Over the course of an NFL Sunday, despite the fact that there are at most 16 games there are seemingly hundreds of angles. This is never more obvious than in the final weeks, when playoff possibilities, tiebreaker scenarios and clinching situations take center stage. In December, the game behind the games is just as intriguing-- or sometimes just as frustrating. Unlike recent seasons (last year the Skins held off a late Eagles rally but were eliminated when Atlanta won) the playoff intrigue has been replaced by palace intrigue in Ashburn.
Stale of the Century-- the 100th meeting between the Redskins and Cowboys felt little like the NFL's greatest rivalry it claims to be (it's clearly in the top ten-- top five if both teams are good)... a 17-0 whitewash wrapped up a postseason berth for the suddenly good in December Cowboys and pushed the Jim Zorn era one game closer to matching the Steve Spurrier error's record (JZ is 12-19; Spurrier was 12-20).
Top rivalries today: Pats-Colts, Steelers-Ravens,Packers-Vikes (Favre factor puts this one into consideration... Classic rivalries: Steelers-Raiders in the 70's, Redskins-Cowboys from 1971 to 87, Broncos-Browns in the late 80's, Cowboys-Niners before the Switzer factor took full effect, Raiders-Chiefs before Al Davis lost his mind.
Cold as ice-- despite the recent warming there was plenty of frost on the field... from the Redskins offense. The running game netted 43 yards on 18 carries. Jason Campbell completed over 60% of his passes but they were mostly of the short-stuff style...just over 8 yards per completion. The inability to convert third downs (4 of 14...29%) once again hurt this team (Skins rank 23rd in the league for the season). Not once did the Redskins reach the red zone (they reached the Cowboys 31 on their final possession).
They might be Giants? not really-- six days after blasting the Redskins by 33 points, the New York Giants closed Giants Stadium with a 32 point loss to Carolina... allowing 206 yards rushing to Jonathan Stewart. So much for a 5-0 start... and so much for any NFC intrigue (wins by Dallas and Green Bay wrapped up wildcard berths for both).
Good on paper not good enough-- the defense held the high-scoring Cowboys to 17 points and kept Tony Romo & company out of the end zone after halftime... but Dallas was more than content to play keepaway. After passing the ball 12 more times than they ran over the first two quarters, the Cowboys ran the ball 10 more times in the final two quarters.
Can anyone make sense of the AFC? Five 8-7 and two 7-8 teams are in the mix for a pair of wildcard spots...the Jets and Ravens merely need victories to clinch... Houston and Pittsburgh need victories plus help while the Jaguars and Dolphins need wins plus more than a few natural disasters. The Broncos are the fulcrum team in the mix-- there are ten scenarios that get Denver into the postseason, each of which involves other teams. Good luck figuring that one out.
What's a Haynesworth?-- after getting kicked out of practice on Christmas Day (bah humbug!) and complaining about how he's been used (basically saying the Skins purchased a high-end model train and are playing with it in the bathtub) Saturday... the Skins million dollar man tallied a tackle and two assists. Unfortunately his presence on the line only led to one sack by the pass rush (Philip Daniels).
Pursuit of Perfection prevented by putting in Painter; or Gelded Colts-- Coach Jim Caldwell, thanks for taking the air out of what was one of the best stories to follow this fall. For two months Monday's lead story has been how New Orleans and Indianapolis have remained unbeaten; one week after the Saints lost their first game (despite battling back against Dallas) coach Caldwell lifted Peyton Manning and more than a few starters midway through the third quarter-- resulting in a 29-15 fold that saw backup quarterback Curtis Painter completed just 4 of 11 passes with an interception and a fumble that was picked up for the Jets go-ahead touchdown. The engineered loss win not only places a team on the precipice of playoff elimination into the driver's seat for a wildcard berth, it takes the Colts out of their rhythm. Remember 2005? Coach Tony Dungy took his foot off the gas in December and the Colts played horribly in a 21-18 loss to Pittsburgh in the Divisional Playoffs. Remember 2007? The Colts played nobody in a season-ending loss to Tennessee (which eliminated 10-6 Cleveland)... and went on to play poorly in a 28-24 loss to San Diego in the Divisional Playoffs. Especially with a first round bye, do you really want your team to be that refreshed for the playoffs?
Tracking the Triumvirate-- the firm of Thomas, Davis & Kelly wasn't immune from Sunday's shutout... a bad ankle sidelining Thomas, Davis limited to 2 catches for 29 yards and Kelly held to under 7 yards a reception (4 for 25). Season total: 87 catches for 1,026 yards and 9 touchdowns. Last year the trio combined for 21 catches... this year the least productive of the three (Kelly) is one catch shy of 21...and it looked for a big part of the early season as though the Skins were holding three bust cards.
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