It’s over in New York but plenty of ball left for rest
Tom Landry’s goal every year was to have the Cowboys in playoff contention entering December and peaking as they made the “turn for home,” as he used to say. Unfortunately in New York, the Giants peaked in their June mini-camp and the highlight of the Jets season was an early three-game winning streak against the Dolphins, Jaguars and Browns, which, of course, was immediately followed by blown 14-point leads against the Patriots and Dolphins.
Twenty-two games by the Giants and Jets, six victories between them, two by the Giants, who were supposed to be Super Bowl contenders, and four by the Jets, who were supposed to Suck For Sam.
If the Giants lose out to the Raiders, Cowboys, Eagles, Cardinals and Washington, their two victories will be their worst since the NFL went to 16 games in 1978. Previously, they bottomed out at 3-12-1 in Bill Parcells’ first year in 1983. The last time they won just two games was 1974 when they were 2-12 in Bill Arnsparger’s first season one year after they were 2-11-1 in Alex Webster’s final season.
Could it be any drearier than 2-9 and 4-7 teams stumbling over their packed bags and counting the days until the season ends on Dec. 31?
Can it get any worse? Yes it can. Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, the No. 1 villains in Jets Land, could be on the way to their sixth Super Bowl championship and the hated Eagles are the only 10-1 team in the league and could win their first Super Bowl. The Giants still have to play all three of their NFC East home games — will any fans in blue show up? — and the Jets finish the season in New England.
In the meantime, there is some serious football remaining in the last five weeks with the overall balance of power shifting to the NFC even with the Patriots and Steelers as good as the best NFC teams.
Here’s a breakdown of the division and wild-card races:
The Eagles motivation is securing the No. 1 seed to guarantee the NFC road to Minnesota runs right through The Linc. If Washington beats the Cowboys on Thursday night, then Philly clinches the division even if both teams finish 10-6 because Philly swept the season series with Dan Snyder’s team. The Cowboys can still win the division at 10-6 if they win out and the Eagles lose out. The tie-breaker would be a better division record. The Eagles’ magic number to win the NFC East is one.
In the first 51 Super Bowls, no team has ever played on its home field. The Vikings are rolling with journeyman QB Case Keenum and have a three-game division lead on the Lions with five to play. Whether they were playing indoors at the Metrodome or now in U.S. Bank Stadium, the Vikings crowds are ear-splitting loud. Each of the Super Bowl teams get an even share of the tickets, but with no travel expenses, Vikings fans would gobble up the tickets on the secondary market and turn this into a home game. The 49ers came closest to playing at home in Super Bowl XIX when they beat the Dolphins at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, which is 30 miles from downtown San Francisco.
The Packers lost a heartbreaker on the final play in Pittsburgh on Sunday night to fall to 5-6, which leaves them two games behind for the second wild-card.
The Saints’ (8-3) eight-game winning streak ended against the Rams, allowing the Panthers to tie them and the defending NFC champion Falcons to get within a game. All three could make the playoffs. The 2014 AFC North was the last division to have three teams in the tournament — of course, it was the Browns who were left out. The NFC East (Cowboys, Giants, Washington) is the last NFC division with three playoff teams.
Key games: Panthers at Saints, Dec. 3; Saints at Falcons, Dec. 7; Falcons at Saints, Dec. 24; Panthers at Falcons, Dec. 31.
The Rams (8-3) have not made the playoffs or even had a winning record since 2003. They need one more victory for the winning record but a bunch more to make the playoffs, even as a wild-card. The division title game could be Dec. 17 in Seattle. The Seahawks (7-4) won in LA On Oct. 8 but the Legion of Boom is now the Legion of Gloom without Richard Sherman and Kam Chancellor. Great game Dec. 10: Eagles at Rams. Carson Wentz vs. Jared Goff.
Brady is slumping. He threw an interception against the Dolphins. It was his third of the season. New England has won seven in a row after a 2-2 start and Belichick has fixed the leaky defense. Brady is on the verge of winning his 15th division title in 17 years as the starter. He missed in 2002, when the Jets won, and in 2008 when the Dolphins won, which doesn’t really count against his record because he tore his ACL in the first quarter of the first game.
The division race is over, but the Pats are tied with the Steelers for No. 1 seed. It will be decided when they meet in New England on Dec. 17. The Steelers desperately need to bring the Patriots back to Heinz Field in January for the AFC title game.
Ben Roethlisberger to Antonio Brown is as good as any passing combination in league history other than Joe Montana/Steve Young to Jerry Rice. Along with Le’Veon Bell, this is the reincarnation of the Hall of Fame triplets in Dallas: Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith. The Steelers have the division under control. It’s all about staying out of Foxborough in the playoffs.
It’s the Jags vs. the Titans. They are 7-4 and the division will probably be decided when they meet Dec. 31 in Tennessee. The Jaguars won by three touchdowns in the second week. Jacksonville has some local interest here: Doug Marrone is the coach the Jets originally planned to hire before Bowles until they backed off; and, Tom Coughlin is in his first season back in Jacksonville running the football operation after being fired by the Giants two years ago. The division loser has a good chance at the No. 1 wild-card. The AFC’s second wild-card could be 8-8.
The ‘94 Chargers are the only team to start 0-4 and make the playoffs. The ‘17 Chargers could be the second. The Chiefs have come back to the pack. After their 5-0 start, they have lost five of six and at 6-5 have just a one-game lead on the Chargers and Raiders. Maybe a slimmed down Darrelle Revis, who makes his KC debut Sunday at MetLife against the Jets — brilliant planning by NFL schedule makers — will provide a spark. Andy Reid says he’s not thinking about switching from Alex Smith, who has slumped badly after a hot start, to first-round pick Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs have lost three in a row and have scored only 19 points in their last two games. The Chargers are hot and the Raiders have been a disappointment. Question: If the Chargers make the playoffs, who will tell the fans in LA?
Key games: Raiders at Chiefs, Dec. 10; Chargers at Chiefs, Dec. 16; Raiders at Chargers, Dec. 31.