Well, it's December now. We're really approaching the end of this regular season relatively quickly now. And we're still seeing some teams that started off hot remaining hot, while other teams that never really got anything positive going still struggling. Unfortunately, that includes both of the New York football teams, who have a combined 6-18 record.
Dismal.
Right now, the Lions and Chiefs share the distinction of enjoying the best record in the league at 11-1. For Detroit, it is the first time in franchise history that they started a season off that hot. For the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs, it feels like it's nothing new. Both of those teams won, with the Lions beating the Bears on Thanksgiving, and the Chiefs just surviving a tough challenge by the surprising Raiders.
However, I already reviewed those games, so let's move on.
Two other teams feel like they stand out in terms of excellence this season. They would be the Philadelphia Eagles and the Buffalo Bills, both at 10-2, and nipping at the heels of the two top teams. It should be noted that the Minnesota Vikings also are 10-2, but despite such an excellent record, they are a game behind the Lions in the NFC North, and only one game ahead of the Packers for second place in that same division.
The Eagles, however, earned a very impressive 24-19 win at Baltimore. Perhaps because they were behind Detroit in the NFC this year, and also perhaps of their late season collapse after another very impressive start last season, Philly managed to get to this point rather quietly. You just didn't hear much about them for most of this season. Then you turn around and see that they have this really impressive record, and have the NFC East virtually locked up, and you think, "Wow, they look really impressive!" And you begin to wonder if they just might compete with those other elite NFC Teams (particularly NFC North teams at this point) for the right to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.
Buffalo, meanwhile, also improved to 10-2 by whipping the 49ers, 35-10, in the snow. Josh Allen has a monster game. It was the kind of game that has people talking about him possibly being MVP at the end of the season. Why? Well, he had a great game despite the snowy conditions, completing 13 of 17 passes for 148 yards and two TD's, with one INT. But that is not the whole story. He became only the 14th player in NFL history - and the first quarterback in NFL history ever - to throw for a touchdown pass, catch a touchdown pass (from himself, officially), and run for a touchdown in the same game. The last player to have done it was on the other sideline. That would be Christian McCaffrey, the 49ers running back, who has been injured most of the season, and left the game with another injury, apparently on a no contact play. The 49ers have been struggling as of late, particularly on offense, and that certainly will not help them.
With the win, the Bills officially clinched the AFC East title following their win, and a loss by the Miami Dolphins. They managed to clinch the division title in Week 13, which is very early in the season to manage that. Indeed, no team has done that in a decade and a half, and became the second AFC team (along with the defending champion Chiefs) to clinch a playoff berth. This also marks the fifth straight season in which the Bills have clinched the AFC East title.
Otherwise, that other 10-2 team, the Minnesota Vikings, managed to stay hot by just getting past the Arizona Cardinals, 23-22, at the dome in Minneapolis. That marked the fifth straight win for the Vikings, the second time this season that they managed that feat (they also started the season 5-0). The Cardinals had a chance to keep pace with the Seattle Seahawks atop the NFC West, and very nearly did. Instead, they lost a heartbreaker. And we learned that as a franchise, the Cardinals have not managed a road win against the Vikings up in Minnesota since back in 1977, when they were still known as the St. Louis Cardinals.
Yikes.
The Browns had hoped to capitalize on their recent, inspiring win over the Steelers when they met the Broncos at Mile High in Denver. This used to be a classic rivalry back in the second half of the eighties, if you are old enough to remember. The stakes were not quite so high this time around. But the results were the same: Denver beat the Browns and got where they wanted, most likely all but officially eliminating the Browns from any real hopes of playoff contention in the process.
The AFC West might not be as impressive so far as the NFC North has been. But this has to be the second best division in the league. The defending champion Chiefs are 11-1, and tied with the Lions for the best record in the NFL presently. And I mentioned the Broncos winning, and thus improving to 8-5 on the season. They are half a game behind the 8-4 Chargers, who earned a solid 17-13 win on the road in Atlanta.
Tampa Bay beat the Panthers in overtime down in Carolina to improve to 6-6. That, coupled with the Falcons loss to the Chargers, which dipped Atlanta down to 6-6, means that those two franchises are tied atop the NFC South standings.
Meanwhile, Washington snapped a three game slide with a convincing 44-19 win over the Tennessee Titans, thus solidifying their hold on the seventh (and final) playoff spot on the NFC side. Pittsburgh won a shootout over the Bengals in Cincinnati, 44-38, to put some cushion in their AFC North lead, following Baltimore's loss to the Eagles. The Rams beat the Saints 21-14 in New Orleans, to tie the Cards for second, and to remain just one behind the NFC West leading Seahawks. Seattle, of course, had a tough test in the Meadowlands against the Jets. But despite holding the advantage throughout the first half, Gang Green allowed the Seahawks to dominate the second half and earn the win, and get sole possession of first place in the NFC West in the process. It was Gino Smith, formerly the quarterback for the Jets, who was at the helm for Seattle. As for Aaron Rodgers, the man currently at the helm for Gang Green, his Super Bowl predictions for the Jets do not appear to be panning out. With this loss, the Jets fell to 4-8, and their playoff hopes are flickering at best, and more likely are virtually dead, frankly. Yet, they already stated their commitment to have Rodgers back next season.
Otherwise, the Texans managed a surprisingly tough win at Jacksonville, 23-20, and improved to 8-5, well ahead in the AFC South. However, the Colts are trying to hang in there. They had a tough and close one up at Foxboro against the Pats, but were down by a touchdown late. They managed to get one, and then went for the two-point conversion for the win, rather than the one-point conversion for the tie and likely to force overtime. It worked, and so Indy squeaked out a 25-24 road win to improve to 6-7. They still have a lot of work to keep their hopes of a playoff berth, or even the AFC South division title, alive. But this was an important, even a huge, win for them.
Bills did something in Week 13 no AFC East has done in 15 years by Brian Miller, December 3, 2024:
It was only a matter of time
https://phinphanatic.com/buffalo-bills-did-something-week-13-no-afc-east-done-15-years-miami-dolphins
No comments:
Post a Comment