Week 10: The Good Stuff
Saint Domination
- Most unfortunately for me, I fear this really belongs in the bad stuff for the Cowboys far more than it belongs with the Saints' good stuff. But if the Pat O's Hurricane is half full, New Orleans played as good of a game from start to finish (except for kicker Garrett Hartley) as it has since that 2009 Super Bowl run. Drew Brees had a field day with the Dallas defense with nearly 400 yards in passing, 4 TDs and a 139 passer rating. The Saints running game had its best outing in over 20 years with 240 yards in rushing, heck, even Mark Ingram had a good day. The team broke its franchise record in yards on offense and the league record for first downs in a single game (40). Compare that to the Cowboys who had just 43 plays in the game, less than 200 yards of offense and just 20 minutes in time of possession. I'll feel a whole lot better if New Orleans is able to repeat something like this on the road, but until then, at least Rob Ryan had a good night.
St. Louis Spoilers - Even with the Jaguars and the Buccaneers racking up their first wins of the season this week, nothing was more surprising to me than the Rams throwing the hammer down on the high-flying Colts at Lucas Oil. The Rams may have had to start backup QB Kellen Clemens, but they could have won with Tebow the way that defense and that guy Tayvon Austin played; St. Louis shut Indianapolis down until the 3rd quarter with four forced turnovers, three sacks and only 20 yards of rushing allowed. Austin will continue to get a lot of attention for his monster game and tremendous speed--and he should--but this win also belongs to a defensive line that never let Andrew Luck even think about comebacks.
- "I think this one has all the makings of a shootout, but Detroit has to like what it saw in Chicago’s lack of rushing defense despite Seneca Wallace being under center. With Reggie Bush and a very healthy Stafford-to-Megatron connection in tow, the Lions ought to have the last shot this week."
Week 10: The Bad Stuff
Colin Kaepernick's Search Party - To be totally fair, I'm no longer in denial that the Panthers are actually a very good team that is playing like it consistently for four quarters. This was Carolina's most impressive win in a long time, and they made Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers offense look like Mike Singletary was still coaching. The 49ers went just 2 for 13 on third downs, Kaepernick was sacked 6 times, and he managed less than 100 yards in the air. When San Francisco's running game gets going, it's easy to gloss over No. 7's woes this season, but Niners fans should start worrying about this team in two-minute drill situations. In fact, San Francisco is now ranked dead last in passing yards this season, and Kaep's looked particularly toothless in all of their losses to date. Take away that first read and he looks like a deer in the headlights these days instead of the scrambling read option machine that had nearly every defense reeling last year.
The Bengals-Ravens... World War zzzzZZZZzzz - Say what you will about the woes of the NFC East, at least it's interesting. The AFC North, on the other hand, will apparently be wrestling victory from the jaws of defeat to inch into a 4th seed judging by that marquee matchup between the Ravens and Bengals on Sunday. Oh sure, there was one truly insane Hail Mary for the ages to send this un-classic into OT, but the other 60 some-odd minutes were downright painful. Cincy racked up over 130 yards in penalties--which is over four times as many yards as Ray Rice had on the ground--and the two teams combined for 6 turnovers compared to just 8 first downs on the day including overtime. All's to say, if the Bengals are mulling over a long-term deal for Andy Dalton, they ought to see how that worked out for Baltimore's mediocre quarterback.
Shanked It! My Worst Week 10 Prediction: This is what happens when you blindly tempt fate. You're welcome, Jaguars fans:- "I could fabricate a story about setting an orphanage on fire in this paragraph and I'm still assuming you're going to skim right over it. The Jaguars are making a great case for going 0 - 16."
Week 10 Feature: 10 Suddenly Key Games in the Final 7 Weeks
If you need any more evidence of parity in the NFL, look no further than the "Games to Watch" I predicted for the second half of the season back in July. Ten weeks in, they're mostly stinkers other than our next Brady-Manning rivalry chapter in Week 12. I feel safe in saying there are 9 teams that are all but certain to miss the playoffs (Raiders, Steelers, Bills, Texans, Jaguars, Rams, Falcons, Vikings, Buccaneers) and 6 teams that look like they'll almost definitely have a spot (Chiefs, Patriots, Colts, Broncos, Seahawks, that other 7 - 2 team) but there's still plenty to be decided on the bubble and in the seeding. With that in mind, here are 10 suddenly key games left on the schedule:Kansas City at Denver/Denver at Kansas City, Weeks 11 & 13 - We'll know just about everything we need to about these two teams in the next three weeks. The Chiefs are the last unbeaten standing in the NFL, but they've had a powderpuff schedule filled with backup QBs and the bottom of the AFC barrel. The Broncos have looked equally dominant but have yet to face a top ten defense. You know that jazz about unstoppable forces and immovable objects - let's just hope these are evenly matched enough to anticipate in the postseason.
Green Bay at Detroit, Week 13 - So the Lions are leading the NFC North and the Packers have already dropped two more games in Aaron Rodgers' absence? Makes that revolving door of backup QBs in Green Bay look a little silly, eh? I'm guessing Rodgers would sooner have his non-throwing arm amputated than miss this Thanksgiving classic. It could mean the division title and possibly a playoff spot when the dust settles.
New Orleans at Seattle, Week 13 - Pundits have been eyeing this Monday night affair since about Week 5 for good reason. The Saints and Seahawks look like the two most balanced teams in the NFC and possibly the league, and this game may well decide homefield advantage and pretty much the conference champ if they stay that way. Why can't it be in the Superdome again?
Carolina at New Orleans/New Orleans at Carolina, Weeks 14 & 16 - The Panthers meteoric rise was capped off Sunday with a hardfought win against the 49ers at Candlestick. Now the division title is within reach, but the Panthers' and Saints' styles couldn't be more divergent. We could have ourselves a shootout, a grind or both, and we'll likely have a division winner by Week 16.
Detroit at Philadelphia, Week 14 and Green Bay at Dallas, Week 15 - If I'm betting on playoff spots today in the NFC, it's looking like the West and the South are most likely to lock down wild cards. That means a mad dash between the North and East and little room for error with 7 out of 8 teams (sorry, Vikings) still within reach of a division title. In the web of conference tie breakers and division ranks, these look like potential elimination games for the more promising but flawed teams in the bunch. I'm thinking the offense will be involved.
New York Jets at Carolina, Week 15 - In a rare high stakes inter-conference game, the Jets and Panthers may well be in the same business of locking up a playoff seed in December. They've both played the part of punishing defenses and versatile but mostly game-managing offenses. Expect some unorthodox antics if it's a last hurrah for either team (most likely the Jets).
Baltimore at Cincinnati, Week 17 - Ugh, do we have to do this again? Yes, if the Ravens find any semblance of a running game or January-to-February Joe Flacco to keep them nipping at the heels of the uneven Bengals. A lot could happen between now and Week 17 with these two rivals looking at roughly the same strength of schedule ahead, so the battle for an 8 - 8 season, division title and the chance to be beaten immediately by the Broncos or Chiefs looms large.
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