Drive:
LaDainian Tomlinson
Though he'll probably never be the back he was in 2006, when he rushed for 1,815 yards and 28 TD, caught three more, and passed for two, Tomlinson continues to be a scoring threat. He may have only rushed for 50 yards against Dallas this week, but his 1st quarter score would give his team the lead early enroute to a 20-17 win. It was his 10th of the year, extending his record streak of double digit TD seasons to 9, having done it in every season he's been in the NFL. The win also gave the Chargers their 16th straight win in December. It's a streak that may not last much longer. His 3.9 yards per carry this season is the lowest of his career, and Darren Sproles has taken many of his receptions out of the backfield. The fact that he's become a little injury-prone over the last few seasons could mean his career is coming to a close, but he should see decent production over the next season or two.
Determination:
Brandon Marshall
With the once-powerful Broncos taking on the still-powerful Colts, the whole team needed to come up big. Nobody came up bigger, possibly on any team, than Marshall. His 21 receptions broke the single game record, previously held by Terrell Owens, who had 20 in 2000. Thought those receptions brought him 200 yards and 2 TDs, the Broncos still lost, 28-16. Judging by the highlights, Marshall did everything in his power to get a win for a team he didn't even seem to want to be on when preseason started.
Perseverance:
Peyton Manning
Is there anyone more clutch, more capable of leading his team to victory than Peyton? Despite throwing 3 picks this week, he still managed to throw 4 scores and lead his team to victory. Not only did the win keep the Colts undefeated, but it gave the team its 114th win of the decade, most by any team. He led his team to a quick 14-0 lead, followed by 21-7 at halftime. When it looked like the Broncos might have some life left, he hit Dallas Clark for their third TD hookup of the game to close it out with 2:25 left in the game. If he could get it done in the playoffs a little more, he might be considered better than Tom Brady this decade.
Some players just don't have it:
Randy Moss
Moss has never really been known as "Mr. Clutch." In fact, it's just the opposite. His ability to disappear in games is legendary, going back to his early days in Minnesota. Over the last four games, Moss has seen his receptions dwindle. He had 5 in Week 11 against the Jets. He's followed that up with 3, 2, and now 1 reception against the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers say that they knew going in that if you get physical with Moss early, he'll ease up. And thats just the way they prepared. From the Boston Globe:
"You get physical with him, and I don't want to say he quits, but he kind of doesn't run the routes the way they're supposed to be run," safety Chris Harris told me. "If you get a jam on him, he'll just ease up. He had the one catch, and he fumbled. ... We stayed on top of him. We were not gonna let him catch a deep pass. That's his game. If he can't get it going, he gets out of sync."
...
(Panthers CB Chris) Gamble said, "We know from watching film on Moss, once you get him out of the game early, he's gonna shut it down."
Over the 4 game stretch where Moss has disappeared, the Pats are 2-2, and just barely holding on in the race for the AFC East. Moss was long believed to have been reformed by the success of New England. If they want that success to continue, and to simply make the playoffs, he'll need to come back to life in the last 3 games.
Rookie Roundup: Using a complex scoring system to rank two major rookies for the season
Mark Sanchez: DNP
Points: 0, 59.15 overall
Matthew Stafford: DNP
Points: 0, 69.15 overall
Week 14 Winner: No Winner
What Have We Learned?: Three things we can take away from this weekend
Michael Vick is showing off
Vick has been a little used member of the Eagles offense this season, which fits after spending two years away from the game. Last weeks 2 TDs were thought by many to be a token appearance against his former home team. However, this week continued his solid play. After using Vick in the red zone last week, Andy Reid had him back out there in a much more important, much closer game against the Giants. The high-pressure looks tell us two things: Reid trusts Vick to give the team a good look when they want to use the Wildcat, and Vick is at least still competent enough to be a QB in the NFL. Aside from his 1/2 passing, Vick had 3 rushes for 11 yards and a TD. Could he be a regular, every-down QB rather than just a Wildcat gimmick? That remains to be seen.
The Colts can start resting players now
With a 13-0 record and no real competition in the AFC, the Colts have already locked up their conference. Having nothing to play for means they can start to rest players. However, the jury is still out on if that's the right thing to do. The Colts always seem to have done it, and they've only won one championship this decade. The Giants played all their starters to the end in 2007, and they beat the unbeaten Patriots in the Super Bowl. Head coach Jim Caldwell is expected to announce if he'll be resting players in the next day or two. Hopefully I'll have more tomorrow.
The AFC playoff picture is still wide open
Every team with a shot at the AFC Wild Card won this week, with the exceptions of Pittsburgh and Jacksonville, who currently holds the final playoff spot. That leaves six teams on the outside with a shot to make it in with three weeks left to play. A win over Miami would have just about locked it up for Jacksonville, but they couldn't pull out the win in a low scoring game. Now it looks like either Miami or Baltimore might fill the last spot, as both don't have a single opponent left that currently has a winning record. The Jets and Jags might be the least likely, as both still have Indy on their schedules, and follow those games up with division leaders Cincinnati and New England, respectively. Outside of the Colts in the South, 11 teams can still make or get shut out of the playoffs. With some teams looking to clinch spots in Week 15, the playoff picture will hopefully be a bit clearer a week from now.
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