The players know that the NFC Central is suddenly in their control if they can win this Sunday's game and beat the Bears in Chicago next week. A year ago, they viewed front running teams such as the Bucs and Vikings from a distance. Favre almost pulled out a victory in the final seconds of the loss in Tampa Oct. But this is November, and the Bucs usually get hot after Halloween. Their road troubles in cold-weather sites are well-documented and, guess what, it's November.
The Lambeau refrigerator is starting to chill. Tony Dungy will go back to Warrick Dunn as his starting halfback, but he won't be opposed to using Mike Alstott more than he would have a week ago. Last Sunday's yard effort against the Vikings showed the offense can get a charge from tough inside running.
There will be an emotional side to this game. Unless they meet again in the playoffs, Favre and defensive tackle Warren Sapp are ending one of the most fun individual rivalries in the sport.
Favre wants to give Sapp a nice parting gift. Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers : Jerome Bettis didn't get his usual yards rushing against the Titans and he doesn't figure to get it against the Ravens, who don't allow such accomplishments. First, Kordell Stewart needs a repeat of his yard performance against the Titans. In practices recently, Stewart has been uncharacteristically accurate.
Perhaps the biggest improvement has been Plaxico Burress 's involvement. His yard effort against the Titans was huge. Whether he can repeat it against Chris McAlister and Duane Starks , the Ravens starting cornerback, is another question. The other way the Steelers can win is getting turnovers from the Ravens.
That is possible. Elvis Grbac is iffy because of his ribs problems, so if he plays, he might give up the ball more easily. Whether it's Jason Brookins or injured Terry Allen at halfback, the Steelers will be run-blitzing them to death trying to get the turnover. The Ravens may not panic if they lose even though they would fall two-and-a-half games behind the Steelers.
They still have five of their final seven games at home. But this is the time for the Ravens to step up and start playing like champions. Now they are battling for the cellar of the AFC Central. How the mighty have fallen. Injuries are killing these teams, so the loser will be forgetting about the playoffs. To make matters worse, neither team has a healthy running back to ride to get them out of the basement. Fred Taylor is another scratch for the Jaguars.
Eddie George should sit out for the Titans. He looked horrible against the Steelers on Sunday. His ankle slowed him down. He hurt his knee. It seemed as though every part of his legs were damaged. Seeing him limp off play after play was sad. Mike Green might not be the perfect fill-in, but George needs a week off to recharge. Titans coach Jeff Fisher and Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin are baffled that their teams aren't performing with their usual energy.
Fisher said his team is playing average, which isn't their style. The loser of this game won't have to worry about getting a spark. The loser will need last rites. New York Jets at New Orleans Saints : All right, let's face up to the fact that the Jets might be the worst looking team in football.
They can't stop the run. They are the third worst in third-down defense. They rank 28th for passing yards.
But Herm Edwards is doing well in a lot of things. He's made the Jets opportunists. They are the third best AFC team in the red zone 11 touchdowns and five field goals in 19 possessions. Plus, Curtis Martin has been unstoppable.
He leads the NFL with yards. Of course, as bad as the Jets have been stopping the run, NFC leader Ricky Williams , who has yards, could close the game dramatically. The Saints offense finally found their rhythm in last Sunday's comeback victory over the Rams.
One of the changes was getting Aaron Brooks to roll out of the pocket a little more. Pro Bowler Joe Horn , bottled up during the Saints first five games, exploded for eight catches and yards and should get on a roll.
The Saints defensive line should also get back into its pass-rushing mode. Kurt Warner's quick tosses had the Saints holding more at the line of scrimmage. The Saints will look at Vinny Testaverde as a big target. Cleveland Browns at Chicago Bears : A year ago, networks might have thought of moving the starting time of this game to 1 a. The Broncos just ended an extremely embarrassing streak by Sayre Bedinger.
Vic Fangio needs to be fired after embarrassing loss at home vs. Raiders by Jordan Lopez. Las Vegas Raiders. Denver Broncos. Related Story: In-house candidates if big changes are made. Predominantly Orange 3 weeks Denver Broncos: Team suffers another season-ending injury.
Predominantly Orange 3 weeks Denver Broncos: How to fix the team for the long-term future. Predominantly Orange 3 weeks Broncos: Vic Fangio on the hot seat, other disappointments vs. More NFL Rumors ». Everybody gets a pink slip. Offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur? One step closer to free-agency. Keeping the seat warm until Aaron Rodgers and the Packers accept a call from general manager George Paton. In deep spaghetti sauce. Immediately after their defense was exposed as a front-running fraud and Bridgewater was whacked like a pinata during a loss to Las Vegas , the Broncos took turns standing behind the podium at a post-game news conference.
While getting trounced in those Super Bowls a generation ago left scars on the fan base, there is absolutely no worse sin in Broncos Country than getting embarrassed at home by the Raiders. And make no mistake, Denver was embarrassed by a Las Vegas team that had been shook to its core by the resignation of coach Jon Gruden. How gosh-awful was it?
If championship football teams are built from the ground up, Denver has foundational cracks in both its offensive and defensive lines. Bridgewater was pummeled 17 times while trying to throw. The Vonster and his mates, allegedly elite, gave up a whopping 8.
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