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      Chargers, Bengals heading in opposite directions

      December 20, 2009 /

      Two playoff AFC playoff teams clashed on Sunday, but only one of them is heading in the right direction.

      For the Bengals to have to deal with the death of Chris Henry and then have to travel cross-country to face a red-hot Chargers team was a tall task. But they did it, and they fought hard despite eventually falling 27-24 on Nate Kaeding’s last-second field goal.

      That said, the Bengals have now lost two in a row and three of their last five. They haven’t looked sharp since their win against the Steelers in mid November, which isn’t good considering the playoffs are coming up in two weeks. And since their loss on Sunday was against San Diego, they now won’t have a first round bye.

      San Diego, on the other hand, is scorching hot and has locked up the No. 2 seed in the AFC. Vincent Jackson came up huge with five receptions for 108 yards and two touchdowns in the win. He routinely beat Cincinnati’s excellent cornerback duo of Leon Hall and Jonathan Joseph and is really coming on of late as Philip River’s go to go on the outside.

      It’s interesting how this season has unfolded for the Bolts. They were a lot of people’s preseason favorite to make an outside run at the Super Bowl, but when they struggled early on, many started to hop off the bandwagon. But now that they’ve rattled off nine in a row, people are breaking their ankles climbing back on their bandwagon.

      Every team in the NFL has an opponent that is just a pain in the ass for them, and the Chargers are that team for the Colts. Indianapolis obviously looks incredible this year, but I wonder if Peyton Manning and company are getting a little uneasy with how good San Diego has looked over the past nine weeks.


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      Broncos allow Charlie Frye, JaMarcus Russell to beat them at home

      December 20, 2009 /

      I don’t want to take way anything the Denver Broncos and first year head coach Josh McDaniels have accomplished this season. But they might not be able to look at themselves in the minor tomorrow after allowing Charlie Frye and JaMarcus Russell combine to beat them 20-19 in Week 15. Did I mention Denver was at home, too?

      Actually, Michael Bush and the rest of Oakland’s was the reason the Raiders were able to pull off yet another surprising upset this season. Frye and Russell just made sure they stayed the hell out of the way. Bush rushed 18 times for 133 yards and a touchdown, while Darren McFadden chipped in 74 yards on 12 carries. On the day, Oakland rushed for 241 yards, which was huge because the team only had 102 passing yards on the day.

      This is a rather jarring loss for the Broncos, who now have an identical record as the Ravens at 8-6. They’re still in good shape in the AFC playoff race, but no team should lose at home to the Raiders when Charlie Frye is starting for Oakland and J. Russell McBust makes an appearance. There’s just no excuse for Denver to allow Russell to lead a game-winning touchdown drive. None.

      What an ugly loss for the Broncos.


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      Steelers’ overcome Tomlin’s questionable onsides kick decision

      December 20, 2009 /

      Mike Tomlin channeled his inner Bill Belichick on Sunday but taking a huge, and incredibly unnecessary gamble which could have cost his team a win.

      I’ll set the scene:

      Pittsburgh took a two-point lead on Green Bay with just under four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, but instead of kicking the ball deep and forcing the Packers to drive the length of the field to score, Tomlin decided to attempt an onside kick. The play failed because one of the Steelers players touched the ball before it went 10 yards and the Packers took over in prime field position. They wound up scoring on a 24-yard James Jones run and after a successful two-point conversation they took a 36-30 lead with just over two minutes to play.

      Why did Tomlin attempt the onside kick? Maybe because his team is out of playoff contention and he figured it was a good risk to take. Maybe the Steelers had practiced the play throughout the week and he thought that was the best time to break it out. Or maybe the answer is simple: He didn’t trust his defense.

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      Jerome Harrison is better than Jim Brown

      December 20, 2009 /

      Really? No, not really. In fact, Cleveland fans might have me shot for even remotely joking about something like that. But Harrison did prove on Sunday that he’s even more dangerous than the Dos Equis Guy.

      Harrison rushed for a franchise record 286 yards and three touchdowns on 34 carries, while adding two receptions for 12 yards in Cleveland’s 41-34 win. He scored the game-winning touchdown with under a minute to play to give Cleveland back to back winning weeks for the first time this season. Harrison now holds Cleveland’s all-time record for rushing yards in a game, surpassing the great Jim Brown.

      Harrison was so good that he managed to overshadow Josh Cribbs, which was hard to do on a day like this. Cribbs tied an NFL record with two kick returns for touchdowns, both of which came from over 100 yards out. He is now the all-time record holder for kickoff return touchdowns, with eight in his career.

      Regardless of whether or not Mike Holmgren takes over in Cleveland, the Browns have to do everything in their power to make Cribbs happy in the offseason. He threatened to hold out this past summer if the Browns didn’t re-do his contract, which they didn’t. He never held out and has been the Browns best player this season, so the team’s first mission in the offseason should resolve his contract dispute.

      Speaking of the Browns’ offseason, what should they do with Eric Mangini? He was an easy fire a couple of months ago when the Browns were hapless, hopeless and completely lost, but they’ve played well of late. Should he keep his job or should the Browns start over if/when Holmgren comes to town? Usually head coaches are fired when the team is heading backwards, but Cleveland is actually moving forward.

      NFL

      Cardinals survive Detroit, could clinch NFC West

      December 20, 2009 /

      The Cardinals played down to their competition on Sunday, but lucky for them their competition was the Lions and they managed to secure a 31-24 victory. With the win, Arizona can clinch the NFC West for the second consecutive season if the 49ers lose to the Eagles.

      These past two games have shown that the Cardinals have some issues to iron out before the playoffs start. They turned the ball over seven times in a loss to the 49ers on Monday and have had problems protecting Kurt Warner. Arizona’s run defense, which has been so dominant this season, also allowed Frank Gore and Maurice Morris to go over the 100-yard rushing mark.

      That said, the Cardinals had issues heading into the playoffs last year and they reached the Super Bowl. Even though they allowed an inferior opponent to hang around today, their passing attack was still there when they needed it (Anquan Boldin had a nice day) and Beanie Wells had a solid game while rushing for 110 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries.

      For Detroit, rookie safety Louis Delmas looks like a special player. With the Lions down 17-0 nothing in the second half, Delmas intercepted Warner and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown. He became the first rookie in NFL history to record a safety this season, as well as interception and fumble returns for touchdowns. He turned the game around for the Lions with the pick today and at least made things interesting.


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