NFL Highway, Week 12

The NFL highway took some interesting turns this weekend, in spite of what looked to be some lame matchups.

On Thanksgiving Day, Brett Favre ate the Detroit Lions for dinner, as the Packers outscored the Lions, 33-24. The Lions slip to 6-5 and may be headed into the toilet quickly.

Next on Turkey Day, the Dallas Cowboys beat the New York Jets like a rented mule, 34-3. This game was a good excuse to sleep off all that food consumed at dinner. Tony Romo threw two more touchdown passes to up his total to 29, tying the Cowboys’ single-season record.

The Indianapolis Colts used the skills of backups Kenton Keith and Anthony Gonzalez to handle the woeful Atlanta Falcons, 31-13. Peyton Manning threw three touchdown passes for the Colts. The Colts remain in first place in the AFC South Division.

In Cleveland, the Browns took advantage of some key Houston turnovers and scored a solid win over the Texans, 27-17. Derek Anderson threw two touchdown passes for Cleveland as he continues to keep Brady Quinn on the bench.

There is a boss in the NFC South, and they are called the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs used four Matt Bryant field goals to get past the Washington Redskins, 19-14. The Bucs do not have a whole lot of competition in this division.

Elsewhere in the NFC South, the New Orleans Saints attempted to recapture some of last year’s magic. The Carolina Panthers are in the tank. The Saints made mincemeat out of the Panthers, winning 31-6 in Charlotte. The Panthers cannot wait for next season, when Jake Delhomme returns from injury. If David Carr is the answer, the question must not be very good.

The Kansas City Chiefs have now lost two fantasy football legends in Larry Johnson and Priest Holmes. Rookie Kolby Smith did his best to follow in their footsteps, rushing for 150 yards and two touchdowns. That was not enough, as the Chiefs lost at home to the sad-sack Oakland Raiders, 20-17. Justin Fargas rushed for 139 yards and a touchdown, bringing back memories of his father, Antonio Fargas, who is best known for playing Huggy Bear on Starsky and Hutch.

David Garrard returned to the Jacksonville Jaguars as quarterback, and the Jags are better for it. Jacksonville creamed the Buffalo Bills, 36-14. The Jaguars are breathing down the necks of the Colts for first place in the AFC South. The Buffalo loss handed the AFC East crown to the New England Patriots with five weeks left in the season.

The Cincinnati Bengals were world-beaters for a week. Ocho Cinco, aka Chad Johnson, had three touchdown catches and the Bengals crushed the Tennessee Titans, 35-6. Johnson celebrated his first touchdown by climbing behind the end zone camera and trying to use it. The Bengals were charged with a personal foul penalty. Ocho Cinco may owe the league some money for that stunt.

In New York, Eli Manning threw two touchdown passes to the Minnesota Vikings, helping the Vikes to a 41-17 thumping of the New York Giants. Manning threw a total of four interceptions. Minnesota quarterback Tarvaris Jackson completed 10 of 12 passes for the Vikings. He didn’t need to throw any more passes. The Giants still lead the NFC wild-card race, but are three games behind the Cowboys in the NFC East.

Poor St. Louis. The Rams led Seattle for most of the game. They fell behind, 24-19, but had a chance to score at the end of the game. On 4th and goal at the 2 late in the game, Gus Frerotte fumbled the snap, giving the Seahawks the win. That illustrates the Rams’ season. They are ready mail it in for the next five weeks.

Speaking of the Rams, ex-Ram Kurt Warner did his best to get a victory for the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals went into overtime with the 49ers, missed a short game-winning field goal, then lost a game when Warner was sacked and fumbled in his own end zone. San Francisco earned their third victory of the year, 37-31.

At the same time, there was an even more bizarre overtime game in Chicago. Devin Hester returned a punt and a kickoff for touchdowns. The Denver Broncos were in control with a 34-20 lead with 5 minutes to go. The Bears blocked a punt to set up a touchdown which narrowed the lead. The Bears later scored to force overtime, then won on a field goal in overtime.

The Baltimore Ravens are in deep doo-doo. They were pummeled on their trip to San Diego, losing to the Chargers 32-14. Philip Rivers had three touchdown passes to break out of a season-long slump for the Chargers. In spite of all of their bumbles and adversity, the Chargers find themselves in first place in the AFC West.

Sunday night, there was a surprisingly competitive game. Backup quarterback A.J. Feeley played well for Philadelphia, as the Eagles led the Patriots for a good portion of the game. New England came from behind to win the game, 31-28. This was not supposed to be a game, as Las Vegas made the Patriots 20-point favorites, an unheard-of spread in the NFL. The Pats looked somewhat mortal, but are 11-0 nonetheless.