Photos courtesy of Yahoo! Sports, SI.com, and The Denver Post

Week 13 was a good week for players with “initial names”. Chris Johnson (CJ) of the Tennessee Titans rushed for 153 yards and two touchdowns, T.J. Houshmandzadeh (T.J.) of the Oakland Raiders had a 40-yard reception for a touchdown, Vincent Jackson (VJ) of the San Diego Chargers caught four balls for 72 yards and a touchdown, D.J. Williams (D.J.) of the Denver Broncos had nine tackles in an overtime win against the Vikings.

With that random observation out of the way, here are my 13 thoughts on Week 13.

1. Marshawn Lynch continues to “taste the rainbow” in more ways than one. Lynch tasted great success against the Eagles on Thursday night, rushing for a season-high 148 yards and two touchdowns, his fourth hundred-yard game in five games, but Lynch’s greatest highlight came off the field. After scoring a 15-yard touchdown early in the first quarter, an assistant coach fed Lynch some Skittles on the sideline, a ritual that Lynch said originated in high school when his mother used to reward him with candy. After the game, Darren Rovell of CNBC reported that Lynch was offered a two-year, free supply of Skittles as well as a custom dispenser to fit inside his locker, sponsored by Skittles themselves.

2. Dan Orlovsky did his best Peyton Manning impression against the Pats. The Colts stepped into Foxboro, MA as 21-point underdogs, but that did not deter their new starting quarterback, Dan Orlovsky. After falling behind 31-3 going into the fourth quarter, Orlovsky decided it was time to go into Manning-mode. On the their last four drives of the game, Orlovsky and the Colts scored three touchdowns, one rushing by running back Donald Brown and Orlovsky threw two touchdown passes to Pierre Garcon.

The Colts ultimately lost 31-24, but the offense that we have been accustomed to struggling ever so much this season seemed to click on all cylinders late in the game under Orlovsky, who completed 30 of 37 passes for 353 yards and a touchdown with a passer rating of 113.2. Kerry Collins was not the answer in Indy. Curtis Painter was not the answer either. Can Dan Orlovsky, a former member of the 0-16 Detroit Lions, provide the spark that the Colts need to rip off a couple wins late in the year and avoid the same fate that his Lions did in 2008? We’ll see next week in Baltimore.

3. A healthy Demaryius Thomas finally shows up for the Broncos. I was really high on Demaryius Thomas after he was drafted out of Georgia Tech in the first round in ’10. He was initially expected to compete for a starting job with the departure of Brandon Marshall in Denver, but things didn’t really work out as they had planned for Thomas. In his first game as a Bronco in 2010, Thomas caught eight passes for 97 yards and a touchdown.

Unfortunately, Thomas was plagued by injury all year, missing six total games and finishing the year with only 22 receptions for 283 yards and two touchdowns. In February, Thomas tore his Achilles tendon during a workout and was expected to miss the entire 2011 season, but in early September was activated from the PUP list and went on to play his first game of the year in Week 7 against Miami.

Thomas got off to a slow start yet again, but finally broke out on Sunday against the Vikings, catching four balls for 144 yards and two touchdowns, nearly doubling his entire yardage total for the season. If he can stay healthy, Thomas can potentially be the deep threat that the Broncos need to keep opposing defenses on their toes while they run their Tebow-led option-offense.

4. C.J. Spiller finally breaks out for the Bills. The Buffalo Bills second-year running back has been considered a major bust up to this point by all accounts. The ninth overall pick in 2010 was unable to seize the starting job from veteran Fred Jackson last season and was left with a limited role with the team. Jackson, who had been in the midst of a career season, was placed on IR after fracturing his fibula in a Week 11 matchup against the Miami Dolphins, leaving the starting job to Spiller. Spiller had 14 carries for a career-best 83 yards on Sunday, including a 35-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. Spiller was electrifying in college at Clemson, and the Bills, who have lost five straight after starting the year 5-2, will likely let Spiller carry the load for the remainder of the season.

5. London Fletcher is a tackling machine. The Redskins linebacker might me one of the most unheralded players in the league today. Fletcher has 124 tackles in 12 games this season, including nine solo and eight assists during Sunday’s matchup against the Jets. He’s recorded over 100 tackles for the twelfth straight year, a streak that dates back to the 2000-2001 season. A lot of these numbers can be somewhat attributed to the fact that he’s played on some really bad Washington and Buffalo defenses over the years, but he was in fact a member of the Rams Super Bowl Champion team in the 1999-2000 season, so he hasn’t been on all terrible teams.

6. Is TJ Yates the next Warner/Brady? It’s a bit too soon to answer that question, but it cannot be denied that Yates looked impressive in his first career start. Starting in place of the injured Matt Leinart who was starting in place of the injured Matt Schaub, Yates led the Texans to their sixth consecutive victory. Yates completed 12 of 25 passes for 188 yards and a touchdown. The stats weren’t overly impressive, but what was impressive was how Yates managed the game and took shots down field when necessary. I’m not saying Yates will be the next Kurt Warner or Tom Brady, both of which came in to replace superstar quarterbacks and became stars of their own, but I do think Yates can keep the Texans on track to make the playoffs for the first time in team history.

7. Nice guys finish last. Chicago Bears running back is the epitome of this expression. Forte came into this season with a $555,000 base salary. Nothing special for one of the leagues top running backs. Forte wanted a new long-term deal before the season, but the Bears said they wanted to wait until after the season, although they were likely going to place the franchise tag on him anyways. Forte could have held out like Chris Johnson in order to force his teams hand into offer a new deal or not play hard like DeSean Jackson has all year, but he decided to play out the last year of his deal, and boy did he play hard.

Forte leads the league in yards from scrimmage with 1487 while having the best year of his career. Unfortunately, he suffered a knee injury in the first quarter of Sunday’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs. He’s been diagnosed with a strained MCL and will miss anywhere between 2-6 weeks. Now the question is, should Forte try to get back as soon as possible in order to help is team, or should he wait until his knee is 100% before he gets back out there to avoid doing any further damage to the knee?

Here’s a song for you, Matt: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nDq1HoNm-E

8. The Pittsburgh Steelers are ready for the playoffs. The Steelers are probably the least talked about 9-3 team in NFL history, and they’re only beginning to play their best football. When temperatures start to fall below freezing is when the real Steelers come out to play, and they definitely showed up Sunday against the Bengals. The offense wasn’t pretty, but it isn’t supposed to be for the Steelers. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had two touchdowns through the air and Rashard Mendenhall scored two of his own on the ground along with three sacks from linebacker James Harrison en route to a 35-7 shellacking of the Bengals. Only one of their four remaining games comes against a team over .500 (49ers in Week 15). The Steelers should have no trouble winning out and stealing the AFC North title from the Ravens, whom they have already lost to twice this season.

9. Cam does it all. Cam Newton broke the NFL rushing touchdown record for quarterbacks after scrambling into the endzone three times on Sunday, giving him 13 on the year with four games remaining. But that is not what impressed me most about Cam this weekend. Cam displayed his athleticism in the first quarter on a throwback pass from wide receiver Legedu Naanee. He ran downfield (with about all 10 members of the Panthers offense in front of him) and gained 27 yards, making it all the way down to the two-yard line.

10. Brian Price pays the price for personal foul. Tampa Bay Bucs head coach Raheem Morris has clearly been frustrated this season. Pretty much the same team that went 10-6 last season has fallen to 4-8 after a 38-19 defeat at the hands of division rival Panthers. Morris’ frustration came to a head Sunday afternoon when starting defensive tackle Brian Price was given a personal foul penalty in the third quarter. Morris literally told Price to go home after the penalty, saying that it was a foolish play both for his teammates and for the fans. Sounds like there’s trouble in The Big Guava.

11. Mercury Morris needs to get off his couch and start taking notice of what the Packers are doing. I’ll keep this one simple. The Packers are 12-0 after their most recent victory against the Giants. The game was tied 35-35 with 58 seconds remaining. It finally looked like a team may have a chance to atleast take the Pack to overtime, until Aaron Rodgers marched the offense down the field for 68 yards on five plays en route to a game-winning 31-yard field goal. I can’t fathom any team other than the Patriots or Saints outscoring the Packers, nor can I fathom any defense, not even the Ravens or Steelers, having a chance at stopping their offense. Mercury Morris: Better enjoy the champagne while it lasts because in about two months, you won’t be the only undefeated Super Bowl Champion in NFL history.

12. Jason Garrett enjoys his Baileys on the Rocks. No, I’m not referring to the whiskey, I’m talking about how the Cowboys coach iced his own kicker, Dan Bailey in Sundays game against the Arizona Cardinals. Romo completed a 26-yard pass to Dez Bryant with 26 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, the game tied at 13. Rather than calling a timeout, Garrett decided to let 17 seconds run off the clock as his offense ran up field to spike the ball. If he would have called a timeout, the Cowboys would have been able to run another play, potentially gain a few more yards, and then attempt a closer game-winning field goal. As Bailey lined up for 53-yard attempt, Garrett noticed the play clock winding down and decided to call a timeout. Bailey made the field goal, but it didn’t count because of the timeout, and when he lined up to kick again he missed. The Cardinals went on to win the game 19-13 on their first overtime possession with a 52-yard reception from Larod Stephens-Howling. Somebody get Garrett a drink.

13. The Detroit Lions are the most undisciplined team in the NFL. The Lions started off the season hot, going 5-0 through their first five games, but now stand at 7-5, going 2-5 in their last seven games. Things have started to unravel for the Lions as of late, and it has reflected in their record.

It all began in Week 6 against the San Francisco 49ers where the infamous handshake between Jim Schwartz and Jim Harbaugh took place. Things heated up again in Week 10 when quarterback Matthew Stafford grabbed the facemask of a Bears corner after throwing an interception, and a scuffle ensued. This got taken to a whole new level on Thanksgiving when Ndamukong Suh was ejected for stomping an offensive lineman on the Packers. The latest incidents came from a trio of receivers; Nate Burleson, Stefan Logan, and rookie Titus Young. Each was charged with a personal foul against the Saints on Sunday night, and Burleson had three offensive pass interference penalties on his own.

The Lions are an extremely talented team, but ever since they saw their coach lash out, they’ve all acted very childish and have acted in a similar fashion, which is totally unacceptable for not only NFL players but grown men, especially when now its begun to cost them games. As Vince Lombardi famously said, “If you can’t accept losing, you can’t win.”