Sunday, December 18, 2005

Redskins SPANK Cowboys

REDSKINS 35-COWBOYS 7 (Sportz, gladly, 0-1).  This one didn't come down to a magical 4th quarter comeback.  In fact, it was just dominance continued.  If you take that last part of the Week 2 game in Dallas with this one....the Redskins went on a 49-0 run on the Cowboys [Dallas scored the first 13 of the first game and the last 7 of this one].   Remember the numbers 45, 46 and 47.  Mike Sellers is 45...Ladell Betts is 46 and Chris Cooley is 47.  All Skins TDs came from them....including THREE TD catches from Cooley. 

And while the offensive numbers are great...it was the defense that keyed this one up.  Seven sacks, three interception and one fumble recovery led to the Redskins worst beating of Dallas in the rivalry's history.   While the defense has performed pretty well this season....they have been lacking in the pressure and takeaway categories.  Not tonight.  And this was a HUGE win for the Skins, as it places them at 8-6 along with Dallas, Minnesota and Atlanta (at the time I wrote this, Chicago was beating them).  The Skins get the tiebreaker due to a better conference record and would be holding onto the final playoff spot in the NFC.  Up next:  Giants come to DC and then the finale at Philly.  Dallas faces a must win in Carolina next week.  CRAP...WHY COULDN'T WE HAVE CLOSED THE DEAL WITH OAKLAND OR SAN DIEGO??!??!?!?

SEAHAWKS 28-TITANS 24 (Sportz 1-1).  With this win, Seattle has clinched a first round bye.  One more win...and they have home field advantage thru the playoffs.  Ho-hum, Shaun Alexander ran for 172 yards and a TD and Matt Hasselbeck tossed 3 TDs of his own.  But, you got to be impressed by the Titans who actually held a 10-pt second half lead in this game. 

GIANTS 27-CHIEFS 17 (Sportz 2-1).  Call this the Tiki Barber Show.  Dude ran for 220 yards and 2 TDs as he made KC look like a punch of wet paper bags out there.  The Chiefs do not deserve to make the playoffs with tackling like that.  That isn't poor defense....that's poor tackling.  And a shame since there is no one hotter in the NFL right now than Larry Johnson.  Any-hoo...a win here keeps the G-men's hopes alive for a first round bye.  A win over the Skins next week makes them NFC East champs. 

PANTHERS 27-SAINTS 10 (Sportz 3-1).  What if the Saints kept Jake Delhomme and let Aaron Brooks go??  Quite a thought since the Saints benched Brooks for Todd Bouman...who struggled himself.  Delhomme, the former Ragin' Cajun and Saints QB, came home to spank his former team....including a nifty QB sneak for a TD.  This win [added with the Tampa loss] puts the Panthers atop the NFC South standings again.  Also, this may be the final game the Saints play in Louisiana...as no one is sure where the Saints will call home in 2006. 

CHARGERS 26-COLTS 17 (Sportz 3-2).  You can look at this many ways.  Sure, it sucks that we go yet another year without a undefeated season.  But, it makes the rest of the Colts season that much more easy to deal with.  If the Colts had won this game...then Tony Dungy would be faced with "history or hesitation".  With the loss, expect Dungy to rest his starters and keep them out of harms way.  Sucks for me...since I am going to probably have to sit Manning in my Fantasy Championship game next week. 

BRONCOS 28-BILLS 17 (Sportz 4-2).  Denver wrapped up a playoff spot for the third straight year and are one win away from winning the AFC West title.  Denver dominated the Bills on the ground....outrushing them 178-75.  Not a good sign when you are Buffalo and you have no idea who your QB is. 

BENGALS 41-LIONS 17 (Sportz 5-2).  Congrats to the Bengals who just made the playoffs for the first time in 15 years.  Now Arizona holds the longest playoff drought.  Detroit fumbled away the opening kickoff and Cincy stomped on their throats quickly.  The Bengals have benefitted from playing the NFC North...winning all 4 games and picking off 18 passes in those games.  This was a butt whipping in every possible way. 

PATRIOTS 28-BUCCANEERS 0 (Sportz 6-2).  Did I say butt whipping??  Here was another one.  Tampa gained a measly 138 total yards of offense in their embarrassing defeat in Foxboro.  Tom Brady [who wasn't even supposed to play] tossed 3 TDs and threw for over 250 yards.  With this win, the Pats win the AFC East for the 4th time in 5 years. 

JAGUARS 10-NINERS 9 (Sportz 7-2).  An ugly game in ugly weather with some ugly teams.  Sure, the Jags are now 10-4 and have almost locked up a playoff bid...but they've not been looking good without their Byron.  Oh...and the Niners are that much closer to gaining the #1 overall pick. 

STEELERS 18-VIKINGS 3 (Sportz 7-3).  The Vikings six game winning streak is over.  These aren't the Lions, Rams, Browns or Packers.  This was the Steelers.  And the Steelers did that thing that they like to do.  Run the ball and eat up a ton of clock.  They also made Brad Johnson look like.....well.....Brad Johnson.  With the win [and a loss by KC], the Steelers are right back in the thick of the playoff picture. 

DOLPHINS 24-JETS 20 (Sportz 8-3).  The Phins improve to 7-7 by beating the Jets.  The Jets actually dominated this game...owning a 7-pt fourth quarter lead and totally outgaining Miami.  But three turnovers completely threw the team off and the Jets are staring at a top 5 pick in the draft. 

EAGLES 17-RAMS 16  (Sportz 8-4).  Two teams who are playing QBs that they didn't really figure on starting right now are playing out the string.  Don't let the 1 point difference fool ya!  There were 28 penalties, 250 penalty yards, 4 turnovers, and a combined 8-of-29 conversion rate on third downs.  Ugh. 

BROWNS 9-RAIDERS 7  (Sportz 8-5).  Who cares. 

TEXANS 30-CARDINALS 19  (Sportz 9-5).  Okay...they won one.  But I am still not convinced that they aren't trying to tank games.  The scoreboards at Reliant Stadium weren't working...so the Texans didn't know they were actually winning this game.  I bet Dom Capers is kicking himself right about now [not that he'll been around come draft day, anyways]. 

BEARS  16-FALCONS 3  (Sportz 10-5).  Vick threw 32 times...completed just 13 of them for 122 yards.  Chicago's QBs combined for just 11-of-26 passing and 98 yards.  And these teams are in the playoff race!?!?!?!?

NFC
Seahawks-W  (12-2)
Bears-N  (10-4)
Giants-E  (10-4)
Panthers-S  (10-4)
Buccaneers  (9-5)
Redskins  (8-6)
Falcons  (8-6)
Vikings  (8-6)
Cowboys  (8-6)
Eagles  (6-8)
Rams  (5-9)
Cardinals  (4-10)
Lions  (4-10)
**Packers  (3-10)
Saints  (3-11)
Niners  (2-12)

AFC
Colts-S  (13-1)
Broncos-W  (11-3)
Bengals-N  (11-3)
Patriots-E  (9-5)
Jaguars  (10-4)
Steelers  (9-5)
Chargers  (9-5)
Chiefs  (8-6)
Dolphins  (7-7)
Browns  (5-9)
**Ravens (4-9)
Bills  (4-10)
Raiders  (4-10)
Titans  (4-10)
Jets  (3-11)
Texans  (2-12)

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