Tons of huge divisional match ups were the highlight of this week’s NFL action. San Francisco and the New York Giants battled it out for the right to be known as the NFC’s second best team, and Cincinnati just desperately wanted to prove they were for real. Things have gone from bad to worse in Philadelphia, and Houston is reeling from some big injury news.
A lot went on this week in the NFL, and we’ve got you covered.
Divisional Battles Bring Focus to the Playoff Picture
It’s typically around week ten or so that we can really begin to accurately predicts which teams are going to be playing when the post season rolls around. By now, you’d expect that the pretenders from the first quarter of the season would have been exposed, and the strong teams that suffered from slow starts would have bounced back.
This week there were several big games that should have given us a pretty good idea of how things were shaping up. Key match ups in the NFC North and South and the AFC North and East that would go a long way in determining wild card berths. But now that week ten is in the books, what did we actually learn?
In the NFC South, all eyes were on Atlanta as the Falcons faced off with the New Orleans Saints. On the line was sole possession of the division lead. With the way the rest of the NFC is shaping up, winning the division will likely be the only way a team from the NFC South makes the playoffs, making the game even more crucial. It was fitting that the game would come down to battle of wills on fourth down and inches, in overtime no less.
Just moments earlier it didn’t look like the Saints would be in the position to take the division lead. Coming off a shocking loss to the previously winless St. Louis Rams, the Saints had played well through the first three quarters in Atlanta. But New Orleans gave up a ten point lead in the final quarter of the game, and as the game headed to overtime another Saints’ collapse seemed imminent.
And perhaps there would have been one, if not for a coaching blunder of monumental proportions by Falcons’ head coach Mike Smith. After an official review left the Falcons inches short on fourth down on their own 29 yard line, the entire stadium expected Atlanta to punt the football away. But inexplicably, Smith elected to go for it. Not only was the decision itself risky, but the Falcons went with a slow developing handoff to Michael Turner instead of sneaking the ball across the line with quarterback Matt Ryan. New Orleans read the play perfectly, and Turner never even had a chance to get the first down. Just a few plays later New Orleans kicked the winning field goal.
The Saints have a tough schedule ahead, but all of their tough matchups are at home. They only play Tennessee and Minnesota on the road, two games they should win without much trouble. Atlanta, however still faces trips to Houston and New Orleans for a rematch. It’s certainly possible that New Orleans stuffed not only the Falcons’ fourth down attempt, but Atlanta’s chances at a playoff berth.
Like the Falcons and Saints in the NFC South, the lead in the AFC North was also on the line Sunday as the Pittsburg Steelers travelled to face the Cincinnati Bengals. For Cincinnati, this game wasn’t just about staying atop the division. It was about proving they were a legitimately good team and not just the product of an easy schedule early in the year.
One of the season’s biggest surprises has been the Bengals. Lead by rookies Andy Dalton and A.J. Green, their five game winning streak has had the league talking. But their detractors were quick to point out one thing: they hadn’t yet played the Steelers. And until they beat Pittsburg, that would continue to be the proverbial asterisk by their record.
There was much on the line for Pittsburg as well. Coming off of a loss against division rival Baltimore, this was a chance to reestablish themselves as the team to beat in the AFC North. With Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Baltimore all with legitimate chances to win to finish on top, every AFC North game is absolutely critical.
For three quarters, the Bengals were able to keep up with the Steelers. Dalton, although he was a rookie, managed the game well, even after his favorite target Green was lost to a knee injury early in the game. And even though Ben Rothlisberger was leading Pittsburg on long scoring drives, for a while it felt like the Cincinnati might actually pull off the upset.
But, as it often goes with rookie quarterbacks that face the Steelers’ defense, it simply wasn’t to be. Dalton was intercepted twice in the fourth quarter, expelling some of the demons that had haunted Pittsburg’s defense from last week’s late game collapse against Baltimore. The Bengals were held scoreless in the last quarter of play and fell just short, 24-17.
In spite of the loss, all hope is not lost for the Bengals. The AFC North is one of the two most competitive divisions in the league, and there still is a good chance the Bengals could come out on top. The next few weeks will be crucial for Cincinnati, as their next four games include trips to Baltimore and Pittsburg, as well as another divisional matchup with Cleveland. If the Bengals can survive that stretch, they should be in pretty good shape to secure a wild card spot or even better.
Surprise of the Week
In the NFL, things can change remarkably fast. Currently, no team in the league feels that more than the Houston Texans. Just one day ago they were celebrating a big road win over Tampa Bay. Sure, Matt Schaub had gotten a little dinged up on one play, but it hadn’t kept him out of the game. Schaub, who threw for 242 yards and two touchdowns, only threw a handful of passes in the second half. That could have raised some eyebrows, but since the Texans had such a large lead it didn’t get much attention.
The outlook for the remainder of season looked great for Houston. They sat atop the AFC at 7-3, and that had been accomplished without their biggest play maker Andre Johnson. He would return to after their week eleven bye, and it seemed like the Texans would cruise to the AFC South title and be the favorites to have home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
All of those high hopes came crashing down on Monday evening as news broke that Schaub had a serious foot injury that would keep him out for a couple of games. As the details of the injury were released, Houston fans’ worst fears were realized: Schaub was dealing with a lis franc injury, and it will keep him sidelined for the rest of the season.
Now those hopes of the first ever playoff berth will lie in the hands of the nearly forgotten Matt Leinart. Will the Texans be able to hold on to first place in the AFC South with Leinart at the helm?
Although Texans fans are probably upset at the news, they shouldn’t lose all hope. Houston has a schedule to end the season, and it starts with their week eleven bye. Leinart will have an extra week to prepare for his November 27th start against at Jacksonville.
The game at Jacksonville should be a win for Houston regardless of who starts at quarterback. The schedule gets tougher for the next two weeks, as they play Atlanta and then travel to Cincinnati, but the close the season with games against Indianapolis and Tennessee. It won’t be easy by any means, but if Leinart can manage games and focus on getting the ball to Arian Foster and Andre Johnson, the Texans should survive this stroke of bad luck.
Rookie Watch
It took until week ten, but the Oakland Raiders finally saw what many draft analysts had been saying since this past April: Denarius Moore deserves to be on the field over Darrius Heyward-Bey.
Moore had a game earlier in the season, but he took that to a new level Thursday night against San Diego. In a crucial game for the Raiders, Moore showed a great connection with the recently arrived Carson Palmer, hauling in five catches for 123 yards and two touchdowns. Palmer targeted Moore seven times that night, he didn’t target any of his other receivers more than twice.
Since Palmer has taken over in Oakland, Heyward-Bey hasn’t caught a single pass. And while it may just take time for a chemistry to develop between the former first round pick and Palmer, Heyward-Bey doesn’t have much time to wait. Another strong performance Moore and he may be permanently entrenched as a starter.
Fantasy Notes
As good as Frank Gore has been throughout his career, he’s never been able to stay healthy. And because of that, it’s always been a great strategy to stash whoever his backup was on your roster. That’s especially true this year as his backup, Kendall Hunter, has proven himself to be more than capable of being a solid starter himself.
With Gore sidelined in the second half with knee and ankle issues on Sunday, Hunter picked up the slack for the 49ers offense. He carried the ball six times for 40 yards and a touchdown, looking much better than Gore did in the first half. Hunter should be owned in every league, especially if the 49ers continue on their hot streak and want to rest Gore down the stretch after they lock up their division.
When Kenny Britt went down, down too went Matt Hasselbeck’s value as a fantasy starter. Now though, the Titans may just have found a replacement for Britt. Damian Williams may not be the same talent that Britt is, but he is putting up good numbers in his place. He’s had two touchdowns in the last two weeks, and went over 100 yards this week in Carolina for the first time in his career. Hasselbeck continues to look his way, making Williams a nice receiver to have in deeper leagues.
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