■ Aaron Rodgers can freeze time. The Packers trailed the Cowboys by 3 points, were on their own 25-yard line, and had just 1 minute 13 seconds left in the game. Most teams would be ecstatic to come away with a field goal, but Green Bay was not playing for a tie. Rodgers, as he has so many times in recent seasons, aggressively moved the team down the field, needing just 62 of the 73 seconds to put his team back on top for good.

■ Sometimes, the N.F.L. provides free anatomy lessons for viewers. Odell Beckham Jr. of the Giants fractured his fibula near his ankle, and J.J. Watt of the Texans fractured the very top of his tibia, and with that both superstars could be out for the rest of the season. While both injuries are disastrous for their respective teams, and led to a great deal of medical talk during the various broadcasts, neither was nearly as gruesome to watch as the one suffered by Chris Conley of the Chiefs. The young wide receiver came down awkwardly on his foot and you could see his entire calf ripple as his Achilles tendon broke free. The NBC broadcast showed the play live, and then “treated” viewers to at least two angles of replay, one of which was in slow motion.

■ Cam Newton was not distracted, even if his Carolina teammates were. It was a sloppy start to the game for the Panthers, with the team piling up more than 70 yards of penalties in the first half. Newton, who spent the week dealing with an off-field sexism scandal of his own creation, remained calm and had his second consecutive game of more than 300 passing yards and three touchdowns. His recovery from off-season shoulder surgery is, apparently, complete.

■ Old game managers can learn new tricks. The knock on Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith has always been that he can’t generate any excitement, even if his turnover-free style of play tends to win a lot of games. But in his 13th season, the veteran quarterback has remade himself into the gunslinging leader of the N.F.L.’s last undefeated team. He threw for more than 300 yards in a wild 42-34 win over Houston, and now has 11 touchdowns and zero interceptions this season.