The Tim Tebow legend seems to grow a little more each week, and on Thursday night in prime time at Mile High - albeit on the hard-to-find NFL Network - the Denver quarterback led the Broncos to an improbable victory, sealing a 17-13 triumph over a lackluster NY Jets outfit with a 20-yard TD run, the final play of an epic 95-yard drive with. The great irony is that the Jets managed to contain Tebow well until that point. He had only 48 rushing yards and no TDs until that last play, a 3rd down and 4, where everything Gang Green had done all night counted for naught.
Speaking of the NFL Network, the combination of Brad Nessler and Mike Mayock has breathed new life into the Thursday night package that suffered last year due to the dumb analyst duo of media hacks Matt Millen and Joe Theismann, whose combined stupidity probably cost play-by-play man Bob Papa a chance to return. I've always loved Nessler's work on ESPN's college football games, and Mayock is making a name for himself thanks to the exposure he gets from NBC's Notre Dame coverage and his status as NFL Network's Draft Guru. This is a solid broadcast team. They do a solid job without any fanfare.
Of serious concern is the anaemic NY Jets offense. QB Mark Sanchez is feeling the heat from the media in the Big Apple. There isn't a really serious deep threat for the Jets, which limits Sanchez's options. They need to draft a good one next April, in a draft that will feature some electric receivers. Even so, this is a disappointment of a season thus far, especially considering that many pundits had the Jets as one of the top two or three teams in the AFC. You have to wonder just how long fans and media will wait before they really start calling for Sanchez's head. The thing is, what options do the Jets have? Backup QB Mark Brunell is not what I would call a viable option.
Life is not much better for the NY Giants, who faced Philadelphia's backup QB Vince Young, who turned the football over on 3 INTs, yet they could still not get a win, going down 17-10 because the run game did absolutely nothing to help QB Eli Manning. And seriously, what genius on the sideline thought it would be okay to kick the football to DeSean Jackson? We've seen what Jackson does at MetLife Stadium - yeah, I'm talking about that tough day to be a Giants fan, the so-called Miracle and the Meadowlands - and surely that body of work is enough to convince Giants coaches to instruct their punter/kicker to hoof the pigskin well out of bounds. It's an incredibly frustrating time to be a Giants fan, and with Green Bay and New Orleans plus games against Dallas and Washington to come down the stretch, it's very likely that Big Blue might be watching from the sidelines come playoff time.
Wow, are the wheels falling off the Buffalo Bills Bandwagon, or what? It seems like we were all on board just a few weeks ago and now we're jumping off like rats from a sinking ship, because the Bills were spanked last week by Dallas and this week something similar happened at the hands of...wait for it...the Miami Dolphins. Yeah, the 2-win Dolphins team went and opened a can on what we thought was a pretty good Bills team. It's a shame to see it falling apart so quickly.
Wow, are the wheels falling off the Buffalo Bills Bandwagon, or what? It seems like we were all on board just a few weeks ago and now we're jumping off like rats from a sinking ship, because the Bills were spanked last week by Dallas and this week something similar happened at the hands of...wait for it...the Miami Dolphins. Yeah, the 2-win Dolphins team went and opened a can on what we thought was a pretty good Bills team. It's a shame to see it falling apart so quickly.
The wheels might be turning again on the Detroit Lions Bandwagon. They did their usual second-half comeback thing on Sunday, roaring home from seventeen points behind against Cam Newton and the Carolina Hurricanes on the back of QB Matthew Stafford's 5 touchdown/355 yard game. That comeback after the Lions inexplicably turned the football over on the first three possessions of the game. Watching the game, I couldn't help but wonder how many of the Detroit players were already thinking ahead to Thursday's monster Thanksgiving game against NFC north rivals, the undefeated and defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers. Finally, we'll see a meaningful Thanksgiving game from the Motor City.
Staying in the NFC North, and it's a shame to hear that Chicago QB Jay Cutler broke the thumb on his throwing arm and will be out 6-8 weeks. Disastrous timing for the Bears, who have played brilliant football over the last few weeks and looked to be serious NFC contenders. Now, we get to see if backup Caleb Hanie, the guy who came in and almost led the Bears over the Packers in the NFC Championship Game, is a one-hit wonder or a legitimate stud. He hasn't played a meaningful NFL snap aside from those late in the NFC Championship. I guess the good news for the Bears is their defense, lead by the fearless and fearsome Brian Urlacher, is playing lights-out, and they can always have RB Matt Forte run more than he already does to lighten Hanie's load. Interesting few weeks coming up in the Windy City.
The San Francisco 49ers are 9-1 and could possibly wrap up the AFC West title next weekend. For anyone who still doubts that Jim Harbaugh's team is for real...well, we should get a better indication of their prowess after Thursday night, in the Harbaugh Bowl. That's right, the Niners take on the Baltimore Ravens. Jim Harbaugh
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