By Jason Bryden
Elm Senior Writer
Baltimore (5-1) at Houston (5-1)
The only two winning teams in the AFC meet on Sunday as the Ravens travel to Reliant Stadium in Houston with the winner gaining the valuable tiebreaker for home field in the AFC playoffs.
Baltimore almost blew a late 31-23 lead last Sunday to the Dallas Cowboys, but held on for a 31-29 win when the field goal try from 51 yards out by Dallas kicker Dan Bailey sailed just wide to the left. However the win came at a cost as the Ravens lost cornerback Lardarius Webb (torn anterior cruciate ligament in left knee) for the season and possibly linebacker Ray Lewis (torn tricep in right arm) for the season. Defensive tackle Haloti Ngata tore his medial collateral ligament in the knee in the game, but will play. The Ravens offense which has scored 23 or more points in every game will need to keep playing to their high level to overcome the injuries on defense.
Houston suffered its first loss of the season with a 42-24 loss to the Green Bay Packers. The Texans special teams really hurt Houston on Sunday with two penalties that gave the Packers a pair of first downs and led directly to 11 points due to the blunders. Houston’s defense gave up 427 yards and six touchdown passes and turned it over three times. It was Houston’s first game without linebacker Brian Cushing who tore his ACL in his knee at the New York Jets in Week 5. Despite the loss, the Texans still lead the AFC South by two-and-a-half games over the Indianapolis Colts. Can the Texans bounce back from last week’s loss and avenge last year’s 20-13 playoff loss in Baltimore?
The Ravens have won all six meetings, five in the regular season. Baltimore won in the regular season last year too, 29-14 in Baltimore.
Washington (3-3) at New York Giants (4-2)
One of the NFL’s oldest rivalries is back in action this Sunday when the Redskins travel up I-95 to the New Jersey Swamps to play the Giants at MetLife Stadium.
The Redskins come off of a 38-26 win over the visiting Minnesota Vikings last Sunday at FedEx Field. The Vikings cut the 31-12 Redskins’ lead to 31-26 before Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III ran 76 yards for the game clinching touchdown with 2:43 left. The Redskins forced three Minnesota turnovers and ended their eight-game home losing streak. Can RGIII, who had 320 all-purpose yards last week have the same effort against the Giants?
The Giants had little trouble with the San Francisco 49ers out in California last week, deposing the 49ers 26-3 in a rematch of last year’s NFC Championship Game. The Giants got 116 yards rushing from Ahmad Bradshaw and the defense forced three interceptions in the win. New York is a perfect 4-0 outside the NFC East, but has lost both divisional games this season despite being in first place in the NFC East so far. The Giants next two games are against the NFC East with a trip to Dallas in Week 8.
The Giants lead the all-time series 92-64-4, with both teams each winning once in the playoffs. The Redskins won both games last year, 28-14 at home and 23-10 on the road.
Arizona (4-2) at Minnesota (4-2)
Two of the NFC’s biggest surprises meet on Sunday at the Metrodome and both teams are hoping to right the ship this week as both come in with losing streaks.
The Cardinals dropped a tough 19-16 loss to the Buffalo Bills at home on Sunday in overtime out in Arizona. Arizona tied the game at 16-16 on a 61-yard field goal by kicker Jay Feely with 1:04 left in the fourth quarter, but his game-winning attempt from 38 yards on the final play of regulation hit the left upright. In overtime, quarterback John Skelton tossed an interception leading to the winning field goal for Buffalo. Arizona has now lost two in a row since starting 4-0.
The Vikings fell 38-26 to the Redskins on Sunday in Maryland. Minnesota fell down 31-12 and got it to 31-26 with 3:36 left, but allowed a long touchdown run by Robert Griffin III to end the comeback hopes. Minnesota hurt themselves with three turnovers, including one that was returned for a touchdown off of an interception. Quarterback Christian Ponder tossed two interceptions in the loss and also lost a fumble. Minnesota looks to keep its perfect home record going as they are 3-0 at home.
Minnesota leads the all-time series 12-10 in the regular season and has won both playoff encounters following the 1974 and 1998 seasons.
New York Jets (3-3) at New England (3-3)
One of the hotter rivalries of the past few years sparks up again on Sunday in Foxboro as the Jets travel up I-95 to play the Patriots at Gillette Stadium.
New York improved to 3-3 with a 35-9 thumping of the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The Jets defense forced four turnovers and picked off Indianapolis quarterback Andrew Luck twice in the win. The Jets running game finally got going on Sunday as running back Shonn Greene rushed for 161 yards and three touchdowns in the victory. New York got 14 of its 22 first downs in the win on the ground. The Jets will need to run this effectively again on Sunday in their effort to win in Foxboro.
New England blew a 23-10 lead in the final 7:21 of the fourth quarter and took a 24-23 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the Pacific Northwest last Sunday. In New England’s three wins, they have won by an average of 18.3 points per game, but have lost its three games by an average of 1.3 points per game, two one point losses and one two point loss. Can New England win a close game, something they used to be proficient at?
The two teams are tied in the regular season series at 51-51-1. In the playoffs, the Patriots have won two of three. The Patriots won both games last year.
Detroit (2-3) at Chicago (4-1)
An NFC North rivalry is renewed on Monday night when the Detroit Lions travel to Soldier Field to play the Chicago Bears.
Detroit rallied from a 23-13 deficit in the final five minutes to force overtime and won on a 45-yard field goal four minutes into overtime at Philadelphia, 26-23. The Lions forced three Eagles turnovers in the win and rolled up 449 yards of offense, including 135 yards receiving by Calvin Johnson. Is this a win that gets Detroit going or was it just a one week thing? In their last 10 trips to Soldier Field, Detroit is just 2-8.
Chicago had a bye in Week 6, but won its third straight game in Week 5 with a 41-3 pounding of the Jacksonville Jaguars in North Florida. The Bears rolled up 501 yards of offense and two defensive touchdowns. Cornerback Charles “Peanut” Tillman and linebacker Lance Briggs became the first teammates in the history of the NFL to return interceptions for touchdowns in consecutive games as the duo scored on pick sixes the week before in Dallas. The defense has scored five touchdowns this year.
The Bears lead the all-time series 94-65-5 and have won seven of the past eight meetings. The two sides split a season ago.