Glorious Sunday

I wasn't completely sold on Arizona beating the Eagles, but it just didn't look like Donovan McNabb was going to snap out of it yet. He did, in a big way. The Cardinals were never really in that game,  and Brian Westbrook went wild with four touchdowns. The same sentiment accompanied my picking the Jets over the Broncos. The hot Jets at home against a team that never really plays a complete game. And the Broncos crushed them.

The Jets, Patriots, and Bills, all AFC East pals, pretty much refused to win on Sunday. The Jets turned it over twice. The Bills coughed it up just once, but missed two gimme field goals after squandering red zone opportunities and lost to the 49ers 10-3. Meanwhile, the Patriots were fighting it out with Pittsburgh for about 29 minutes, before Randy Moss uncharacteristically dropped a touchdown pass, and then the entire team spent rest of the game putting the ball on the ground. Five turnovers led to a 33-10 loss. The Steelers outscored New England 23-0 in the second half.

The AFC East is now a complete cluster. The Jets remain in first at 8-4. New England and Miami are a game back at 7-5. The Bills are 6-6. We are ready to write off the Bills, but they play each of those teams one more time. Suppose they win all three? They will finish at least 9-7, and that might be good enough. But probably not. 

Almost all of the division races are going to be great to watch down the stretch. In the NFC East, Philadelphia gets to play every body once more, and Dallas will host the Giants in Week 15. The NFC South will see Atlanta travel to New Orleans and Tampa Bay in Carolina this week. After those games, there will be a team alone in first place (either T.B. or CAR), and New Orleans, with a loss, would basically be done. The following week Tampa Bay has to go to Atlanta, and in Week 17 the Panthers travel to New Orleans.

The AFC North race is tight. Pittsburgh is 9-3, Baltimore 8-4. They play in Week 15, at Baltimore. The Steelers won the first game this season, so a win there would wrap up the title, most likely. 

The other division races won't be as exciting. The AFC and NFC West divisions have been more or less won, by Denver and Arizona, respectively. The Titans have a three game lead over Indianapolis with four games left—including a Week 17 battle in Indiana. I expect Tennessee to clinch the division by then.

The NFC North could come down to the wire. But there are only three divisional match-ups left, and two of them feature Detroit. Green Bay goes to Chicago in Week 16. A Bears win there would surely end Green Bay's (5-7) playoff hopes. This one will be won outside of divisional games. 

Some random thoughts, mostly from the early games Sunday:

Derek Anderson seems in capable of throwing the ball downfield. He was checking down on almost every throw, and his guys were getting hit immediately. Give credit to the Colts defense.

Braylon Edwards has no confidence in his hands. Even his catches look a little shaky. 

Peyton Manning is going to continue to look like his old self if he continues to get six and seven seconds (slight exaggeration) to throw. How does he fumble on 4th and goal though?

The Packers are giving up a ton of huge plays all the sudden, on defense and special teams. And they sure are soft against the run. 

Panthers color-commentator Eugene Robinson was frustrated with the Packers defensive back's hands-on approach to coverage. Tramon Williams was flagged for defensive pass interference in the end zone in the first half (and a personal foul), and Robinson was exacerbated by the play:

"He held the entire way... His (Williams') left arm was holding Steve (Smith) on the back-shoulder play, prevent him from making a play." He went on for about a minute...

How many times can the Bills have huge, long, time-consuming drives that go for no points?They did it yesterday against San Francisco again. They did it a couple times at home against the Jets, the game that was the turning point in their season. 5-1 has turned into 6-6.