NFL Week 12 Notes
December 1st, 2009 at 6:04 am by Displaced Cleveland FanThese are stories from around the league that I thought were worth noting. You can read my recap of the Browns week 12 game here.
I typically post these recaps early Monday morning, even though there is still a game yet to be played on Monday night. But this week, I wanted to wait because of the game - New Orleans vs. New England. The Saints were trying to stay perfect against an always tough Patriots team.
What did we learn from last night’s game? The Saints are legit.
If there was ever any doubt, even after winning their first ten games, it was erased after their eleventh. The Saints piled up 480 yards of offense. Much of that came off the arm of Drew Brees who was 18 for 23 (78.3%) for 371 yards and 5 touchdowns.
When you have a team that plays this well against another one of the league’s top teams, especially this late in the year, you have to be thinking about their Super Bowl chances. If this team stays healthy, watch out. They’ve got to be the favorites right now.
The NFL’s other undefeated team, the Indianapolis Colts, traveled to Houston to face their division rival, the Texans.
The Colts fell behind early, which has become common for them. They trailed 20-7 at halftime. But they came back to win the game, making it the fifth straight game in which they came from behind to win.
Aside from two interceptions, Peyton Manning had a fairly good day - 27 for 35 (77%) for 244 yards and 3 touchdowns. The defense also pitched in with a score when an interception by Clint Session was returned 27 yards for a touchdown.
The Colts became the first team to clinch their division title this season. They are three games ahead of Cincinnati and San Diego in the AFC in the race for the #1 seed in the playoffs.
The third best team in the league (at least in terms of wins & losses), the Minnesota Vikings, improved to 10-1 Sunday with a dominant 36-10 win over the Bears.
Just how dominant were the Vikings? Look at how lopsided the stats from the game are: total yards (537-169), passing yards (378-126), rushing yards (159-43), first downs (31-8), total plays (83-38), time of possession (40:55-19:05), takeaways (3-1).
Brett Favre continued his impressive season by throwing for 392 yards on 32 of 48 passing (66.7%), including 3 touchdowns.
Right now, I would love to see the Vikings and Saints meet in the NFC championship game. It could happen. They have been, by far, the most dominant teams in the conference up to this point.
In the Division:
Well, the Bengals beat the Browns to improve to 8-3. They completed a sweep of their division rivals. They also had a 100+ yard game from Larry Johnson, who they just picked up after he was released from the Chiefs. He filled in nicely with Cedric Benson being out. They’ll really be in good shape when Benson returns. This teams has turned out to be a very good team. But even though I don’t despise them as much as the Steelers and Ravens, I still cannot bring myself to root for them.
The Ravens and Steelers played a dandy of a football game Sunday night in Baltimore. When I first started watching the game, I didn’t think I’d finish it. I usually get annoyed watching these teams play competent, competitive football while the Browns have a long way to go to improve to mediocre status. But I watched, all the while not knowing who to root for. Finally in the fourth quarter I decided I ought to root for the Ravens. Why? They had the worst record of the two teams. But this wasn’t about pulling for the underdog. Instead, I was figuring if Pittsburgh lost, it was more likely they would miss the playoffs, and Baltimore was a long shot to begin with. So I started hoping the Ravens would win. They did. I’m still not happy they won. But I’m very happy the Steelers lost.
Quick hits:
- Two teams left in the hunt for an undefeated season - New Orleans & Indianapolis. For their remaining schedules, the Saints opponents have a combined record of 22-33 (.400), the Colts opponents are 27-28 (.491). Two of the five Saints opponents still have playoff hopes, compared to four against the Colts. If one of these teams goes undefeated, it’s probably going to be the Saints.
- After snapping a four-game losing streak in overtime last week, the Giants are losing again. This week it was to Denver, 26-6.
- San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson didn’t have a big game rushing the ball (39 yards), but it was enough to move him to #10 on the NFL’s all-time rushing list.
- You know that Lions team the Browns beat 37-31 lost to 38-37 last week? They were embarrassed on Thanksgiving, losing to the Packers 34-12. Last week’s hero Matthew Stafford threw 4 interceptions in the loss.
- I used to be able to mock the locals here that their Titans had a worse record than the Browns. That was several weeks ago. Now Tennessee has won five straight. The latest came when Vince Young led a 99-yard touchdown drive, using all of the final 2:37. Now the Titans have an outside shot at a wild card berth. Makes me sick.
-dcf
Tags: Baltimore Ravens, Brett Favre, Cedric Benson, Cincinnati Bengals, Clint Session, Drew Brees, Indianapolis Colts, LaDainian Tomlinson, Larry Johnson, Matthew Stafford, Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, Peyton Manning, Pittsburgh Steelers, Vince Young
