From a parity standpoint, last weekend was great for football. The Bills lost to the Dolphins, drawing the AFC East race into a dead heat between New England and Buffalo. Washington struggled to put away Detroit. Kansas City gave the Jets a run for their money.
Chasing Lombardi
Tennessee, the lone remaining unbeaten team plays a dominating kind of football that Steelers fans are used to seeing. They’re tough against the run and they run the ball well. Their pass defense is solid, but their passing game is below-average. If anyone can put up more than 21 points against their defense and stop their running game, they’ll have a legitimate shot at winning.
The Giants are good. We’re not going to kid ourselves by saying that there wasn’t a chance of the Steelers getting dominated. If the Giants had converted their 4 field goals into touchdowns, they would have put up 37 points against us. The Giants showed both the strength and weakness of their secondary against Pittsburgh, which may be exposed later in the year. But for now, they’re the top team in the NFC.
Did anyone really expect Carolina to be this good? Fueled by a retooled offensive line, the Panthers are playing strong. The NFC South is loaded with good teams, so the Panthers are in for a fight the rest of the season, but they played well against the Cardinals in a game that may determine who gets the #2 seed in the NFC.
Right now, there are only two teams in the league with less losses than the Steelers. I know I typically drop teams out of the top 5 that lose, but there really aren’t any other teams playing as well as the Steelers are right now. Additionally, they lost to a fellow top-five team in the Giants. The offense completely lost it’s stride in the 4th quarter and another solid defensive effort went to waste.
The Redskins aren’t flashy, but they get the job done. Yes, they have struggled away from home with the likes of St. Louis and Detroit. But they also beat Dallas and Philly on the road. They have a big matchup on Monday night with the Steelers this week that they need to win to stay in the division hunt.
Just Missed: Buffalo Bills
Waiting for April
At least they’re showing heart. They keep coming closer and closer to getting that elusive first win. They gave Washington all they had. The Bears come to town this weekend. Could this be an upset in the making? Unlikely with the way the Bears defense is playing. The Lions only have 3 of their remaining 9 games against teams with records below .500, which are Jacksonville, Minnesota, and Indy. This team is staring 0-16 right in the face.
If there’s a situation that can’t get any worse, it’s Cincinnati. After Cleveland beat Jacksonville last week, the Jags are desparate for a win against the Bungles to keep them in the playoff race. Cincy’s only hope at not going 0-16 might be in the last two weeks when they face Cleveland and Kansas City. This team can’t win without Carson Palmer.
Tyler Thigpen outplayed Brett Favre. Never thought I’d say that. The Chiefs gave it an inspired effort against Herm’s old team. Is Matthew Stafford still going to be there at #3? Brodie Croyle is obviously not the answer here. With L.J. joining the ranks of criminals, they might as well deal him to the Bungles for their draft pick.
New coach Mike Singletary got embarrassed against Seattle, then he took it out on his players. I don’t know if calling out Vernon Davis in public was the right call. This could be a team heading for the bottom. J.T. O’Sullivan has been okay, but they’re going to be looking QB in the draft as well. Mark Sanchez might land here. They really need this bye week.
The second AFC West team and the second team from California on the list. It’s just not happening on the West coast this year. With the struggles of San Diego and Seattle as well, the Pacific teams are probably the worst region in the NFL. Oakland had an overtime win against the Jets that was worthy of office talk, but then got smoked by the Ravens. They get the Falcons this week in what looks to be a battle of running games and young quarterbacks. Micheal Turner v. Darren McFadden. Matt Ryan v. JaMarcus Russell. Sounds like a good matchup until you consider the Raiders awful defense.
Just Missed: Seattle Seahawks
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
