Projo Pats Blog

Today's Football Today column is late because of Christmas obligations.

The Dallas Cowboys needed a win in their last regular-season game at Texas Stadium to stay in control of their own playoff destiny. What they got was a mistake-filled performance by Tony Romo and two long touchdown runs allowed by the defense, just when it needed to make stops after the offense had finally found the end zone.

The New York Jets needed a win to set up a winner-take-all game for the AFC East title against the Miami Dolphins. What they got was a continuation of their late-season swoon -- with a questionable fourth-down call by head coach Eric Mangini thrown in -- only without J.P. Losman wearing a Seattle uniform to bail New York out.

The Denver Broncos needed a win at home against a going-nowhere Buffalo team to finally sew up the AFC West. Instead, they blew a 13-point lead and saw Jay Cutler throw a killer interception near the goal line in the fourth quarter, and now they'll have to face the San Diego Chargers next week with a (not deserved) playoff spot on the line.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers needed a win at home against those same Chargers to enhance their chances of getting the playoff spot that once seemed assured to them. Instead, they lost their third straight game -- and their first all year at home -- largely because they couldn't do anything to slow down the Chargers' offense.

The Philadelphia Eagles needed a win to prove what many people had been saying about them -- that they were the hottest team in the league -- and to set up a Week 17 game with Dallas with a wild-card spot on the line. Instead, Philadelphia's offense went nowhere for 58 minutes before putting together a desperation drive that ended when wide receiver Reggie Brown ran a route that ended a yard short of the end zone.

All over the NFL this weekend, we saw teams take the field with the postseason odds in their favor, only to seize up in the cold pressure of December. Compare that to a team like the New England Patriots -- or the San Diego Chargers -- battle-tested teams that took the field with their destinies not in their own hands, but with the knowledge that they needed to take care of business to have any shot of playing in January. And what did those teams do? They took it to the opposition from the opening kickoff.

The good news for San Diego, which has won seven straight games in December, is that all it has to do is beat the sinking Broncos at home to guarantee an improbable ticket to the postseason. The Patriots still need at least one more team to fail in the clutch -- either Baltimore or Miami will do. But, as the Patriots showed us yesterday, fans can count on them to take the field at Ralph Wilson Stadium with only one goal in mind -- winning the game that is in front of them. I'm not sure how this story ends, but I'm confident that the Pats are going to finish 11-5. And if they do get into the playoffs, even with all their injuries, I wouldn't want to be the team that faces them.

ANOTHER INJURY: The Patriots can't get through a game without one of their players going down, and yesterday was no different, as Richard Seymour suffered a lower back injury and may miss next week's game in Buffalo, according to The Herald's Ron Borges.

CONSPIRACY THEORISTS, UNITE! It hadn't occurred to me at first, but now that the Jets-Dolphins game has been moved to 4:15 p.m., get ready for it. If the Patriots win in Buffalo but miss the playoffs, some people will speculate that Eric Mangini threw the game to get back at his old boss. (If the situation was reversed, maybe we'd worry about the same thing from Joey Porter and the rest of Bill Parcells' Dolphins.) But I'd say the thing that the Patriots most have to fear is the fact that even when giving their best, the Jets look lost right now. Even with a Patriots win in the 1 p.m. game, the Jets will still have the motivation of a potential wild-card spot to spur them on, since the NFL also moved the Baltimore-Jacksonville game to a late time slot. But if the Ravens jump out to a big early lead and then the Jets collapse? Well, conspiracy theorists unite!

SELF-PRESERVATION: If the Jets don't find a way to make it into the playoffs, expect the calls for Mangini to be fired to grow even louder (Newsday).

NOW THAT'S LEADERSHIP! Jets captain Shaun Ellis, who was arrested and charged with marijuana possession earlier this month as his team prepared to play for a playoff spot, retaliated at snowball-throwing Seattle Seahawks fans by chucking the snow right back at them, and then some:

JUDGING THEM HARSHLY: Our own writers had a lot of not-too-complimentary things to say about the Cardinals' performance yesterday, but Tony Massarotti of Boston.com takes the cake when he says that Arizona put on "one of the most disgraceful performances in the history of professional sports."

A BIG TWIST IN THE RUNNING GAME: Russ Hochstein's surprise appearance as the Patriots' starting fullback yesterday helped New England batter the Cardinals into submission early (Boston Globe).

PRIME-TIME MATCHUP: The Chargers-Broncos game has been moved to the Sunday night time slot, meaning that an epic battle of 7-8 and 8-7 teams will be our last taste of regular-season football. Call this one the Ed Hochuli Bowl, as San Diego finally gets a chance to avenge its 39-38 Week 2 loss in Denver, which was largely the result of the muscular ref's admitted mistake.

PLAXICO BURRESS IN TROUBLE AGAIN: It's just not a good thing when normal, innocent people encounter Plaxico Burress. Alice Smith of Miami is suing the already troubled Giants wide receiver, saying that he is responsible for a car crash in May that left her with neck and back injuries (South Florida Sun-Sentinel). Smith's attorney says Plax rear-ended the woman on the Florida Turnpike; Smith is seeking $15,000 for medical bills, lost wages and damages to her car.

BULLETIN-BOARD MATERIAL: Vikings wide receiver Bobby Wade, a former Chicago Bear, doesn't have much confidence in his old team. Which is a good thing, because Minnesota's loss yesterday to Atlanta leaves the Bears still alive in the race for the NFC North -- Chicago has to win tonight against Green Bay to keep its hopes alive. Here's what Wade had to say after the Vikes' loss: "We need the Bears to blow it. Where are they playing, at home? Great. They'll definitely blow it." (Chicago Sun-Times) Memo to Mr. Wade: When you play for the Vikings, yo don't get to call other teams choke artists.

JUST WHAT ROMEO NEEDS: Poor Romeo Crennel. He's probably out the door in Cleveland as soon as this season ends, and now he has to answer rumors that defensive lineman Shaun Smith punched Brady Quinn in Quinn's pretty face during a weight-room fight last week (Cleveland Plain Dealer). And then there's this: Ken Dorsey has possibly become the third Browns quarterback lost to injury, as Dorsey suffered a rib injury and a light concussion in Cleveland's shutout loss to the Bengals (NFL.com). The Browns, oh by the way, have not scored a touchdown in their last five games.

WE NEED A BREAK: Now that the Steelers know they will be the number-two seed in the AFC playoffs, next week's game against Cleveland might be a good opportunity to rest banged-up stars like Ben Roethlisberger, James Harrison and Ryan Clark (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review).

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