Over The Weekend...

We saw several things over the weekend in the NFL and in the first few bowl games.

The New York Giants clinched homefield advantage for the playoffs by beating the Panthers 34-28 in OT in one of the season's better games. From the beginning it looked like the Panthers were going to run away with it but the ground game of the Giants kept the score close and ultimately won it for them. Panther's back DeAngelo Williams had four rushing touchdowns and Giants' backup running back Derrick Ward had 215 yards on 15 carries, including a monster run in overtime.

The Giants clinched the 1 seed in the NFC but the Panthers still aren't assured of the NFC South division yet as the Falcons clinched a playoff spot with their win over the Vikings. Going into next weekends games, the Falcons own the tiebreaker over the Panthers and can take the NFC South and thus the #2 seed in the NFC. With the Falcons playing the pitiful Rams and the Panthers playing the always capable Saints, the Panthers could go from having a week off at the beginning of the playoffs to playing as the wild card in the divisional round.

The Tennessee Titans proved that they're one of the leagues elite teams by physically dominating the Steelers on both sides of the ball and securing the #1 seed and home field advantage. Neither team needed to win this game considering they both had a first round bye but homefield advantage would prove beneficial no doubt.

Are the Broncos ever going to win the one game they need? They need one more win to secure the title for the awful AFC West division title but can't seem to get it. By the Chargers winning 3 straight games they've pulled themselves back into contention for the AFC West and the winner of next week's showdown between the two teams will be into the playoffs--that's right, there could be an 8-8 team in the playoffs. Which could also be true if the Cardinals lose their final game of the year (which looks probable following a 47-7 dismantling by the Patriots in Foxboro) against the Seahawks.

Three out of the four AFC East teams can win the division but I wont go into the complications

Okay, I know the Lions are bad, but this is a low thing to do Mr. Parker. Hope you get what's coming to you. Marinelli already has a tough enough time dealing with the fact that his team is 0-15 and trying to coach young talent on a small budget, but to do this? Despicable!

To finish it off with College Football:
Wake Forest defeated the Naval Academy to start the bowl season and South Florida whipped Memphis 41-14 in a bowl that was practically in their back yard. Gartrelle Johnson of Colorado State is a monster. He rushed for 285 yards and 2 touchdowns, while adding 90 yards receiving in CSU's 40-35 win over Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl. Arizona knocked off #16 BYU in the Las Vegas Bowl, and Southern Mississippi blocked a Troy field goal in overtime to take the New Orleans Bowl.

-CR