Sunday's lesson: It's never that easy
For several postseason probables, the soundtrack to Sunday, Dec. 11, was courtesy of Soul II Soul: Back to life. Back to reality.
Or as O-Ren Ishii (Lucy Liu) said to The Bride (Uma Thurman) in the first "Kill Bill" flick, "You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?"
Week 14 goes down as Setback Sunday, as a few of the hottest teams in the league took it on the chin and came back to the pack, while others went toe-to-toe but narrowly avoided a knockdown. As a result, the AFC wild-card race is a lot tighter today, and the competition for the NFC North and South titles is a lot closer.
Start in Cincinnati. Chad Johnson made news this week by guaranteeing the Bengals would average 40 a game the rest of the season and roll to the AFC Championship Game, which presumably will be in Indianapolis. Easier said than done, Chad. The Bengals and the rest of the ruling class got a reminder Sunday that nothing comes easy in this league. The visiting Browns took Cincinnati to the wire before the Bengals pulled it out 23-20 on Shayne Graham's field goal as time expired. Lose that game and Cincinnati leads the AFC North by one game over the Steelers instead of two. Because Chicago goes into Pittsburgh feeling good about itself, having won eight in a row, and leaves hurting, the Bears' vaunted defense having been pushed around to the tune of 190 yards on the ground in a 21-9 beating.
Pittsburgh ended its three-game losing streak, and at 8-5 is right in the thick of things in the AFC playoff race because …
The Dolphins went into San Diego and cooled off one of the hottest teams in football, 23-21. The Chargers have lost three home games. They had won five in a row and were breathing down the necks of the Broncos, who, a week after their winning streak was stopped by Kansas City, earned their 10th win the hard way, 12-10 over the Ravens. The Chiefs? They lost a close one at Dallas, 31-28. With the Jags becoming the unbeaten Colts' latest conquest, we now have three teams (K.C., San Diego, Pittsburgh) at 8-5 and a game behind Jacksonville.
Carolina is widely considered the best the NFC has to offer, at least outside of Seattle. Sunday the Panthers weren't even the best in the NFC South, falling at home to the Buccaneers, 20-10, and into a first-place tie at 9-4. A week after it appeared as though they were primed for a late-season slide, the Cowboys have put themselves in good position at 8-5, still a game back of the Giants, who needed an overtime field goal from embattled kicker Jay Feely to beat the Eagles, 26-23. And in the North, Chicago has Minnesota hot on its tail, a game behind the division lead after the Vikings' sixth straight win, 27-13 over the Rams.
The moral of the story: There are no gimmes in the NFL. Days like Sunday serve as a reminder that analyzing the schedule can be a pointless exercise. The underdogs don't plan on going quietly into that good night.
All in all, a bad day for some of the NFL's best.
Living on the Edge
In a season in which LaDainian Tomlinson and Shaun Alexander have dominated the headlines and monopolized most of the rhetoric revolving around the possibility of a tailback capturing the most valuable player award in 2005, it seems the Indianapolis Colts' Edgerrin James has largely been a forgotten man.
Except, of course, to the Colts.
On Sunday, as Indianapolis moved to 13-0 and to within three victories of immortality as a team, it was the veteran tailback who provided the winning "Edge" in a 26-18 victory.
Three and out ...
• Pittsburgh has given everyone the blueprint to beat Chicago. Jump on the Bears early, and they are in big trouble. Their offense is not built to play from behind.
• Offensively, Carolina was dominated by the Bucs' D. Deshaun Foster got hurt. Steve Smith was shaken up. There was nothing good happening for the Carolina offense.
• Cincy had a hangover from last week. They need to learn how to handle success. I mean, they dumped Gatorade on the coach last week. You don't do that when you win a regular-season game.
Back to basics
A new age is dawning in the NFC South. The only problem is this new age is more confusing than the NFC South of past years.
Last week, the Carolina Panthers ended three years of futility by beating Michael Vick and the Atlanta Falcons, something they never before had done. Sunday, the Bucs, five-time losers to the Panthers over the past three years, dominated the Panthers in a 20-10 victory. All of a sudden, the NFC South is as baffling as the Bucs' Cover 2 defense must have looked to Jake Delhomme.
Three and out ...
• The Patriots are playing well, but can their secondary really match up against the Colts in the playoffs? I don't think so.
• The NFC North might come down to the winner of the Chicago-Minnesota game at the end of the season. Minnesota has a tough test next week against the Steelers, but it is in the dome, not the mud.
• Pittsburgh played like the Steelers we saw earlier in the year. The Bus took the game over in the mud and snow. If they play like they did today, they still should sneak into the playoffs.
There are two races going on in the NFL right now, sort of. There is, of course, the race for the playoffs, an annual happening this time of the year. And at the opposite end of the spectrum, a handful of teams are competing for the right to the No. 1 overall pick in next spring's draft and, likely, once-in-a-generation talent Reggie Bush of USC.
If we didn't know any better, we'd say the Texans are tanking it. But no team is capable of torturing itself in such a variety of ways as the Texans have this year. The latest: In Nashville, Tenn., on Sunday, kicker Kris Brown missed a 31-yard field goal attempt that would have tied the game at the end of regulation. Houston dropped to 1-12 and leads the Niners, who got blasted by the Seahawks, by a game in the Reggie Bush sweepstakes.
A couple of two-win clubs hurt their chances but improved their records, picking up victory No. 3 Sunday. Brooks Bollinger led the Jets past the Raiders, and the Packers pulled out a win over the Lions in OT.
All eyes will be on the Saints on Monday night, as a loss to the Falcons in Atlanta would keep New Orleans within two games of the Texans.
Talk about an impact player. Bush hasn't even turned pro yet and already he's managed to make following bad teams interesting.
Just weeks ago, the Vikings were the subject of one of the worst, most embarrassing stories in not just the NFL, but all of professional sports. Now they're authoring one of sports' best feel-good stories.
Declared dead when they were 2-5, the Vikings have won six straight, and if the Bears cooperate, they might end up hosting what would amount to a division championship against Chicago on New Year's Day, the final game of the season. It's as if the Vikings kicked off a new season back in Week 9, and so far it's been a very happy new year.
I don't submit to all the Brad Johnson-as-dark-horse-MVP talk. He's been perfect for that team, but the real story has been the defense and special teams. The Vikings are getting long returns at key moments -- heck, the special teams practically beat the Giants by themselves -- and Minnesota is forcing turnovers in bunches (six more against St. Louis on Sunday). If anything, Darren Sharper deserves serious consideration for Defensive Player of the Year. He has been the Vikings' Ed Reed, circa 2004, with seven picks, including two returned for touchdowns. All of his INTs have come during the winning streak.
The Vikings aren't scary simply because they're a hot team. They would scare me because they are a complete ball club. They're going to make the playoffs, and they're going to be a factor. Minnesota could play a role in how the AFC playoff picture shakes out, as well; next week the Vikings play host to Pittsburgh.
Playing without suspended wide receiver Eric Moulds, the Bills managed eight first downs and fewer than 200 yards of offense during a mere 18 minutes of possession time in a 35-7 home loss to the Patriots, who, meanwhile, are on track to win their fourth AFC East title in five seasons. In Buffalo, it might be time to break up this bunch. And if losses such as Sunday's continue, certainly the man who assembled the team, president Tom Donahoe, might not last, either. Remember, it was his choice to turn the team over to unproven J.P. Losman (pictured), and the decision backfired badly.
While the Bills are coming apart, the Patriots are starting to put things together. In winning their last two, over the Jets and Bills by a combined 51-10, they've looked more like the two-time champions they are. But remember, those teams are a combined 7-19 and suffering through unenviable situations at quarterback. The offense, sparked by the returns of Corey Dillon, Kevin Faulk and David Givens, is clicking, and New England's defense is playing better, but I don't believe either unit is as anywhere near as formidable as they've looked the past two weeks. I'll wait and see how the Patriots play the Bucs at home Saturday before I go back to viewing New England as a threat in the playoffs.
Matt Hasselbeck (left) reminded everyone that the Seahawks have a pretty good quarterback, as well, throwing for four touchdowns in Sunday's rout of the 49ers, with whom the Seahawks went down to the wire just three weeks ago. Shaun Alexander scored his obligatory touchdown, giving him a league-leading 23. I'm pretty sure he's got 30 in him this year.
The Seahawks look super right now. As in, Super Bowl. They're that good, especially at home. The way Chicago got run over in Pittsburgh, and with the flaws the other NFC contenders have, right now I don't see a team going into Seattle and knocking off the Seahawks in the playoffs. Right now, I'm a believer.
Unfortunate news out of New York on Sunday. Curtis Martin's streak of 119 consecutive starts ended against the Raiders, and the Jets running back will undergo season-ending surgery on his right knee. Martin (left) had missed four games in 11 seasons before Sunday. A good friend of Jim Brown, Martin was Brown-like in his durability.
Martin will fall 265 yards short of what would have been an NFL record 11 consecutive 1,000-yard seasons to start his Hall of Fame career. Hats off to Martin, one of the classiest people in pro football, on his career accomplishments. Here's hoping the 32-year-old doesn't call it a career and returns to help revive the Jets.
| THE RUNDOWN | ||
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• Tampa Bay 20, Carolina 10 Ronde Barber's 20-20 vision (reaching 20 career sacks and INTs) helps Bucs tie for South lead.
• Indianapolis 26, Jacksonville 18
• Tennessee 13, Houston 10
• Minnesota 27, St. Louis 13
• Cincinnati 23, Cleveland 20
• Pittsburgh 21, Chicago 9
• N.Y. Jets 26, Oakland 10
• New England 35, Buffalo 7
• Seattle 41, San Francisco 3
• Miami 23, San Diego 21
• Denver 12, Baltimore 10
• Dallas 31, Kansas City 28
• Washington 17, Arizona 13
• NY Giants 23, Philadelphia 20, OT
• Packers 16, Lions 13, OT
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| ONE TO GO | ||
| Saints at Falcons (9 ET, ABC) | ||
Falcons QB Michael Vick also needs to recover from a nightmarish start last week against the Panthers, but he should have much more support, as RBs Warrick Dunn and T.J. Duckett will be unleashed versus the NFL's 28th-ranked run defense.
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| SOME THINGS TO SLEEP ON | ||
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• I can't believe that Samkon Gado (171 yards) intentionally tried to throw the ball forward when the Lions had him stopped in the end zone in the fourth quarter Sunday night. If so, that would be one of the dumbest split decisions I've ever seen. Avoid a safety, but give them a touchdown, or the ball at the 1, whydontcha? Good thing the officials bailed Gado out and ruled that a holding penalty against Green Bay occurred outside the end zone. Otherwise, the Packers would be 2-11 and a game off the pace in the Race for Reggie (Bush).
• It's a hard thing to be nowadays, but Rudi Johnson is underrated. Often overshadowed by Carson Palmer and Chad Johnson, Johnson shares more with Edgerrin James than just the number 32. I think each player's value to his offense might be underestimated. Johnson ran for 169 yards to help offset Palmer's off day against Cleveland. • For some reason I get the feeling we haven't heard the last of the Redskins. Washington improved to 7-6 Sunday, and the 'Skins, having gotten consecutive big games from Clinton Portis, are a game off the wild-card pace in the NFC with three weeks left. • This week's fearless prediction: The Dolphins finish .500 or better. They have the Jets and Titans coming up, then finish with New England at Gillette Stadium. You can't say enough about the job Nick Saban has done this year (same goes for Romeo Crennel in Cleveland), even if he hasn't always assessed the team's progress in the proper terms. • If I were a Giants fan I'd be more than a little worried about Eli Manning. Three picks Sunday, six in the last three games, and now 15 for the season. Good thing he's got Tiki Barber to lean on. • Whatever the Chiefs do with Priest Holmes next year, it had better not involve taking too many carries away from Larry Johnson. What a stud. Six straight 100-yard games now. • I like the fight the Jags showed in the fourth quarter against the Colts. But in the end, Jacksonville was just like everybody else when facing Indy this year: Overmatched. Even if they don't run the table in the regular season, should they go on and win the Super Bowl, we have to talk about these Colts as one of the greatest single-season teams ever. |
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| SUNDAY'S PLAYMAKERS | ||
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Passers Drew Bledsoe, Cowboys: 22 of 34, 332 yds, 3 TDs Tom Brady, Patriots: 29 of 38, 329 yds, 2 TDs Peyton Manning, Colts: 24 of 36, 324 yds, 2 TDs Eli Manning, Giants: 26 of 40, 294 yds, TD Receivers Terry Glenn, Cowboys: 6 rec., 138 yds, TD Marvin Harrison, Colts: 6 rec., 137 yds, 2 TDs Antonio Gates, Chargers: 13 rec., 123 yds, TD Chris Chambers, Dolphins: 8 rec., 121 yds, 2 TDs Rushers Samkon Gado, Packers: 29 att., 171 yds, TD Rudi Johnson, Bengals: 30 att., 169 yds, TD Larry Johnson, Chiefs: 26 att., 143 yds, 3 TDs Domanick Davis, Texans: 22 att., 139 yds • Week 14 leaders |
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| OUCH, BABE | ||
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Chris Perry, RB, Bengals Left game vs. Browns with a left ankle sprain. Keith Newman, LB, Vikings Left game vs. Rams in second quarter with knee injury. Kareem McKenzie, OT, Giants Left game vs. Eagles with a hamstring injury. Antonio Pierce, LB, Giants Left game vs. Eagles after injuring his right ankle. • Week 14 infirmary report |
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| WEEK 15 SCHEDULE | ||
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Saturday, Dec. 17 Tampa Bay at New England, 1:30 p.m. Kansas City at N.Y. Giants, 5 p.m. Denver at Buffalo, 8:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 18 N.Y. Jets at Miami, 1 p.m. Arizona at Houston, 1 p.m. Seattle at Tennessee, 1 p.m. San Diego at Indianapolis, 1 p.m. Philadelphia at St. Louis, 1 p.m. Carolina vs. New Orleans at Baton Rouge, La., 1 p.m. San Francisco at Jacksonville, 1 p.m. Pittsburgh at Minnesota, 1 p.m. Cincinnati at Detroit, 4:05 p.m. Cleveland at Oakland, 4:05 p.m. Dallas at Washington, 4:15 p.m. Atlanta at Chicago, 8:30 p.m. Monday, Dec. 19 Green Bay at Baltimore, 9 p.m. • Complete schedule |
- Schefter: On the Saints and Colts
- Rumors: Eagles plan to get nasty
- Millman: How to bet football
- Tools: PickCenter | Game Predictor
- Draft: Mel's Big Board (11/25) | NFL draft blog
