We watch and see if the Titans of the NFL can remain perfect while the AFC East and NFC South races are heating up. It’s week twelve in the NFL, and it’s previewed right here, right now.
New York Jets (7-3) at Tennessee Titans (10-0)
Giving the Titans their first loss of the season would go a long way in establishing the Jets as a heavy-hitter in the AFC and give them breathing room in a constricted AFC East race. Brett Favre may be given a lot of the credit for their turn-around, and he obviously deserves a portion of it. The bulk of their success should be attributed to their ferocious defense, which is exponentially improved from last season.
In the Final Drive of Week 11, I mentioned that Jeff Fisher should pick a game for his team to lose just so they can avoid all that undefeated pressure that crumbled the Patriots. This is NOT that game. They’re going to be facing a team that can make noise in the playoffs behind a hall-of-fame quarterback and can’t afford to give them any more confidence. Week 14’s contest versus Cleveland might be a solid day to start Vince Young and sit his two star running backs. I’m just sayin’.
New England Patriots (6-4) at Miami Dolphins (6-4)
Shockingly, the Patriots are 6-4 without Tom Brady. Matt Cassel has filled in admirably and will surely cash-in this off-season. Tom Brady better be healed up for 2009, or the Patriots may have quarterback troubles. A win in this division match-up will not only keep them in the running for the division title behind New York, but for the AFC wild card slots as well.
Bill Parcells and Tony Sparano have performed wonders in Miami. Chad Pennington is playing better than he ever did as a Jet, and the Dolphin running game is spectacular. Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown make for an excellent combination and have been embarrassing opponents with their “wildcat” formation. Regardless of the outcome, this was a good year for Miami. Don’t tell Parcells that though, he still expects to make the playoffs.
Philadelphia Eagles (5-4-1) at Baltimore Ravens (6-4)
So if the Eagles could only manage a tie with the one-win Bengals, how are they supposed to hang with an AFC North resident that owns six victories? This season has been very troubling to Eagles fans, as everyone wanted to believe they were poised for a return to greatness. Injuries to Brian Westbrook and Shaun Andrews have caused problems, but the Eagles just aren’t playing well regardless. When they don’t make the playoffs at 8-8 or 9-7, things could get messier than eating a Philly Cheesesteak.
After being thoroughly embarrassed by the Giants offense last week, the Raven defense will be out for blood, and Donovan McNabb will be in their sights. Joe Flacco will need to be prepared for the constant blitzing of Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson. A loss this weekend would put the Ravens in a hole going into a tough remaining schedule.
New York Giants (9-1) at Arizona Cardinals (7-3)
In a contest of division leaders, neither will be too affected by a loss. I suppose if one team really needed this game, it’d be the Giants. Dallas and Washington are each sitting three games behind at 6-4, so a win here could close the door on the division. Defensive lineman Justin Tuck has picked up the tremendous slack left when Michael Strahan retired and Osi Umenyiora was lost for the season.
Even if the Cardinals lose this game, the nearest possible competition would be San Francisco, who could be 4-7. It would take a collapse of epic proportions for Arizona to not win the NFC West. Kurt Warner will be a front-runner for MVP when voting rolls around, and rookie running back Tim Hightower should be a fixture of this offense for years to come. That being said, this game may prove they're not ready to ascend to greatness just yet.
Carolina Panthers (8-2) at Atlanta Falcons (6-4)
No one’s really hopped on the Panther bandwagon. I suppose struggling against two of the worst teams in football will do that to your expectations. Jake Delhomme has put together a string of awful performances that were saved by an outstanding ground attack. Jake’s going to need to pull it together for these final games, or Carolina might not be able to hold off the nipping Falcons and Buccaneers. Defeating Atlanta on the road would be a welcome confidence boost for John Fox’s squad.
Coach Mike Smith and the Falcons aren’t going to be happy if they only add wins to last year’s total. They’re gunning for the playoffs, make no mistake about it. To get there in the NFC South, they’ll need to go through Carolina and Tampa Bay, whom they face in the next four weeks. Matt Ryan will need to continue his accelerated progress and get some help from tailback Michael Turner if they have a hope to beat the Panthers.
Indianapolis Colts (6-4) at San Diego Chargers (4-6)
On a three-game winning streak, Peyton Manning and the Colts may finally have righted the ship. Luckily, the rest of the AFC is sagging, so every non-division leader looking for a wild-card berth is also 6-4. The Colts are getting healthy at the right time, and after the Chargers they face Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Detroit, a stretch of teams that have only have 5 wins combined. Things are looking up for Tony Dungy and his crew.
If Denver wins and San Diego loses, this will officially be the week I declare the Chargers as missing the playoffs, whether they’re mathematically eliminated or not. They’re too inconsistent to mount any sort of a run, despite their array of offensive weaponry and Philip Rivers’ superior play. The Chargers and Broncos are perfect examples of why it’s so important to get a solid start to the season. Denver started 4-1 through five games, while San Diego stumbled out of the gates to go 2-3. Now the Chargers have a hole to dig out of, while the Broncos can get by on playing slightly above .500.
