Another Sunday is in the books and I guess now we can put the
idiotic talk about Matt Cassel replacing Tom Brady on the back shelf for a
while. With a meaningless Monday night game left to play, we can go ahead and
take a look at what this weeks games meant.
The Giants showed once again why they are the best team in
football as they again pushed aside distractions and dominated. The Ravens are
getting downright scary scoring all those points with a rookie quarterback and a
dominant defense. The Titans appear to be have the number one seed all locked up
in the AFC, and the Bucs are quietly a top five football team that no one still
seems to notice.
Then there are the bubble teams. The Cowboys are back in a big
way, the Cardinals are going to win their division, but they cant seem to win on
the road. The Colts are putting it all together at the right time.
There are only four weeks left and if the playoffs started
today, in the AFC its the Colts and Ravens as wild cards, the Falcons and
Panthers in the NFC
Chris Johnson ran for 125 yards and scored twice
in the first quarter and LenDale White had two touchdowns in the second and
finished with 106 yards rushing, setting up Tennessee for a 47-10 win over
Detroit on Thursday...more
On the verge of collapse just a few weeks ago,
Tony Romo, DeMarcus Ware and the Cowboys guaranteed they will be a team to watch
in the final month by crushing the Seattle Seahawks 34-9 Thursday for their
third straight victory...more
Donovan
McNabb threw four touchdown passes, Brian
Westbrook tied a team record with four scores and the Philadelphia Eagles beat
the Arizona Cardinals 48-20 on Thursday night...more
For a 49ers team that
didn’t have much to play for, linebacker Patrick
Willis and a suddenly sturdy San Francisco defense
certainly did their job as spoilers.
Willis had 14 tackles and a forced fumble in a 10-3
win over Buffalo on Sunday that all but ended the
Bills’ dwindling playoff hopes. The 49ers’ win also
prevented the Arizona Cardinals from clinching the
NFC West and their first playoff berth in 10
years—the longest active playoff drought in the NFL.
Isaac Bruce scored on a 12-yard touchdown pass—the
90th of his career— and Joe Nedney hit a 50-yard
field goal as the 49ers never trailed. San Francisco
(4-8) won for the second time in three games and
second time for interim coach Mike Singletary.
The Bills (6-6) lost for the fifth time in six games
and looked nothing like a team coming off a 54-31
win at Kansas City, or the team that got off to a
4-0 start.
Buffalo came away with no points on four trips
inside the red zone, and also got nothing on two
extended drives of 15 plays or longer...more
Mark Clayton put a
little sizzle into Baltimore’s steadily evolving
offense.
The fourth-year receiver threw a touchdown pass on a
reverse, then made a spectacular one-handed catch
for a 70-yard score on Sunday, helping the Ravens
keep pace in the AFC North with a 34-3 victory over
the Cincinnati Bengals.
The Ravens (8-4) have won six of their past seven
games with a renowned defense and an offense coming
into its own behind rookie quarterback Joe Flacco.
Each week, the Ravens give him a little more freedom
and a little more of the playbook.
Against the Bengals (1-10-1), they added a page for
Clayton, a first-round draft pick who emerged as a
dual scoring threat on a cold, rainy afternoon.
On Baltimore’s second possession of the third
quarter, Clayton lined up to the left, took a
handoff from Flacco and headed for the right
sideline, selling the play as a reverse. Cornerback
Leon Hall fell for it, letting Derrick Mason run
free down the right sideline. Clayton’s 32-yard
touchdown pass—the first of his career—was as easy
as they come.
His next catch was as tough as it gets.
Clayton ran past the stumbling Hall, stretched out
his right hand and grabbed Flacco’s pass at the
30-yard line, then went the rest of the way with no
one near him, setting the Bengals on course for
their most lopsided loss since the 2000 season...more
Often overlooked and always overshadowed by their
star-studded offense, the Indianapolis Colts’
defense found the end zone on a day Peyton Manning
couldn’t.
Defensive end Robert Mathis scooped up Derek
Anderson’s fumble and rumbled 37 yards for a
touchdown in the fourth quarter as the Colts stayed
in the thick of the AFC playoff chase by winning
their fifth straight, an ugly 10-6 decision over the
snake-bitten Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
Mathis’ big play helped bail out Manning and Indy’s
high-octane offense, which failed to score a TD and
never got humming with its usual efficiency.
Still, the Colts (8-4) got a 30-yard field goal from
Adam Vinatieri and improved to 5-0 in November, a
month-long run that has allowed them to recover from
a 3-4 start...more
DeAngelo Williams scored his fourth touchdown of the
game with 1:30 left on the clock, giving the
Carolina Panthers a stunning come-from-behind 35-31
victory over the Green Bay Packers in wintry
conditions at Lambeau Field on Sunday.
The Packers appeared headed for a comeback victory
of their own after breaking a 28-28 tie on Mason
Crosby’s 19-yard field goal with 1:57 remaining. But
Green Bay immediately gave up a 45-yard kickoff
return to Mark Jones and a 54-yard heave from Jake
Delhomme to Steve Smith to set up first-and-goal on
the Green Bay 1.
Williams then went up the gut for his career-high
fourth score of the game, helping Carolina (9-3)
keep pace in the competitive NFC South.
And the loss could be crushing for the Packers
(5-7), who will fall two games out of the NFC North
lead with four games left unless division co-leaders
Chicago and Minnesota play to a tie Sunday night...more
The Miami Dolphins kept the St. Louis Rams out of
the end zone, even with Steven Jackson back in the
lineup.
The Dolphins (7-5) made it only once themselves in a
16-12 victory Sunday. Instead, they relied on stingy
play from a defense that got routed last week by the
Patriots to secure their fifth victory in six games.
“I think we had a hold on the game,” Miami running
back Ricky Williams said. “We didn’t run away with
it, but we kept them at enough distance.”
Miami and St. Louis had the top two picks of the
draft and the Rams (2-10) are likely to get another
early selection next April after losing their sixth
in a row. They settled for ending a string of
blowout losses behind Jackson, who had 94 yards on
21 carries, and tackle Orlando Pace, who missed only
one game with a knee strain...more
Relentless all day long, Tampa Bay’s defense finally
shut down Drew Brees when it mattered most.
Jermaine Phillips and Phillip Buchanon intercepted
the NFL’s leading passer in the closing minutes and
Matt Bryant kicked a 37-yard field goal with 1:55
remaining Sunday to help the Buccaneers stay atop
the NFC South with a 23-20 victory over the New
Orleans Saints.
Brees, on pace to break Dan Marino’s single-season
yardage record, threw for 296 yards and two
touchdowns on a rainy day but also was picked off
three times — once in the end zone—and bothered by
the Bucs’ pass rush all afternoon.
The victory was the fourth straight for Tampa Bay
(9-3). The Bucs are 6-1 since Jeff Garcia regained
the starting quarterback job, which he lost after a
poor performance in a season-opening loss against
the Saints (6-6)...more
Nothing is stopping the New York Giants these days.
Not the latest distraction surrounding their star
receiver. Not the rain on a dreary day in the
mid-Atlantic. Not a Washington Redskins team with
the NFL’s leading rusher and a usually stout
defense.
Eli Manning had his first 300-yard game of the
season, Clinton Portis was held to 22 yards rushing,
and the Giants put aside the Plaxico Burress mess
Sunday with another dominating performance, 23-7
over the Redskins.
The Giants (11-1) have won seven straight, including
six in a row against teams with winning records, and
have a three-game lead over the second-place Dallas
Cowboys with four to play. They completed a sweep of
the Redskins by manhandling them in the major
statistical categories, including total yards
(404-320) and time of possession (35:44-24:16).
The loss not only dropped the Redskins (7-5) out of
contention for the NFC East title, but now they also
trail Dallas in the wild-card race. Washington has
lost three of four—all at home—after a 6-2 start.
Not long before kickoff, Giants president and CEO
John Mara was having to answer questions about
Burress, who accidentally shot himself in the right
thigh at a Manhattan nightclub Friday night and
expects to be charged with criminal possession of a
weapon. Burress, whose injuries were not serious,
has a been a headache for much of the season, but
New York has kept its focus and shown it has more
than enough talent to win without him.
“This team has proven to be pretty resilient,” Mara
said...more
The weather conditions were perfect, as far as Jay
Cutler was concerned.
Appearing hardly bothered by the steady rain and
wind that whipped through the Meadowlands, Cutler
threw for 357 yards and two touchdowns to lead the
Denver Broncos to a 34-17 victory over the New York
Jets on Sunday.
“He embraced throwing in the rain,” Denver coach
Mike Shanahan said. “He likes it. There is nothing
that seems to bother him. Some guys it bothers,
others it doesn’t. With Cutler, he likes throwing
the wet ball.”
Cutler finished 27-of-43 passing, mixing in short,
accurate throws with a few long ones while picking
on the Jets’ suspect secondary.
“I don’t know if ‘likes’ is the right word,” Cutler
said. “I think it has a lot to do with mind-set. We
knew last night what the conditions would be like.
I’ve had some success in the past in inclement
weather, being able to throw it. I just feel
comfortable back there throwing it.”...more
It’s all but over for the star-studded San Diego
Chargers, who were done in Sunday by a rookie
quarterback, a rookie head coach and a former
teammate.
Yes, Matt Ryan, Michael Turner and the surprising
Atlanta Falcons are very much alive in the NFC
playoff picture, thanks to their 22-16 win over the
collapsing Chargers.
Ryan, the rookie from Boston College, threw two
touchdown passes and Turner, the former understudy
to LaDainian Tomlinson, ran for 120 yards against
his former team.
The Chargers? A popular preseason pick to make it to
the Super Bowl, they’re on the precipice of a super
collapse.
“We got our butts kicked—plain and simple,” said
Tomlinson, the two-time defending NFL rushing
champion who was held to 24 yards on 14 carries, the
second-lowest total in his eight-year career. The
lowest was 7 yards at Philadelphia on Oct. 23, 2005.
The Chargers (4-8) are three games behind the Denver
Broncos with four to play in the anemic AFC West.
The Broncos got their third straight road win, 34-17
over the New York Jets...more
The Steelers snapped the Patriots’ spell over them
with a plan that has worked all season: knock ‘em
down, steal the ball and keep them from gaining
yards.
Pittsburgh’s top-ranked defense got rolling in the
second half, leading the Steelers to a 33-10 win on
a cold and rainy Sunday, only their second victory
in eight games against New England.
“We heard a lot of talk about it being a rivalry,”
Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said. “It hasn’t been
much of a rivalry until you win some. That’s what we
talked about coming up here.”
The Steelers outscored the Patriots 23-0 in the
second half when they had all five of their
takeaways and four of their five sacks and gave up
81 yards to a team that had gained more than 500 in
each of its two previous games.
“They had to start passing the ball and we didn’t
have to sit back and try and guess what they were
doing,” said James Harrison, who sacked Matt Cassel
twice, forcing fumbles. “We just pinned our ears
back and went at them.”...more
When two of the NFL’s worst teams meet, it figures
that a botched play would be the biggest.
That’s just what happened Sunday when Maurice
Leggett scooped up a fumble on a fake field goal
attempt and returned it 67 yards for a touchdown to
help the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Oakland Raiders
20-13 and snap a seven-game losing streak.
“I was surprised they actually ran a fake,” Leggett
said. “It surprised me. When I saw the ball on the
ground, it was an opportunity to make a play. … It’s
a great win—a big confidence boost.”
It was a big letdown for the Raiders (3-9), who
actually had the audacity to talk about playoff
possibilities after beating Denver last week but now
are assured of their sixth straight losing season.
The botched fake was a fitting symbol of another
lost season in Oakland...more
Inches from an 11-point edge late in the first half,
Matt Forte and the Chicago Bears hit the wall. The
Minnesota Vikings turned around and quickly took the
lead—in the game and in the division.
With a gutty goal-line stand and one big heave by
Gus Frerotte, the Vikings grabbed control of the NFC
North and sent Kyle Orton and the Bears home with a
34-14 loss Sunday night.
“If you’re going to win these tough games, you’ve
got to make plays and you’ve got to capitalize,”
Orton said. “Against a defense like this, you’re not
going to have too many opportunities down there.”
Seconds after the Bears were stopped four times at
the 1, Bernard Berrian was wide open up the sideline
for a 99-yard touchdown pass from Frerotte.
“That’s the first time I’ve ever seen a 99-yard
play, and I’ve been playing football since I was 8
years old,” said Vikings defensive end Jared Allen,
who had three sacks. “That right there, that’s just
a dagger in your chest. Defensively, if that
happened to us, I’d be like, ‘Holy smokes....more
Based on their finishes last season, the
Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans could easily
have expected to be battling for playoff position
when their upcoming Monday night matchup was
announced.
Instead, their high-profile national television
showdown is a meeting between disappointing teams on
the verge of elimination from postseason
consideration.
The Jaguars and Texans square off in Houston on
Monday night in an anticlimactic matchup between
teams tied for last place in the AFC South.
Jacksonville won 11 games last season and defeated
Pittsburgh in a wild-card game before bowing out of
the playoffs with a loss to New England in the
divisional game. It was the team’s deepest playoff
run since advancing to the AFC championship game in
1999.
Houston made its own strides in 2007, finishing 8-8
for the first non-losing record in the franchise’s
six seasons. The young Texans appeared to be turning
the corner and earned the first Monday night
appearance in franchise history, but Houston (4-7)
has regressed this season...more
