How Bout Them Redskins, Eh????

REDSKINS 22-COWBOYS 19 [Sportz 0-1 this week; 69-45 this season]:  Wow...what a game.  The Skins saved their season with a...I guess....gutsy win.  They didn't really do anything more than take advantage of Cowboys mistakes and missed opportunities.  Washington really worked on running the football and working downfield.  Now, they didn't get any big passing plays, but got a few pass interference calls that moved the ball. 

It came down to Novak....who missed a game winning FG and, frankly, I hated him after that.  I was already scouting the available kickers that Gibbs may be auditioning this week.  Then, that blocked field goal attempt [which came right after my wife said "you really didn't think the Redskins would win, did you?"] and scuffle afterwards.  Novak got his 2nd chance....and hit it.  You got a job for another week, my friend. 

Here are some other musings:

-Terrell Owens did catch a TD and had a pretty good stat game.  But he cost his team this game.  After the TD, he did a 'sleep celebration' that cost his team 15 yds and ended up with him and Bill Parcells getting after it on the sidelines.  Then, he drops a wide open TD catch.  Mike Ditka said it best on ESPNews...and I am paraphrasing here.  He said that if Owens wants to celebrate and act up when he does something good, then he needs to act like a fool when he does something bad.  He does so many great things on the field...but he also has been dropping passes that a high school receiver would be benched for.

-Bill Parcells actually lost this game for the Cowboys.  For an old school coach, he made a new school mistake.  Up 6-5 after a TD in the first half, Parcells goes for the 2 point conversion.  Why?  That's good strategy late in a game but not smart when you have the entire game ahead of you.  If he kicked the PAT, then the Cowboys would have been up 20-19 when Novak missed his first FG...and Dallas would have killed the clock for the win.

-The Redskins aren't completely dead yet.  Being 3-5 isn't great...but it's better than 2-6 and with nothing to play for.  The Skins get the Eagles twice and the Giants at home...and have a serviceable skeddie to get back in this thing.  Next week: at Philly.

BILLS 24-PACKERS 10 [Sportz 0-2, 69-46]:  The only good player the Bills has goes down on the 7th play of the game...and G-Bay still gets rolled.  Ugh.

DOLPHINS 31-BEARS 13 [Sportz 0-3, 69-47]:  The Bears looked every bit as bad today as they did a few weeks ago in Arizona.  The difference here is that Miami didn't choke the game away.  This wasn't a fluke...Miami spanked them.  You can say Da Bears turned it over too much, which is true, but that doesn't explain how Ronnie Brown just abused the defense on the ground.  And I'd be concerned if I was a Chicago fan, as they could be without Brian Urhlacher and Mike Brown for a while.

LIONS 30-FALCONS 14 [Sportz 0-4, 69-48]:  Another game that made no sense.  The Lions defense has been bad all year long...but held Michael Vick in check.  On the other side, their offense looked awesome again.

CHIEFS 31-RAMS 17 [Sportz 0-5, 69-49]:  The Show Me State battle ended with two of the best running back performances you could ask for.  Both Larry Johnson and Steven Jackson got off with huge games.  But this game could be the one that keeps Damon Huard behind center the rest of the season.  KC is rolling right now and Herm Edwards needs to just keep it going.  Don't put Trent Green in there. 

GIANTS 14-TEXANS [Sportz 1-5, 70-49]:  This was an ugly win...but a win nonetheless for the Giants.  Oh, and Jeremy Shockey got LAID OUT in this one. 

SAINTS 31-BUCCANEERS 14 [Sportz 2-5, 71-49]:  What happened to that vaunted Bucs secondary?  Yeesh!

JAGUARS 37-TEXANS 7 [Sportz 3-5, 72-49]:  Speaking of QB controversies, can Byron Leftwich get back on the field after this effort from David Garrard??  He's managing the game very well and has the Jags back in the thick of the playoff chase.

RAVENS 26-BENGALS 20 [Sportz 4-5, 73-49]:  B-more pulled to a 2-game lead in the AFC North with this win.  The Ravens just smacked Cincy in the mouth and the Bengals lost their cool.  And, no, that wasn't an interference call you whiny Cincy fans.

NINERS 9-VIKINGS 3 [Sportz 4-6, 73-50]:  If this was college football, Minnesota would be penalized heavily for this loss.  And it startles me, since San Fran has the same record as my Redskins right now. 

BRONCOS 31-STEELERS 20 [Sportz 5-6, 74-50]:  Don't look now, but the Steelers are 2-6.  Last year, they lost their 6th game and never lost again.  It ain't happening this year.  I guess Jerome Bettis' leadership is greater than we thought.  And we'll see Bill Cowher at NC State eventually.

CHARGERS 32-BROWNS 25 [Sportz 6-6, 75-50]:  Two things. One, how did the Browns score 25 pts on the Bolts???  And, two, how great is LaDainian Tomlinson???  Oh, and three, am I the only one that doesn't like the Chargers powder blues??

COLTS 27-PATRIOTS 20 [Sportz 6-7, 75-51]:  The Colts are an impressive 8-0.  They just went into Denver and New England....the other top teams in the AFC...and came out with wins.  They could end up winning them all.  Well, they could be 15-0 heading into the final week against.....the Dolphins.