similar to the way the Pirates scored four runs in the first inning Friday

As 2013 winds to a close, TSN. Tres Barrera Nationals Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. TSN.cas writing staff reflects on the best nfl moments from the past 12 months including the Chiefs turnaround, Megatron going off, records falling and more! The Chiefs go from worst to first... in a hurry By: Mike Hetherington The Kansas City Chiefs finished the 2012 season with an NFL-worst two wins. The team fired head coach Romeo Crennel and declined to re-sign quarterbacks Matt Cassel and Brady Quinn, who each started eight games the previous season. In the off-season the Chiefs hired Andy Reid and traded for quarterback Alex Smith, with the first pick in the draft the team selected tackle Eric Fisher. Overall the rest of the roster remained similar to the team that took the field in 2012. However, the results were almost completely opposite. The Chiefs started their season with nine straight wins before finally losing to the Denver Broncos. They went from being one of the NFLs worst teams to one of its best almost overnight with the additions of Smith and Reid. The offence went from ranked dead last in 2012 to inside the top ten this season. The defence soared from a meager 25th ranked unit to a vaunted top five group. In the final 10 games of the 2012 season, the Chiefs won just won game. In the first 10 games of 2013, the Chiefs lost just one game. Thats what you call a turnaround. Calvin Johnson goes off By: Isaac Owusu They call him Megatron for a reason. The Week 8 matchup between Detroit and Dallas was memorable for a number of reasons. There were the two occurrences of apparent Dez Bryant sideline explosions which were proven to not be what they seemed; there was also Matthew Stafford calling his own number to win the game for the Lions with only 50 seconds left, but there was one number that stood over everything else: 329. Johnson posted a career high 14 catches for 329 to lead the Lions to the 31-30 victory. Only eight yards away from breaking Flipper Andersons record set in 1989 of 336 yards. Johnson beat the Cloyce Boxs former Lions franchise record of 302 yards set in 1950. Johnsons catches ranged from two yards to 87, with seven going for 20 or more. To take further context of Johnsons dominance, the entire Dallas Cowboys team finished with 268 total net yards, still 61 less than Johnson alone. The games second highest receiver to him in terms of yardage was Bryant who only tallied 72 yards on three grabs and on the Lions, Kris Durham had four catches for 54 yards. Records of four, we have two more By: Mike Hetherington Peyton Manning was the runner-up for the 2012 NFL MVP, in 2013 he came out of the gate in a hurry looking to lock up the trophy early in the season. He set an NFL record with 15 touchdowns in the first four games of a season, including tying the NFL record for touchdowns in a game with seven in Week 1 against the Baltimore Ravens. Though Manning was a preseason favourite to set an NFL record this year, Josh Gordon was not. Coming off an 805-yard 2012 season with the Cleveland Browns, Gordon was suspended for the first two games of this season for violating NFLs substance abuse policy. By Octobers trade deadline, it seemed Gordon was sure to be traded with rumours about him swirling around several teams but, in the end, the Browns kept him. The decision paid off. Gordon set an NFL record with 774 receiving yards in just four games from Week 10 to Week 14, he also took the lead in NFL receiving yards. Gordon also became the first player in NFL history to have back-to-back 200-yard receiving games with 237 against the Pittsburgh Steelers and 261 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Even more impressive for Gordon, the quarterbacks who threw him passes in that stretch were Jason Campbell and Brandon Weeden. Best Sunday Ever? By: Mike Hetherington Four games wielded unforgettable moments for fans to remember for years in Week 14. First, the Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions kicked off in white-out conditions. Playing with six inches of snow on the field and more falling, the Lions fumbled the ball seven times. LeSean McCoy ran through the snow (and the Lions) with ease setting an Eagles franchise record with 217 rushing yards in a 34-20 win that saw a 14-point third quarter deficit erased. Baltimore and Pittsburgh were also hit with less severe snow storms. In Baltimore, the Ravens and Vikings both had trouble scoring until the final two minutes. The two teams combined for 36 points in the final 2:05 with the Ravens winning by scoring a nine-yard touchdown with four seconds left. The Steelers, down six points to the Miami Dolphins with one second left, attempted a hook and ladder play. After five laterals, including one to offensive tackle Max Starks, the Steelers found receiver Antonio Brown in space. He ran 64 yards for a touchdown… it appeared. As it turned out Browns foot went out of bounds at the 12-yard line, the Dolphins were awarded the win and the Steelers playoff hopes disappeared. The New England Patriots followed that up scoring 14 points in 30 seconds with a recovered onside kick in between the scores in sub-zero conditions in Foxborough. The Patriots jumped from down 26-14 with 1:01 remaining in the game to beating the Browns 27-26 after a Browns 58-yard field goal, with one second left, fell short of the goal posts. These finishes on frozen grass led to an epic and unforgettable weekend in the NFL on that left fans asking "best Sunday ever?" Its certainly in the conversation. Tom Brady loses his weapons By: Isaac Owusu Take a look at the box score January 20s AFC Championship Game between of the New England Patriots and the Baltimore Ravens, now look at the Patriots latest box score. The glaring differences are both hilarious and amazing. Tom Bradys passing number this season have taken a dip, and it would most certainly appear that he misses those receiving options that he had at the top of the year. In that AFC Championship match, Brady had connected on passes to Wes Welker, Aaron Hernandez, Brandon Lloyd, Shane Vereen, Deion Branch and Danny Woodhead. Of those names only one is still on the Patriots roster, Vereen who missed eight games due to a broken wrist. Welker departed to play with Bradys rival Peyton Manning in Denver. Hernandez was released from the team after being charged with first degree murder and multiple gun charges. Lloyd was released in June and remains a free agent, and Woodhead joined the San Diego Chargers in the off-season. Currently on pace to win the AFC East and compete for the number one seed , Patriots replacements include not-so household names like Danny Amendola, Julian Edelman, Austin Collie, Michael Hoomanawanui and rookies Aaron Dobson, Kembrell Thompkins, Josh Boyce. Quite the difference that less than a year makes. The Baltimore Ravens: Footballs most patient team By: Mike Hetherington A 34-minute delay due to a power-outage almost cost the Baltimore Ravens their Super Bowl victory when the San Francisco 49ers mounted a comeback that fell just short after the delay. Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis believed the NFL was involved in creating the blackout to stop the game from being a blowout. However in the 2013 season, the Ravens would twice more be delayed - not by electricity or the NFL - but by Mother Nature. The Ravens had their season-opening game delayed 34 minutes, the exact same amount as the Super Bowl, by lightning at Mile High Stadium against the Denver Broncos. Then, 10 weeks later, the Ravens had to sit through an almost two-hour delay against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field due to severe weather before the first quarter could resume. Only three NFL games in 2013 were delayed for any reason, all three involved the Ravens. In the two games the Ravens could find no one to blame following the Super Bowl, they were winless, including a 49-27 blowout loss to the Broncos. Javy Guerra Nationals Jersey . -- EJ Manuel followed the worst game of his career with the best. Juan Soto Nationals Jersey . -- Orleans Darkwa ran in from 1 yard with 1:45 left, and the Miami Dolphins rallied from two scores down in the final minutes to beat the Dallas Cowboys 25-20 on Saturday night. https://www.cheapnationals.com/387r-jayson-werth-jersey-nationals.html . -- J.R. Sweezy was the one part of the Seattle Seahawks offensive line that had avoided injuries or having to change positions this season. PITTSBURGH -- Edinson Volquez couldnt seem to find the strike zone in the first inning of his start against the Philadelphia Phillies, throwing 11 of his 16 pitches for balls. After escaping the jam unscathed, he got some advice from pitching coach Ray Searage. The rest of the way went smoothly with Volquez allowing a run over seven innings, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Phillies 3-2 Saturday. "He slowed me down," Volquez said. "I was too fast to the plate and everything was late with my hands to get the ball where I wanted." The adjustment worked. "I could see the strike zone a little closer to me and I felt like I could put the ball where I wanted," Volquez said. Andrew McCutchen hit a two-run homer in the first and Volquez (7-6) had an RBI groundout with the bases loaded in the second inning as the Pirates moved a season-high five games over .500 at 46-41. The Pirates couldve added to the 3-0 lead but Gregory Polanco Starling Marte each flew out with men on second and third. Volquez allowed four hits and walked four. He struck out five in his third straight win. "He battled," manager Clint Hurdle said. "It was a very, I thought, gritty performance by him today because he spent a lot of time out of the stretch again." McCutchen followed up Fridays game, when he was a home run shy of the cycle, with the big hit off David Buchanan. McCutchen connected to right after Polanco led off the home first with a single. McCutchen said it was nice to begin his day with a home run after he ended Friday with a ball that smacked the wall about 10 feet lower than necessary to clear it. "I got a little better swing on it," McCutchen said. "(I) got out in front of it a little more so I was able to get hands through the zone and put a little more backspin on it." Hurdle was pleased his team jumped on top early, similar to the way the Pirates scored four runs in the first inning Friday. "Its always nice to get in front," he said. Jonny Venters Jersey. "It does give you a sense of momentum coming out of the chute." Philadelphia dropped a season-high 13 games below .500 at 37-50. "We havent been able to bounce back from being down early in the game," Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg said. "Its been different when weve scored early. Its something were going to have to try and do, score earlier in games." Buchanan (4-5) found his stride after the second and kept the Pirates at bay until he was lifted in the sixth. Philadelphias starter was charged with three runs and six hits and an intentional walk. "The biggest thing for me today was not walking anybody," Buchanan said. "If you throw strikes and make them put it in play then good things usually happen." Marlon Byrd stranded five men on base in his first two at-bats. He flew out in the first to leave men on the corners, then struck on four pitches to end the third with the bases loaded. Byrd homered off Pirates closer Mark Melancon in the ninth but even an attempt at starting a rally wasnt enough to appease the right fielder after his earlier at-bats. "I have to do a better job producing in the first at-bat, too," Byrd said. "Bases loaded and I struck out. My job is to produce." Melancon retired to next three batters he faced for his 16th save. Tony Watson worked a perfect eighth. Cody Asche homered in the fourth for Philadelphia against Volquez. NOTES Asches home run in the fourth inning snapped a 16-inning scoreless streak for Volquez. . In their last 14 starts, Pittsburghs starting pitchers have combined to post a 2.32 ERA. . Pittsburgh SS Jordy Mercer doubled twice and is batting .714 (10 for 14) in his last five games. . Pirates LHP Jeff Locke (1-1, 3.46 ERA) faces Phillies RHP A.J. Burnett (5-7, 3.92 ERA) when Pittsburgh and Philadelphia conclude their three-game series Sunday. ' ' '