A few sprinters, a few stragglers, but mostly joggers bunched up together at the quarter mile marker
Five weeks into the NFL season, every team in the League has played at least 4 games, and 75% of the teams in the League (24 out of 32 teams) have at least 2 wins. Only 1 team has 5 wins; only 2 teams still have zero losses; only 1 team has 5 losses; and only 4 teams still have 0 wins.
The Tennessee Titans stand alone atop the NFL standings with a 5-0 record. They came oh so close to tasting defeat for the first time this year on Sunday but they managed to pull out the victory to remain perfect heading into their bye week. After winning decisively in each of the previous 3 weeks, the Titans got a big challenge from the Ravens on the road in week 5 but they wound up winning a hotly contested game, 13-10, to start 5-0 for the first time in franchise history.
The game was marked by numerous dustups and skirmishes which may have had something to do with the officials having what seemed like itchy trigger fingers on personal foul calls. Combined, the two teams were penalized 21 times for 169 yards. Personal foul calls against the Titans setup both of Baltimore’s scores. Late in the game, Terrell Suggs was flagged for a blow to the head of the QB on 3rd down and the Titans got a first down out of it and eventually got the winning score. Replays showed that there was no basis for any kind of call. Tennessee got just 210 yards of offense and only 14 first downs but they came out on top.
The score was 3-3 at halftime and the Ravens led 10-3 at the start of the 4th. Trailing 10-6 with just 6 minutes to play, the Titans began a drive at the 20 and marched all the way down the field for the winning score, with Kerry Collins throwing an 11 yard pass to Alge Crumpler in the end zone to put the Titans ahead for the first time in the game. The drive was greatly aided by the penalty against Suggs but the Titans converted two other 3rd downs and they took advantage of the break. A pick by Nick Harper on the ensuing Ravens drive sealed the win for the Titans. Tennessee is the only 5-0 team in the NFL and has a 2.5 game lead atop the AFC South.
The AFC South race is the least competitive in the NFL right now, only it’s Tennessee that’s running away with things, not the Colts or the Jags. The Houston Texans went 8-8 last season but still finished 4th in the AFC South, and things haven’t gone well for them so far this season. The Colts have looked old and not like themselves so far this season. They’ve hit the quarter mile mark at 2-2 but they could very easily be 0-4. I’m tempted to say that they should be 0-4. Granted, they lost on a last second field goal to Jacksonville in week 3 but they basically got blown out by the Bears, they needed a frantic 4th quarter comeback to win in Minnesota, and last Sunday they needed the Texans to make a couple of mind-blowing errors in order to win. The Texans came into the game 0-3 and desperate for a win to save their season after it was derailed by a natural disaster and made worse by their heart breaking loss in OT at Jacksonville the week before.
With Sage Rosenfels playing quarterback in place of the ailing Matt Schaub, the Texans amassed 391 yards and 23 first downs. The Colts outscored the Texans 10-0 in the first quarter but the Texans came back with 17 in the 2nd, 3 in the 3rd, and they scored a TD with 8:18 left in the 4th quarter to give themselves a 27-10 lead. The Texans had lost 11 of 12 previous contests with Indianapolis over the 6 year history of their franchise, but they appeared to be well on their way to beating them for a 2nd time in their history.
The Colts went on a long march towards the end zone on their next possession but they were taking a good deal of time off the clock because the Texans were doing a decent job limiting big plays. On 3rd down and 14 from the Houston 15, Peyton Manning threw complete to Marvin Harrison for 7 yards to bring up a 4th and 7 from the 8 yard line. On 4th down, Manning found some guy named Tom Santi over the middle in the end zone for a TD to make it 27-17 but there was only 4:04 to go in the game.
The Colts had to go for an onsides kick and the Texans recovered at the Indianapolis 40. At that point, things looked really bad for the Colts. Ahman Green carried the ball for 1 yard gains on first and second down and the Colts used their first two timeouts. On 3rd and 8 from the 38 of the Colts, Rosenfels dropped back to pass, rolled to his left and took off running towards the first down marker. He was going to come up a yard or 2 short, but instead of sliding, Rosenfels leapt into the air and tried to dive for the first down. Raheem Brock popped him up high and spun him around in the air and Rosenfels let go of the ball. Gary Brackett picked it up at the 32 and ran untouched down the right sideline for a 68 yard fumble return for a TD to bring the Colts within a FG with 3 and a half minutes to play. This was the most dramatic and memorable play of week 5 and it could end up being the turning point of the season for both teams involved.
Not only had the Colts been able to score a TD in a matter of seconds, they even had a timeout left and the two minute warning. It’s hard not to feel a little sympathy for Rosenfels, as he obviously just got caught up in the moment but it was a completely unnecessary play. If the Texans had been trailing and Rosenfels was trying to convert a 4th down then it would have been worth the risk but there was simply no reason to attempt such a stunt at that point in the game. It’s true that if he had hung on to the ball and gotten a first down he would have been idolized but you have to put the other 50 guys working with you in front of glory. And if you do attempt something like that, you sure as hell can’t let go of the ball.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Colts booted it deep and the Texans took over at the 20 with 3:36 left. The Texans ran for no gain on 1st down, Rosenfels threw incomplete on 2nd down, and then on 3rd and long, Rosenfels dropped back to pass and then tried to run again. This time he was caught from behind immediately and Robert Mathis jarred the ball loose and it was recovered at the 20.
On the first play of the Colts next possession, Joe Addai went for 15. Right after the 2 minute warning, Peyton threw a pass intended for Reggie Wayne in the front of the end zone near the pylon on the left side. Wayne went up and made a spectacular one-handed grab for the TD to give the Colts a 31-27. Indy had come all the way back from down 27-10 and done it with 1:54 to spare.
Rosenfels attempted to save his team and himself and lead the Texans into Indy territory. On 2nd and 10 from the 43 with 50 seconds left, Rosenfels went for Andre Johnson down the left sideline and Melvin Bullitt intercepted it to close out the win. The devastating defeat kept the Texans winless and dropped them to 0-4. For the Colts, the improbable comeback netted them a huge victory that got them back to .500 at 2-2.
In between the Colts and the Texans in the AFC South are the Jaguars, who are just 2-3 and have not played up to expectations. QB David Garrard--who gained regard around the League last year for being a smart, efficient, athletic quarterback that didn’t do things to hurt his team and was able to come up with a big play when his team needed it—has not played very well in the first 5 games. The Jags opened the season with losses at Tennessee and at home against the Bills, scoring just 10 points in the opener and 16 points against Buffalo. They produced a late drive and field goal to beat the Colts on the road in week 3 but then the next week they had to go to OT to beat the Texans at home. Last Monday the Jaguars went up against the Steelers at home in a rematch of last year’s AFC Divisional Playoffs. In 2007, the Jags had beaten the Steelers in the regular season and again in the playoffs, both times at Hines Field, and the Jags went into this game having gone 4-0 against the Steelers over the previous 3 years. The only one of those victories that took place in Jacksonville was on a Monday night in 2006 when the Jags shutout the Steelers 9-0.
Everybody expected another rough, super competitive game, and the two teams did not disappoint, staging a hard hitting, back and forth battle. The Steelers came into the game banged up in the backfield, at QB, on the O-Line, and on the other side of the ball as well. Big Ben Roethlisberger was going to have to carry the Steeler offense and he would be playing the game with an injured shoulder.
Clearly this would be a difficult task for Big Ben and early on it looked like it might be a little too difficult. On Pittsburgh’s opening drive, an unnecessary roughness penalty on the Jags gave the Steelers a first down at midfield, and a few plays later they had a 1st and 10 at the Jax 36. But after an incompletion on first down, Big Ben held the ball a little bit too long on second down and was thrown for a sack and an 8 yard loss. On 3rd and 18, Roethlisberger chucked the ball down the right side and Rashean Mathis intercepted at the 28. Mathis took the ball back up the sideline with a convoy protecting him and he would take it all the way into the end zone for a 72 yard INT return that put the Jags ahead 7-0.
The Steelers tied the game later in the opening quarter but the Jags responded with a TD drive of their own to take a 14-7 lead into the 2nd quarter. The Steelers kicked a FG to cut the lead to 14-10 early in the second and then scored a TD on their next drive to take a 17-14 lead. The Steelers would put one more FG on the board just before halftime, and after outscoring the Jags 13-0 in the 2nd quarter, the Steelers had a 20-14 lead as they went to the lockers at the half.
The defenses really bore down in the 3rd period and neither team scored. But right after the start of the 4th quarter, an unnecessary roughness penalty against the Steelers turned the Jags 3rd and long from the 39 into a 1st and 10 from the 24, and on the very next play, Garrard hit Mercedes Lewis for a TD strike to put the Jags up a point with nearly a full quarter to play.
Again the defenses would clamp down. The officials continued to make their presence felt and leave their mark on the game. Eventually the Steelers took over at their own 20 with 6 and a half minutes to go and proceeded to march 80 yards, converting 3 third downs on the drive, and forcing the Jags to use their first timeout, before scoring the go-ahead TD on an 11 yard pass from Big Ben to Hines Ward. The Steelers missed the two point to leave the score 26-21 and the Jags had time left to come back and steal it, but the Pittsburgh defense shut the Jags down on the final drive to preserve the win.
The loss dropped Jacksonville below .500 at 2-3, while the Steelers improved to 4-1 after surviving another violent football game, and they now stand alone atop the AFC North with a 1.5 game lead. There is no team tougher than the Steelers in the NFL. They’ve got great leadership in Mike Tomlin, Hines Ward, and Big Ben. The Steelers blew out the Texans in the opener, won a hard fought game in bad weather over the Browns in week 2, lost 15-9 to the Eagles on the road in game 3, and then pulled out a win in OT over the Ravens at home in week 4. With Fast Willie Parker out and Rashard Mendenhall out for the year, the Steelers have been hurting but they’ve kept winning. The Steelers are alone in 1st place in the AFC North, although the 2-2 Ravens have been highly competitive so far, beating Cleveland and Cincinnati, losing by 3 in OT at Pittsburgh in week 3, and losing by just 3 points to the Titans on Sunday. They have done this with a rookie QB and you have to think they have a chance of sneaking up on somebody. The two teams at the bottom of the AFC Central have gotten off to bad starts. The Browns are 1-3 with their only win coming against Cincinnati, who is 0-5. Both teams have played okay at times but it hasn’t been enough to get more wins. Poor Cincinnati’s season is pretty much over; although they can’t be that bad if they can play as evenly as they have with Dallas and New York. Cleveland may be the most disappointing team in the NFL this season, as they opened the year with 3 straight losses after they went 10-6 last year.
Besides the Titans, the only other team that was still undefeated by the end of week 5 was the defending champion New York Giants, who moved to 4-0 with a resounding 44-6 win over the Seahawks. Seattle was supposed to be healthier this week, and they were, but it wasn’t enough to keep them from being absolutely run over. The Giants didn’t appear to miss suspended WR Plaxico Burress at all, as they amassed 523 yards of total offense and 27 first downs. The Giants defense held Seattle to just 187 total yards and 13 first downs. The Giants outgained Seattle by 336 yards and had 14 more first downs. New York had the ball for 13 more minutes than the Seahawks. Seattle converted just 1 of 11 3rd downs. The score was never close. It was 14-3 after the 1st; 27-6 at the half; 37-6 going to the 4th; and ended up 44-6.
The Giants are doing a great job defending their crown so far, while on the other hand, it appears that Seattle’s run as the best team in the NFC West and a perennial playoff performer might be over. If Seattle isn’t going to be the best in the NFC West, then who is? They’re now just 1-3, but they are still light years ahead of the Rams, who were idle last week which at least kept them from losing. The Rams have not scored more than 14 points in any game this year, they have allowed at least 31 points in each game, and they’ve lost by at least 17 points in each game. The Niners aren’t a bad team it wouldn’t appear but they aren’t going to win the division. They lost at home to the Patriots last week to fall to 2-3. Currently, the Arizona Cardinals sit atop the NFC West standings with a 3-2 record and a 1 game lead.
It would seem at this point that the Cardinals have the best chance of taking over for Seattle in the NFC West. After a disappointing performance against the Jets in week 4, the Cardinals had a tough assignment against the Bills in week 5. Buffalo entered its week 5 game in Arizona undefeated at 4-0 but the Bills would come out of week 5 with a loss and without their QB. Trent Edwards came out throwing, completing passes on the first two plays of the game. On the third play of the game, Edwards dropped back and threw another completion, but this time he took a wicked shot from Arizona safety Adrian Wilson as he released the ball, and he was down for the count. Edwards would eventually leave the field and would head to the locker room with a concussion and never return.
It was JP Losman’s team the rest of the day and he wasn’t able to fill Edwards’ shoes. On just the second play after Losman came into the game he fumbled and the Cards recovered inside Buffalo territory at the 38. It took Kurt Warner and the Cards just 6 plays to take advantage of the mistake and put a TD on the board. That’s pretty much how things went all day. Losman completed 15 of 21 passes for 220 yards and a TD but he was intercepted once, lost 2 fumbles, and was sacked 5 times. The Bills got only 13 first downs in the game while the Cardinals notched 28. The Bills turned it over 4 times and Arizona never turned it over on the day. The Cards got out to a 21-7 lead and took a 24-14 lead into the half. The Bills got the score to 24-17 in the 3rd but the Cards outscored the Bills 17-0 the rest of the way to finish off a 41-17 smack down.
Hopefully for the Bills’ sake Edwards is able to come back 100% quckly, because he is the straw that stirs their drink. Buffalo has only a half game lead in the division but I think the Bills have a great chance to win the AFC East. The other 3 teams in the division—Patriots, Dolphins, and Jets—all figure to be up and down the rest of the season. Brett Favre is still getting comfortable in New York where the Jets are 2-2 on the year, having played 2 so-so games, 1 horrible game, and 1 tremendous game. The Dolphins have been the story of the League over the last few weeks, upsetting popular preseason Super Bowl picks New England and San Diego, primarily due to the effectiveness of their “Wildcat” formation. But in their first two games the Dolphins lost to the Jets at home and got blown out in Arizona. They are still a work in progress. The Patriots are a proud team but I can’t see them being much more than a mediocre team the rest of the way. Matter of fact, I think it would be an accomplishment for them to go 8-8.
There has been little question which division is the strongest in football this season. The NFC is usually one of the better divisions in the game but it is particularly stout this season. The defending champion Giants sit atop the standings at 4-0 but you could make the argument that they are only the 3rd best team in their own division. A lot of people would probably disagree with you but it’s far from an outlandish statement.
Dallas was the most hyped team in the NFL coming into this season. The Boys have hit a few speed bumps during the first quarter mile of the season and T.O.’s narcissism has surfaced again and will probably be a constant for the remainder of the season. He’s always a threat to wreck a team but as long as Dallas keeps winning 4 out of ever 5 games it should be okay. And despite any of the negative things that have gone on, the Cowboys are still 4-1.
Dallas was supposed to have an easy time of things in their week 5 game against the winless Bengals at home. Early on it looked like things would go according to plan but the Cowboys would end up having to work a bit to secure the win. Dallas jumped out to a 17-0 lead midway through the 2nd quarter but Cinci held them for the rest of the half and kicked a pair of field goals to make it 17-6 at halftime. The Bengals scored their first TD of the game midway through the 3rd quarter and the game went to the 4th quarter with the Cowboys leading by just 4 points.
Shayne Graham’s 3rd field goal of the day brought the Bengals to within a point just a minute into the final period. At 0-4 on the season, I guess you could say the Bengals were playing with nothing to lose and it showed, as they did a surprise onsides on the ensuing kickoff and it worked. Two plays later the Bengals had a first down at the Dallas 37. They were just about in range for a go-ahead field goal. But on the next play the Cowboys blew up Chris Perry in the backfield and jarred the ball loose. Dallas recovered at the 41 to save themselves momentarily. On the first play after the fumble, Tony Romo found Terrell Owens on a deep post and T.O. burned the defense for 56 yards and a game breaking TD right down the middle of the field.
With around 12 minutes to go, the Cowboys had an 8 point lead, but the Bengals got a huge kickoff return all the way to the Dallas 37 to get back in the game. It took the Bengals just 7 plays and 3 minutes to get into the end zone to cut the lead to 24-22. It was now late enough in the game to go for 2 but the Bengals came up empty.
There was still 7 and a half minutes remaining on the clock, and the Bengals kicked deep, but the Cowboys put together one final drive to secure the win. The Cowboys went 80 yards in 11 plays, converting 3 3rd downs, and scoring a TD when Romo’s pass on 3rd and 11 from the 15 went through Austin Miles’ hands and into the arms of Patrick Clayton for a lucky break to ice the victory. The Cowboys won it 31-22.
I have to say that the Redskins are the team from the NFC East that has impressed me the most this year. Yes, they did get dealt with by the Giants on opening night but they have improved dramatically since then, winning 4 games in a row against decent teams, beating the Saints and Cards at home and then pulling off upsets on the road at Dallas and Philly in consecutive weeks. The Eagles are also one of the best teams in the League in my opinion, but both of their stars, McNabb and Westbrook, have been slowed by injuries and the Eagles have lost 3 games to good teams by 6 points or less.
This last Sunday the Eagles hosted the Redskins in Philly. They took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter but the Skins booted 3 FG’s in the 2nd quarter to make it a 5 point game at half. The Skins were the only ones to score in the 3rd quarter, getting in the end zone for a 16-14 lead. Clinton Portis found the end zone early in the 4th to make it 23-14. The Eagles got a FG to make it a 6 point game but Washington held on for a 23-17 win, outgaining Philly 388-254, and getting 8 more first downs (22-14).
While the Skins moved to 4-1, the Eagles fell to 2-3. The Giants are alone in 1st place in the NFC East with a 4-0 record but they are just a half game ahead of the both the Skins and Cowboys, who are both 4-1. The Eagles are now alone in 4th place in the East, 2 games behind Dallas and Washington, and 2.5 back of the Giants. Going into week 6 the Eagles are facing a virtual must win game. They can’t afford to fall too far behind in the East. They have to finish at least 3rd in the East to get into the playoffs.
Considering that the Giants are undefeated, the Skins and Cowboys have lost only to NFC East teams, and 2 of Philly’s 3 losses have come to other NFC East teams, one could say that the top 4 teams in the NFC are all in the East. Some of the teams expected to contend in the NFC have disappointed so far. The Packers and Vikings were the teams that were supposed to battle for the top spot in the NFC Central this year. Green Bay started the year 2-0 and you started to wonder if they’d even miss a beat without Favre. But they’ve missed a few beats since then. They got beaten soundly by the Cowboys at home and then by Tampa Bay on the road. Finally last week they fell at home to the Falcons to drop their record to 2-3.
The Vikings have had a tough schedule, with games against Green Bay, Indy, Carolina, Tennessee, and New Orleans. They pulled a win out of their asses on Monday night against the Saints to save their season. The final game of the week was easily the wildest and it was one of the craziest games that I’ve seen in a long time or really ever. The Saints amassed 375 yards of offense, outgained the Vikings by 105 yards, held the vaunted Minnesota rushing attack to 44 yards on the ground, and got 176 yards and 2 TD from Reggie Bush just on 5 punt returns, but they still lost! They turned it over 4 times, never turned over the Vikings, had a FG blocked and returned for a TD, missed a potential game winning field goal, and committed 11 penalties for 102 yards. The Saints had a 27-20 lead in the 4th but Gus Frerotte brought the Vikings back and Ryan Longwell won it for Minnesota, 30-27. The Vikings had no business winning that game but boy did they ever need it.
With the two teams expected to compete for the division title at 2-3, the Bears at 3-2 are the division leaders at the quarter mile mark and one of the surprises of the League. Chicago ran over the Colts on the road in their opener, then lost a tough game at Carolina and a tough game in OT against the Bucs before coming out on the right end of a tough game at home against the Eagles. After 4 difficult games, the Bears got a break in week 5, as they got to go to Detroit to play the hapless Lions, and smoked them, 34-7. The Lions are nearly as bad as the Lams. They are 0-4 and have lost each game by at least 13 points while allowing at least 31 points in each game. The Lions are pretty much an afterthought in the NFC North already, but the other 3 teams are all separated by just 1 game, with the Bears a game up in 1st place on the Vikings and the Pack.
While the Vikings had to leave New Orleans flying high, the loss at home on Monday night was a tough pill for the Saints to swallow. I don’t know if they’ll be over it by next Sunday. The loss to Minnesota moved the Saints into last in the NFC South at 2-3. The three teams ahead of the Saints in the NFC South are all separated by just 1 game. The Bucs have had a tough schedule so far and they’ve come out of it 3-2, with a win at Chicago and over the Packers and Falcons at home; a 4 point loss in New Orleans; and a 3 point loss in Denver this past Sunday. The surprising Falcons are also 3-2 but they haven’t faced as difficult of a schedule as TB. The Birds have blown out Detroit and KC at home; gotten beaten soundly by the Panthers and Bucs on the road; and last Sunday stunned GB at Lambeau. The team that has been the most impressive in the South so far is the same team that sits in 1st place, the 4-1 Carolina Panthers. Carolina’s only loss is at Minnesota. They’ve beaten San Diego on the road; beaten Chicago at home; smothered the Falcons and blown out the Chiefs. Carolina has a 1 game lead in 1st place over the Falcons and Panthers. The NFC South should be a very tight race all the way to the finish.
That leaves just the AFC West to discuss. Denver sits atop the standings at 4-1 with a 2 game lead but they could be 2-3. The Broncos destroyed Oakland on opening night; lucked out to beat SD in week 2; needed a missed FG by Over-Dramatica to beat the Saints by 2 in week 3; and then got beat by the lowly Chiefs, 33-19 in week 4. Last Sunday the Broncos hosted Tampa. It was another good game but the Broncos ended up with the victory, 16-13, to move to 4-1. I’m not sold on them yet.
At the bottom of the AFC West are the Chiefs, who are just 1-4 on the year, but their 1 win came over Denver at Mile High. They’ve also lost to the Bradyless Pats; been beaten 23-8 by Oakland at Arrowhead; gotten blown out by the Falcon; and last week they lost 34-0 to the Panthers. Oakland is only 1-3 on the year but they’ve been much competitive this year. After being embarrassed on opening night, the Raiders have beaten KC on the road; lost by a point at Buffalo; and lost after blowing a 4th quarter lead against the Chargers.
The Chargers are high on my list for most disappointing team. After making it to the AFC Championship Game last season, many felt this was SD’s year to finally win the Super Bowl. But so far this year they’ve played one good game out of 5. They lost at home to Carolina on a last second TD in the opener; lost by a point at Denver in week 2 on the Ed Hochuli call; they destroyed the Jets for their first win in week 3; they needed a Raider meltdown to come back and win at Oakland in week 4; and in week 5 the Chargers got stunned by the Miami Dolphins. This was no fluke either. The Dolphins straight dominated the Chargers. Miami had 13 more first downs than SD (23-10); outgained SD by 188 yards (390-202); and held the ball for 13 minutes more than SD (36:41-23:19). The Chargers were just 3 for 12 on 3rd down conversions and 0 for 1 on 4th down, while the Dolphins went 7 for 14 on 3rd down and 1 for 1 on 4th down. This was not a turnover game; in fact, Miami committed the only turnover. The Dolphins just whipped SD’s ass. The Dolphins led 17-3 at the half and held on for a 17-10 win, their 2nd in a row. The Chargers are now just 2-3 on the season. Denver has been fortunate to start the year 4-1 and I still think SD is a better team than the Broncos. But the Chargers are now 2 games behind Denver and they lost the first head to head meeting with the Broncos.
Looking forward to week 6, 3 of the League’s top teams are off. Tennessee (5-0, 1st in AFC South), Buffalo (4-1, 1st in AFC East), and Pittsburgh (4-1, 1st in AFC North) are all on byes in week 6. The Giants should remain undefeated, as they play the struggling and battered Browns in Cleveland on Monday Night.
All of the winless teams will be in action in week 6. The Rams’ historically bad season should continue, as they face the red hot Skins in Washington. Detroit is unlikely to get off the schnide either, as the Lions will be playing in Minnesota where they almost never win. The other two winless teams—Cincinnati and Houston—actually have decent chances to get in the winner’s circle for the first time this year on Sunday. The Texans host the Dolphins in week 6, while the Bengals play on the road against the Jets. It’s hard to know what to expect from the Dolphins, as they have been one of the League’s more confusing teams in their 4 games. But the Texans aren’t that bad and they are normally tough at home so you have to think they have a shot to win this one. The Jets have also been inconsistent this year, and if they don’t play well and the Bengals play like they did against Dallas and the Giants, then Cinci could easily get that first W this Sunday.
There are a number of what you might call “separation games” in week 6. The Ravens face the Colts in Indianapolis in a battle of 2-2 teams. This is probably a bigger game for the Colts than it is for the Ravens, as Indy has already lost twice in their new building and more is expected of them. Also in week 6, the Eagles go to San Francisco to play the Niners in a battle of 2-3 teams. This game is probably bigger for Philly than SF because the Niners are in a division without a clear favorite, while the Eagles are already behind 3 teams in the best division in the NFL. A key game in the AFC figures to be the Sunday night matchup between the 3-1 Patriots and the 2-3 Chargers in San Diego. The Pats are still looking to prove themselves with Matt Cassell at QB, while a loss for San Diego would put the Chargers in near panic mode.
This will be a big week in the always tight NFC South. The Falcons have surprised everyone with their 3-2 start but they face a major test at home on Sunday against the NFC North leading Chicago Bears. Meanwhile in Tampa, the 3-2 Bucs host the division leading Panthers, who come into the game with a 4-1 record. New Orleans needs to play well at home against the Raiders and get a win to put last Monday’s loss to the Vikings behind them. There’s a chance that there could be a 3-way tie for 1st in the division with the last place team only a game back by the end of the week.
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