Weekly Recap – Week 15

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Week 15 is in the books and what have we learned? The Colts are undefeated…The Saints not so much. Congrats to the Dallas Cowboys who actually won big in December. Josh Cribbs is a record breaker and most importantly lets take a moment to remember the loss of Chris Henry…thoughts and prayers go out to his family and the Bengals Organization. Lets go around the league and give you the highlights of all this weeks games!

San Francisco vs Philadelphia Eagles
Playoff berths are so routine for the Philadelphia Eagles they don’t celebrate anymore. Donovan McNabb threw for one touchdown and ran for another, DeSean Jackson had 140 yards receiving and the Eagles beat the San Francisco 49ers 27-13 Sunday to clinch a playoff spot for the eighth time this decade.
None of the first seven trips produce a Super Bowl victory, however. With San Francisco’s loss, the Arizona Cardinals secured their second straight NFC West title. The Eagles (10-4) have won five straight games and have a one-game lead over Dallas in the NFC East.

Cincinnati Bengals vs San Diego Chargers
By the time the San Diego Chargers could exhale, they had clinched their fourth straight AFC West title as well as pulling out a dramatic win over the grieving Cincinnati Bengals. Nate Kaeding kicked a 52-yard field goal with 3 seconds left and the Chargers rallied for a 27-24 win over the Bengals, who got a tying 34-yard field goal by Shayne Graham 51 seconds earlier. A few minutes after the Chargers (11-3) secured their ninth straight victory, and with several thousand fans still in the stadium, the Chargers clinched the division when Denver lost to Oakland.

Atlanta Falcons vs New York Jets
The Atlanta Falcons already had their playoff hopes dashed and were getting manhandled by the New York Jets’ top-ranked defense. No contest, right? Not quite. Tony Gonzalez caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from Matt Ryan on a fourth-down play with 1:38 remaining to lift the Falcons to a 10-7 victory that seriously damaged the Jets’ postseason chances Sunday. A day after the Falcons (7-7) were eliminated from playoff contention by Dallas’ win over New Orleans, they were able to play spoiler against the stunned Jets (7-7).

New England Patriots vs Buffalo Bills
So much for all those accusing Randy Moss of quitting. Same thing for anyone wondering whether the New England Patriots are vulnerable this season.
No matter how inconsistently the Patriots have played—particularly on the road—or what distractions they’ve faced, one thing remains constant: They can always count on beating the Buffalo Bills. A week after being accused of giving up by Carolina Panthers defenders, Moss bounced back with five catches for 70 yards and a touchdown in a 17-10 win Sunday. And Tully Banta-Cain anchored a banged-up defense with a three sacks in a victory that lacked style points, but accomplished what’s most important by inching the AFC East-leading Patriots (9-5) closer to clinching a playoff berth.

Houston Texans vs St. Louis Rams
Big games from Andre Johnson and Matt Schaub helped the Houston Texans score just enough points. Schaub had his eighth 300-yard passing game, one shy of Peyton Manning’s league-leading total, and Johnson consistently eluded a defense geared to stop him with a season best 196 yards receiving. But the Texans ended up leaning on field goals to hold off the lowly St. Louis Rams 16-13 on Sunday.

Oakland Raiders vs Denver Broncos
JaMarcus Russell found redemption and Chaz Schilens together in the end zone. Schilens caught a 10-yard touchdown pass from Russell with 35 seconds left that gave the Raiders a 20-19 scrum-filled win on Sunday that dealt a serious blow to the Broncos’ playoff hopes. “They’re all special, but this one’s pretty high,” said Russell, who was benched a month ago and passed by Charlie Frye on the depth chart this week. The former No. 1 overall draft pick entered when Frye was knocked out of the game early in the fourth quarter when he struck his head on the ground after a hard hit from linebacker Andra Davis. The Broncos (8-6) are still in the AFC wild-card hunt but they were expecting a win over Oakland (5-9), who won at Invesco Field for the second straight season thanks to Russell. Now, they’ll likely have to win at Philadelphia and beat Kansas City at home to end their three-year playoff drought.

Dallas Cowboys vs New Orleans Saints
The history making achievement the Saints and their fans really want is a first Super Bowl appearance, which is all that’s left to accomplish now that Tony Romo and Dallas ended their December doldrums at New Orleans’ expense. Drew Brees and the Saints are marching toward an unbeaten season no more after their frenzied rally fell short in a 24-17 loss to the Cowboys on Saturday night.

Minnesota Vikings vs Carolina Panthers
It was supposed to be a night when the Minnesota Vikings celebrated a division title and inched closer to the best record in the NFC. Instead it was night of dropped passes, missed tackles, poor protection and a heated argument between Brett Favre and the coach who worked so hard to bring him back from retirement. Carolina Panthers dominated the fourth quarter Sunday night in a 26-7 win over the Vikings.

Indianapolis Colts vs Jacksonville Jaguars
Peyton Manning completed every pass early and one big one late, exactly what the Indianapolis Colts needed to stay unbeaten. Manning threw for 308 yards and four touchdowns, including a 65-yarder to Reggie Wayne to go ahead for good, and the Colts beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 35-31 Thursday night to improve to 14-0 for the first time in franchise history.

Green Bay Packers vs Pittsburgh Steelers
Ben Roethlisberger throws to the corner of the end zone, the receiver barely gets his feet down inbounds for a remarkable touchdown. Ten months after winning the Super Bowl with just such an improbable play, the Pittsburgh Steelers possibly saved their season with a nearly identical one. Roethlisberger ended the game the way he started it by throwing a touchdown pass to Mike Wallace, a desperation 19-yarder on the final play that rallied Pittsburgh to a 37-36 victory over Green Bay on Sunday that ended the Packers’ five-game winning streak and the Steelers’ five-game losing streak.

Baltimore Ravens vs Chicago Bears
The Baltimore Ravens aren’t quite yet a playoff team. They sure are playing like one, though. Joe Flacco threw a career-high four touchdown passes, and the Ravens capitalized on six Chicago turnovers in a 31-7 rout on Sunday. Baltimore (8-6) led 14-0 after 13 minutes and 31-7 after three quarters. The victory solidified the Ravens’ hold on the sixth and final playoff spot in the AFC and improved their record against teams currently with losing records to 6-0.

Arizona Cardinals vs Detroit Lions
The Arizona Cardinals blew a 17-point lead to the lowly Detroit Lions and needed to make a pressure-packed play in the closing minutes to avoid an embarrassing defeat. Kurt Warner threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Anquan Boldin with 1:54 left, lifting Arizona to a 31-24 win over Detroit Lions on Sunday. Arizona (9-5) took the final step later in the day, clinching the NFC West when San Francisco lost at Philadelphia. The Cardinals have won consecutive division titles for the first time since 1974-75.

Cleveland Browns vs Kansas City Chiefs
All week the Browns heard how Mike Holmgren coming to Cleveland might mean the end of coach Eric Mangini’s short, drama-filled stint with the team.
Jerome Harrison and Joshua Cribbs may have saved their coach’s job, at least for now, trying to outdo each other with record-setting games.
Harrison scored his third touchdown with 44 seconds left and rushed for a team-record 286 yards, and Cribbs returned two kickoffs for touchdowns to lift the Browns to a 41-34 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Seattle Seahawks
Freeman threw two touchdown passes in the second half, Tampa Bay’s battered defense forced five turnovers from Seattle’s reckless Matt Hasselbeck, and the Buccaneers rallied to a 24-7 win over the Seahawks on Sunday. Tampa Bay (2-12) won for just the second time in 17 games, and won on the West Coast for the first time since beating Oakland in the Super Bowl on Jan. 26, 2003, in San Diego. With maybe 500 angry Seattle fans watching by the end, the young Bucs smiled triumphantly pointed to the sky after the team’s first win away from Tampa in 10 tries, since Nov. 23, 2008, at Detroit.

Miami Dolphins vs Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans might fall short of making NFL history by rebounding from an 0-6 start to make the playoffs. It won’t be for lack of trying, and they certainly aren’t boring. Rob Bironas kicked a 46-yard field goal in overtime, and the Titans beat the Miami Dolphins 27-24 Sunday after blowing an 18-point lead. Tennessee kept alive faint playoff hopes for another week as Vince Young threw for a career-high three touchdowns, and Chris Johnson ran for 104 yards. The Titans (7-7) reached .500 for the first time this year, but made it far too interesting by blowing the big lead.