Eli Manning says he’s not concerned. He should be.
The New York Giants, anointed as the NFL’s best team for most of the season, have scored only one offensive touchdown in the last two weeks – in garbage time in a loss to Philadelphia. That puts them in danger of losing all the goodies they were supposed to grab, most notably home-field advantage for the NFC playoffs.
The same goes for Tennessee, unbeaten for its first 10 games, although the Titans at least have clinched a first-round playoff bye, something New York hasn’t done yet.
The Titans’ 13-12 loss Sunday in Houston, their second of the season, demonstrated once again how shaky the team’s foundation is, built on defense with an offense geared primarily to avoid mistakes. Beyond that, Albert Haynesworth, the centerpiece of that defense, injured a knee against the Texans and will miss the rest of the regular season.
That includes this week’s game with Pittsburgh, which will probably decide home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs.
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“I’m disappointed, a little frustrated, but not concerned,” Manning said after being sacked eight times by the Cowboys, who toyed with an offensive line that a couple of weeks ago had folks inquiring whether it was legitimate to vote a unit – i.e. that OL – as a group MVP.
The Giants’ demise coincides with the loss of receiver Plaxico Burress, suspended after shooting himself in the thigh in a New York nightclub, and a knee injury to starting running back Brandon Jacobs, the severity of which is unclear. New York also lost offensive right tackle Kareem McKenzie early in the Dallas game with a back injury and right guard Rich Seubert a little later with the flu, but whoever was out there seemed overwhelmed for most of Dallas’ 20-8 win.
That leaves the Giants needing to beat oncoming Carolina at home next Sunday night to secure home-field advantage in the NFC, something conceded to them all season. They won’t have Burress back – he’s gone for this season and probably for good – and might not have Jacobs to soften up defenses and eliminate all-out pass rushes.
The Titans are home to the Steelers, at 11-3 a game behind them in the AFC.
Their loss to Houston, a team that often comes on after it’s eliminated, exposed what we’ve known all season: Kerry Collins at QB with an ordinary receiving corps makes it difficult to play catch-up.
The other factor, of course, is injuries.
e absence of Burress, Jacobs and the offensive linemen made life much easier for the Dallas defense, so might the absence of Haynesworth make it easier for Pittsburgh to move the ball in Nashville.
Dallas, meanwhile, seems to be getting healthy, although Tony Romo will be sore this week after a pretty fierce battering by the Giants’ defensive front. The Cowboys still have to survive Baltimore and Philadelphia to ensure they even make the playoffs.
In fact, if New York doesn’t beat either Carolina or Minnesota in its final game, it might have to play the first week of the playoffs against one of the NFC East members that beat it the last two weeks: Dallas or Philadelphia.
Remember that two of the last four Super Bowl champions, including the Giants last year, were afterthoughts who barely made it to the postseason but got hot and healthy at the same time.
That might be true of Pittsburgh, the 2005 winner, although the Steelers seem to have a good shot at being the AFC’s top-seeded team, not a wild card that puts it together in January and February.
It also could be Indianapolis, written off at 3-4 and now the winner of seven straight games, with Peyton Manning back to being Peyton Manning after being hampered for the first part of the season by two surgical procedures on his left knee that kept him out of training camp.
And it could even be – surprise! – New England, although the Patriots also could be the first team since the 1985 Broncos to finish 11-5 and miss the postseason. They are behind the Jets and Dolphins in the AFC East tiebreakers among three 9-5 teams; Baltimore also has that record in the AFC North.
But even with two weeks left, speculation often is premature.
After all, the winless Lions tied the Colts at 21 early in the fourth quarter at Indianapolis on Sunday before losing 31-21. Two fumbled punts helped Detroit stay close.
“We weren’t as sharp as we’d like to be. We couldn’t make the plays we needed to put the game away, but it’s something we expected,” Colts coach Tony Dungy said. “You obviously can’t mishandle two punts and give them short fields. Those are situations that usually get you beat.”
Against playoff teams, they will.
Assuming the Colts get to the postseason, they will have to avoid them.
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