I had planned to write my next post after the Monday night game, but I am writing to you now because the Monday night game is of literally no consequence to the playoffs race...or just about anything. I clearly had to immediately address the set of events that transpired between Thursday and Sunday in the NFL. My week 12 predictions were an absolute disaster as I predicted about half incorrectly. I'm happy that I got some of the predictions wrong, upset that I predicted two correctly, angry that I got a handful of them right, and thrilled that I got another handful right. Let's take a look at the 8 games that kept me on an emotional rollercoaster this Thanksgiving weekend.
TEXANS AT LIONS- This game made countless fans want to pull their hair out. Nothing was more frustrating than watching the Texans come back to tie the game and send it into overtime because of a totally blown call and a bizarre rule technicality that allowed a bogus 81 yard touchdown run to go unreviewed. The Texans' defense is in total disarray and allowed 68 points over the last two games. The real surprise is that they allowed 68 points to two teams that have a combined 5 wins. I'll give credit to Matt Schaub and the offense for keeping them in both games, but this kind of performance simply won't win playoff games. Beyond all of that, the unreviewed bogus touchdown means that the Texans still have plenty of opportunity to get a #1 seed in the playoffs as they came away from a bogus win with a 10-1 record. I have never screamed so hard at an NFL game that didn't involve the Ravens.
PATRIOTS AT JETS- I knew I was taking a total gamble when I picked the Jets to upset the Patriots. To my credit, the Jets just barely lost to the Patriots in Foxboro earlier this year, and this time the Pats were without Gronk and Logan Mankins. The problem, however, is that the Jets occassionally have a good game when they minimize mistakes, but more often than not they totally blow it and look absolutely pathetic. The moment that best exemplified the pathetic nature of the Jets' performance was when Mark Sanchez ran smack into the back of his right tackle and crashed comically backward to the turf whilst simultaneously fumbling the football which New England easily recovered. The Patriots scored 3 touchdowns within 52 seconds and demolished a Jets team that is arguably the worst team in the league when they're having a bad day. The Patriots are a dangerous team, but they're VERY dangerous when their opponent simply hands them the ball repeatedly (yeah Shonne Green, I'm talking about you). Shame on me for picking the Jets against my better judgement.
VIKINGS AT BEARS- Now to be fair, I didn't believe that Jay Cutler was going to play and they didn't announce he was going to do so until after I had made my picks. This is actually making me consider writing my Thursday night pick first by itself and then writing my Sunday and Monday night pick on friday when teams have a better idea of who is going to start. As I wrote last week, Jay Cutler simply plays in a way that proves time and again conducive to the Bears' success this season. They're tough to beat when he's playing. I also wouldn't have bet against them had I known he was going to play. Oh well.
STEELERS AT BROWNS- I was thrilled that I got this prediction correct, but not even slightly surprised. The Browns are better than their record suggests and the Steelers simply can't win games this year without a healthy Roethlisberger. The great thing for the Ravens is that Roethlisberger may possibly attempt to play against the Ravens next weekend, and that will be fun for Ravens fans to watch because the Steelers fans will no longer be able to use the excuse that their team only lost because Big Ben wasn't in...because the Steelers will lose big time with him in when they come to Charm City. 8 turnovers, Steelers? C'mon, that's beyond embarrassing.
FALCONS AT BUCCANEERS- I predicted this game correctly, but man I'm upset that I did. The Falcons are a very good team in that they win games. They win close games, and most of them have been against bad teams, but they win. The Buccaneers are not a bad team. They're a pretty strong team as of late. I still doubt that the Falcons will win a playoff game, but they've proven now that they can beat a decent team on the road. They've got some big tests coming up against the Saints, Giants, and a rematch vs. the Buccaneers. I believe they'll lose 1 out of those three games and will secure the #1 seed in the playoffs for the NFC...they'll lose their first playoff game though.
RAVENS AT CHARGERS- The Ravens defense is back in a big way. They got torched by the Texans, but since then, the Ravens have allowed only 14.5 points per game and haven't allowed a touchdown from the redzone in 3 games. The Ravens are now 7th in the NFL in points allowed per game and that makes them an elite defense. Expect them to move to 5th in the NFL in this catergory and first in the AFC after next weekend. The defense played its collective heart out all game despite what some would have assumed would have been receiving matchup issues. The Chargers have multiple receivers that are 6'5" and in the 220+ range, but that didn't mean much as the Ravens held the Chargers to a single touchdown and two field goals. This is a Chargers team that averaged 23.5 points per game against the Broncos defense this season.
Suffocating defensive play allowed Joe Flacco and Ray Rice to lead 3 offensive scoring drives with very little time left to win a game that I must admit I almost didn't even have hope that they could pull out at times. Ray Rice deserves a medal for his 4th and 29 conversion and Torrey Smith's mid-air back shoulder catch to put the Ravens in position to make the game winning field goal solidifies him as an elite receiver in my mind despite having some down games this season. I would say this is an ugly win, but it's not. This was a pretty win in that it was clutch. It was clutch in the way that Peyton Manning is clutch, More importantly, it was clutch in the way that Joe Flacco is clutch. Flacco had 355 yards yesterday and the vast majority of them came from the 4th quarter onward. He's amassed 2850 yards and is averaging 246.5 yards per game. At this rate, Joe will finish the season with a career best of 4082 passing yards, but he could very well have more as 3 out of the last 5 regular season Ravens games will be played in Baltimore. The Ravens are 9-2....oh and reports are that Ray Lewis may actually return to practice this Thursday and possibly be ready to play when the Broncos come to town.
49ERS AT SAINTS- I still believe I made a sound prediction when I picked the Saints to win at home against the 49ers. I did not, however, anticipate Drew Brees to throw multiple pick-6's. Drew Brees is an amazing quarterback, but it's almost impossible for any quarterback to win a game after making those kinds of mistakes against a team of San Francisco's caliber. The 49ers, like the Ravens, are heating up in time for the playoffs, and I'm sure there are plenty of fans out there that would relish the idea of a Harbaugh Bowl in early February. Colin Kaepernick wasn't electric, but the 49ers don't need their quarterback to be electric to win games with their defense and running game. Kaepernick will most likely get much better as he develops with time, but right now he's good enough. If nothing else, it should be comforting to the '9ers that they have two Trent Dilfers in case one of them goes down.
PACKERS AT GIANTS- I didn't pick the Giants to win this game, but I'm not at all surprised that they did. Coming off of a bye week, the Giants were facing a Packers team with no Clay Matthews. Eli looked fresh, rested, and dominant. The Giants' pass rush was back in full force, and the Packers' lack of a running game once again proved a major weakness in a team that many people consider a Superbowl contender. Aaron Rodgers is a fantastic QB, but his team will not win another Superbowl until it becomes multi-dimensional and closer to complete. I should have known the Giants were due, especially coming off of a bye week. They simply own the 49ers and Packers.
Week 12 was, if nothing else, exciting and spectacular (especially if you're a Ravens fan). It's a travesty that the Texans are 10-1 instead of 9-2 at the moment, but their defensive play against inferior oppenents simply won't fly in the remainder of the season as they have to face the Patriots in Foxboro and the Colts twice. Expect the Texans to lose 2-3 of their final 5 games. They're still a good team, but their defense is falling off of a cliff at the wrong time. It's Steelers week here in Baltimore and Big Ben looks like he's planning to return. After watching the Ravens sack Philip Rivers 6 times, I would be cautious of coming back if I were Ben. After all, they're not likely to beat the Ravens in Baltimore if Ben is fully healthy, and now he'll be coming off of an injury that could prove potentially fatal if he's hit the in the ribs...and there's no way the Ravens will be avoiding his ribs. Weee reeeady, WEEE REEEEAADDY, WEEEE REAAAAAADY, FOR Y'AAAAALL! As always
GO RAVENS!!
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