Sportaholic NFL Power Rankings Week 10

The news coming out of Houston has to be deflating for any Texans fan. Charm City were the owners of a shiny 7-3 record sitting atop the AFC South and just came off an annihilation of a good Tampa Bay team 37-9. Everything was good until the news broke that Matt Schaub was injured on a QB sneak coming out of the end zone in the second quarter. The injury very likely will end the season for the Texans QB and leader. That brings the toll to three of Houston’s top players that have all missed significant time due to injury with Andre Johnson still nursing his hamstring, Mario Williams out the remainder of the year with a torn pectoral, and now the latest victim Schaub.




It’s a debilitating blow to a team that thought it had finally made its way over the hump. The defensive issues that had plagued this team under Gary Kubiak had convincingly been solved as Wade Phillips brought a new attitude on the side of the ball resulting in a top 10 ranked total defense. The run game was sound with Arian Foster and Ben Tate shredding teams week in and week out. Now they turn to pretty boy Matt Leinart in hopes they he can just keep the team afloat.

The ramifications of Schuab’s injury will reverberate throughout the entire AFC. ESPN was touting the Texans as maybe the team to beat to get to the Super Bowl in the conference but that much is in doubt now. The Tennessee Titans, thought dead in the water for the division now have a second life. Schuab was the conductor of the Texans smooth locomotive 8th ranked offense and without him they could be in trouble.

The NFL is entering the portion of the schedule where injuries begin to rear their ugly head. Philadelphia’s Michael Vick has two broken ribs to add to litany of problems in the land of the birds. It seems Philly has had every conceivable problem you can have this season and that defense flat out stinks. Andy Reid hired Juan Castillo who never was a defensive coordinator and I hate to say it but its showing now as the season chugs along. There is just no way a team with that talent should lose to the John Skelton led Cardinals and be sitting at 3-6. There is just no way.

How about that Tim Tebow? He was 2/8 yeah but who cares when you win the game. He made the most of passes as he dropped a dime to Eric Decker for the game winner. Matt Stafford probably would like a do over against the Bears. Four interceptions and numerous comments by the announcers about how the glove he was wearing would make anyone beg to start over. The Lions had better get that act together quickly to make sure they don’t’ go from a feel good story to a get lost story.



One team I just can’t (And I don’t know anyone who can) put my finger on are the Baltimore Ravens. Just take a look at their losses to Tennessee, Jacksonville, and now Seattle who have a combined juggernaut record of 11-16. If I ever had to play the Ravens I would most definitely want to play them the game after they face Pittsburgh as they have turned in two flat line performances after beating their arch rivals. Speaking of rivals that Jets vs. Pats game was a snoozer. You here about it all week as the world wide leader and every other channel hype’s and hype’s the game and then New York (Or should I say Sanchez) goes out and lays a dud. It could have been a lot worse for them as Mark Sanchez just hasn’t progressed to the point most of us thought he would.



Tony Romo’s got the mojo as he obliterated all the remaining buffaloes in the Dallas-Ft.Worth area. 23-26 for 270 yards and 3 TDs! If the Cowboys got that consistently out of him they would be a year in year out Super Bowl contender. And last but not least on the list is Mike Smith of the Falcons. Yeah you should know the story by now as Smith went for it on 4th down and inches in overtime only to have Michael Turner get stuffed and turnover the ball to a ready Drew Brees. Brees needed just four plays to get the Saints in field goal range as the ancient one John Kasay booted a game winning 26-yard kick. I understand Smith’s reasoning behind the idea but I just don’t agree with it. It means he basically decided that his defense wasn’t good enough to stop New Orleans offense. That decision may come back to haunt him in the last weeks of the season.



Now with that all out of the way, lets unveil the rankings.

1. Green Bay Packers (9-0) – Lets be honest how many people watched the game past the first quarter last night? I’ll wait…… So yeah I didn’t either. Randall Cobb’s opening kick off return took any of the spirit that Minnesota had at the beginning of the game. Just like that game was over in my mind. Aaron Rodgers got cooking as always and put up usual numbers with 4 TD passes in the game. Who can stop this team, I don’t know as the undefeated whispers grow louder. I do know that Aaron Rodgers is the best player in the league right now. He handles that offense with such precision it’s not even fair. The Packers are the undisputed number one team in league right now.

2. San Francisco 49ers (8-1) – Never would I have thought the 9ers would be one loss to Dallas from being undefeated. They took down a damn good Giants team and did it in a way that makes me believe they are true contenders this year. They play with a hard nosed edge on defense that is fun to watch with Patrick Willis and Navarro Bowman roaming around. Carlos Rogers has provided them with top notch corner play after coming over from Washington and to top every thing off they beat the Giants without their best offensive weapon in Frank Gore. I’m very impressed with these guys and they are all but assured a playoff victory with a five game buffer to their nearest division team. Hopefully complacency won’t ruin them down the stretch.

3. Houston Texans (7-3) – How can not a small portion of you feel bad for these guys? Just when you thought they had it all together and man handled the Bucs, Matt Schaub goes down. They will have to rely on that potent run game more than ever now as Matt Leinart enters the fray. He will have lean on Foster and Tate to carry them for the rest of the season. Andre Johnson is coming back as well so that should give “Limp arm Leinart” a boost. It’s a shame that Houston’s best season so far to date now all relies on the right arm of Matt Leinart. If he plays well and leads them to the playoffs, he could possibly land a starting job somewhere next season, so there is motivation for him to play well. I’m intrigued to see what becomes of this team for the rest of the season.

4. Pittsburgh Steelers ( 7-3) – The Steelers toyed around with the Bengals before they put them in their place. Rook Qb Andy Dalton is the real deal though as he continued his impressive play. Pittsburgh will just keep chugging along but they won’t win this division thanks to those two losses to Baltimore. That means they have no choice but go the wild card route and they will have to fight it out with a number of teams for the playoffs. Just another year of football in the city of steel.

5. New Orleans Saints (7-3) – The Saints got lucky as Mike Smith’s bone-headed play doomed the Falcons and basically gave New Orleans the win. On another note, who knew Jimmy Graham had the power to shift the goal post? I was impressed by his hops as his thunderous two-handed football slam slanted the goal post side ways and delaying the game. The funniest part of the whole thing was stadium officials coming and trying to fix the thing only to have it still leaning. The Saints win gave them a commanding lead in the NFC South and Drew Brees continues his hot play.\

Offensive Player of the Week: Tony Romo 23-26 270 yards and 4 TDs - As a Dallas fan I was actually upset about this. I had two reasons behind being upset with the first being that it wasn’t on my cable T.V. I mean come on Comcast, this was the best game ever by Romo as he was tossing lasers all over and this is the one game I can’t see? They show every other Dallas game when Romo is choking away a game to Darrelle Revis and the Jets or when they played Tom Brady and the Pats but when Tony does his thing I can’t watch? Ugh. My second reason is that if Romo could just play like that every week, no excuses, no girlfriend talk, no new baby talk, no aw shucks attitude, then this is what he could do. He would be one the best QBs in the league. So with all that said congrats to you Tony, you played one hell of a game but just keep it up.

Defensive Player of the Week: Andre Carter 4.5 Sacks – There is no way you let a guy get that many sacks on your QB. There are guys who go an entire career not amassing that many sacks in a season much less one game. I have to give Carter credit because he continued to bring the heat and the Jets offensive line had no answer for him.

Sportaholic AFC-NFC Championship Game Burning Questions

If you didn’t enjoy what you witnessed in the divisional round of the playoffs this weekend, then you just don’t like football. Baltimore and Pittsburgh staged a battle of attrition as both teams hit each other with such ferocity in that rivalry. The players aptly named their third meeting of this season as Armageddon and that looked like how both teams approached it. New England and the New York Jets did most of their hitting below the belt in the media. The Jets just couldn’t contain themselves against their arch rival and actually backed up their brash talk with a defensive masterpiece that befuddled soon to be MVP Tom Brady. Aaron Rodgers and the Packers confirmed what I had thought all along about the Falcons with their crushing defeat. The monsters of the midway from Chicago easily handled Seattle as Jay Cutler showed he can execute under playoff pressure.




The winning teams now move on to the conference championships and both have a classic feel to them.



The Jets and Steelers battled each other just a few weeks ago with New York able to pull out the victory 22-15. That was the first victory ever in Pittsburgh for the Jets. The teams have met only 19 times. Even though they don’t have the quantity that Bears and Packers have, they do have in quality. The three burning questions for this game:

1. Can Sanchez do it again? Mark Sanchez was just sensational against the Pats going 16/24 for 194 yards and 3 touchdowns. He thoroughly out played Tom Brady and was the key factor on offense that allowed the Jets to be effective. His performance set up the Jets running game and plays action fakes that were so effective. He seems to be able to raise his play in the playoffs and for the Jets sake hopefully he can do it again.

2. Can the Steelers line hold up against Rex Ryan’s defense: The Jets forced 5 sacks against the Pats basically playing 3 man fronts. They were able to confuse Brady with the look and were able to bump the receivers to throw their routes off. Big Ben of course is a different animal then Brady but when you look at the stats from the Ravens game, you will notice that he was sacked multiple times including the one he fumbled that was taken in for a TD by the aware Cory Redding. The one thing the Steelers have that the Pats didn’t is a speedster in Mike Wallace. Wallace can be the deep threat that could break the coverage of the Jets, so he will be vital in this game Rothlisberger may be the hardest QB to bring down in the league but the Jets will certainly get after him.

3. Will either team suffer a letdown performance, after two emotional and physical games against their arch rivals: It goes without saying how much both of these teams hate the ones they just beat to get here. Both of those games were emotionally charged and physically dominating. The Steelers were down to their last offensive linemen against the Ravens and the Jets seemed way too emotional after their victory over New England. Its funny to think that these two both could have a letdown game based on their come from behind victories over their rivals. Which team can channel their emotions and pick themselves up will have the advantage in this game.



As for the Packers and Bears, these teams have been going at each other for quite some time, since 1921 as a matter of fact and have the longest standing rivalry in the NFL. This is the first time they have met in the playoffs since 1941. They split this year’s games and now face each other with a chance to represent the NFC in the pro bowl. The familiarity between these two teams breeds hatred. Bears Head Coach Lovie Smith spares no punches in his dislike for the Packers. He purposely played his starters in the week 17 even though they had a playoff spot locked up.

1. Aaron Rodgers can you keep this up? Rodgers has been on tear since entering the playoff. He could have gone to jail the way he absolutely assaulted the Falcons secondary for 366 yards and 4 touchdowns. He can burn the defense with his legs as well as he has showed great mobility his entire career. He was actually second in the league in QB rushing yards under Michael Vick. The playoffs have been his coming out party but the Bears defense will want to change that.

2. Will the real Jay Cutler stand up? Cutler played like grizzled vet in his first playoff game against Seattle. He came out firing for the Bears and hit TE Greg Olsen a TD on his third play. He would finish 15/28 for 274 yards 2 touchdowns and no INTs. He also rushed for two more scores becoming the first QB since the great Otto Graham to have at least two throwing and two rushing touchdown in their first playoff game. Not Aaron Rodgers numbers or anything but still good enough. Cutler is always the one rub I have against Chicago because you never know which Cutler will show up. As a matter of fact, the two of his worse games of the season against this very Green Bay Packers team. Cutler’s actions will dictate how Chicago fares in this game.

3. Which defense will impose their will on the offense: There will definitely be no shortage of great defensive players on the field with the likes of Brian Urlacher, Charles Woodson, Lance Briggs, Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers. Both defenses played lights out football in their victories over the past weekend. It poses the question of which one will be superior in the NFC championship game. Both will have to be on their A-game as both quarterbacks come into the game hot and looking to make plays for their teams.



This should be a great weekend of football featuring the final four in the NFL. Who pegged these four teams as the final standing this year? That is the great thing about the NFL, you never know who will rise to the occasion. It will be Jets-Steelers and Bears-Packers for a chance to represent their conference in the Super Bowl.

Sportaholic NFL Power Rankings Week 13

The big showdown between the Pats and Jets turned out to be a bust. New England just controlled the game from the start. The buildup for this game was gargantuan as both teams sported a 9-2 record and were thought to be the class of the league. Rex Ryan made cocky comments and shared his philosophies to anyone who would listen. Unfortunately for him the Patriots were not into the hype, they were just into the game. The rhythm and timing of their offense with Tom Terrific was just too much for the Jets to handle. Brady just dissected what was supposed to be one of, if not the best secondary in the league. He torched the Jets to the tune of 21 of 29 for 326 yards, with four touchdowns to four different receivers, and no interceptions. Brady completed passes to eight different receivers, and has thrown 228 consecutive passes since being intercepted, a New England record. He hasn’t thrown a pick in seven consecutive games and now has at least one touchdown pass in all 12 of New England's games. One more nugget on Brady, he just set an NFL record by winning his 26th straight home game.




As for the Jets they looked overmatched, outwitted and shell-shocked. They never seemed to have much of a flow to their offense. Mark Sanchez didn’t get it done and had to be looking at Brady with envy. He finished 17/33 for 164 with no touchdowns and threw three picks in the second half. The big bad Jets with all their trash talking were suppose to come in to Boston and serve up the Pats. I can recall most people picking the Jets because of their brash style and smack talking but I had a feeling something like this would happen. They have been playing with fire the last few weeks pulling out victories over teams they should just walked over. This may be the best thing for New York however as they now know their place in the pecking order of the AFC. The Pats now have the upper hand in the division and that could mean a number one seed (with two home games) or the wild card position that would require going on the road in the playoffs.



The Patriots resounding victory leaves no question in my mind who is number 1 and with that, time to unveil the rankings.

1. New England Patriots (10-2) – The Pats have crushed all comers in their last four games and did it against some pretty formidable teams. They hung at least 31 on each team as well in that span. The list you ask? 39 points at Pittsburgh, 31 at home against the Colts, 45 on the Lions on Thanksgiving and another 45 on this past Monday nigh on the overrated Jets. So much for needing Randy Moss huh? New England this season has now beaten Baltimore, San Diego, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis and now the Jets. Should there be any debate who is number one now?

2. Atlanta Falcons (10-2) – Don’t look now but the dirty birds have now won six in a row after their comeback win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Matty Ice was just Matt Ryan at the beginning of the game as he threw two picks (Atlanta’s first turnovers in five games). Ryan and the Falcons showed great resiliency as they overcame his early mistakes and came back from a 10-point deficit. The more I see from this team, the more I start to believe.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers (9-3) – One of my favorite lines of all time came from ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt. He said Troy Polamalu play likes his hair is on fire! That is the truest way to try to comprehend how this man plays the game. The contest against them and the Ravens was just man football. Big Ben was busted up by the 4th play of the game as hits were being delivered from both sides. These teams play identical to one another but it was Polamalu’s big play that saved the Steelers. The win gives Pittsburgh the lead in the division and an inside track to a playoff bye.

4. Chicago Bears (9-3) – How does Jay Cutler do it with that porous offensive line? “Cut Dog” has a 77-percent passer with six touchdowns and no interceptions over his last three games as Chicago’s offense who looked to jell. The defense will always keep them in games and all Cutler has to do is efficient. Big game next week against the New England. We will see what the Bears are made of.

5. New Orleans Saints (9-3) - It may be too late for them to catch the hot Falcons but that was a gusty win against a desperate Bungals, I mean Bengals team. I was tweeting during the game and Deion Sanders tweet summed it up for the Bengals. He tweeted “The Bengals are like a good sparring partner in boxing. They will mix it up with you, get bloody, and fight till the end but lose by knockout. Great play to get the Bengals off-sides by Drew Brees. The Saints have a tough slate of games to end the season with St. Louis, at Baltimore, at Atlanta, Tampa Bay and this is why I don’t think they will be able to catch Atlanta.

Other News and Notables from around the league:

McDaniels axed in Denver: Not even a week after I wrote that McD was in trouble after his mini spygate episode, he was let go by the Broncos. McDaniels was 13-17 overall with Denver and was 5-17 after getting off to that hot 6-0 start last year. McDaniels exit comes as a surprise as he was just given a vote of confidence by owner Pat Bowlen last week. He becomes the third coach fired this year, joining the like of Wade “Aw Shucks” Phillips and Brad “Chilly” Childress. He will be replaced by Eric Studesville, the RB coach and former RB coach in Buffalo as well. The worst thing about this story is the way the Broncos announced his firing, via Twitter. You would think they would have more class than that. Bowlen will now be paying three coaches as he is still paying Mike Shanahan, McDaniels now and a new Head Coach in 2011. The firing also raises the question about Tim Tebow’s future.

MJD for MVP?: A lot buzz is being made for the Jaguars running back after his sensational performance against the Titans. The pint sized RB assaulted Tennessee for 186 yards and has five straight 100-yard games. His team sits alone atop of the AFC south and they control their own playoff destiny. He has a total of 1,177 yards so far, good for second in the league, only trailing Arian Foster of Houston who has 1,230 yards. He may be a long shot though as he plays in a small market in Jacksonville and doesn’t get the publicity he deserves. Also going against him is the fact that the MVP usually goes to a QB, as the last time a running back won was back in 2006 (Ladainian Tomlinson). If he keeps producing and the Jags keep winning though, he may have a chance.

Battered Brett: As much as some people can’t stand Favre, you have to feel a little sorry for him. He has created this iron man image and is just scratching and clawing his way to start number 300. He was creamed on the first play of the game against the Buffalo Bills and couldn’t return but now Coach Leslie Frazier is saying he expects him to start this week. Someone has to be the voice of reason here. I’m beginning to think Favre is on a mission to die on the field. He loves the game so much why not just be buried on the field with his shoulders pad and helmet on? The man is tough as nails and he proves that every week. He has every conceivable record for QBs, so why does he continue to jeopardize his well-being after football for a season that is going no where? I just don’t understand but to each their own. I hope he makes it to 300 but not at the expense of his health. Brett you will have a life after football but for some reason I don’t think you care about that.

Haynesworth suspended for last four games: The team says in a press release Tuesday that Haynesworth was punished for “conduct detrimental to the club” and that he was told of the suspension by general manager Bruce Allen.

Coach Mike Shanahan says in a statement that Haynesworth “repeatedly refused to cooperate with our coaching staff in a variety of ways over an extended period of time.”

This definitely sounds like the end in Big Al in D.C.

Sportaholic NFL Power Rankings Week 11

In what was yet another tumultuous week of games in the NFL, week 11 turned out to be one of the more normal weeks in the season. All of my top five teams won and most of them won handedly My top team, the New York Jets, however narrowly escaped defeat again, almost blowing a 16-point lead to Houston (The Texans have to be the worst finishing team in the league). New England and Indianapolis renewed their rivalry featuring the greatest QBs of our generation. Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay put an emphatic nail in Brett Favre and Minnesota, and effectively ended the Brad Childress era. San Diego is on its annual second half tear, now winning their last three games after blowing out the Broncos on Monday night (Do the Chargers get some type of super powers in the second half on the season?). Michael Vick wasn’t what he was against Washington but Philly was still able to defeat the other Manning and Giants, making it officially a bad day in the Manning family.




Now last week I said that I wouldn’t let one team leap frog another team ahead of it unless it was a loss and a very valid reason. And with that being said, I have a new # 1 on the list. Even though the Jets didn’t lose, I have my reasons that will be explained. So with that let’s jump into the rankings:

1. New England Patriots (8-2) – There is no denying this team. You can talk about the golden boy Tom Brady all you want but for me it’s all of their other parts. At the top of that list is little Danny Woodhead. This guy looks like a kid running around with men but is still able to be an effective weapon in their offense. He was the key component in the Pats victory over Indy. In one sequence Woodhead scored on a 36-yard burst showing his speed and agility. On the ensuing kickoff after the score, Woodhead came and swooped in making an exceptional tackle. That’s the kind of effort and commitment every football coach wants to see from their players. The Pats offense without Randy Moss, are now also utilzing their tight ends to their advantage with rookies Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski catching touchdown passes in nine of the Pats 10 games. It sounds like a broken record as I say every week but as long as they have Tom Brady, who by the way was 19/25 for 186 yards and 2 TDs, and the hoodie, then they will have a chance to win Super Bowls.

2. New York Jets (8-2) – The Cardiac Jets survived their latest scare, this week from Houston. They almost blew a 16-point lead as I stated above but like they always do they pulled out the win with some late game heroics. It’s hard to really know what this team is at this point. In the great words of Bill Parcells “You are what your records says you are” and if that’s the case with the Jets they are a good football team. The thing is that you can’t keep playing with fate this way. I usually don’t like to put a team higher than the team I had ahead of them but because of the Jets inability to play up their potential on a week in and week out basis, I have to drop them a slot. I can say that Mark Sanchez is showing a lot of grit in pulling off these late game comebacks and Santonio Holmes is proving why the Jets took the risk on him. Firemen Ed will have a heart attack if they continue to play these close games.

3. Philadelphia Eagles (7-3) – Mike Vick came back down to earth, after his record breaking and awe-inspiring performance against the Skins, but Philly was still able to handle the Giants. The Giants did get to Vick, with Justin Tuck sacking him three times and Vick being hit another five times behind the line. That can’t possibly be healthy for an already banged up Vick. If Philly wants to make it the Super Bowl, than number 7 has to stay clean.

4. Green Bay Packers (7-3) – I bet when Aaron Rodgers finally had some time to himself and digest the beat down he and the Packers put on the Vikings, he had to think that felt good. He beat the man who he replaced in Lambeau lore, the man who never was that fond of him, the man who many said shoes he would never be able to fill and the man who spanked the Packers twice last year in Brett Favre. The Packers are for real with a mean defense that features two of the best at their position in Charles Woodson and Clay Matthews (They have allowed 10 points in the last three games) and a high-flying offense with Rodgers leading. The former Cal QB has a 75 percent completion rate with seven TDs and no interceptions in his last two games. Green Bay was picked by a lot of experts at the beginning of the season to be a Super Bowl contender and they appear now ready to ascend to that level.

5. Atlanta Falcons (8-2) – Just another nothing to see here performance by the Falcons. They aren’t the most exciting team to watch but they know how to win games. Matt “Matty Ice” Ryan is finally back in his rookie form that saw him win rookie of the year honors. Michael “Burner” Turner also is playing like his former self as he ran all over the Rams to the tune of 131 yards and a touchdown. The Falcons will continue to march on to the playoffs and have a favorable schedule along the way. New Orleans will still have something to say about the division title though.

Other news and notables:

Vince the Villain: The way things played out for Vince Young and the Tennessee Titans begs the question: Will Young be back next year in a Titans uniform? From all indications if it was Coach Jeff Fisher’s decision he would not, but it’s not Fisher’s call. Bud “Bottom Line” Adams stated that two will just have to work out their differences but how can they at this point?



If you haven’t heard by now, Fisher did not put Young back into the game after he sustained an injury to his thumb on his throwing hand. Young looked intended on going back into the game as he was throwing passes to Randy Moss on the sidelines. Fisher stated that Young’s passes were loose and off-target, so he stayed with rookie Rusty Smith. Young was visibly upset and in the locker room after the game Young muttered words as Fisher addressed the team after their lost. Young apparently was leaving as Fisher spoke as well, and Fisher told him not to quit on his team, this being reported by Titans insider Jim Wyatt, Young said he wasn’t quitting on them but he was quitting on Fisher.



Now when you add that with the report that Young was egging on the crowd to boo and also tossing his shoulder pads and helmet into the crowd, how can this type of damage be repaired? Young definitely acted immature and childish. He takes things way to personally to be a professional athlete. You have to say that some things come with territory when you’re a highly paid and publicized figure in this world. The Boos will come sometime but you have to be a professional. I can understand being angry for not getting back into the game, but to induce the crowd and to toss your equipment in the stands is just uncalled for.



Fisher deserves some blame in this fiasco as well. His body language and actions have always showed that he doesn’t really like Young. Remember it was Bud Adams who told Fisher to put Young back in the lineup when the Titans started 0-6 last year. It was Fisher who took Young out when the Titans were getting manhandled by the Steelers earlier this year. You just get the feeling that at the end of this year, especially with the way Fisher was talking in his press conference yesterday, that one of these two men will be gone. Bud Adams seems to have this illusion that Young still will blossom into the game-changing QB that he was in Texas, but how many people believe Young will ever become more than he is? Adams will have to make a decision to either axe the longest tenured coach in the league or get rid of his hand-picked hometown QB who he has invested a lot of money and effort in. Fisher may make it easy by just walking if Adams doesn’t want to let go of Young. It almost seems as a good thing that Young was hurt and won’t be able to play the rest of this season. We will see how this play out in the off season.

The champs are back: Don’t look now but the New Orleans Saints are back marching again. After starting the season in Super Bowl hangover fashion, the Saints looked to have found their groove again. Drew Brees was 29 of 42 for 382 yards and broke Archie Manning’s (Told you it was a bad day to be a Manning) team record with his 1,850 completion. As bad as New Orleans started out of the gates, they are now just one game behind NFC South leader Atlanta. Watch out Falcons.

The epic showdown between the Sheriff and the Golden Boy: These two guys just deserve each other This is just good stuff for us fans The last six times these two have faced each other, the combined margin of victory is just 22 points. They will be known as the best quarterbacks of their generation with Manning’s 4 MVP and 1 Super Bowl and Brady’s 3 Super Bowl titles. Each year the NFL makes sure to schedule these two teams because of the sheer brilliance that is on display when they face off. Brady had the better numbers in this one but Manning was still Manning and despite making some unmanning like mistakes, still had his team close to a victory. The pick at the end soured an otherwise good game for Manning but he shouldn’t be throwing the ball 52 times like he did anyway. These two will meet again next for year for sure and maybe in the playoffs. When ever you get a chance to see these two match-up make sure you’re tuned in because you are watching greatness vs. greatness.