State of the NFL Entering Week 14
Once the dust had settled after four quarters in Foxboro on Monday night, the Patriots had obliterated the Jets to the tune of 45-3, joined Atlanta with the best records in the league at 10-2, and left every NFL team with just four games remaining before the start of the playoffs. But fourteen short weeks ago, in Week 1 of the season, ESPN.com’s Power Rankings had the Colts at #1, as well as the Cowboys and Vikings in the top 5. The Patriots and Jets sat at 9th and 10th, respectively. To say that the league and the season have come a long way since that point may be the understatement of the decade.
With 75% of the 2010 regular season already in the books, many familiar faces are gearing up for potential playoff runs; but this year’s race has involved some surprise entries, while other familiar faces have failed to show up. Currently, the defending champion Saints don’t even have the best record in their own division, the Patriots have more wins than the Cowboys and Vikings combined, and Peyton Manning is poised to potentially not make the playoffs for the first time since 2001.
Entering Week 14, both the Jaguars—who are 3-1 within their division, winners of 4 of their last 5 games—and the Chiefs—who are 6-0 at home and have won 3 in a row—are dark-horse division leaders, fighting for respective playoff berths in the AFC South and AFC West.
Representing the AFC East, the Patriots have scored at least ten more TD’s than any other team in the NFL to this point, and are the only team averaging more than 30 points per game. Conversely, there is barely a statistical explanation for how underwhelming the Cardinals have been this season: Arizona has given up the most points of any team in the league (338), and only Carolina has scored fewer points than Arizona’s paltry 200. But failure to meet expectations has been the story for the entire NFC West this season; out of 48 total games played, the Cardinals, 49ers, Seahawks, and Rams have a lukewarm 8-8 record within themselves, and are a less-than-inspiring 11-21 against the rest of the league.
But, despite Matt Ryan’s refusal to lose at home, current five-game win streaks for the Saints and the Bears, and the demolishing of Rex Ryan’s Jets last Monday night, this season’s playoff picture is far from concrete. This week, the Patriots travel to Chicago for a match between a red-hot offense led by Tom Brady, and an immovable-force of a defense led by Brian Urlacher and Julius Peppers. Then, head-to-head games to decide first-place positions (i.e. playoff spots) could happen for as many as five divisions down the home-stretch of the season: in Week 15, the Eagles and Giants square-off for 1st place in the NFC East in New York while the Jaguars and Colts meet in Indy to decide the fate of the AFC South; in Week 16, the Saints and Falcons will meet on Monday night, potentially for a playoff spot out of the NFC South; and, in Week 17, everything in the NFC North could be on the line at Lambeau as the Packers renew an age-old rivalry with the Bears.
Not to invoke the words of Terrell Owens or anything, but get your popcorn ready.
