{7-2} New England Patriots at {6-3} Indianapolis Colts
Battle for AFC Dominance as Tom Brady goes against a younger Peyton in Andrew Luck
Tom Brady and Andrew Luck are coming off of dominating wins against the Manning brothers. The Patriots wiped the floor with the Broncos 43-21 and the Colts handled the G-Men 40-24. Heading into the third meeting against each other, the Patriots have outscored the Colts 102-46. Tom Brady looks to score three or more touchdowns for the fifth week in a row; he would only be the fifth player to achieve this.
The Patriots are 10-4 coming off of a bye week while the Colts are 10-3. The Patriots are currently third in points scored this season with the Colts being first. These teams are two of the leagues best in time of possession.
All of this sets up what looks to be an intriguing matchup that the Colts should have the slight edge in….on paper. All of this season’s stats point to the Colts being the better team but I would say it’s a safe bet the Tom Brady establishes his dominance as the best AFC quarterback with a victory in Indy.
One final side note, Adam Vinatieri has played for both clubs throughout his NFL tenure. He is the only player in NFL history to score 900 points with two different franchises and he has won a Super bowl with both.
{7-2} Philadelphia Eagles at {6-3} Green Bay Packers
It's Not Easy Being Green
The Packers just destroyed Chicago 55-14 in what was easily one of the leagues most lopsided victories. Aaron Rodgers has been playing lights out football competing with Ben Roethlisberger for performance of the year. Rodgers threw for six touchdowns in the first half of the game. On the defensive side of the ball Clay Matthews has moved from outside linebacker to inside linebacker, disrupting the middle of the pocket will be his primary goal against Sanchez and the Eagles.
The Packers are 32-3 with Rodgers as quarterback for the last 35 games.
The Eagles haven’t missed a beat with Mark Sanchez under center as he threw for 0 picks in lasts weeks blow out win against the Carolina Panthers 45-21.
The most interesting part of the Eagles win is that the quarterback’s role in the victory was very small only throwing for two touchdowns along with two picks. Special teams and the Eagles swarming defense are what made the scoreboard so lopsided.
Connor Barwin is tied for 2nd in sacks after a monster game against Carolina. Putting pressure on Rodgers will just be half of the battle as the Philadelphia will have to overcome their 28th ranked Eagles secondary that has allowed 19 scores through the air.
The Eagles and Packers score approximately 31 points per game each and both quarterbacks, most likely, will have a big day through the air. Especially, if Rodgers can stay upright against the Eagles pass rush. A loss here for either team would be huge forcing them into or keeping them in second place.
{7-2} Detroit Lions VS {8-1} Arizona Cardinals
The Battle to be the Best in the NFC
Drew Stanton began his career with the Lions and will look to have a special game against his former team. Stanton will start as the Cardinal’s quarterback after Carson Palmer tore his ACL in last weeks contest. Stanton has not yet thrown an interception all season and has won two out of the three games he has started in this season. One of those games was a clutch performance against the 49ers were he threw for 244 yards and 2 touchdowns. His only loss as a starter came against the Denver Broncos in Week 5.
Matt Stafford has been the face of the Lions quarterback position for sometime. This season he has thrown for 13 touchdowns and 8 interceptions compared to last seasons 29 touchdowns and 19 interceptions. Calvin Johnson has been his go to target when he’s not injured every season, which could account for Stafford’s relatively low amount of touchdowns so far this season. Both teams however have incredibly formidable defenses. Larry Fitzgerald will try to match Calvin Johnson as he goes up against a banged up Lion’s secondary.
Johnson will draw a harder challenge as he goes up against Cardinal’s top corner Patrick Peterson. The Lions have the number one defense in the league and will look to prove that against the Cardinals. Both teams are very similar in how their offense has taken shape this year, with the exception of the run game were the obvious weakness goes to the 31st ranked Detroit running backs. By the end of this game the NFL will have a tie for best record in the league.
{6-3}Seattle Seahawks at {6-3} Kansas City Chiefs
The Battle of the QB Hunters
Alex Smith has yet to throw a touchdown to a wide receiver all season. Coming off a close win against Buffalo the Chiefs have been rolling since their week 6 bye winning every game since. Alex Smith is also a quarterback who likes to run outside of the pocket much like Wilson. The Chiefs have the fourth most sacks in the league and their defensive captain Justin Houston is the league leader in sacks currently sitting at 12.
The Seahawks have won their last three and have nothing but tough games to close out the season. In their last game against the Giants the Seahawks returned to their Super Bowl run style offense. This led to Marshawn Lynch crossing the goal line three times and rushing for over 150 yards. The Seahawks looked the best they have all year in Week 10 and it has come in a timely manner.
Russell Wilson had 100 yards rushing for the third time this season but looked inaccurate at times, throwing two INTS. The Seahawks will have to fight through the loss of Brandon Mebane (starting defensive tackle) for the season, which is a huge blow to a team that is already lacking a consistent pass rush. Look for Alex Smith to gash Seattle for yards using his legs more than his arm.
{5-3} Cincinnati Bengals VS {4-5} New Orleans Saints
The Battle for a Bounce Back Win
Andy Dalton in his last game had a quarterback rating of 2.0. That means he threw more passes into the dirt than any of his wide receivers along with three perfect throws to the Browns cornerbacks and safeties. The Bengals haven’t lost at home in 14 games, until last week; this is a bad omen. Its kind of shocking to see how badly the Bengals have devolved in a division that could be the most competitive in the NFL especially so late in the year. With the Ravens and the Steelers surging this division could come down to the wire an added stress that the New Orleans Saints do not have.
The Saints are in the putrid NFC South, which has collectively the worst record in the NFL. I am fully confident that the Saints could control their destiny towards the end of the season. Drew Brees has ten more touchdowns than his fellow Texan, Andy Dalton and only one more INT. Looking at these teams as a whole, the Saints look relaxed and poised to end some postseason dreams as we approach these last 6 games in the regular season. Coming off a loss to the 49ers in overtime the Saints are hungry to get back to winning and a dreadful Bengals rush defense could be their key to victory.
Mark Ingram has had three games in a row with over 100 yards after only having one in his career prior to this season. A lot of this is due to the injuries suffered by most of the Saints banged up running backs. Ingram himself has been limited all week in practice however the Bengals are 31st against the rush making them a prime target for Ingram’s powerful rushing style.
The Saints will pound the rock at home only occasionally stopping to give Brees a couple of play action touchdowns to his top targets Jimmy Graham and Brandin Cooks. It is important to note that Dwayne Allen, Greg Olsen, and Rob Gronkowski have all had monster days against the Bengal’s defense. On the other side of the ball Jeremy Hill, a Louisiana native, returns home to face cringe worthy Saints defense who have blown the lead with less than two minutes to go in four out of their five losses.
Hill will be taking over for the injured Giovanni Bernard who is still nursing a multitude of minor injuries. The Saint’s number one cornerback, Keenan Lewis, who is questionable to play, may not cover Bengal’s star wide receiver AJ Green; no Lewis means bad news for a defense that cannot seem to stop anyone.
Lastly, Sean Payton showed his support for Devon Still (Bengals linebacker) and his daughter who is suffering from pediatric cancer by buying 100 Still jerseys, the two will meet for the first time on Sunday.
