The AFC is up for grabs
The New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers all clinched playoff spots this past week. The Patriots clinched their division with their victory over the Denver Broncos. Baltimore and Pittsburgh had playoff spots without even playing their games. But they both lost. Thus creating a debate about the AFC’s top team. I don’t want to crown the Patriots just yet. When you have Tom Brady the sky is the limit. I don’t like their defense at all. If Brady doesn’t get them 30+ points, they will lose. The Ravens don’t seem to want to play their best game when it matters. And Pittsburgh can only go as far as Ben Roethlisberger’s ankle can take them. It should be mentioned that I didn’t consider the Houston Texans as a top team once their QB Matt Schaub went down. They will host a playoff game, but rookie QB T.J. Yates does have his limits. Then there’s the AFC West. All four teams have a chance at the playoffs. Honestly I think it’s down to the Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos, but those pesky San Diego Chargers figured out that it was December. Now they’re on a roll. It figures that they revert back to their old ways. After seeing how the AFC is panning out you can see why I’m not going to rush to any decision on who will be atop this conference once the playoffs start.
Perfect no more
Did I think the Green Bay Packers could finish the season 16-0? Yes. Would it have been a good thing going into the playoffs? No. Not in the sense that they were going to run the table. The New England Patriots went down this path before and didn’t win the one game that mattered. The Packers could have ended up in a similar scenario. Now I don’t believe for a second that they wanted to lose a game. No team wants that. But I bet you that on the plane ride back home they were all breathing a collective sigh of relief. Now they can focus on getting that one victory to clinch home field on Christmas day against the Chicago Bears. But they will need to protect Aaron Rodgers with a banged up offensive line. It’s a tough task, but if any team can do it, the Green Bay Packers can.
They call him ‘Megatron’
No running game, no problem if you’re the Detroit Lions. When you have a guy in Calvin Johnson to throw the ball to, QB Matthew Stafford’s job is a lot easier. Now I don’t know how you could lose Calvin Johnson on the football field, but the Oakland Raiders showed you exactly how to do it. Calvin had a career game with 9 catches, 214 yards and 2 touchdowns, including the game winner. This was a must win game for both teams, but it was made even worse for the Raiders who could have tied with their division rivals, the Denver Broncos for the division lead. Detroit showed that they are the comeback kids as they have done it before. Remember their Week 4 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys? They were down 24-3 when Cowboys QB Tony Romo threw back to back interceptions for touchdowns. Then the Lions scored 17 points in the 4th quarter to complete their come from behind victory. Calvin Johnson caught two touchdowns in that game as well. They occurred in the 4th quarter. Obviously the Oakland Raiders didn’t read or bother to write that in their scouting report for this game. Maybe now the rest of the league will grow wise to this guy nicknamed ‘Megatron’.
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