Cincinnati Bengals (10-6) vs. Houston Texans (12-4)

Bengals – 22nd

Texans – 7th

Bengals – 6th

Texans – 7th

This is a statement game for both teams.  The Bengals haven’t won a playoff game since 1991.  The Houston Texans were primed for home field advantage, but squandered that opportunity.  Both teams have had a defense first philosophy this year.  More so with the Bengals.  They will need to put pressure on Texans QB Matt Schaub and try to neutralize RB Arian Foster.  The Texans will need to watch out for the deep threat that Bengals QB Andy Dalton and WR A.J. Green can provide.  If Texans DE J.J. Watt can cause havoc like he did last year when these two met, then it will be over quickly for the Bengals. 

Matchup to watch for: Bengals offense vs. Texans defense

Minnesota Vikings (10-6) vs. Green Bay Packers (11-5)

Vikings – 20th

Packers – 13th

Vikings – 16th

Packers – 11th

The third could be the charm for either one of these teams.  The Green Bay Packers I’m sure would love to knock out their division rivals after the Vikings took away the Packers chance of having a first round bye.  This will be even more difficult for the Vikings as the Packers know exactly what their gameplan will be.  Get the ball to Adrian Peterson.  If he can run for over 150 yards, the Packers will be reeling.  Time of possession will be a key for the Packers. If they can keep QB Aaron Rodgers up right and not have Adrian Peterson run all over them.  The Packers should be able to move on.  If not it will be another offseason of ‘what if’ for Green Bay.

Matchup to watch for: Vikings RB Adrian Peterson vs. Packers defense

Indianapolis Colts (11-5) vs. Baltimore Ravens (10-6)

Colts – 10th

Ravens – 16th

Colts – 26th

Ravens – 17th

I’m sure the Baltimore Ravens fans don’t want to see the Indianapolis Colts.  After all this is the team that started in Baltimore and their previous QB Peyton Manning used to destroy the Ravens.  Now the Colts have another 1st overall pick in QB Andrew Luck who can do the same.  The Ravens will have their leader LB Ray Lewis back for this game.  But will it matter?  The Ravens have looked sluggish on defense even when he was out there.  And the Ravens offense has been so inconsistent that it will help the Colts if QB Joe Flacco gets flustered early.  If the Colts can score early on the Ravens, it could be a long day for Baltimore.

Matchup to watch for: Colts QB Andrew Luck vs. Ravens defense

Seattle Seahawks (11-5) vs. Washington Redskins (10-6)

Seahawks – 17th

Redskins – 5th

Seahawks – 4th

Redskins – 28th

This probably isn’t the matchup Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll wanted.  He had trouble with a running QB at USC when Texas QB Vince Young single handedly defeated Carroll’s Trojans for the national title.  Now he has to deal with an even better QB in Redskins rookie Robert Griffin.  Both the Seahawks and Redskins want to establish the run early and take away the defense’s momentum.  Whoever can do that first will be declared the victors. Both of these teams have had hot streaks going into the playoffs and whoever wins will have a lot of momentum going into the divisional round.

Matchup to watch for: Seahawks defense vs. Redskins QB Robert Griffin

For the final Weekly Review of the 2012 season, we’ll look back at some of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly moments in the NFL. 

Peyton Manning began his triumphant return to the NFL by beating the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night.  Rookie QB Robert Griffin showed that he is the real deal in an amazing display in New Orleans against the Saints.  The San Francisco 49ers showed that last year was no fluke as they defeated the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers new head coach Greg Schiano made a new friend in New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin.  It was all for nothing in the end.  The replacement referees were quickly making a mockery of the entire NFL season.  49ers QB Alex Smith was quickly becoming one of the best stories in the NFL.

The Houston Texans quickly became one of the best teams in the NFL.  Baltimore Ravens WR Torrey Smith plays the game of his life just hours after he lost his brother in a motorcycle accident. The final game with replacement referees proved to be the last straw for everyone.

The Atlanta Falcons had established themselves as the best team in the NFC.  At the time the Arizona Cardinals were off to a great start.  The Philadelphia Eagles narrowly blew a win with a questionable coaching decision late in the game.

New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees breaks Johnny Unitas’ record for consecutive games with a TD pass.  The Indianapolis Colts were beginning to play inspiring football for their head coach Chuck Pagano.  The San Francisco 49ers do something that hadn’t been done before in franchise history.

The Green Bay Packers weren’t dead in the water after all.  The San Diego Chargers began to unravel with another disastrous performance against their division rival.  The Cleveland Browns were bought for a billion dollars and it began another rebuilding project.

The Washington Redskins and New York Giants played what was one of the best games of the regular season at the Meadowlands. The Baltimore Ravens began to show their fragility.  The New York Jets and New England Patriots both showed off their flaws in a poorly played game.

The New York Giants and the Chicago Bears were among the top teams.  The Indianapolis Colts and Seattle Seahawks were among the worst teams.  Shows what I knew then.

The Chicago Bears were well on their way to the playoffs.  Or so I thought.  Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie RB Doug Martin has a field day with the Oakland Raiders defense.  The Atlanta Falcons were still undefeated, but questions remained.

Sure enough, it was the first loss for the Atlanta Falcons.  And the Chicago Bears began to unravel thanks to the Houston Texans. We started to see the beginning of the end for Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid.

The NFL still showed their stupidity by attempting to suspend a player for a hit that was no where near the most egregious hit I’ve ever seen.  The Carolina Panthers blew another lead late into the fourth quarter.  The Chicago Bears continued their downfall on the Monday night stage.

A Thanksgiving day treat as the country saw Redskins QB Robert Griffin roast the Dallas Cowboys at Cowboys Stadium.  4th and 29 will be talked about for a long time in San Diego.  The San Francisco 49ers switched quarterbacks at an interesting time in the season.

The Indianpolis Colts had shown that they were a legitimate team. While the Detroit Lions were at the bottom of the barrel.  The Kansas City Chiefs won their second game of the season, but no one was wondering about football at the time.  The New England Patriots, Denver Broncos, Atlanta Falcons and the Houston Texans clinched the first playoff spots.

The Washington Redskins had a comeback for the ages against their crosstown rivals, the Baltimore Ravens.  The New Orleans Saints and the New York Giants showed off their season of futility in a shootout at the Meadowlands.  The Houston Texans had another disastrous loss to the New England Patriots.

What was perhaps the best game of the regular season, the San Francisco 49ers went into Foxboro and defeated the New England Patriots.  Minnesota Vikings RB Adrian Peterson was primed and ready for a 2,000 yard season and possibly the record as well.  The Green Bay Packers clinched their division after all the turmoil to start the season.

I haven’t made my disdain for Pete Carroll known to many people, but I believe he is the biggest, well one of the biggest phonies in the NFL.  And there are plenty to go around.  What he has built though in Seattle is pretty amazing.  He had the foundation in place with the acquisition of Marshawn Lynch.  The same former first round pick of the Buffalo Bills, who were quick to let him loose. Now he did have some off field issues which led to that, but to his credit he has been a model citizen in Seattle.  Carroll is one of the brashest head coaches in the game.  He doesn’t hide the fact that he likes to run up the score on opponents.  Just ask the Bills about that fake punt Carroll pulled on them when the Seahawks were up by 30.  With Lynch and the defense being a solid force.  All Carroll needed was a quarterback.  We all thought Matt Flynn was going to be the guy, but low and behold third round pick Russell Wilson took the job instead.  Besides Robert Griffin and Andrew Luck, folks should be looking closer at Wilson.  After the performance he’s done this season it will be tough to duplicate it in the playoffs, but I’m sure no one wants to play this team whether it’s in Seattle or somewhere else.

It hasn’t been a secret that the Pittsburgh Steelers have changed their identity.  When you think of this franchise, immediately you think of a tough run first and dominating defensive team.  Those days are long gone.  They haven’t had a consistent running game since the days of Jerome Bettis and Willie Parker.  The defense has been good, but they have suffered through lapses of inconsistency for a while now.  It seems that they’ve gotten older in a hurry too.  They have been a good offensive team, but only when they can keep their quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on his feet for most of the game.  Now the Steelers have one of the most loyal fan bases in the league.  They will still support this team, but there is no doubt that they need to fix the holes and fast.  The last time the Steelers missed the playoffs in consecutive years was 1999-2000.  I don’t think their fans want to see that happen again. 

It’s been setup as a winner take all matchup with their division rival the Dallas Cowboys.  This is starting to bring back memories of classic rivalry games between these two.  Whoever wins will automatically clinch the NFC East and host a playoff game.  Most would rather see the Washington Redskins since they have Robert Griffin leading the way.  Of course the Dallas Cowboys have the dubious distinction of being called ‘America’s team’.  But regardless of what folks want, this should be a good game.  One thing the NFL has done right is making sure that games in the last week of the season matter somewhat.  All teams play a division opponent and they changed the schedule so that playoff scenarios wouldn’t be known until later that night.  Get ready for a fight to the finish in the final week of the season.

Just last week everyone was singing the praises of the New England Patriots after they destroyed the Houston Texans on Monday night.  The Patriots were playing at home and they definitely were clicking in every aspect during that game. However, this past Sunday they looked like a completely different team against the San Francisco 49ers.  It was ugly for the first three quarters as the 49ers had a 31-10 lead on the Patriots. Things got a little hectic in the 4th quarter as the Patriots were able to tie the game at 31 thanks to a surge of offense from Tom Brady and company.  What amazed me the most was that the 49ers were able to get a great kickoff return and on the very next play score the game winning touchdown just after the Patriots tied the game. This could have very well been the Super Bowl matchup last year. It could also be the Super Bowl matchup this year as both of these teams have clinched playoff spots.  Stay tuned.

I have seen Terrell Davis, Barry Sanders, Chris Johnson and Jamal Lewis rush for over 2,000 yards in a season.  I didn’t see O.J. Simpson or Eric Dickerson do it, but that is what Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson is trying to do this season. Not only is he within striking distance of eclipsing 2,000 yards rushing.  He could very well break Eric Dickerson’s single season rushing record of 2,105. A record that has stood for over 28 years. If Adrian Peterson were to break this record it would be quite an accomplishment considering he suffered a season ending knee injury last year.  He looks like he could play another 10 years in the league, but considering the life of an every down running back in the NFL is short term.  We will have to savor this moment that doesn’t happen very often.

Just when everyone thought the Packers were dead in the water after the first few weeks of the season.  They have returned in a big way.  The defense has done just enough to keep their opponents at bay.  The Packers don’t have much of a running game, but they are very deceitful with their wide receiver Randall Cobb being deployed out of the backfield.  And they do still have a great quarterback in Aaron Rodgers who is beginning to heat up. Not to mention his favorite target, wide receiver James Jones, is having a career year amidst the injuries in the receiving corps. Whether the Packers can make another run to the Super Bowl is yet to be determined.  But they are in a good position to get a first round bye as long as they don’t lose any of their last two games.  

It has been a year of amazing performances.  One in particular has been from Redskins QB Robert Griffin.  He is having by far the best performance out of any rookie this season.  And to top it off he is keeping the Redskins in the playoff hunt.  The same can be said for Colts rookie QB Andrew Luck as well, but Griffin is providing some spectacular moments.  This latest one came against the crosstown rival (not really rivals) the Baltimore Ravens. Hobbling on one leg he started a game tying drive in the 4th quarter that was finished by backup rookie QB Kirk Cousins.  The Redskins went on to win in overtime thanks to a long punt return that set them up for the game winning field goal.  Now whether this knee injury, which turned out to be just a strain, affects him going forward is yet to be determined.  But the Redskins will need RG3 if they want to clinch one of those few playoff spots in the NFC.

The New York Giants got a big boost from their first round draft pick RB David Wilson.  He returned a kickoff for a touchdown and ran two in while rushing for 100 yards.  Eli Manning didn’t have a great game, but was helped out in large part by Wilson’s running. The New Orleans Saints on the other hand had issues with QB Drew Brees keeping down the interceptions.  For the third consecutive game he had thrown multiple interceptions.  In those games his touchdown to interception ratio is 4-9.  Obviously the Saints chances of clinching a playoff spot have dwindled now.  But it’s interesting to look at both the Giants and the Saints this season.  Both teams have their issues and they are known.  Yet, they seem to only be exposed of those weaknesses every other game.  The Giants can play like the defending champs one game and like bottom dwellers the next.  The Saints can look like an unstoppable offense then look completely lost.  It was a close game for a little while, but it became a laugher when the Saints went marching to the beat of their old drum.

The Houston Texans are a good team, but like most teams this time of year they are riddled with injuries.  Particularly on the defensive side.  Their only two losses this year have been against the Green Bay Packers and the New England Patriots.  Both of them in blowout fashion and on the national stage.  Yet I’m not ready to count them out of anything just yet.  This next week will be another test for them as they play host to the Indianapolis Colts who are right on their heels in the division.  In fact two of their last three games are against the Colts.  If Houston wins out, they will be 14-2 and in prime position for a playoff run.  But if they face the New England Patriots again, they better get some pressure on Tom Brady or it will be another laugher.  This time it will hurt more.