After watching two of the NFC's best teams battle it out on Monday night football, it's time to start making sense of the NFC playoff picture. The Saints may have gotten the best of the Falcons this week, but it's clear that the two NFC South clubs are evenly matched and either of them is capable of representing the conference in Super Bowl XLV. With the Patriots looking like the favorite in the AFC, let's take a look at what the NFC has to offer.
Atlanta Falcons - Despite their loss on Monday night, the Falcons are still in position to clinch home field throughout the playoffs. Mike Smith's team has managed to stay relatively injury-free up to this point and will have a big role in how the NFC plays out in January.
Chicago Bears - Everyone kept waiting for the Bears' train to get derailed, but if anything, they have become stronger as the season progressed. Their defensive front seven consistently gets pressure on opposing quarterbacks and they are one of the few teams that match up well against pocket passers and mobile pivots like Michael Vick. Their win over the Jets in Week 16 was a sign that they are a legit challenger in the post-season.
Philadelphia Eagles - Regardless of how the Eagles fare in Tuesday's game against the Vikings, Andy Reid has once again led his team to the playoffs. Their comeback victory against the Giants showed just how explosive their offence can be, making no lead safe. The Hollywood script would see Vick return to Atlanta for the NFC championship game.
New Orleans Saints - Beating the Falcons was a big step for the 2010 Saints, who seem to have shaken their Super Bowl hangover. New Orleans may not have the same magic that propelled them to the Lombardi Trophy last season, but they have the weapons and experience to get back to the big game.
Green Bay Packers/New York Giants/Tampa Bay Buccaneers - All three teams are sitting at 9-6 heading into the final week, with only one wild card spot left. The Packers control their destiny after dominating the Giants this week. New York seems to be following their usual routine of coming undone near the end of the season. Tampa Bay is an exciting young club, but their record has been inflated by wins over bad teams and they will need a lot of help to get their hands on the golden ticket.
St. Louis Rams/Seattle Seahawks - Sam Bradford is a great story, taking the Rams from the first overall pick in the draft to the doorstep of the post-season. Now he needs to take his team into Seattle for a playoff-style game that will see the loser's season abruptly end. The Seahawks play much better at home, but they may be forced to go with Charlie Whitehurst at quarterback, as Matt Hasselbeck is dealing with a hip injury.
INS AND OUTS
In The Zone
If Josh Freeman's name wasn't in your football lexicon yet, then maybe his five-touchdown performance against the Seahawks will help get him in there. The Buccaneers quarterback should get some consideration as an MVP candidate as he has kept a young Tampa Bay team in playoff contention and likely saved head coach Raheem Morris' job in the process.
Out of Time
Not sure who plans on protecting Gotham City, but it won't be Terrell Owens (Batman) and Chad Ochocinco (Robin). The two likely played their last game together in Cincinnati and possibly their last games ever for the franchise. The Bengals upset the Chargers on Sunday, but that likely won't be enough to keep the old gang together in Cincy.
Back In The Hunt
When a four-game losing streak hit Indianapolis it looked like the Colts might sit this year out when it comes to the playoffs, but with one week to go they control their own destiny once again. The Jaguars, who are their only competition left in the AFC South, lost to the Redskins. A late-season loss to Washington should be more than enough to let Jacksonville know they don't deserve to play on wild card weekend.
Out of Nowhere
Here's a sentence I never thought I would type: Tim Tebow threw for 300 yards in an NFL game. Sure it came against the Texans' secondary, and it was primarily screens and wobbling passes, but it was still a 300-yard game. As someone who lost a friendly bet over the fact that Tebow was drafted in the first round, count me among the group of people who are surprised by his stat-line.
THIS WEEK IN HYPERBOLE
"It's hard to feel good about anything. I understand that it's a nice accomplishment and all that, but right now at this moment, with the way (Sunday went, the way the season has gone, it's not possible to feel good about it." Whether Kerry Collins was willing to admit it or not, I'm sure it had to feel at least a little nice to join such an elite club in NFL history. Collins became the 12th quarterback ever to throw for more than 40,000 passing yards in the NFL. He is sitting 98 yards behind Johnny Unitas, which doesn't seem right, but Collins has put together a surprisingly lengthy career. Collins also showed off his arm strength on Sunday when one of his passes went out off bounds and off the helmet of defensive lineman Jovan Haye, leaving Haye concussed. You can't make this stuff up. Head coach Jeff Fisher confirmed the concussion and that the training staff wouldn't let Haye return to the game.
DOWNRIGHT OFFENSIVE
Move over Matt Flynn. Aaron Rodgers came back to the Packers lineup with a 404-yard, four-touchdown showing in a must-win game against the Giants. The Pack put up 45 points and slid into the last wild card spot, at least for the time being. A win next week would lock down that position and have the Packers on the road the first week of the post-season.
EASIER SAID THAN DONE
"I probably won't say it a whole bunch. I'm proud of the guys. There's a lot of people who have struggled through some tough times. The reward in this business is winning, and winning big games. This just gives us an opportunity to play in some bigger games. We'll see how far we've come." Like a parent that doesn't know how to tell their kids they love them, Chiefs coach Todd Haley mustered up the courage to do just that after Kansas City clinched the AFC West crown on Sunday. Haley, along with general manager Scott Pioli have done an excellent job of making the Chiefs relevant again. The Hollywood script for Pioli would be a visit to Foxboro in January against his old Patriots team. I'm sure coordinators Charlie Weis and Romeo Crennel, QB Matt Cassel and LB Mike Vrabel feel the same.
HALFTIME
In a recent Ted Talk, Sir Ken Robinson points out ways the education system needs to modernize itself. One of the problems it faces is that the system was designed for a different time. He believes that educators need to revolutionize the current models in order to better help all students. The NFL knows about replacing a broken old model. The league will likely be bringing in a rookie pay scale, to reduce the obscene signing bonuses players get in the first round of the NFL draft. It should also help keep young players hungry to prove themselves as they learn how to succeed in the NFL.
COACHING ADJUSTMENTS
Kudos to the Lions, who have become the league's new road warriors. After ending their embarrassing streak of road losses, Detroit has put together back-to-back wins away from Ford Field. This week was particularly impressive as they scored 17 points late to shock the Dolphins. We could be witnessing the start of something good in Detroit, especially since they'll have another top ten pick to add to their roster. They could definitely use help in their secondary, which could come in the form of Nebraska CB Prince Amukamara or LSU CB Patrick Peterson.
THE DEFENCE RESTS
The defence rests took on a whole new meaning this week when two defensive juggernauts met in Chicago. A matchup between the Jets and Bears in bad weather was expected to be a defensive duel, but turned out to be anything but. Jay Cutler and the Bears posted 38 points, and the Jets added 34 of their own, in a back-and-forth battle that featured a surprising amount of trips to the end zone.
THE BIG SCREEN
"Can anybody tell me what's wrong with this picture?" -Bill Foster (Falling Down, 1993)
What's lost in the fight between Mike Singletary and Troy Smith was the role Ted Ginn played. Ginn came over and stuffed a towel into Smith's face in what appeared to be an attempt to calm things down. Ginn may very well have saved Smith's life in the process. While Singletary may not be the 49ers coach anymore, you still don't mess with Samurai Mike. Especially after you threw an interception to his future son-in-law. Rams S O.J. Atogwe is set to marry Singletary's daughter.
"I've passed the point of no return. Do you know what that is, Beth? That's the point in a journey where it's longer to go back to the beginning. It's like when those astronauts got in trouble. I don't know, somebody messed up, and they had to get them back to Earth. But they had passed the point of no return. They were on the other side of the moon and were out of contact for like hours. Everybody waited to see if a bunch of dead guys in a can would pop out the other side. Well, that's me. I'm on the other side of the moon now and everybody is going to have to wait until I pop out." -Bill Foster (Falling Down, 1993)
The 49ers weren't the only franchise past the point of no return with their coaches. Tom Coughlin is at risk of not making the playoffs, and there always seems to be a sentiment in New York that he could be replaced. Gary Kubiak failed to get the Texans into the playoffs yet again, leaving his job in jeopardy. Others include Tony Sparano who came up short in Miami this season, as well as Marvin Lewis and John Fox whose long tenures may be over in Cincinnati and Carolina, respectively.
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