Turning our eyes out West, we saw the Cincinnati Bengals literally give one away to the Oakland Raiders. In my Week 11 preview, I mentioned that this could be a possible trap game for the Bengals and that is exactly what it turned out to be. Coming off a big win against the Steelers on the road last week, the Bengals were looking primed to ease through the next three games before facing their next big opponent in the Vikings. And seeing as the Raiders had benched JaMarcus Russell in favor of Bruce Gradkowski, I didn't see any chance of the Bengals letting this one get away. So what happened out there in Oakland? When the Bengals jumped out to a 14-0 lead on two short runs by Carson Palmer, it seemed like the Raiders were not going to put up much of a fight. But a 10-yard strike from Gradkowski to TE Zach Miller kept the Raiders in the game at halftime. A 52-yard field goal from Sebastian Janikowski cut the lead to 4 and pushed Oakland even closer on the scoreboard. When the Bengals recovered a fumble by RB Michael Bush late in the 3rd quarter, their biggest mistake was not putting it in the endzone and settling for the field goal. A touchdown on that possession would have surely given momentum back to the Bengals and would have crushed any chance of a potential Raider comeback. The Bengals would struggle against the Raider defense in the 4th quarter, unable to put more points on the board and ice their 8th win of the season. And the Bengal defense, which has played very well throughout the season, allowed Gradkowski to march down the field and tie the game at 17. An uncharacteristic fumble by Andre Caldwell gave the ball back to Oakland in the final minute of the game. Janikowski nailed the field goal, and the Raiders achieved the upset victory. So how do we analyze this loss for the Bengals? Do we look at it as just a blip in their schedule and not as a cause for concern? I like to think that since their next two games are against the Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions (who ironically had the most competitive game this past weekend), it will be easy for the Bengals to eliminate that feeling of doubt with two swift and decisive victories over lackluster opponents. I think the Bengals still have that confidence that they can hang with the best of the best. They've proven that by sweeping both the Steelers and the Ravens this season. I think the main question is will they be able to handle the pressure of winning in the playoffs? Will they be able to overcome their inexperience and just go out and play football like they've done all year? That remains to be seen. But as of right now, the Bengals are still one of the best teams in the NFL. A loss to the Raiders does not change that.
One could argue that the Giants victory over the Falcons last Sunday was their biggest win of the season. It was a game the Giants needed to have, especially since they hadn't won in over a month and received massive help last weekend from the Cowboys and Eagles. Eli Manning had his best game of the season, going 25/39 for 384 yards and 3 touchdowns and leading his team down the field in overtime to set up a 36-yard field goal by Lawrence Tynes. What to take away from this game for the Giants? After emerging from their bye week, it seems like the offense is focused on becoming a more pass-oriented unit simply because Brandon Jacobs has not been as effective this year as he has in the past. Jacobs has not had a 100-yard rushing game all season and the Giants cannot afford to keep waiting for him to break out. As a result, we are witnessing the development of young receivers like Steve Smith and Mario Manningham. Both receivers have had stellar seasons offensively and if the Giants are going to contend for the playoffs, both Smith and Manningham are going to have to step it up in big-game situations. However, the biggest concern for the Giants rests with their defense. They were up 31-17 with just under 6 minutes to go on Sunday and could not shut down Matty Ice and the Falcons offense to seal the win. And quite frankly, if the Falcons had won that coin toss in overtime, then they're winning the game. Momentum was on their side in a big way going into overtime and it slipped away when the coin landed on Heads. The Giants defense has a lot of problems right now. They can't get any pressure on the quarterback, they can't stop anyone on 3rd down, and the secondary always gives up the big play. Can they fix these problems in such a short time span? The Giants are obviously not sure and are thus developing ways to effectively put points on the scoreboard. They realize they are going to have to put 20 or 30 points on the board each week because they do not trust their defense right now to shut down anyone. The Giants are on thin ice right now. Will they let this season slip through the cracks? As for the Falcons, don't count them out just yet. Of their six remaining games, four of them are at home and they play much better at home than they do on the road. They will need to upset either Philadelphia or New Orleans to get to 10-6 and lucky for them, both of those games are at home. The rest of their schedule features winnable games against the Bucs twice, the Jets and the Bills. The season isn't over for the Falcons. Time for them to bring back the Dirty Bird!!!!
As for the two undefeated teams, both of them are hanging by a thread to maintain their perfect records. The Colts received a daunting challenge from the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. The Ravens defense was able to contain Peyton Manning for the most part, only allowing 299 passing yards and forcing two interceptions. However, the Ravens offense was not able to take advantage of five opportunities where they could have put the ball in the end zone. Five opportunities, five field goals by Billy Cundiff. Ravens QB Joe Flacco was once again held without a touchdown and was intercepted by Colts LB Gary Brackett in the final moments of the game to end a possible game-winning drive. Ironically, it is the Colts defense that has allowed the team to remain undefeated for so long. They had the big 4th down stop last week against the Patriots and the huge interception of Joe Flacco this week to keep themselves on the path to perfection. But the Colts cannot rest easy. They face a tough Texans team that can hang with them offensively. They are going into a hostile environment against a division rival, which means the Texans will be licking their chops to ruin the Colts' perfect season. But in order for the Texans to win that game, they will need kicker Kris Brown to actually make a field goal in a clutch situation. Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson will match the Colts stride for stride on Sunday. But when the game is on the line and the Texans need that field goal, will Kris Brown be the hero or will he continue to be the goat? As for the Saints, they got a decent effort from the Bucs on Sunday especially in the first half. But Drew Brees was simply too much for the Bucs to handle on Sunday as he threw for 187 yards and 3 touchdowns. The New Orleans defense played great on Sunday, forcing 4 turnovers from rookie QB Josh Freeman and bringing back the Bucs back down to Earth. But the Saints will not be facing Josh Freeman on Monday night when they host the Patriots. Instead, they will be getting a 3-time Super Bowl winning and future Hall-of-Fame quarterback in Tom Brady. And if there's any game on the rest of their schedule that the Saints could lose, it is most definitely this one. The Saints will need the entire city of New Orleans on their side if they are going to defeat the Patriots on Monday night. Drew Brees will need to be perfect against the Patriots defense because Brady will most definitely bring his A-game with such lethal weapons in Randy Moss and Wes Welker. Expect a high-scoring game on Monday night. And if Brady gets the ball in the final two minutes with the game on the line...Who dat say they gonna beat them Saints? It will be the Patriots.
The deja vu comeback was completed on Sunday as the San Diego Chargers upended the Denver Broncos 32-3. The game was never close as Chris Simms was taken out after the first series and replaced by Kyle Orton, who didn't do much better. Brandon Marshall was held to just 3 catches for 26 yards. Knowshon Moreno had 10 carries for 80 yards but also had a crucial fumble in the game. Both Orton and Simms turned the ball over and gave the Chargers opportunities to get on the scoreboard. It was basically a grind-out game for the Chargers as four field goals by Nate Kaeding and touchdowns by LaDainian Tomlinson and Matt Tolbert allowed them to pull away and make the Broncos surrender in the end. The Chargers are playing with a fire and a passion that did not exist at the beginning of the season. They are winning games in convincing fashion but are also winning games in the 4th quarter where it counts. And if you look at the rest of their schedule, it is not inconceivable that the Chargers could finish with an 11-game winning streak. There is a three-game stretch where they play Dallas, Cincinnati, and Tennessee all in a row. But all of those are winnable games for a team that is just beginning to harness their talent and focus it in the right direction. Look for the Chargers to make a big splash in the coming weeks. As for the Broncos, they are all but done. They are a very different team right now than they were when they started out 6-0. The offense is very stagnant right now, with Kyle Orton coming back down to Earth and the running game not being as effective as it once was. The defense has completely fallen apart, with players starting to turn on each other and dividing the locker room. The Broncos face a must-win game against the Giants on Thanksgiving night. Can rookie head coach Josh McDaniels bring his team back together and make them believe that their season is not lost? A win against the Giants will go a long way in restoring their faith because right now, they are sitting a mile high and not finding anything.
I'm not going to bash the Jets this week except to say that their season is absolutely over and their quarterback has a lot to learn before he becomes the next Joe Namath. I would love to see the Tennessee Titans win 10 straight after starting 0-6. RB Chris Johnson has been absolutely sensational this season. He has 1,242 yards rushing and 8 touchdowns in just 10 games this season, which is simply remarkable. And the way Vince Young is playing right now, along with the fact that the defense appears rejuvenated, it would be awesome if the Titans could run the table the rest of the way and make the playoffs. Will it happen? Probably not. But that would be much better than having either the Colts or Saints go undefeated. The Dallas Cowboys should not have won that game on Sunday against the Redskins. The Redskins defense did a great job all day of shutting down Tony Romo and containing Marion Barber and the Dallas running game. But the Redskins could not finish the job in the end as Romo rolled left and found Patrick Crayton in the middle of the end zone. A late interception by QB Jason Campbell doomed the Skins and sent them packing out of Dallas. The one thing to take away from this game is that the Dallas Cowboys did not play their best football on Sunday. In fact, they might have played their worst football on Sunday. But they still found a way to win the game. That is what separates a good team from a great team. I'm not saying the Cowboys are a great team because they certainly haven't played like one the last two weeks. But when you win games that by all accounts you should lose, that says a lot about where this team might be headed. On the other hand, the Bears are not headed anywhere as Crybaby Cutler once again served as the goat. Down 24-20 with just under two minutes to play, Cutler was given the ball at his own 21-yard line and was told to march his team to victory. It could have been Cutler's moment to shine. It could have righted the ship for what has been a dismal season for the Bears. What happens? Sean Jones intercepts Cutler at midfield, the Bears lose another heartbreaker. What else needs to be said? The Bears wanted a quarterback and got a turnover machine in return. Cutler has always been known as a gunslinger. He takes chances and certainly isn't afraid to throw the ball down the field. The problem is that he takes too many chances and it has led to a disastrous season for the Pro Bowl quarterback. At 4-6 right now, the Bears will need a miracle to make the playoffs and will need Cutler to stop turning the ball over. Neither look likely as the Bears will close a book on what has been a painful and excruciating season. As for the Eagles, they got a surprisingly good game from RB LeSean McCoy. If they can continue to balance that out with the passing game, then the Eagles will be a dangerous threat for the remainder of the season. If they get away from that and make Donovan McNabb pass the ball 50 times a game, then the Eagles will subside into the quiet night and lose games that they probably should win. I don't expect that to happen though as the Eagles will be there nip and tuck the rest of the way riding on the wings of Mr. Chunky Soup himself Donovan McNabb.
That's it for now. No Hump Day Walkaround this week but expect a NFL Thanksgiving preview sometime tonight.
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