NFL Week Thirteen Thoughts

Philadelphia Eagles def. Houston Texans

It's amazing how one missing player can have this big an impact on what used to be viewed as one of the more formidable defenses in the league.  Losing Dunta Robinson in the offseason didn't help any, either.

New Orleans Saints def. Cincinnati Bengals

You're kidding me, the Bengals almost won?  They stayed in the game for all four quarters, they ran and threw the ball on the Saints, their secondary gave Drew Brees problems?  Where has this Bengals team been all season?

Chicago Bears def. Detroit Lions

I know the Bears didn't play their best half in the first, but make no mistake, this Lions team is good.  There's no shame in getting beat big by players like Jahvid Best and Calvin Johnson.  I'm especially surprised at how well their line played, if they have another draft like last year they're going to end up being the worst team favored heavily to make the playoffs.

Green Bay Packers def. San Francisco 49ers

Singletary could've helped out his old team if he had been able to hold on to his lead and given the Bears a two game lead in the division.  I know Green Bay is a good team, but if the Niners hadn't let this one slip away they could've upset them.  That alone tells me that Green Bay isn't as good as everyone makes them out to be (even if they're still good).  In fact, Green Bay caused my stomach to churn when on Monday morning I saw a story on the front page of NFL.com talking solely about Green Bay wearing their throwback jerseys.  Seriously guys, remove your lips from the Packers' overrated asses.

Kansas City Chiefs def. Denver Broncos

Denver is in dire straits, when you think Eric Studesville is a better option than your current head coach and are willing to make him the third head coach you'll be paying this year then you know something is wrong.  I don't foresee Denver having the same success that Minnesota and Dallas enjoyed after dumping their embattled head coaches.

Cleveland Browns def. Miami Dolphins

I don't know what to make of this one.  Of course, Miami always plays worse at home than on the road, but I'm surprised that they couldn't contain the Browns' offense.  They let Jake Delhomme pass for 217 yards, a touchdown, and no interceptions?  For shame.

Minnesota Vikings def. Buffalo Bills

This played out almost exactly as I expected, except for Tavaris Jackson finally coming off the bench.  Earth to Frazier, bench the old man already.  You want to test T-Jack down the stretch to see what you have for next year.  Favre isn't going to be back next year anyways, the bigger concern should be the long-term plans for this team.

New York Giants def. Washington Redskins

Not surprised at all.

Jacksonville Jaguars def. Tennessee Titans

The Titans are bad without VY, Jacksonville is starting to show that they're a legitimate contender.

Oakland Raiders def. San Diego Chargers

I've been saying all along that San Digeo's problems go deeper than just a slow start, but I didn't expect them to revert to the form of last season of giving away points on turnovers and special teams.

St. Louis Rams def. Arizona Cardinals

The Cards are officially the new Rams.  Props to Derek Anderson for telling that reporter off, the press definitely blows things like that out of proportion on a regular basis and the guy deserved what he got.  It almost goes down as the best post-game outburst in Cardinals' history, but you still can't beat Denny Green.  "You wanna crown their asses, then crown their asses!" Priceless.

Dallas Cowboys def. Indianapolis Colts

Manning is definitely struggling and deserves some of the blame for what the Colts have been going through.  I still say that people who put it all on him aren't paying attention, though, those receivers are blowing a ton of routes.

Seattle Seahawks def. Carolina Panthers

Panthers suck.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers def. Atlanta Falcons

Lotta people took Tampa here, but I wasn't fooled.  It's like I keep saying, they're a young team and that defense is especially green.

Pittsburgh Steelers def. Baltimore Ravens

So much for the Ravens executing better.  Both the call to pass at the end of the game and the coach defending and not defending his coordinator at the same time made me facepalm.

New England Patriots def. New York Jets

I guess the Jets aren't who we thought they were.  They're going through a transition in the secondary and New England matches up pretty well, this shouldn't be that much of a surprise.