NFL Week In Review-Week 14

There was a little bit of separation in the race for playoff spots yesterday, as the batches of teams in contention for wild card berths were split in both the AFC and the NFC. In addition, there is a new king of the league, and favorite to win Super Bowl XLI.

In the AFC, the San Diego Chargers clinched the West division title, and now have the best record in the league at 11-2. The Indianapolis Colts and Baltimore Ravens lead the South and North divisions at 10-3, and the New England Patriots remain on top of the East at 9-4. If the season were to end today, Jacksonville and Cincinnati would have wild card spots, at 8-5. Close behind, at 7-6, are the New York Jets, Denver, and Kansas City.

The NFC is in similar shape. The North division champion Chicago Bears are 10-2 with a game tonight in St. Louis. The New Orleans Saints helped themselves greatly Sunday night, and lead the South at 9-4. Seattle and Dallas lead the West and East divisions at 8-5. Seattle has the tiebreaker over Dallas due to a better conference record. The New York Giants, Philadelphia, and Atlanta are fighting over two wild card spots, all at 7-6.

There is a new king of the regular-season hill, and it resides in San Diego. The Chargers crushed the Denver Broncos, 48-20. LaDainian Tomlinson had two touchdowns, to break the record for touchdowns in one season. Denver attempted a comeback, and closed the margin to 34-20, before two turnovers led to two Chargers touchdowns. At this point, the road to the Super Bowl leads through San Diego. However, Marty Schottenheimer is their coach. Take that either way: either he gets a long-awaited Super Bowl trip, or they follow the pattern of past Schottenheimer teams-an upset loss in the playoffs. However, if the Chargers play the Colts in the AFC championship game, take the Chargers. The reason is to follow…

The Colts are in big trouble. They gave up 375 yards rushing to the Jaguars, as Jacksonville pounded the Colts, 44-17. Maurice Jones-Drew scored three touchdowns, including a 95 yard kickoff return. He helped one of my fantasy teams, but killed one of my others, as my opponent had him. Indianapolis needs to fix that rushing defense, and quickly, before they see L.T. in San Diego in January. The Jaguars improved their wild card chances in a big way.

The Colts may not even see San Diego, as there is another formidable defense in Baltimore. The Ravens sacked Kansas City quarterback Trent Green four times, and the Ravens defeated the Chiefs, 20-10. Baltimore became the first visiting team to win in Kansas City in December since 1995. The Ravens are the real deal, and are setting themselves up for a titanic second-round playoff game with the Colts.

The New England Patriots are in grave danger of becoming a pretender to this throne. The Pats were shut out by the Miami Dolphins, 21-0. Tom Brady was sacked four times, and lost two fumbles while throwing for just 78 yards. The Dolphins are becoming a good team, but their timing is just a couple of weeks off. They will not be able to overcome their slow start.

The Cincinnati Bengals put themselves on the inside track for a playoff spot, with a 27-10 win over the hapless Oakland Raiders. Carson Palmer threw two touchdown passes, and Rudi Johnson rushed for two touchdowns for the 8-5 Bengals. Cincinnati will be a tough out for someone in the playoffs.

Out in the desert, the Seattle Seahawks were ambushed, as the Arizona Cardinals held on for a 27-21 victory. Two Seattle fumbles led to 14 Arizona points. The Cardinals are quickly moving down in the draft order, and will most likely not have a top two pick.

The New York Giants overcame their turmoil for one week, and throttled the Carolina Panthers, 27-13. Eli Manning threw three touchdown passes for the Giants. The Panthers lost their second game in a row to playoff contenders, and will now lose playoff tiebreakers to both the Giants and Eagles.

Are you sure Philadelphia wants Donovan McNabb back? Just kidding. However, Jeff Garcia is performing well as a stand-in, throwing two touchdown passes as the Eagles held off Washington, 21-19. This is the first week of the NFL’s revenge on the Eagles, as Philly has three consecutive road games at division opponents. The Iggles next go to New York, before hitting the road for Dallas on Christmas Day.

The Atlanta Falcons are still a player in the playoff picture, as they went to Florida and defeated the sad-sack Bucs, 17-6. Tampa Bay committed two turnovers which led to 10 Atlanta points. The Falcons lost their top two running backs to injury in the third quarter, but were able to hold off the Bucs for the win.

The leader for the top pick in the draft has to be the Detroit Lions. The awful Lions lost at home to the mediocre Vikings, 30-20. The Lions were on the verge of a comeback, but came up short on a 4th and goal play with six minutes to go. Someone named Artose Pinner was the star, gaining 125 yards on the ground with three touchdowns. He was one of the Lions’ final cuts, and was picked up later by Minnesota. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Look for him to be picked up in a ton of fantasy leagues this week. The Vikes maintain slight playoff hopes, at 6-7.

Out on the West Coast, the Green Bay Packers continued to play well on the road, defeating the 49ers, 30-19. Green Bay has won four road games this year, while winning only one at home. Brett Favre threw for 293 yards and two touchdowns, showing that he isn’t quite ready to retire just yet.

In New York, the Jets blew a chance to improve their playoff position, as they lost to the visiting Buffalo Bills, 31-13. Willis McGahee overcame a game-time illness to break a 57-yard run for the Bills. The Jets had a post-game illness, as their playoff chances took a serious hit.

In the often-forgotten Thursday night game, the Pittsburgh Steelers rolled over the Cleveland Browns, 27-7. Willie Parker rushed for a team record 223 yards on a cold night in Pittsburgh.