Fantasy-wise, here’s everything you need to know (and a lot that you don’t) from NFL’s Week 13 action…

QUARTERBACKS

Joe Flacco (280 yards, 2 TD) had another nice day. He has 11 TD in his last seven games…Peyton Manning (125 yards, 2 INT) and the rest of the Colts offense had a miserable day, but Indy still got the win…Matt Ryan (207 yards, 2 TD) threw for a TD for the first time in three games…Phillip Rivers (149 yards) surprisingly struggled against the Falcons, who were 24th against the pass heading into the game…He got off to a sketchy start, but Ben Roethlisberger (179 yards, 2 TD, INT) bounced back with a solid game…Clearly, Matt Cassel (169 yards, 2 INT) isn’t playing well enough to overcome a matchup with the best defense in the league…

This makes me sick on so many levels. I have no alliegence to Texas, but they got completely screwed by this retarded system. Texas beat Oklahoma. Enough said.

Even worse, Bob Stoops is being rewarded for being a complete ass. I understand that style points matter, but do we really need coaches who run a no-huddle offense in the fourth quarter with a 50-point lead? Every year we watch Bob Stoops run up the score during the regular season, only to have his team choke in bowl games.

Of course, we need a playoff system, but even BCS critics like Ivan Maisel seem unable to get past the arguments advanced by BCS apologists.

A playoff is not the panacea to cure college football’s ills. A playoff would present as many problems as it does solutions. A playoff is politically unfeasible unless the regular season is shortened, which is financially unfeasible. A playoff could suck the life out of the regular season, much as it has done to college basketball.

A playoff wouldn’t ratchet up the tension throughout November — National College Football Arguing Month — the way the BCS does.

His first sentence makes no sense. If you assume an eight-team playoff, only five games need to be added – four playoff games one week following the regular season, and then one championship game following the bowl games that would cover the semi-finals.

His second sentence is even worse. Is he really comparing an eight-team playoff to the 64-team tournament used in March Madness? This year there would have been a mad scramble for the last several seeds, as teams like Utah, Boise State, Ohio State and Georgia would be playing for a spot in the playoffs. Also, we’d have a huge fight for the first four seeds, who would be hosting first-round playoff games in their home stadiums under this proposed system (wouldn’t it be great to see a Big-Ten team hosting Florida in a playoff game up north in November?). This would create plenty of tension in November.

Remember when baseball purists argued that expanded playoffs would ruin pennant races? They were wrong.

Coming off two 400-plus yard passing games, the mainstream media was ready to crown Matt Cassel MVP of the world and anoint him the next Tom Brady. But as the Pittsburgh Steelers proved in their 33-10 win over the New England Patriots on Sunday, maybe everyone should relax and let the rest of the season plays out before we start getting Cassel’s bust ready for Canton.

Cassel was just 19 of 39 for 169 yards and turned the ball over four times in the second half, which aided Pittsburgh in scoring 30 unanswered points. I’m not suggesting that Cassel’s previous two games were flukes (he isn’t the only quarterback who Pittsburgh has made look silly over the years), but again, let’s wait until he beats more tough defenses before saying he’s the second coming of Tom Brady.

This was an impressive win by the Steelers, although Cassel served up plenty of scoring opportunities with his turnoveritis. Still, Pittsburgh continues to win despite issues on the offensive line, and it’s a credit to Mike Tomlin and Dick Lebeau for coming up with outstanding defensive schemes week in and week out.

With everyone concentrating on the Titans and Jets this season, the Steelers are one of those teams flying under the radar in the AFC. They have a fantastic matchup coming up with the Ravens in two weeks.

So I’m here to take my medicine after calling the Denver Broncos frauds last week. Not only did the beat the New York Jets 34-17 on Sunday, but they did so in absolutely convincing fashion.

The NFL is an amazing thing. The hapless Oakland Raiders (who lost to the even more hapless Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday) drilled the Broncos last week, while the Jets beat the previously unbeaten Tennessee Titans. This week, the Jets are an 8-point favorite at home and Denver comes out like world-beaters. The Broncos dominated every aspect of this game.

So now what? Are the Broncos for real? Are the Jets a one-hit wonder? Or is this just another case of parity in the NFL? I’ll take Option C. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see opposite performances out of the Jets and Broncos again next week, although I won’t make the same mistake twice in calling Denver frauds. (My deepest apologies, Broncos Nation.)

With San Diego’s loss to Atlanta on Sunday, the Broncos are essentially a lock to win the AFC West. And if Denver’s run defense could play as well as they did against the Jets, they could definitely surprise in the postseason. They just haven’t been consistent this season.

Good thing for the Jets is that the Patriots were waxed by Pittsburgh in Foxboro, so they remain a game above the Patsies and Dolphins in the AFC North. But maybe after this upset, we can all relax on the all-New York Super Bowl.

I think the Atlanta Falcons and Baltimore Ravens are joined together at the hip this season. Both teams have first-year head coaches, are starting rookie quarterbacks and were given zero chance to make the playoffs in the preseason. But with the Ravens’ 34-3 win over the Bengals and the Falcons’ 22-16 victory over the Chargers, both teams remain in the postseason hunt at 8-4.

Baltimore didn’t have much of a challenge in Cincinnati on Sunday, but the Raven defense was incredible. They held the Bengals to just six first downs, 155 total yards and 98 passing yards. I don’t care who you’re playing – those numbers are staggering.

The Falcons, meanwhile, didn’t make things easy for themselves in San Diego. They turned the ball over three times, which resulted in all 16 of the Chargers’ points, but Matt Ryan (17 of 23 for 207 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs) was impressive again and the defense held San Diego to only 201 total yards. They also blocked a field goal and while the final score doesn’t indicate it, Atlanta’s defense really dominated this entire game.

Anyone that thinks either of these teams can’t win a playoff game hasn’t been paying attention. Both teams can run the ball, have quarterbacks that don’t make too many mistakes (which is incredible considering Ryan and Joe Flacco are both rookies) and their defenses have been solid. Now they just have to keep winning so they can get into the playoffs because other teams in their conferences certainly aren’t making things easy.

Nothing against the New York Jets or Tennessee Titans, but the New York Giants are clearly the best team in the NFL right now. How many teams would have gone into Arizona and Washington the past two weeks and soundly beat two good football squads in the Cardinals and Redskins as soundly as the Giants just did?

In their 23-7 win over the Skins on Sunday, the Giants shutout Washington in the first half and limited them to just 92 total yards on the ground. They also dominated time of possession (35:44 to 24:16), racked up 404 total yards of offense and caused two turnovers. The way the G-Men win is machine-like.

Even though this loss hurts, Washington is still in good shape. They have a tough matchup next week in Baltimore, but then they travel to Cincinnati, face Philadelphia at home and then wrap up the season in San Francisco. They should finish no worse than 9-7 and considering they already beat the Eagles on the road earlier this season, they should be expected to beat Philly. One would think 10-6 should be good enough for a playoff berth in the NFC.

But getting back to the topic at hand – will any team beat the Giants in the postseason? Tampa’s defense is good enough, but their offense has been hit and miss this year. Arizona’s passing game is dangerous, but the Cards would be no match for the G-Men in New York come playoff time. Carolina can be dangerous, but they’re also inconsistent. Washington, Atlanta and whoever wins the NFC North don’t seem

So who’s left? The team that many people had representing the NFC in the Super Bowl – the Dallas Cowboys.

When the Saints blasted them 51-29 last Monday night, my writing cohort John Paulsen wrote in the comment section of my game recap that his Packers just weren’t a very good team. After watching them choke away multiple leads in a 35-31 loss to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, I would have to agree to JP – the Packers just flat out aren’t that good this season.

The offense is fine – Aaron Rodgers threw for 298 yards and three touchdowns on Sunday – but the defense is average at best. Pundits like to talk about what kind of team the Packers would be if they still had Brett Favre, but Brett had a better defense on the other side of the ball last year.

This was a Panthers team that couldn’t move the ball against Oakland three weeks ago, struggled to beat the Lions and then was waxed last Sunday in Atlanta. Yet they were able to rack up 130 yards on the ground and 35 points despite losing the time of possession battle 37:52 to 22:08. It’s amazing how ineffective the Green Bay front seven has been this year after being one of the bright spots in 2007.

Mathematically the Packers are still in the playoff hunt (they could still even win their pathetic division), but how could you like this team’s chances of making a run over the next four weeks? Offensively they can hang with most opponents, but defensively they consistently get gashed on the ground.

Conversely, this was a massive victory for the Panthers. That catch by Steve Smith to set up the eventual game-winning touchdown was unreal. To go into Lambeau Field and beat the Packers in Green Bay in late November is impressive. Unfortunately for them the Bucs won, but they’ll have their shot to revenge a Week 6 loss to Tampa next Monday night in Carolina. Winner takes sole possession of first place in arguably the most exciting division in the NFL – the NFC South.

For all the talk about how Saints’ quarterback Drew Brees is an MVP candidate this season, the Tampa Bay defense made him look ordinary in the Buccaneers’ 23-20 victory on Sunday.

Brees threw for 296 yards and two touchdowns, but he was also picked off three times, including once on the Saints’ final offensive possession. Granted the weather did neutralize the potent New Orleans’ offense, but Brees looked awful. He consistently threw into double coverage and often behind his receivers. I hate to keep piling on Brees because he’s been fantastic all season, but the Saints’ defense played well enough to win. But he just wasn’t very good in the clutch.

Both the Bucs and Panthers won on Sunday, which means the Saints’ best hopes for a playoff spot is the Wild Card. And if the Falcons beat the Chargers, then even the Wild Card looks bleak.

Tampa, meanwhile, couldn’t separate itself in the NFC South, but they essentially control their own destiny. They still have to play the Panthers and Falcons one more time, but they also hold the series advantage against those teams, too. And with the way their defense is playing, they’re going to be tough come playoff time.

The task was simple enough for Oregon State – beat Oregon on Saturday night and they would set up a date with Penn State in the Rose Bowl. But the Ducks crashed the party, beating the Beavers in a wild, 65-38 shootout in Corvallis.

Oregon State still has a shot at the Rose Bowl, but now they must have USC lose to UCLA next week. That would put the Beavers in a three-way tie with Oregon and USC, which would mean all hell breaks loose. If USC beats UCLA, then the Trojans would play Penn State in the Rose Bowl and open up an at-large bid for either Boise State or Ohio State.

Even though Boise is undefeated and the Buckeyes have two losses, the Broncos won’t necessarily get the at-large bid because they don’t play in one of the bigger conferences ala Ohio State. It might not be fair, but it’s the way the system is set up. Essentially the BCS only cares about one thing – figuring out which two teams are the best in the nation. They could care less about the rest of the matchups.

You could essentially make an argument for either team. The only team Boise beat with any substance was Oregon. But they beat the Ducks in Eugene, which happens to be one of the toughest places to play in college football. Ohio State’s most impressive victory was in East Lansing when they beat Michigan State, although how would Boise have done against USC and Penn State (two teams that beat the Buckeyes)?

Personally, I say Boise deserves the at-large bid more. It’s tough to go undefeated – I don’t care who’s on your schedule. But I think Ohio State will get the bid because the folks handing out the at-large invitations are more worried about having two schools from bigger conferences than whether or not the teams are deserving.

Not even their rivals could slow down Alabama or Florida. The Crimson Tide rolled to a 36-0 victory over Auburn, while the Gators trounced Florida State 45-15 in Tallahassee on Saturday.

Even before their victories on Saturday, the two teams were set to meet in the SEC Championship Game, which will be played December 6. But their performances did add an air of intrigue to the SEC’s title game, because both teams looked so dominant against two squads in Auburn and FSU that are no pushovers.

Perhaps the best matchup in the SEC Championship Game will be ‘Bama’s defensive line vs. Florida’s massive offensive line. The Tide’s front four gives most teams fits, but the Gators certainly have the bodies up front to keep Tim Tebow upright. It’ll be interesting to see whether or not ‘Bama can get enough pressure to get Tebow out of rhythm. Another thing to keep an eye on is how healthy Florida wideout Percy Harvin will be after he left the FSU game due to an injury. He’s been such a huge part of Florida’s offense this year that it would be a huge blow not to have him in the lineup.

As of this post, the Big 12 Championship has not been determined, but an argument could be made that the SEC title game will provide the better matchup.