Best and Worst of NFL
By Scott Allen
So with one game left this weekend, another Cardinals loss in the books and an almost sure bet the Dallas Cowboys will dispatch the Carolina Panthers. What more do we know about the teams?
The contenders:
I think it’s safe to say the New York Jets are here to stick around for awhile. After beating the New England Patriots last week, the Jets already brought a lot of fans on board. After dispatching the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, they proved they could win even when not playing their best. The Jets made a few mistakes that in the past would have killed them, however today showed their toughness and heart.
The Indianapolis Colts. Peyton Manning showed tonight why he is still the best quarterback in the NFL. After a less than stellar start and coming out of the gates down 3-0 heading into the second quarter against the Cardinals, he literally took over and picked apart the Cardinals defense. The Colts are back and they are strong. Right now, they are the cream of the crop of the AFC, if not the entire NFL.
The New York Giants. They scored their first shutout in three years today, not that the Tampa Bay Bucs are an offensive juggernaut. However no matter who you are, pitching a shutout in the NFL is still a very difficult feat these days.
The New Orleans Saints. Sure they can give up points, though today they put up a good defensive effort, only giving up 7 to Buffalo, but they sure can light it up. Buffalo kept them in check for 3 quarters today, but they pulled away late and showed they can win the games that the offense isn’t at their best.
The pretenders:
The Tennessee Titans. People still gave them a great chance to rebound after losing a close one in Pittsburgh and then jumping out to a large lead only to give it up at home to Houston. After today, history is definitely not on their side. The Titans have probably played the easy part of their schedule. It just gets worse from here.
The Cincinnati Bengals. Don’t let their 2-1 record fool you. They did have a comeback victory today against the Steelers and last week against the Packers, but they too could be considered pretenders, at least for now. Cincy is still not a very good team. They are however, a team that has made good plays at times when it counted the most, and that’s all that matters. Just don’t expect it to continue.
The jury is still out on: Steelers, Packers, Eagles, Cardinals, Patriots, Falcons, Bears, Cowboys, Chargers, Broncos, Vikings, 49ers.
The worst of the NFL: Browns, Rams, Raiders, Chiefs, Panthers