Monday, November 14, 2005

NFL Round Up, Week 10

Big Game
Seattle Seahawks 31, St. Louis Rams 16
Just crown Seattle Kings of the West. The Seahawks now have a three game lead on the Rams and unless they are plagued by the injury bug they will win the NFC West going away.

Shaun Alexander ran for 165 yards and three touchdowns on 33 carries to help the Seahawks sweep the Rams this season and win their fifth game in a row. It’s the most games in a row Seattle has won since 1999.

Big Upset
Minnesota Vikings 24, N.Y. Giants 21
I love quoting myself when I’m right. Here is what I said last week on the NFL Round Up, “I believe that the Giants are getting just a little too cocky. Look for Minnesota to humble them a little on Sunday.”

I believe the Giants win this game 9 out of 10 times but Sunday was that one time for the Vikings. They became the first team in NFL History to return a punt, kickoff and interception for touchdowns. They managed just enough offense to set up a game winning 48 yard field goal for Paul Edinger.

Worst Game
Chicago Bears 17, San Francisco 49ers 9
What do you get when you combine a good defense against a bad offense and 38 mph wind gusts? An ugly game! 49ers quarterback Cody Pickett attempted just 13 passes and completed only one of them.

We did see some history in this game as Chicago’s Nathan Vasher returned a missed field goal 108 yards for a TD, the longest play in NFL history.

Division Rankings
NFC East 21-15
NFC South 21-15
AFC West 20-16
AFC North 19-17
AFC South 18-18
NFC West 15-21
NFC North 16-21
AFC East 14-22

Miami Dolphins
The Dolphins have turned into heartbreakers for all of their fans. They played Atlanta surprisingly close last weekend and then on Sunday seemed to throw a knock-out punch against the Patriots only to see them get up off the canvas and throw a haymaker of their own.

After the Dolphins took a 16-15 lead late in the fourth quarter Tom Brady connected with Benjamin Watson and a two point conversion put the Patriots up 23-16. Miami quarterback then drove the Dolphins 70 yards to the 5 yard line with a minute left but then his fourth down pass fell incomplete.

Oh yeah, and my Dolphins now play in the worst division in football (See division rankings above). Next, Miami plays at Cleveland.

Looking Ahead to Next Week

Big Game


Indianapolis Colts @ Cincinnati
The Bengals are neck and neck with the Steelers for the AFC North division. Keep in mind that Cincinnati has struggled against teams with winning records and I think they will continue to struggle against the Colts. Are the Colts reminding anyone else of the 85 Bears?

Prediction: Colts 31/Bengals 24

Possible Upset
Detroit Lions @ Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys are coming off an emotional win and a short week and the Lions are a team that could take advantage of that. I think this game will be close.

Prediction: Lions 17/Cowboys 14