227 yards, including this one for a touchdown.
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The next night, the New England Patriots squared off against the best team in the AFC, the 11-2 Houston Texans.
It wasn't even close. The Patriots led 21-0 at the half, and cruised to a 42-14 victory.
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Week 15: Shutouts The NFC East, which seemed to be the Giants' to lose entering the season, became a three-team horse race after New York suffered its first shutout since 1996. The Falcons came away with 34-0 victory, while the Redskins and Cowboys came away with wins.
New York Giants: Loss to Falcons Costs NFC East Title/Potentially a Playoff Berth by Louis MustoIn 60 long and agonizing minutes, the New York Giants went from surefire playoff contender to potentially spending the final weeks of the...
Meanwhile, the New Orleans Saints crushed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 41-0, and the lowly Oakland Raiders beat the Kansas City Chiefs 15-0.
Oh, and the Seattle Seahawks put up 50 points for the second straight week, crushing the Buffalo Bills 50-17.
Week 16: Two records Not much went well for the Detroit Lions this season. They finished 4-12, at the bottom of their division. However, the Lions did have one bright spot: Calvin "Megatron" Johnson broke Jerry Rice's single-season receiving record of 1,848 yards.
Detroit Lions Calvin Johnson breaks NFL record in loss to Falcons WITH VIDEOThe Oakland Press is your source for all Pontiac and Oakland County 24-hour breaking news, local news, sports, entertainment and more. Vi...
Calvin Johnson breaks NFL receiving yards recordjolided24
Jerry Rice on Calvin Johnson and the NFL Career Touchdown Recordespn
In Minnesota, Adrian Peterson, who had serious knee surgery last year, was leading the league in rushing, and was 208 rushing yards shy of the record for most rushing yards in a season after his week 16 performance.
Fantasy Fool: Adrian Peterson is this season's MVPBefore we close the books on another exhilarating/frustrating/awesome/humiliating fantasy season, let's take a stroll back through 2012 t...
Week 17: The final playoff spots On the last week of the regular season, some NFC playoff berths remained in play. NFC North rivals Green Bay and Minnesota locked horns with something at stake for both teams. The Packers, who had already locked up the NFC North, were playing for a first-round bye. The Vikings needed a win to secure a playoff birth; a loss and rival Chicago would claim that playoff spot.
After trailing 10-0 after the first quarter and 20-10 at the half, the Packers mounted a third- and fourth-quarter comeback to tie the game at 34. But with time winding down, Minnesota's Adrian Peterson ran for 26 yards to set up the game-winning field goal.
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Peterson, who ran for 199 yards, fell just nine yards shy of the single-season record for rushing yards in a season, but that didn't matter to the MVP candidate.
Vikings' Adrian Peterson misses record, feels like MVP in his heartThe chants tumbled down from the Metrodome's south end-zone seats as the NFL's best running back ambled into the end zone to be wired for...
Just a few hour later, the final playoff spot -- the NFC East champion -- was decided. Entering the game, the Redskins and Dallas Cowboys were tied. In the first, both teams traded touchdowns on successive drives. From there, Alfred Morris ran for two touchdowns, and RGIII had one of his own as the Redskins secured their first playoff birth since 2007.
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