So, I spent some time last weekend mentioning how interesting the revolving door for home field advantage and/or the playoff bye situation really is.
That seemed to get quite a bit more complicated on Thursday, when the Denver Broncos actually lost to the Chargers.
Suddenly, the Patriots were in position to take over the top spot in the AFC. And the Bengals were in position to close the gap between them and Denver, as well as capitalize lest New England fall.
Well, as it turns out, the Broncos, Patriots, and Bengals would all lose on this football weekend. Denver lost at home to San Diego in what is considered a huge upset. It was Denver's first, and so far only, loss at home this season.
But New England failed to capitalize, as they allowed Miami to build up a sizable lead. New England rallied, and threatened to take the game, only to see their comeback bid fall short. The win keeps Miami very much in the playoff race.
As a result, then, last night, the Cincinnati Bengals had a chance to make up some lost ground on both Denver and New England. They were on the road, to lowly Pittsburgh, so a win seemed likely, right?
Instead, they also lost, as the Steelers exploded in the first quarter, and managed to hang on for the win against the Bengals.
So, all three of the top seeds in the AFC going into this past weekend lost. At least the Colt earned a solid, if predictable, blowout win over their once dangerous division rivals, the Houston Texans. And the Chiefs, the team that is trying to keep pace with the Broncos, managed to get a huge win on the road, exploding with points in a 56-31 shootout over Oakland, on the road.
Yet, despite all the tremors in the AFC, isn't it saying something that all of that took a back seat to what happened in Dallas yesterday?
I actually got a chance to watch the end of that game, and it was simply amazing. Dallas had been dominating all day, but the Packers somehow just kept on having touchdown drives in the second half. Green Bay scored touchdowns on each of their first five drives of the second half. The sixth, and final possession was to kill the clock and secure the win.
Many people are already talking about this as a monumental loss in the history of the Dallas Cowboys, one they won't soon forget. It rather reinforced the image, fair or not, that Tony Romo tends to choke and throw the big interceptions at the most crucial times in the most important games, and that, overall, the month of December simply is not kind to the Dallas Cowboys.
Dallas seemed to have a win in the bag, which would essentially allow them to keep pace with the division leading Philadelphia Eagles. But the loss allows Philadelphia the privilege of staying ahead of Dallas, and forces the Cowboys to have to win, or face elimination with the combination of a loss and an Eagles win next weekend. The Eagles will host the Chicago Bears, while Dallas will visit Washington.
The Eagles themselves, however, probably were caught with their pants down, as they almost seemed to overlook the Minnesota Vikings, who wound up making them pay a steep price. As it turns out, had the Eagles won, they would almost assuredly own the division title. Instead, they got stomped on, as Minnesota racked up the points in a 48-30 victory.
Seattle took a step closer to the NFC West division title and home field advantage in the NFC with a dominant victory at the New York Giants. The defense played like a buzzsaw, shutting out the G-Men.
It is hard to believe that these Giants were in the Super Bowl a couple of seasons ago, frankly.
Otherwise, the Buffalo Bills managed to defeat the Jaguars in Jacksonville. The 49ers beat the Bucs on the road. Chicago at least temporarily took the lead in the NFC North by grinding out a victory in Cleveland over the Browns. In a battle of playoff teams from last year that had terrible seasons this year, Atlanta managed to squeak by Washington, 27-26. The Saints were stunned in St. Louis, and now are locked in a first place tie with Carolina, who handled the Jets, and now go into a big showdown against the Saints, where they will have home field advantage this time around. Arizona managed to keep relevant in the playoff picture by winning on the road at Tennessee, even though it seems improbable that they will actually catch the 49ers.
Playoff Scenario for Denver
Broncos - If the Broncos are in the Super Bowl, and especially if they were to win the Super Bowl, it obviously would not matter.
But if they suffer another early defeat in the postseason, then the criticism will mount, as will the skepticism that Manning and the Broncos really are capable of getting back to the Super Bowl, let alone winning one.
Vulnerable - after a solid 6-0 start, when the Broncos looked like world beaters and as if they were destined to shatter every meaningful offensive record, the Broncos have now gone a less than breathtaking 5-3 in subsequent games. Like the 2007 Patriots, the Broncos are slowing down, and quite a bit.
Now, on the flip side, they do not have the same pressure that those Patriots had of being undefeated, or vying for the title of best team ever.
Still, this is a team that has been on the positive end of records all season, and they received much hype as a result. Manning is on the verge of the all-time touchdown record, and the Broncos may still wind up as the highest scoring offense in NFL history. They are on pace to do much this season.
But the most important thing, of course, would be to hold the trophy at the end of the final game of the season. And for that, they need to show much more consistency then they showed against the San Diego Chargers this past Thursday.
If Peyton Manning isn’t great, the 2013 Denver Broncos won’t be either Frank Schwab By Frank Schwab 12 hours ago Shutdown Corner:
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/peyton-manning-isn-t-great-2013-denver-broncos-064738236--nfl.html
Pick 6: Some records Manning could set shortly Associated Press By EDDIE PELLS December 12, 2013:
http://news.yahoo.com/pick-6-records-manning-could-set-shortly-082325659--spt.html
No comments:
Post a Comment