Summin’ up
Philadelphia 47, Green Bay 17—Green Bay came in as the hottest NFC team besides the Eagles and looked to tarnish Philadelphia’s 10-1 record. It was the Eagles, though, that tested the Packers. Donovan McNabb is making his case for MVP with a stellar 464-yard, five touchdown performance. Brett Favre had his streak of consecutive games with a touchdown pass stopped at 36. The Eagles won in convincing fashion and solidified their top spot in the NFC.
Pittsburgh 17, Jacksonville 16—The Jaguars continue to make games interesting, but they seem to come out on the wrong end. Ben Roethlisberger showed he had some comeback magic, putting Jeff Reed in position to kick a 37-yard field goal with 18 seconds left to put the Steelers ahead. Byron Leftwich got the Jags in position for a 60 yard game winning field goal, but the kick fell just short and wide right.
San Diego 20, Denver 17—Can it be that the Chargers are actually playing meaningful games in December? The Chargers’ defense created four interceptions and LaDainian Tomlinson picked up Drew Brees’ slack, rushing for 113 yards and two touchdowns. With the win, the Chargers take control of the AFC West.
Cincinnati pulled an upset over Baltimore with a 27-26 win. Baltimore’s typical stingy defense was nowhere to be found in the fourth quarter.
Tampa Bay shut out Atlanta 27-0. The Buccaneers’ defense made the Falcons look unworthy of the second best record in the NFC.
Washington finally showed some offensive skill beating New York 31-7. Clinton Portis and Patrick Ramsey helped extend the Giants’ losing skid to five.
Dallas made a late comeback to beat Seattle in primetime 43-39. Julius Jones continues to prove why Bill Parcells passed up on higher rated running backs in the 2004 draft.
Lookin’ Ahead
Seattle at Minnesota—Both of these teams find themselves in similar situations: Huge offensive talent, inconsistent performances, fighting for playoff spots. If both teams show up, this could turn into a very competitive game; otherwise, expect a blowout.
New York Jets at Pittsburgh—The Jets get the latest chance in knocking off Pittsburgh. The Jets and Steelers both bring top defenses and top rushing offenses, so it could be up to the quarterback play to make the difference.
Lookin’ Ahead … Way Ahead
It’s time to analyze the AFC and NFC playoff pictures as the season winds down. The AFC looks like what the Western Conference used to be for basketball: many strong contenders. The NFC only has one true contender and a bunch of up and down teams.
AFC
Pittsburgh—The Steelers have the top ranked defense, a solid running game, and have impressive victories over New England and Philadelphia. They’re the early favorites for Super Bowl contenders.
New England—The Patriots are still putting up impressive victories and will probably have a rematch with Pittsburgh to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.
Indianapolis—The Colts’ offense will keep them in any game, but it’s their defense that will win the close ones. Three tough opponents down the stretch (Baltimore, San Diego, Denver) will make or break this playoff-bound team.
San Diego—Who would’ve thought the Chargers would be riding the arm of Drew Brees this late in the season? With a healthy LT back, their offense is at full strength but their secondary has problems still. Lack of postseason experience will hurt them, though.
New York Jets—Early favorites for wild card spot, but they have the toughest remaining schedule.
Jacksonville—With Byron Leftwich healthy, this team can compete against any. They have a good chance of winning the last wild card spot.
Baltimore—Jamal Lewis’ injury couldn’t have come at a worse time. Without him, the Ravens may fail to make the playoffs.
Denver—After two tough losses, it doesn’t get easier. Denver’s good defense will face tough match ups against Indianapolis and Kansas City. Unless they shape up, they can forget about the playoffs.
Cincinnati and Buffalo—Both probably wish they were in the NFC right about now.
NFC
Philadelphia—They are the only clear contender coming out of the NFC. Donovan and TO are playing well, and the defense stop other teams from scoring. Anything less than a Super Bowl berth would be a bust.
Atlanta—The Falcons were on a roll until Sunday’s game. Michael Vick needs to improve his passing for this team to have a chance at knocking off Philly.
Green Bay—You can never count out Brett Favre and the Packers. The Packers’ pass defense is awful though, which could come back to hurt them come playoff time.
St. Louis—They can’t expect Chris Chandler to lead them. Marc Bulger needs to get healthy fast. If the Rams get their running game going, their offense could pose problems for other teams.
Minnesota and Seattle—Inconsistency is their problem. Seattle has shown no mental toughness in some games, while Minnesota’s defense still plagues them. Both should be able to hold out for wild card berths, though.
New York Giants—The day they started Eli Manning was the day they kissed the playoffs goodbye. Eli’s good, but he’s not ready yet.
Dallas—Bill Parcells will make sure this team competes every week. The emergence of Julius Jones helps, but too little too late.
Detroit—The Lions have a good foundation to work from, but they are too inexperienced to be much of a factor.
Chicago—I doubt Chad Hutchinson can keep up his performance. Chicago simply doesn’t have enough weapons to compete.
Carolina—Coming back from 1-7 is impressive. The offense and defense are playing well, but it will take a few upsets and luck for them to squeak into the playoffs.
Tampa Bay—Their defense is still solid, and Brian Griese has revitalized their offense, but I just don’t see it happening for the Bucs.
