ICYMI: The Best Stories You Missed From NFL Week 13

ERIC THE RED

In the Week 10 edition of this column, I made an impassioned case for the footballing world to pay attention to one of the most improbable, impressive comebacks we've ever seen: New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul taking over a game against the then-undefeated New England Patriots, in just his second game back from a bizarre fireworks accident that cost him much of his right hand.

This week, I'll make another.

In December 2014, Kansas City Chiefs safety Eric Berry received a shocking diagnosis: Hodgkin's lymphoma. He pushed through chemotherapy, calling it "a monster" per the Sporting News. His return to the field eight months after made headlines, but his performance as the catalyst for one of the league's hottest defenses somehow hasn't.

Though he didn't start that first game, he played a large diet of snaps—and he's started every single game since. The Chiefs' six-game win streak has been peppered with huge days by Berry: He got his first interception in Week 7, his second in Week 9 and has posted 16 solo tackles over the Chiefs' last three games.

Since allowing 125 points in the first four weeks, the Chiefs defense has allowed the exact same number (125) over the next eight. That's a whopping average of 31.25 points per game over the first four weeks, and a scrawny 14.4 ever since—the fewest points allowed of any NFL team over that stretch, per Pro Football Reference.

These aren't just numbers in a ledger, though. Berry's fully regained the speed, power and explosion that made him one of the best in the business before his diagnosis. In fact, Pro Football Focus currently has him rated as the NFL's best safety.

The Chiefs currently hold the AFC's top Wild Card spot, but only through tiebreakers. Even after reeling off six wins in a row, they sit at just 7-5—tied with the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers, two teams also playing great ball. If he's going to get a chance to shine in the postseason, Berry—and the Chiefs—can't let this fairy-tale comeback end before New Year's Day.

MR. ROBINSON'S NEIGHBORHOOD

If I asked you who was leading all NFL receivers in touchdown catches, how many names would you get through before you came up with Allen Robinson?

No NFL fan could miss Robinson's emergence as a legitimate scoring threat, or excellent fantasy football option. The Penn State product, in just his second year, tops a lot of people's lists of sleepers, or up-and-comers, or underrateds. The fact is, the 22-year old is playing and producing like one of the very best in the game.

In Week 13, Robinson had the kind of game that leads Sportscenter and dominates headlines: he exploded for 10 catches, 153 yards and three scores. Yet his incredible day was spoiled by two things: A) Marcus Mariota's 87-yard fourth-quarter touchdown run, and B) Robinson's Jacksonville Jaguars were playing Mariota's Tennessee Titans.

After this massive day, Robinson had 65 catches, 1,080 yards and 11 touchdowns through three-quarters of the season. He's on pace for an 87-catch, 1,440-yard, 14.6-touchdown season—in just his second year, on an offense that's ranked 16th in the NFL in scoring, with zero help from the run game and only his undrafted fellow sophomore, Allen Hurns, posing any kind of complementary threat.

Robinson's averaging a whopping 16.6 yards per catch—but none of the eight receivers ahead of him have more than 34 catches, or 635 yards. Robinson's as effective a deep threat as any of the deep-threat specialists, but he's also a No. 1 receiver getting work in all situations.

Robinson's ranked eighth in targets, behind just Julio Jones, DeAndre Hopkins, Antonio Brown, Odell Beckham, Brandon Marshall, Demaryius Thomas and Larry Fitzgerald. With his Week 12 performance, Robinson proved his name should be on your lips whenever you're asked to tout the league's best receivers.

BALDWIN'S BIG CATCHES

Doug Baldwin, unlike Robinson, doesn't have spectacular numbers. He's never put up freaky stats. His 5'10" frame doesn't pass the eye test. But he does know how to get open when quarterback Russell Wilson needs somebody to get open, and he does come up big in the biggest moments.

The Seahawks have been having an unbroken string of big moments since a Week 6 loss to the Carolina Panthers dropped them to 2-4—and increasingly, it's been Baldwin who's stepped up to fill the downfield weapon role that was supposed to belong to Jimmy Graham.

His seven-catch, 134-yard, one-touchdown day wasn't quite good enough to upset the Cardinals at home in Week 10. But Baldwin's 12 catches on 14 targets for 205 yards and three scores helped lead the Seahawks to victory in Weeks 11 and 12, and his five-catch, 94-yard, two-touchdown day in Week 13 led the wild rumpus over the Minnesota Vikings.

Now, the Seahawks are improbably back into playoff position, sitting at 7-5 and gunning for the five-seed Vikings. Baldwin, who's averaged six catches for 108 yards and two touchdowns over the last four games, must keep this production up if the Seahawks are going to claw back to their old roost on top of the NFC.