For those of us who wondered why the New York Jets were so anxious to get Brett Favre …
Guess who the best team in the AFC might be right now?
Never mind that most of the country would loathe a New York-New York Super Bowl. And never mind that the half of New York that roots for the Giants would loathe having to play the Jets. And vice versa.
Given what happened on Sunday in Tennessee, it’s hard to argue that the two New York teams aren’t the best in their conferences right now.
“I’m not going to sit here and say we’ve established ourselves as the best team in football,” Favre said after the Jets topped Tennessee 34-13, dominating the NFL’s only remaining unbeaten team.
yed. They have been the best team in football.”
Actually Brett is a bit off. Most people think the defending champion Giants have been the best team in football all season.
They only get the mantle now because their 37-29 victory in Arizona gives them the same 10-1 record as the Titans. And who knows if Dallas, reasonably healthy again, might not be the second-best team in football now that Tony Romo is back and some of his teammates are healthy.
But the Jets, with their future Hall of Fame quarterback, are certainly up there although they still have a way to go in the AFC East, where at 8-3 they are still only a game ahead of New England with five games to go. That’s plenty of time for Bill Belichick to figure out a way to catch them, especially now that Matt Cassel is throwing like Tom Brady.
In any event, with five weeks to go, here’s a look at the way the contenders shape up.
—
AFC
The Titans (10-1) will almost surely win the South. Considering that their next three games are against Detroit, Cleveland and Houston, a collapse would be difficult. Not to award wins in advance, but it’s hard to see them finishing worse than 13-3 – they close with Pittsburgh at home and at Indianapolis and how they contest those games might depend on their standing at the time.
e (7-4) in the North. The Steelers won the first meeting and they play the Ravens again in Baltimore on Dec. 14, but the deciding factor may be the schedules both face. Pittsburgh is at New England and Tennessee and has Dallas at home; the Ravens have it a little easier but still have to play at Dallas and host to Washington.
Someone will win the West, where Denver (6-5) managed to lose 31-10 at Oakland, opening an opportunity for San Diego to close within a game.
That leaves the East and the Jets, Patriots and Perhaps the Dolphins (6-5) although they proved in losing 48-28 to the Patriots that they still might be a year away from serious contention. Before handing the Jets the title, remember that they are an overtime coin toss away from being a game and a tiebreaker behind the Patriots – the coin toss being the likely reason they won in New England 10 days ago.
New England has gained 1,041 yards in its past two games and Cassel has thrown for 815 of them, guaranteeing that he will make a lot of money when he becomes a free agent in the offseason. “The production is starting to come around,” he said in an understatement.
So assume Tennessee, New York, Pittsburgh and Denver or San Diego win the divisions? Wild cards? Two among Baltimore, New England and Indianapolis.
Simple, isn’t it?
ets.
—
NFC
Sunday’s game in Arizona was supposed to be an opportunity for the Cardinals to prove something. Instead, the Giants did, winning their fifth straight game, fourth over a team with a winning record and doing it without Brandon Jacobs and Plaxico Burress, their best runner and receiver. How deep are the Giants? The third and fourth wide receivers, Steve Smith and Domenik Hixon, were among the stars and so was tight end Kevin Boss, who is making New York look smarter and smarter for trading Jeremy Shockey for draft picks.
So despite more tough games, it will be hard for anyone to catch New York (10-1) in the East for home-field advantage.
Dallas (7-4) is favored to win on Thanksgiving against Seattle (2-9), then has a tough four-game finishing stretch but should have enough talent to fulfill Jerry Jones’ promise to make the playoffs. If (when?) the Cowboys get there, they might do what the Giants did to them last season, winning in the Meadowlands and then getting to the Super Bowl.
“They unleashed me today,” Terrell Owens said after catching seven passes for 213 yards, although it’s easier to be “unleashed” against San Francisco than most teams.
Atlanta is 7-4. Chicago and Minnesota (6-5) or Green Bay (5-5) will win the North, a division probably too average to produce a wild-card entry.
And, of course, Arizona (7-4) will win the West with one more win or a San Francisco loss and get the franchise’s first home playoff game since 1947. But the Cardinals demonstrated by losing at home to the Giants that they are too one-dimensional on offense to win on the road in the postseason – the difference is what often happens to Kurt Warner: the Cardinals lost by eight points and gave up 10 on a fumble and an interception.
There are too many games left to figure out a winner in the South. And too many games left to figure out who among Panthers, Bucs, Falcons and Redskins will join the Cowboys as a wild-card contender. Write out the Eagles after Sunday’s loss and then …
Why not question whether Dallas will make it. The Cowboys had one losing stretch.
If they don’t stay healthy they might have another.
Add A Comment