The Good
A Trio of misfit teams, Miami, Baltimore and Cleveland
Everyone knows that the Dolphins, Ravens and Browns collective seasons are over. The Ravens and Browns are officially eliminated from playoff contention and the Dolphins are one loss or one Patriot win away from being eliminated too. But should that stop them from going out and play their hardest. After all, fans still attend the games after all and they want to see good games. These three AFC teams did just that.
In Week 14 all three teams came out and played like their season was far from over. The Ravens and Browns played hard and gave two solid playoff teams difficulty. They took the Broncos and Bengals, respectively, to the final seconds and barely lost.
Meanwhile, the Dolphins who were 13 point underdogs in San Diego actually marched into a hostile environment and beat the Chargers. The Chargers now find themselves in danger of missing the playoffs thanks to a team who most folks believed would roll over for the streaking Chargers.
The Bad
San Diego Chargers get caught looking ahead?
Speaking of the streaking Chargers, their lightening bolt got put out. Everyone is quick to point out that they were caught looking ahead past the Dolphins to the undefeated Colts. Not so fast!
The Chargers were simply outplayed by the Dolphins. They were flat and made too many mistakes and they seemed disinterested in the game until it was too late. By the time they scored their third touchdown, a pass from QB Drew Brees to TE Antonio Gates, there were only 18 seconds left on the clock.
The Dolphins held the Chargers rushing game to only 96 yards, much less than their 130 yard per game average. The Dolphins also forced San Diego into 3 turnovers, and pretty much dominated the game from start to finish.
For a team that has had its share of close games, San Diego now faces a stiff up hill battle with games against the Colts, Chiefs and Broncos. They will need to have a better performance if they wish to make the playoffs.
The Ugly
The Houston Texans sinking to new lows!
For the third week in a row, the Houston Texans have found a way to lose the game. Their performance against the Titans in Week 14 has many fans across the nation wondering if it is possible for a team to be losing games willingly for the purpose of getting rewarded with the first pick in the 2006 draft, also known as the Reggie Bush/Matt Leinart pick!
The writing is on the wall for the Texans coaching staff, as the front office hired ex-coach Dan Reeves to come in as a consultant. This move comes on the heels of ex-coach Jimmy Johnson turning down the head coaching job the Texans will have at the end of the season. All I want from a team is to come out and play competitive, the Texans have not done that all season long and after winning 7 games last year, they have reverted back to expansion team status.
The Ugly Part II
The Inept San Francisco 49ers.
For a while there, the 49ers were playing good football. They played hard and kept many of their games close. Now the 49ers look disinterested and are just plain awful. Not sure if it was the move to rookie QB Alex Smith who is becoming an INT machine or if players have just given up on the season.
Whatever the case, the 49ers have moved from being a class act to being a class clown!
