NFL Weekly: NY Jets Struggling, NFC Wild Card, Carolina Panthers, & More

New York Jets: The Jets have played themselves into a nice little mess after losing at home to Denver in Week 13 and then losing to the 49ers on the road. The Jets were in control of the division with a two game lead, but now find themselves in a 3 way tie with the Patriots and Dolphins. They have been horrible offensively the last two weeks only scoring 17 points against a pitiful Denver defense and then only 14 points against the 49ers. They were especially bad against the 49ers gaining only 182 yards of total offense and were in possession of the football for a measly 20 minutes the whole game. I'm not really sure why the Jets are playing so poorly, but Thomas Jones has been far and away their best offensive player, and he only touched the ball 13 times in the game against the 49ers. He definitely should be getting more touches than that, especially since he has scored a TD in 7 straight games. Brett Favre seems to be struggling to get the ball down field as well, because he has averaged only 5.7 and 4.4 yards per pass the last two games. The Jets offense must get things together if they want to win the division or even make the playoffs at this point. They finish up with Buffalo at home, at Seattle, and at home against Miami. Normally, you would think the Seattle game would be an easy win, but the Jets have lost all of their West Coast trips this season including at San Diego, at Oakland, at San Francisco. I wouldn't be surprised if they lost that at Seattle too. The Dolphins and Patriots seem more more likely to win the division at this point. I think teams are going to load up on the Jets run game and make Brett Favre beat them and I don't think he can do that anymore.

NFC Wild Card: The NFC Wild Card race is heating up after the Cowboys and Falcons both lost this week. Right now Dallas (8-5) holds the last spot in a tie breaker over Atlanta (8-5), but the Eagles (7-5-1), Saints (7-6), Bears (7-6), and Redskins (7-6) are all involved too. I still like the Cowboys to get the last Wild Card spot, but it won't be easy with the Giants, Ravens, and Eagles left on their schedule. Even more reason why their loss to the Steelers was a crucial one. They definitely should have won that game and coughed it up big time down the stretch. The Falcons are the dark horse here with games against the Bucs, Vikings, and Rams, which are certainly all winnable games. If Dallas slips up, then they could win out and clinch the last spot. If both Dallas and Atlanta lose one game, that could open the door for the Eagles, Saints, Bears, and Redskins. Of those 4 teams, the Redskins have the easiest schedule with games against the Bengals, Eagles, and 49ers, of course they also have been playing the worst of all the teams still in the Wild Card race. It wouldn't completely shock me to see the Eagles sneak into the playoffs, but they would be in a lot better position if they had won their games against the Bengals and Bears in prior weeks.

New York Giants: I've been wondering all season how anyone was going to be able to beat the Giants come playoff time. The loss of Plaxico Burress is definitely a big reason why the Giants might be slightly more beatable now and they are certainly no guarantee to reach the Super Bowl in the NFC. The Giants can get away without having Plaxico Burress for the regular season, but come playoff time, I think Eli Manning is going to miss Burress big time. Since Burress is such a lengthy and athletic receiver, he often does not need to be completely open for Manning to loft one up to him for a completion. The Giants won in the playoffs last season mostly because of the strong running of Jacobs and some deep plays to Burress. However, without those two I think their offense loses its dynamic capabilities, because although nobody will admit it, Eli Manning is still not all that great of a QB. He does need weapons around him and I think the Eagles proved that this week when they held Manning to 13 of 27 passing for 123 yards. I think Dallas will have an excellent chance to beat the Giants in Week 14 at home as long as they can avoid turnovers. Since the Giants have already clinched the division, this regular season game won't make much difference to them, but it could give us a look at what is to come in the playoffs for the Giants.


Other NFL News:

- I'd just like to say that I am officially sold on the Carolina Panthers now, but that's only if Jake Delhomme keeps his stuff together. I think they can beat the Giants if they play their A game, but I still think it would be tough for them to win in New York. If the can somehow get home field advantage in the NFC, then I'd increase those chances.

- Touching story about former Jags O-Lineman Richard Collier, who was shot and paralyzed before this season began.

- The Broncos RB position is clearly cursed as Peyton Hillis became their 6th RB to be lost for the season to an injury. Hillis is out for the season with a strained hamstring. Tatum Bell will most likely take over the RB duties for the Broncos throughout the rest of the season and their one playoff loss. Better watch your back Tatum, you already got some bad karma coming your way because of the whole Rudi Johnson stolen bags incident, and becoming the Broncos feature RB just made things worse.

- The Redskins lost 5 time Pro Bowl offensive lineman Chris Samuels for the season with a torn tricep muscle. This could be a big blow to their chances in making the playoffs, although with their poor play of late, that seems like a long shot at this point anyway.

Fantasy Stars of the Week:

Matt Ryan: 315 yards passing, 2 TDs (1 passing, 1 rushing)

Matt Schaub: 414 yards passing, 2 TDs

Brian Westbrook: 131 yards rushing, 72 yards receiving, 2 TDs

Antonio Bryant: 200 yards receiving, 2 TDs

DeAngelo Williams: 186 yards rushing, 2 TDs

Jonathan Stewart: 115 yards rushing, 2 TDs

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