Where I Went Wrong

In Week 9, I suffered mostly from close games. Teams with the same record beating each other, that sort of thing. The big one was a New York-state divisional battle where Brett Favre proved me right, but the game ended the opposite of my prediction.

The first quarter of the Jets-Bills game in Buffalo must have been a bit frightening for Jets fans. The Bills came out and physically dominated the Jets. The Bills started four possessions in the first quarter, and three of them went for 50+ yard drives, with the opening drive ending in a Derek Fine touchdown. One possession ended in one play when Trent Edwards fumbled. On both sides of the ball the line of scrimmage was completely controlled by Buffalo for the first 22 or so minutes of this game. After racking up over 160 yards and a bunch of first downs, the Bills had just seven points, and had spotted New York 10. 

Edwards' fumble put the Jets on the six yard line, and led to a field goal after Buffalo's defensive spent three plays in the Jets backfield. After driving the Bills all the way down the field, Edwards threw the ball directly to Abram Elam, who took it back 92 yards for a score, putting the Jets up 13-7 after one quarter. The Bills then held the ball for 14 more plays before being stopped on 4th and 1 inside the Jets 10-yard line. After all that, even down only six points, the Bills seemed out of it. 

The Jets, on the other hand, played at an even keel. They played mistake free during the first half, and despite being out matched on 90% of plays, they took advantage when the Bills stumbled, and turned it into a half time lead. In the 4th quarter, after the Bills again wasted a long drive(this time with a Rian Lindell missed field goal), Brett Favre made New York's sole boo-boo of the game. On a play that is almost Favre-trademarked, he threw to a comeback route while being hit, and was picked off. (Peter King, in his weekly power rankings, speaking on Favre's 300th interception,  says Brett didn't appear to care much about the number. Is King lauding the ever-down-to-earth Ironman, or wondering aloud at Favre's indifference to giving away points? Knowing King, I'm guessing the former.) Jabari Greer, who covered the play perfectly, caught the ball and took it to the end zone, making the score 23-17, and giving the Bills hope. The Jets responded with one of their best drives of the season, moving 65 yards in almost nine minutes. Jay Feely capped the drive with a field goal to put them up by nine.

Meanwhile, as I thought might be the case, Jay Cutler threw the ball all over the field against the Miami Dolphins. Unfortunately, his 307 yards were coupled with three interceptions lead to a 26-17 Dolphins win. How can the Broncos manage only 14 yards rushing? Something is wrong with the game plan when that happens. Again, the Dolphins running game was held in check, but they managed to pull out a victory this time.

Lastly, the Colts did in fact upset the Patriots. An upset probably only in the sense that the Pats came in with a better record, but, nonetheless. In the first quarter the Colts looked significantly faster than the Patriots and their aged linebackers. As usual, a Belichick-coached  team managed to calm their opponents fast start. The Colts stayed in the playoff-hunt thanks to some uncharacteristic bone-headed plays by the Pats. Still, the Colts remain one of the more dangerous teams in the league because of Payton Manning. Their passing game can really click, and against a team like the Patriots, that will lead to victories.