Philadelphia 29, Washington 18 - Well, the Eagles certainly did not make it easy on themselves. But in the end, the defending champs got the job done and did something that no NFC East team has done in something like two decades by clinching a second straight division title. After racing out to an 8-2 start and seemingly well on their way to cruising to another division title and likely number one seed in the NFC, Philly suddenly dropped three straight games, including one at Dallas, making the divisional race much tighter than it should have ben. However, the Eagles stopped the bleeding by convincingly blowing out the lowly Raiders last weekend, earning a win. That, coupled with a Dallas loss put the Eagles in solid position. In fact, they would clinch the NFC East title with a win in Washington. With that as the obvious goal, Philly took care of business. The game remained too close to call into the third quarter when the Eagles scored a touchdown to take a lead. They never looked back, scoring two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter to put this one out of reach, ending any suspense. Finally, the Eagles earn a second straight win to improve to 10-5 on the year and clinch a division title that many expected them to have won a while ago. In the process, the Eagles also eliminated the Cowboys from playoff contention. A very good night for Philly. My pick: Accurate
Chicago 22, Green Bay 16 (OT) - Not sure why, exactly, but this game reminded me quite a bit of the NFC Championship Game, when the Packers lost a 16-0 lead in a game that they seemed to own, only to see it improbably fall apart right at the end. For most of this one, it felt like the Packers were the better team headed for a victory. Then somewhere in the fourth quarter, the momentum shifted. Perhaps after the onside kick recovery, and certainly after the tying touchdown, there started to be an air of inevitability about this game. Sure enough, even though the Packers picked up some good yards in their first possession of overtime, the outcome began to seem inevitable. Something was bound to happen, and did. The Bears defense held and forced the Pack to try for it on fourth down. Somehow, the ball handling was off on the play, which never really got going. So the Bears got the ball by holding on fourth down, and then moved the ball steadily down the field. Then Caleb Williams threw an absolutely perfect 46-yard touchdown pass to DJ Moore in what felt like an instant NFL highlight reel for years to come. That clinched the incredible comeback. A huge win that was more than just a statement win for Chicago. They sure look for real. They improve to 11-4 with the win, while Green Bay falls to 9-5-1. The division title race is not necessarily over, although the Packers now need a lot of help - needing to win both of their remaining games while also needing the Bears to lose both of their remaining games - in order to have a chance to win the NFC North. Not likely to happen. Chicago now has an excellent chance to win the division title and also to get the second seed in the NFC playoffs, with possibly an outside chance at the top seed. What a win! My pick: Accurate
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