Tagged As: Sports, NFL, Giants, Titans, Steelers, New York, Week 14

The NFL season now has three more weeks with the conclusion of Week 14 and the number of meaningful games with playoff implications is dwindling, though each of those contests intensity is rising exponentially. This is the reality for every American sport and it is both a exciting and a sad time, and looking at some of these scores many cities will have fans suffering through the winter with a case of Post-Season Stress Syndrome.

San Diego Chargers (5-8) 34 – Oakland Raiders (3-10) 7

Week 14 kicked off with the San Diego Chargers proving that no matter how much a disappointment they were, the Oakland Raiders were still the least favorite child in the AFC West. Philip Rivers threw three touchdowns for the Chargers while JaMarcus Russell and Andrew Water combined for three interceptions for the Raiders. LaDainian Tomlinson rushed for 91 yards and a touchdown, but only averaged 3.6 yards a carry. Anything the Raiders threw counted as a rush with a 3.6 yards per reception average as Oakland limped away with another loss.

Chicago Bears (7-6) 23 – Jacksonville Jaguars (4-9) 10

The Chicago Bears began the annual march to the spot between a top ten pick and somewhere less than a playoff appearance. The Jacksonville Jaguars offense looked lost despite the respectable yards per carry by the tandem of Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew. Kyle Orton looked on and off from drive to drive and Devin Hester put up good numbers despite looking sluggish in the freezing cold while Matt Forte played much better than his numbers of 69 yards on 21 carries. Bears fans will dream of the postseason all week until the team delivers its special brand of disappointment in the coming weeks.

Minnesota Vikings (8-5) 20 – Detroit Lions (0-13) 16

The Vikings avoided the dubious honor of saving the Lions from a winless season after Tarvaris Jackson came in for the injured Gus Frerotte and threw a touchdown pass in the fourth to give the Vikings the lead. The Lions made a strong showing with two picks of Frerotte and a defense that held the Vikes to 298 yard offense. Adrian Peterson managed to run for 102 yards to maintain his league leading status while the Williams twins played with a temporary reprieve and held Lions rookie Kevin Smith to 63 yards on 22 carries. Dante Culpepper showed some life as the Lions quarterback, but could deliver a win for the apparently cursed city.

Houston Texans (6-7) 24 – Green Bay Packers (5-8) 21

Houston Texans kicker Kris Brown hit a 40-yard field goal as the game came to an end to give the Texans hope for next year while simultaneously decimating the Packers season. The Texans managed to throw for 408 yards and run for 141 with Matt Schaub back under center and Steve Slaton continuing his terrific rookie season. However four turnovers kept the potent offense out of the end zone for most of the game. The Packers were able to capitalize and put pretty good performances by Aaron Rodgers (19/30, 295 yards, 2 TD/1 INT) and Ryan Grant (19 carries/104 yards/1 TD) to keep the game close. In the end the overwhelming Houston offense put together a 9 play, 75 yard drive in 1:49 to win the game.

Tennessee Titans (12-1) 28 – Cleveland Browns (4-9) 9

The Tennessee Titans clinched the AFC South a second consecutive rout of a feeble opponent. The Browns were supposed to be one of the up and coming teams when the season began with two NFL-grade quarterbacks in Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn, but it was journeyman Ken Dorsey who was limited to short passes for nominal gains that only crippled the running game by collapsing the field rather than extending it. The Titans won in their typical fashion. Chris Johnson ran for 136 yards and LenDale White ran for 99 as each scored a touchdown in what was little more than a full contact practice for Tennessee. Kerry Collins numbers were far from impressive with only 155 yards and two interceptions, but the Browns could do little with the three total takeaways to make the game worth watching for beleaguered Cleveland sports fans that have already begun mourning the premature loss of LeBron James to the New York Knicks in 2010.

Indianapolis Colts (9-4) 35 – Cincinnati Bengals (1-11) 3

Peyton Manning put together a classic performance as the Indianapolis Colts looked like the Harlem Globetrotters putting on a performance over the Washington Generals of the NFL, the Cincinnati Bengals. The Colts running game may not have been there, but the passing game more than carried the show with three touchdowns. Actually, the real credit belongs to the Colts defense. They had four takeaways and five sacks as the Bengals looked helpless with Ryan Fitzpatrick and Jordan Palmer (Does Carson have a little brother?). The Colts win puts moves them closer to a wild card spot and the Bengals loss moves them closer to the number two draft pick.

New Orleans Saints (7-6) 29 – Atlanta Falcons (8-5) 25

Forgotten in the NFC South, the New Orleans Saints are suddenly on the radar in the division with this victory. Everybody knew the Saints were an offensive juggernaut with Drew Brees running the offense, but the Atlanta Falcons and everyone else in the division seemed to be to far ahead to catch. No longer. The Saints have a Hail Mary’s chance of making the playoffs now. This time it was a 1-2 punch of running backs Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush that moved the ball and scored touchdowns. Brees only had 230 yards, but also had two touchdown passes. Atlanta Falcons rookie Matt Ryan out threw the veteran with 315 yards, but only managed to have one touchdown pass and gave up one pick. Michael Turner had a quiet game with 61 yards, but managed to score one touchdown. It was not enough to overcome the surging Saints though.

Philadelphia Eagles (7-5) 20 – New York Giants (11-2) 14

Brian Westbrook and Donovan McNabb delivered the win for the Philadelphia Eagles, but the Giants still came away with the division title thanks to the Cowboys loss. Eli Manning and the three-headed Giants running game faltered on the field with 211 total yards as Westbrook almost out gained the New York machine with 203 yards. McNabb made timely passes and avoid costly errors to help the Eagles dominate the time of possession game and come away with a moral victory in a season that appears all but over with the crowded field of wild card hopefuls ahead of them.

Denver Broncos (8-5) 24 – Kansas City Chiefs (2-11) 17

Only in the AFC West could a team have a three game hoe losing streak and still hold a comfortable lead in the standings. Only in the AFC West could that team lose its sixth running back of the season and still win a division game. Only in the Wild West could Mike Shanahan’s Denver Broncos all but cinch the division with a win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Broncos rookie fullback turned running back over Peyton Hillis had eight carries for 58 yards and a touchdown before he left the game. Jay Cutler had two touchdowns and 286 yards with Brandon Marshall catching those touchdown passes to deliver the slim victory over the dreadful Chiefs.

Miami Dolphins (8-5) 16 – Buffalo Bills (6-7) 3

The Miami Dolphins won again with a surprise top five quarterback in Chad Pennington controlling the game with short passes that helped the offense rather than limited them. Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams ate up clock time with 110 yards on 27 carries. The Dolphins have become a sudden postseason contender while the Bills have cooled off considerably and are now as frigid as the Buffalo air as they have played themselves out of the playoffs. Josh Losman put out a pitiful performance with 123 yards and a pick, but led the Bills in rushing. Unfortunately he led with 53 yards.

San Francisco 49ers (5-8) 24 – New York Jets (8-5) 14

To live and die with a Brett Favre team can be challenging for a fan. His erratic play can deliver heart attacks and drive the blood pressure to dangerous levels. Sunday’s loss to the San Francisco 49ers reminded the New York Jets that Broadway Brett has as many highs and lows as a good play. Favre threw for only 137 yards with an interception in the embarrassing loss to the 49ers. San Francisco may have come into the game winning two of its last three games, but those wins were against the woeful Rams and the sulking Bills. New York is playing for the AFC East lead and let Shaun Hill throw for 285 yards and two touchdowns. The 49ers fumbled the ball five times, but the Jets were only able to recover one of those fumbles. The Jets had a big let down and are apparently trying to keep the theatrics going with the NFL regular season coming to an end.

New England Patriots (8-5) 24 – Seattle Seahawks (2-11) 21

Even though the New England Patriots won this game, I think it should go down as a moral loss. The defense let Seneca Wallace throw three touchdowns. The Seattle Seahawks have no business scoring more than 20 points against any professional team, whether they are from the CFL, the AFL, or NFL Europe. The Patriots won in the last few minutes of the game with a Sammy Morris one yard touchdown run. Matt Cassell was errant on way too many throws only completing 26 of 44 for 268 yards and a touchdown. The loss by the Jets keeps things interesting and keeps the Patriots hopes of winning the AFC East alive.

Arizona Cardinals (8-5) 34 – St. Louis Rams (2-11) 10

A few years ago this score would have been reversed. Kurt Warner would have been throwing for the Rams, but the year is 2008 and Warner has found a home in Phoenix. His performance was less than stellar (24/33, 279 yards, 1 TD/ 1 INT) and was from par for the season, but the Cardinals were able to return an interception for a touchdown and the special teams gave the potent offense great field position to deliver another crushing defeat to the St. Louis Rams. The Rams did their part to seal their loss with three turnovers as well to only help the Cardinals with field position.

Pittsburgh Steelers (10-3) 20 – Dallas Cowboys (8-5) 13

I am in awe of the Pittsburgh Steelers defense. They managed to take the ball away from the Dallas Cowboys five times (three picks and two fumble recoveries), score a touchdown, and sack Romo three times. The Cowboys only gained 289 yards throughout the game. Still, they out gained the Steelers offense. The running game was non-existent as the offensive line again failed to show up for the game. Ben Roethlisberger was sacked five times, but still managed to throw for 204 yards and a touchdown. Coming into the fourth quarter it appeared as though Pittsburgh could lose the game, but the Steelers turned the game around and scored 17 straight points, including a game winning interception return with 1:40 on the clock. The Steelers continue to be the toughest team, physically and mentally in the NFL, but the question is can the offense take some pressure off the number one D come playoff time.

Baltimore Ravens (9-4) 24 – Washington Redskins (7-6) 10

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco struggled for the first time in three weeks with a fittingly rookie game (10/21, 134 yards, 1 TD/ 1 INT) and the running backs limped forward with 31 carries for 92 yards, but big plays on offense and defense helped demoralize the Redskins despite a borderline quality performance from Jason Campbell (218 yards and a touchdown, but two picks). The Redskins season looks like it is coming to an end quickly as the team has failed to building on its early season momentum while the Ravens are apparently on their way to the playoffs after successfully building on their early season surprise.