With two weeks remaining its your NFL recap. With all the drama in the big D something came up that seemed to cool all heads, a win. Winning over the Giants keeps the Cowboys alive in the playoff race for now. Not having Brandon Jacobs limited the Giants to simply throwing against the Cowboys. With DeMarcus Ware being one of the leagues main sack machines combined with Terence Newman intercepting the ball twice, it became a long day for Eli Manning. Eli had 18 for 35 on his passes with 191 yards. The G men's only scores were two John Carney field goals and a safety when Dallas QB Tony Romo fumbled out of the end zone. Romo is 4-0 when facing the Giants. He was out when they lost earlier this year with his finger injury. Saturday night the Cowboys play the Ravens in what is a good matchup but not as important as the Giants game. This week the Giants face off against the Panthers for the number 1 seed in the NFC and the home field advantage. This is a game worth watching and could probably end up being the NFC championship game a few weeks from now.
Else where in the NFC this week is another battle with major playoff implications. After beating Arizona the Vikings place themselves in the driver seat of their division. A win this Sunday could lock it up for the Vikings, however it wont be against a cup cake team like Detroit. Atlanta after a man up or shut up game with Tampa Bay sit in the second wild card spot with Dallas holding the other. Tampa Bay and Atlanta share the same record but the tie break favors Atlanta. A loss to Minnesota could end the miracle season for Atlanta. Tampa Bay plays host to San Diego while another surprise contender visits the Redskins. The Eagles are sitting on the fringe just waiting for Atlanta to slip up. Chicago is right on the Vikings heels and with a home game Monday night against Green Bay the Bears could end up in first by Christmas should Minnesota lose. Normally a southern team heading north spells trouble for the south team. Minnesota plays in a dome just like the Falcons however, so the crowd will have to help throw off rookie Matt Ryan's rhythm so he cant connect to Michael Turner. The Vikings will have to do with out Pat Williams till the end of the season after injuring his shoulder last week.
In the AFC we might finally see a horse pull away in the AFC east. The Jets, Dolphins, and Patriots all won last week but time is starting to run out for the Pats and Dolphins. The Jets visit Seattle for another Mike Homgren Brett Favre reunion. Miami visits the lowly Chiefs while the Pats have the toughest task hosting Arizona. This one really could come down to next week when the Jets host Miami while the Pats visit Buffalo. If Miami wins out they win the spot. New England has quietly stuck around however and I wouldn't count them out.
Much like the NFC 1 and 2 squaring off this week, the Titans and Steelers have a head on collision in Nashville for the top seed in the AFC. Pittsburgh had a controversial yet still hard fought win over Baltimore last week while the Titans were upset by Houston. Like the Ravens Steelers game last week this game is gonna be a defensive stand off. Both teams D's are in the top 5 with Pittsburgh leading in total yards allowed and passing yards while Tennessee sits at 4th and 5th in both categories. Both teams are one and two in points allowed. Look to see Pittsburgh run the ball early with Willie Parker and open up their passing game with Ben Roethlisberger. The Titans might do something similar but my try passing earlier with short quick slants to test safeties Troy Polamalu and Ryan Clark and to loosen up the defensive line to give Chris Johnson a chance to run for some big gains.
On a side note, this has to be one of the closest playoff races in recent memory. Usually this time in the season the stage is mostly set for the playoffs. I can't recall a closer race across the board other than college football. With that said I went 1-3 bringing my total to 23-21
This week I'll take Tampa over the Chargers
The Eagles over Washington
And I'm goin with two games of the week
Titans over Steelers and the Panthers over Giants
Have a merry Christmas and happy Hanukkah and enjoy the football this week.
image courtesy of Ronald Martinez
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