Every Sunday evening throughout the 2011 NFL season I’ll compile quick-hit reactions from the day that was in football. I vow to always overreact, side with sensationalism over rationalism, and draw conclusions based on small sample sizes instead of cold, hard facts. It’s the only way I know how to write…

DIDN’T SEE THAT COMING…

- It’s not surprising that the Giants gave the Patriots all they could handle today in Foxboro. It’s not even all that surprising that New York won 24-20 despite the fact that New England never losses consecutive games under Bill Belichick. For whatever reason, Tom Coughlin and Eli Manning have Belichick and Tom Brady’s numbers. But if you were asked before the game which quarterback would pull off a great fourth-quarter comeback to lead their team to victory, most people wouldn’t have said Eli. (Even when you consider how many fourth-quarter comebacks the G-Men have already tallied this season.) People scoffed when Manning said he considered himself to be in the same class as Brady back in August. Whether you think he does or not, consider that he has the best fourth-quarter passer rating of any quarterback in the league this season and that his Giants are 6-2 when everyone thought they’d be looking up at the Eagles in the NFC East standings right about now. He’s also been the winning quarterback the past two times the Giants have played the Patriots, so the whole “does Eli belong in Brady’s class” conversation is rather moot at the moment. It’s all about wins, losses, and…nope, that’s about it.

- The Chiefs were due for a letdown. While they had won four in a row heading into Week 9, they seriously lack offensive explosion now that Jamaal Charles is out for the year and they would have lost to the Chargers on Monday night had Philip Rivers not decided to break out his best Rex Grossman impression late in the fourth quarter. That said, I don’t think anyone woke up this morning thinking, “Yeah, today is the day the Dolphins get their first win behind Matt Moore’s three touchdown passes and stingy defensive play.” I actually thought Miami would keep things close but 31-3? For the first time all season Tony Sparano will get a good night of sleep.

- The Rams pulled off the upset of the year last Sunday when they knocked off the Saints at home. So naturally they went out today and lost to an Arizona Cardinals team that started John Skelton at quarterback. St. Louis was given every opportunity to notch back-to-back victories for the first time all season and it screwed the pooch instead. The special teams unit was an absolute disaster in the fourth quarter and in overtime, as the Rams had a game-winning field goal blocked and missed four tackles on Patrick Peterson’s electrifying 99-yard punt return in OT. When his team played that brutal schedule to open the year, at least Steve Spagnuolo had an excuse for losing. There’s no excuse to lose to the John Skelton-led Cardinals when the game was practically in the bag.

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There appears to be conflicting reports when it comes to Antonio Cromartie’s future with the New York Jets. NFL Network’s Michael Lombardi is reporting that the team plans on letting the free agent walk this offseason, while Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post writes that the Jets have not “definitively decided to cut ties” with Cromartie.

Either way, it appears that the cornerback is not high on the Jets’ offseason priority list, which means things are sure to get interesting in Florham Park this spring.

In Cannizzaro’s report, he also confirms that the Jets’ top mission this offseason is to re-sign Santonio Holmes. The team already kept linebacker David Harris by franchising him earlier this week, so ensuring that Holmes is locked in as Mark Sanchez’s No. 1 receiver for the next four or five years is next on the Jets’ list.

After that, it’s unclear whether or not GM Mike Tannenbaum will try to re-sign Braylon Edwards or keep Cromartie. At some point, the Jets have to draw the line. It seems unlikely that they would be able to retain Holmes, Edwards and Cromartie, all while paying Harris top-dollar for one year under the franchise tag. They might be able to keep either Edwards or Cromartie, but not both.

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Far be it for anyone to question one of Rex Ryan’s defensive game plans. As much as fans and members of the media think they know about the game, we actually know very little about the X’s and O’s and what it takes to run a defense in the NFL.

That said, I found something that Rotowold.com wrote very interesting about Ryan’s potential game plan this Sunday when it comes to covering Steelers’ receivers Hines Ward and Mike Wallace.

Manish Mehta of the NY Daily News predicts that the Jets will use Darrelle Revis to cover Hines Ward in the AFC Championship Game.

Mehta anticipates Antonio Cromartie covering Mike Wallace. It’s the same way the Jets played Pittsburgh in Week 15, and Wallace went off for 110 yards while Revis held Ward to 34 on two catches. It’d be a mistake, as far as we’re concerned. Using Revis on the declining, 34-year-old Ward would be a waste when the shutdown corner has the ability to eliminate Pittsburgh’s true No. 1 receiver. Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders will remain potential difference makers as they prepare for Dwight Lowery and Drew Coleman.

I think the idea is that since Cromartie has more speed, he can match up better with Wallace. But as Pierre Garcon proved two weeks ago, if Cromartie isn’t allowed to get his hands on receivers at the line of scrimmage and be physical with them out of their stance, he’s liable to get burned deep. And considering Wallace averages over 20 yards per reception, that’s a concern that Ryan should have if he wants Cromartie to shadow the young wideout.

But as Rotoworld points out, this is just a “prediction” by Mehta. Who knows what coverage Ryan will unveil this Sunday in Pittsburgh. He’s well aware of the speed that the Steelers’ wideouts posses and he’s not going to put his defenders in a position to fail. Nobody was more irate at Cromartie on that Garcon touchdown than Ryan was, so he’s well aware of what could happen this weekend if he puts him on Wallace.

Or if he isn’t, then things could get real interesting on Sunday when Pittsburgh drops back to pass.

I haven’t done this column in a couple of weeks but after this weekend’s games, I thought it was an appropriate time to bring it back.

So here’s the latest installment of “I’m just saying…,” NFL Divisional Round-style.

- Colts fans after Nick Folk missed that chip shot field goal in the first quarter of the Jets-Patriots game on Sunday: “Oh come on!”

- After the Packers-Falcons game, I took a quick look at the stats sheet and saw that Aaron Rodgers was 31-of-36 passing for 366 yards and accounted for four touchdowns. My first reaction was: He had five incompletions?!

- Hey, when your team is up 25 points late in the third quarter and all you need to do is run some clock, why wouldn’t you call a halfback pass with Matt Forte and risk turning the ball over? You keep doing your thing, Mike Martz.

- Rex Ryan just beat Peyton Manning and Tom Brady (two of the best quarterbacks in NFL history) in back-to-back weeks using two different game plans. Say what you want about his mouth, but the guy knows defense.

- If I’m a team that needs a defensive coordinator, I’m on the phone right now with Rob Ryan. I want that gene pool designing my defenses.

- Most defenders would sacrifice one of their limbs to have a free shot at Jay Cutler when he’s running with the ball towards the end zone. But instead of delivering a punishing blow, Seattle safety Earl Thomas tried to bring the quarterback down by osmosis on Cutler’s touchdown run in the second quarter on Sunday. Somewhere, Ndamukong Suh is weeping.

- Matt Ryan after the game on why he threw the sideline pass that Tramon Williams intercepted and returned for a touchdown instead of throwing the ball away: “Well, I thought if Williams was anything like our corners, he would be playing 10 yards off the ball and I’d be able to pick up an easy seven yards.”

- I know where I’ve seen Bears’ O-lineman Frank Omiyale before: he doubles as a turnstile at Halas Hall during the weekdays.

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At last year’s Pro Bowl, Nnamdi Asomugha told the media that he and Darrelle Revis wanted to be teammates. If it ever happened, the duo would become an instant nightmare for opposing quarterbacks.

After the Raiders voided Asomugha’s contract over the weekend, that nightmare may become a reality. And if what former Raiders beat writer David White says is true, then quarterbacks in the AFC East and NFC North won’t be able to rest easy soon.

From White’s Twitter page:

I know him well. He’ll got to Green Bay or NY Jets. Mark it down.

As previously mentioned, Asomugha and Revis have already stated their desire to play with each other, so the Jets are an instant fit. Antonio Cromartie has played well in New York this season, but his contract is up after this year and Asomugha is by far the better all around corner. Could you imagine Revis and Asomugha joining forces in Rex Ryan’s defense? If Reggie Wayne was frustrated after Saturday night, he may not even want to dress when the Colts play the Jets in the future.

White mentioned the Packers presumably because Asomugha and Woodson are best friends. But unless Green Bay will be looking to replace Woodson, I doubt they would pony up for Asomugha after just paying Tramon Williams. A team can never have enough defensive backs, but Woodson made the Pro Bowl this year and Williams should have made it, so one would think the Packers are set at starting cornerback.

It’ll be interesting to follow Asomugha’s free agent escapades next offseason because there will be plenty of teams interested in the 29-year-old. His contract will scare some teams away, but great corners are extremely rare breeds. And Asomugha is the very best.

The next time Terrell Owens wants to call out a cornerback, he might want to check with Carson Palmer to see if his quarterback will even bother to look his way during a game.

Earlier this week, Sir Big Mouth said that Jets’ defensive back Darrelle Revis was “just an average corner,” then went on to catch only three passes for 17 yards in the Bengals’ 26-10 loss to the Jets on Thursday night. T.O. may have had more catches had Palmer not stayed away from Revis the entire night.

Then again, had Palmer looked T.O.’s way 30 times it may not have mattered. A hamstring injury limited Revis earlier in the year but now he’s playing near the elite level he was last year, which is amazing considering his performance in 2009 may have been the best ever by a cornerback. He’s finally starting to look 100% again and his domination of T.O. on Thursday may be the springboard he needs to shutdown receivers the rest of the way.

While Revis was making T.O. invisible, Brad Smith was doing all the scoring for the Jets. Not even a minute had ticked off the clock in the third quarter when he took an end-around 53 yards for a score to give the Jets a 10-7 lead. Then, after the Bengals had kicked a field goal early in the fourth, Smith took the ensuing kickoff back 89 yards for a touchdown and ran the last 50 or so yards with only one shoe. It was the third touchdown he’s scored against Cincinnati in the last two years, as he also scored in the Jets’ Week 17 victory last year against the Bengals.

Earlier in the day, the Patriots also won by crushing the Lions so they remain tied with the Jets at 9-2 in the AFC East. New York currently holds a tiebreaker between the two teams by virtue of their victory in Week 2, but New England could have its revenge next Monday night in Foxboro.

A tie has probably never looked so good to the Cleveland Browns.

A sister-kisser was what the Browns were headed for in overtime against the Jets on Sunday. All they needed to do was prevent the Jets from converting a huge play and then watch Nick Folk miss another field goal (which he was certain to do after missing three during the game) to secure a 20-20 finish in Cleveland.

But on a 1st-and-10 from Cleveland’s 37-yard line with just 24 seconds left in OT, Mark Sanchez drilled a quick-slant to Santonio Holmes, who made a nice move on a defender and raced 37 yards for a touchdown to give New York a 26-20 victory. Even if Holmes catches the ball and is tackled, Folk was looking at a long field goal and with everything being out of his range on Sunday, he probably would have missed. Instead, the Jets get a rare overtime touchdown to win the game and now Folk can sleep a little easier tonight.

Of course, had Chansi Stuckey not fumbled earlier in the extra frame, then the Browns probably would have went on to win the game.

On a 2nd-and-6 from Cleveland’s 40-yard line, Stuckey caught a pass from Colt McCoy that would have given the Browns a first down and put them in field goal range. But as Stuckey tried to pick up more yards, he was stripped on the play and the Jets recovered.

It’s hard to blame Stuckey’s effort, but his fumble wound up being a devastating mistake – one that prevented the Browns from attempting a field goal to win the game.

Granted, one play doesn’t determine the outcome of any sporting event. The Browns had other chances to win or at the very least, tie the game, and they blew those too. That said, something that isn’t lost here is the way McCoy engineered a 10-play, 59-yard drive that tied the game late in the fourth quarter after the Browns had been down 20-13 for most of the second half.

McCoy was 6-for-9 on the drive, which included a 3-yard touchdown to Mohammad Massaquoi and a great 18-yard pass to tight end Evan Moore that set up the game-tying score. What was most impressive about the pass to Moore was that Jets’ cornerback Darrelle Revis was blanketing him on the play. There the two players were on Revis Island and it was Moore who had his feet up on a lounge chair while soaking in the sun and sipping a pina colada.

Win, lose or draw, the Browns have to be thrilled with the play of McCoy so far. He’s poised, accurate and dare I say, fearless. Call it youthful ignorance, but he had no problem testing guys like Revis and Antonio Cromartie as he and the Browns scored 20 points on one of the best defenses in the league. Not bad for a third round pick whom everyone said had a noodle for an arm and would be limited at the next level.

Make your Holiday legendary with Captain and Cola. Join the party on Facebook!

Captain Morgan and The Scores Report have teamed up to preview this Sunday’s games in the NFL and in the spirit of Halloween, here are a couple frightening matchups that players/teams face this weekend.

1. Steelers @ Saints: Drew Brees vs. Pittsburgh’s Defense
You can bet that the fans in New Orleans will be dressed up for this one, although they’re always dressed up so what’s the difference? If Brees thought the Browns abused him last week, he’s in for a real treat (trick or treat? Ah, hahahahahaha…Halloween) this Sunday night with Pittsburgh coming to town. The Steelers are second in the NFL in yards allowed and first in both run defense and points allowed. Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush look like they’re bowing out of this matchup and who could blame them? If Brees can’t move the ball through the air, he’s in for a long night.

2. Packers @ Jets: Aaron Rodgers vs. Rex Ryan’s Front Seven
Aaron Rodgers can’t be feeling too good about things these days. His offensive line is once again banged up, he doesn’t have much of a running game at his disposal, his second best receiver (Donald Driver) is also injured and he’s facing a well-rested Rex Ryan defense coming off its bye week. Oh yeah – and Darrelle Revis (hamstring) is completely healthy now, too. There’s no doubt Ryan will throw the kitchen sink at Rodgers in terms of looks and expect the Jets to send extra defenders early and often. It’s going to be a real freight fest in East Rutherford this weekend! Hahahaha – weeeeeeeeeeee!

3. Vikings @ Patriots: Favre, Vikings vs. the prospects of another loss
Brett Favre’s consecutive starts streak isn’t the only thing on the line this Sunday when the Vikings travel to Foxboro. At 2-4, Minnesota is already two games back in the win column in the NFC North and another loss will sink its postseason hopes even more. If Favre can’t go, Tarvaris Jackson will start and that means Adrian Peterson will have to shoulder the workload. Of course, even if Favre starts, Brad Childress may want to keep the ball in AP’s hands anyway. Given how well the Patriots have played at home under Bill Belichick, this isn’t the matchup the Vikings needed to get back on track. They should be spooked (spooked! Hahahahaha…Halloween) out of their minds right now.

4. Broncos vs. 49ers: London vs. the worst matchup in NFL history
Okay, I’m exaggerating – this isn’t the worst matchup in NFL history. The worst matchup in NFL history would probably be the ’08 Lions vs. the ’09 Rams. Now that’s scary (scary! Halloooooweeeeeennnn theme!). That said, the folks out in London can’t be too thrilled with this one. The 49ers and Broncos have combined for three wins this year and 11 losses and while San Fran couldn’t beat a previous winless Panthers team last Sunday, Denver is coming off a loss in which they gave up 59 points to the Raiders…at home, no less. With apologies to Frank Gore, Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree, talk about a starless game for the London crowd.

5. Jaguars @ Cowboys: David Garrard vs. Jon Kitna
Look, there’s nothing funny about this matchup. It seriously is frightening and the thought of anyone paying money to see this horror show is terrifying. Happy Halloween, Dallas!

CAPTAIN MORGAN Original Spiced Rum. Puerto Rican Rum With Spices And Other Natural Flavors. 35% Alc/Vol. ©2010 Captain Morgan Rum Co., Norwalk, CT. Drink Responsibly – Captain’s Orders!®

One would think that since the Vikings parted with a third round pick to acquire Randy Moss from the Patriots that they wouldn’t waste any time signing him to a new deal. But given his age, Minnesota might be better off waiting a few weeks.

The NFL Network’s Jason La Canfora reported on Wednesday night that Moss is seeking a contract extension in the range of $10 million per year. Even when you factor in his productivity in New England the past three years, that’s a ton of dough to hand a 33-year-old who some believe is in decline.

Outside of potentially pissing him off, what’s the harm in holding off a few games to make sure that Moss is as hungry as the Vikings think/hope he is? There’s no sense giving up a third round pick and paying a player $10 million if his production is going to be no better or worse than Bernard Berrian. The Vikings already have a Bernard Berrian on their roster.

Speaking of which, it appears as though Moss and Percy Harvin will become the full-time starters now in Minnesota, which means Berrian could see his targets drop dramatically. With Moss, Harvin and Adrian Peterson all deserving of touches in Brad Childress’ offense, there may not be enough to go around for Berrian come Sundays.

In semi-related news, the Newark Star-Ledger is reporting that Darrelle Revis may not shadow Moss in coverage on Monday night when the Jets host the Vikings. Revis is still battling a hamstring injury and he admitted yesterday that had there been a game on Wednesday, he wouldn’t have been able to play.

Back in January, Darrelle Revis was all like, “Randy Moss is a slouch.”

Then Randy Moss was all like, “He can say whatever he wants to, but we’re coming to burn house this Sunday.”

And now Revis is all like:

“If that’s what he said, I guess that’s what he’s been preparing for all offseason,” Revis said. “He said it with a laugh, but it’s been on his mind for the whole offseason. Randy speaks the truth. He speaks how he feels. Obviously, if he said that, it was on his mind in the offseason.

“I called him a slouch because I felt he played like a slouch (in the first game). They tried to come after me in the second game. He wasn’t a slouch in the second game, (but) . . . if I said it in January, whenever I said it, you guys know I said it. That’s how I felt at that particular time.”

Whatever. If you really care about the full story, then the Boston Herald has the whole thing here. But if Mark Sanchez can’t figure out how to throw a ball further than three and a half yards, then it won’t matter who wins the Revis v. Moss matchup. It’ll be irrelevant.

Last year, Rex Ryan and the Jets were refreshing (uh, to non-Patriot and non-Giant fans). This year, the media has taken even more of a liking to them and they’re starting to become annoying. And if they continue to lose, then all of their “Hard Knocks” fans are going to start throwing metaphorical stones at them, too.

This is a big game for the Jets. Even if Revis and the defense shuts down Moss and Tom Brady, Sanchez is still going to have to make plays at some point – especially if New England takes away the Jets’ run game.

How Sanchez performs is the true storyline here, although what Moss and Revis say to each other through the media will continue to get most of the attention, I’m sure.