We figured a battle between the Packers and Cowboys would settle the NFC argument. The New York Giants dump both teams in successive weeks. In one that supposes they know everything, the Wild Card case often confirms the very nature of doubt. Go to warm Tampa Bay, weird-hole-in-dome Dallas and then -135 degree Green Bay and you're rewarded with a Super Bowl that has the New England Patriots winning by 65. None of this was expected. Each week, a majority thought the Giants opponents would win. And why not? More is promoted about this team's vulnerabilities than their strengths. Welcome to "Sports Talk."

The intriguing story is the Giants and Patriots re-match from week 17. The Patriots needed 15 fourth-quarter points just to win by three. The Giants were winning at half-time, 21-16. They were winning after the third quarter, 28-23. In the fourth quarter, the Giants went three-and-out. Eli Manning threw a pick to Ellis Hobbs. After Lawrence Maroney scored on a five-yard touchdown, the Patriots' led 38-28 with over four minutes to go. To his credit, Eli Manning took the Giants 68 yards completing a three-yard touchdown to Plaxico Burress for his fourth touchdown pass of the night. The on-side failed and Tom Brady took three knees. It wasn't like the luck-saved-our-ass Baltimore Ravens game. The win over the Giants was well worth the cost of admission.

It's good to know that the Giants nearly had their number forcing a successful conclusion that the Super Bowl will be just as entertaining. That is, if you believe in such things, that the Giants already showed their hand and the Meglo-Super-Genius Bill Belichick hasn't already devised a plan that will shatter every known Physics theory ever. The contemporary religious argument is that he'll find ample evidence that God (a.k.a., Brian Billick) doesn't exist.

I've already figured that most people don't want a Giants-Patriots game. Because what people want really matters in the scope in all things football, the argument is laid out. What's the point? There isn't any. It's fodder for a city that's long lost their playoff ambition (i.e., Bengals). And you knew that the Kelley Washington sighting would have everyone wondering if letting him go was the right move. Or wondering why the Bengals didn't have Washington become the best dag-um special teams player ever. Other than dancing, the guy was never worth the argument. Sunday's slap of the ball at the one-yard line included.

What happens when a 232-pound linebacker with over 600 career tackles gets wrestled to the ground by a referee? A grievance. No, seriously. It's nothing to take on a 300-pound lineman looking to take you out. It's nothing to collide with a running back with both going at full speed. An umpire takes a linebacker to the ground. Laughable. Reminds me of that beer commercial where the defense huddles up with one player promising a beer if they get to the quarterback -- or stop the play. Whatever. Then the ref, overhearing the bet in the huddle, takes out the quarterback on his own. Sorry. I just can't bring myself to take a linebacker's grievance on an umpire for being a little too physical seriously. And because YouTube is awesome....

Personally, I think Barnett is embarrassed that he got pwned by an umpire. Two points!

In the NFC, the Vikings knocked out several teams -- Panthers, Eagles, Lions, Cardinals -- with their Monday Night win. Unless either the Giants or Vikings lose out and either the Saints or Redskins win out, the seeding is close to being set.

The only team that has a chance to upset the top six AFC teams is the Tennessee Titans -- who have the Jets and Colts. With Indianapolis already sealed with their #2 seed -- they can't get #1 no matter what -- it's likely that the Colts will pull their better players early. The only way that the Titans can win a berth is if either the Browns or Steelers lose out and the Titans win out. A very unlikely scenario.

Playoffs? Playoffs?! I kid. I'm a fan of Jim Mora. Sad that his accomplishments -- in the tune of a career 125-106 record, though 0-6 in the playoffs (irony: ain't it great?) -- will be depreciated from that one moment in NFL press conference history. We're waiting for the Jim Mora Coors Light commercial. Dennis Green added to the long line feisty men, true men, that go far and above coach speak. They're a rare bread -- those that do not follow the talking points. The one's that are featured on SportsCenter six hundred times setting aside 60 full seconds of "debate" on shtick shows like PTI and Around The Horn. You know what and whom I'm talking about. Those guys that defend their college players until their cherry faces are exploding..

Back to playoffs. In the NFC
... Dallas, Green Bay and Seattle already clinched their division.
... if Tampa Bay wins or New Orleans loses, the Buccaneers win the South.
... if Dallas wins and Green Bay loses, the Cowboys win homefield advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.
... if Dallas wins or Seattle loses, the Cowboys clinch a first-round bye.
... Green Bay's chance at a first-round bye comes only if the Packers win and Seattle loses.
... if the New York Giants win or Minnesota loses, the Giants clinch a playoff berth.

Easy enough, right?

In the AFC.
... the Patriots win and they clinch homefield advantage throughout the AFC Playoffs.
... in the unlikely hood that they lose -- same odds as the moon crashing into the Earth because Michael Jackson willed it to happen -- but the Colts lose, the Patriots clinch anyway.
... the Colts, still needing to clinch the South, take their division with a win or Jacksonville loss.
... if the Colts win and the Steelers lose, Indianapolis wins the #2 seed and a first-round bye.
... the Steelers can win their division with a win and Browns loss. They will win a playoff berth regardless with a win.
... if the San Diego Chargers win and the Denver Broncos lose, San Diego wins the AFC West.
... if Jacksonville wins and the Tennessee Titans lose, then Jacksonville clinches a playoff berth.
... the Browns clinch a playoff spot with a win, a Tennessee loss and Denver loss.

I love the multiple scenarios the closer we get to the playoffs. It's what drives anticipation in the NFL.

Not a big post here (finally, eh?). I just wanted to mention Monday Night's game between the Dolphins and Steelers. I'm hearing/reading many complain about the game itself -- not just the field. Three total points in a game of total offensive futility. Three points is a snoozer, even for a baseball game. Though three goals in a soccer "match" is a magnificently world-spinning display of offensive genius. As a long-standing fan of the Cincinnati Bengals with a love for Big Ten football (I know, the two couldn't be further apart), Monday's game had tons of appeal for a guy like me.

All things considered, Monday's game was far better than I expected. In perfect conditions, do you think the 0-10 Dolphins would have a chance against the the 7-3 Steelers? How many of us groaned when seeing this game coming up? Especially after the Steelers smoked the Ravens in the first half on the November 5th MNF game. Well, James Harrison and Ben Roethlisberger. The rest just watched those two -- including the entire Ravens' roster. I'll bet you had a backup plan. Heroes? Monday Night Raw? A scripted reality show? Or a bald Howie Mandel that makes me every single bit uncomfortable hosting a game show... nevermind.

Sure, I have something invested when the Steelers lose. I'm sticking to my guns that the Bengals have put themselves in perfect position for the playoffs -- the 4-7 part is just a hypnotic drug to make teams sleep on us so we can run the table now. Our master plan is working, Jeeves! Muhaha.

I enjoyed it. It was a game that, at any moment, could be decided by a single play. It's difficult taking two teams on the opposite sides of the world and make that game competitive. I say thank you, Heinz field for scheduling six billion football games over the weekend (how many times did we hear that while Tony Kornheiser insists that we talk, talk, talk about Ricky Williams being a pot-head?). The field and weather neutralized the obvious gaps in talent between the two teams. Otherwise, I'd have left by half-time -- though not for a bald Howie Mandel. That would just be ridiculous. And scary. I mean, really. Nevermind.

Good competitive games, sloppy field, etc.. that's good slobber-knocking football, man.

Mike Celizic really took it hard that Heinz field was in such bad shape. I suppose there's more things in life to get worked up about. But not Mike who used words such as "disgrace", calling the field "an insult, to the NFL, the players, the fans, and anyone who turned on a television in the hopes of enjoying Monday Night Football."

I know. I know. Monday Night Football is typically awful. There's been 13 Monday Night Football games this season -- seven were decided by 14 points. And it gets worse. We have New England and Baltimore next week (yay!). New Orleans at Atlanta after that (yay!).

Thinking about it, someone should challenge Mike in proving exactly what we'd be enjoying here. The disastrous field made it enjoyable. Ironic variable, don't you think. It's the most over-hyped game of the week that included a team that has yet to win a game. Admittedly, the schedule was made not anticipating that. But that doesn't change the fact that Monday Night football has been awful. Furthermore, Mike should be challenged to admit that the broadcast itself is worse than the snoozer on the field. Don't you think? Mike Tirico, who has his moments, can not let a single play go without his voice dominating EXACTLY what we're seeing. Mike, we see it. Let it go for a moment and let Suzie (oh baby) and Michele finish their reports.

What's with all these Mike's?

Though I do wonder if Mike -- the MSNBC guy -- has a background on gardening. It would explain the hat in the picture to prevent a bald-headed sunburn. Though a flower-pattern apron and thick as hell gloves (hey, plants fight back) might not go over well with a bunch of football players that eat rusty nails like Doritos.

Mike, Mike, Mike. If you had perfect conditions, the Steelers blow out the Dolphins by half-time. If that's your level of enjoyment, then let me speak for everyone else and say, thank god you're not the measure of NFL recreational happy-time. Take soccer. Please. Leave the NFL alone. For the love of God, leave the NFL alone.

That was a GREAT Monday Night Football game. No matter the teams.

If you're a regular here, you know that I'm not a fan of the NFL's replay system. I'm glad they instituted the practice several years ago. I am. To me, getting it right on the field only benefits the teams, the refs and the credibility of the league. But are they getting it right? How many plays go un-reviewed that should have been? A first down, perhaps.

When a team gets the benefit of a blown call, what do they generally do? They sprint to the line of scrimmage to prevent a coach from challenging the play. Why? Once the ball is snapped, the window to challenge the play is over. So let's pretend it's third-and-15 and the quarterback completes a 16-yard pass for a first down on a drive that will eventually score the game-winning touchdown with the game clock stopped at 2:01. The receiver only had one foot in. What? One foot? Yeap. The foot that dragged behind touched the white line first. While the team sprints to the line of scrimmage to avoid having the play challenged, the opposing coach has to make a choice. Does he risk losing a valuble timeout because he didn't have the information presented to make that judgement call? Or do you let it go allowing the winning touchdown?

I know there's a lot of ifs, ands or buts there. The point is that a team should NEVER be forced to risk a timeout simply to correct a blown call on the field that they had nothing to do with.

The refs are under constant surveillance. And they will get plays wrong. The game plays so fast and the angles they might stand from doesn't always allow them a perfect line of sight. It happens. They're human. The most unfair thing the NFL can do is put them on the spot week in and week out. The league, a multi-billion revenue making machine, refuses to apply a system that makes the games credible -- not without controversy. Make the winner of each game earn their win. Not with the assistance of a replay system that even college won't touch.

The game between Cleveland and Baltimore is a clear example. They REFUSED to replay it. They REFUSED to examine the play and make corrections. They REFUSED to make sure the winner, in fact, won. That begs the question to the competition committee and the powers that be: don't you want credibility and validity? Don't you want people to walk away believing that the game, the players and the coaches were the product of the end result? It so happens our carbon-based referees judged the play correctly after initially calling it wrong. I'm sure Ravens fans have their beef and believe there's a controversy here. If this would happen to the Bengals, knowing the over-reaction that Chancellor Goodell applies when ruling on Bengals players, I would be screaming controversy from head to toe. That's just the Bengals homer in me.

Isn't the important thing to get the play right? I would think so. But I'm not purvey to such classified opinion while the league investigates players betting with players to keep the league's most exciting running back below 100 yards. Note to young Packers defense: Do not talk to anyone about anything. In the end, no matter what you say, someone will have a problem with it and investigations start. That's the world today. You talk, you're f'ed. Hence the creation of coach speak and the talking points of each player during wins or losses.

The existing replay system is flawed... big time. It does not protect against bad/missed calls. It's a system where the coach has the sole authority to "challenge" a play, for 56 minutes of the game, risking one of their three precious timeouts. If the refs call the play wrong, why can't the league institute a system that gets the play right without punishing a head coach that must make a split decision like hitting a 95 MPH fastball?

College does it right. They check each play and stop the action if further review is needed or if the play is reversed. Even if the field goal is questioned whether it went through or not.

Isn't the point of replay to get the play right?

If you watched the entire broadcast Monday Night between the Seahawks and 49ers, then I commend you. I'm impressed with your love for the game, the sport and blah, blah, blah. That game was awful. Just, awful. And while I was watching, I did think, "alright, will we get to see what this Alex Smith is all about?" It's not like Seattle ran away with it. After scoring their 17th point midway through the second quarter, the Seahawks went punt, missed field goal, fumble, interception and punt before D.J. Hackett caught a 10-yard pass from Matt Hasselbeck to conclude the scoring at 24-0 in the fourth. With 11:36 left in the third quarter, Nate Clements returned an interception to the Seattle 23-yard line with a 17-0 lead. After Frank Gore -- the only offensive skill player to show up Monday -- banged out 11 yards on the first play, the 49ers went incomplete, 2-yard Gore run then seven-yard Arnaz Battle -- how many passes did he drop? -- reception setting up a fourth-and-goal at the Seattle two-yard line.

After calling a timeout to think whether or not to go for it, the 49ers run Gore up the middle. Stuffed, change of possession, flight leaves at midnight (9pm local time). You can question this until you're blue in the face -- personally, I agreed with the call. Seattle was just better. My only suggestion is: make sure that you have your mind made up, playing out scenarios so when the time comes to decide, you don't have to burn a timeout (take note, Marvin). You're down 17-0 with half the third quarter and all the fourth. You have time to stage a comeback. Keep your timeouts and decide now. Of course, the fourth-and-three at the Seattle 23-yard line did make me scratch my head. At that point, there's eight minutes left in the quarter and you still need three possessions. A field goal reduces that to two possessions. At that point, you start putting pressure on Seattle. And we know their consistency is always in question. As Chris Berman says, "Come on, Seattle."

A quick recap of the 49ers offense. First five drives went three and out. The sixth was a 45-yard incomplete called complete. For the game, the 49ers went punt, fumble, punt, punt, punt, fumble, incomplete called complete, punt, downs, downs, punt, punt and downs.

That's it.

But several issues arose from that game.

First, Tony Kornheiser was shouting about the possibility that Mike Holmgren would retire. Tony thought it was the story of the night. After watching the game, in hindsight, I agreed. The story surely wasn't the game.

Second, Alex Smith. I think it's abundantly clear that Smith is on the "hot seat" -- so to speak -- about whether or not he'll hold spot as the future of San Francisco. No, nothing was said. But no one comes back to you and says, "man, I got to see that Alex Smith." Sure, he's young and all that having to deal with three different offensive coordinators -- thus, three systems. But after watching Monday's game, I wasn't convinced that any of us should set aside some time to check out Smith.

With all that said, Paul Daugherty wrote an interesting piece saying that NFL's parity is creating a mediocre product.

I think there's truth to that. The competition between NFL teams is widening. You have the elite teams -- Patriots, Colts, Cowboys and Packers. After that, you have what's called the fat-middle -- not the elites but better than Miami. Of the 14 games played in week 10, eight had a point-differential of nine points or more. Seven games had that separation in week nine and eight. Furthermore, you see the level of talent fluctuate with more quarterbacks starting this season than in recent memory. But I wonder if the separation from middle of the road and elite teams is the open floodgates of young and new head coaches?

Five years? Bill Parcells has been saying the past few weeks that the average career of a running back is four seasons. Here's the top-ten rushing leaders in 2002 and where they're at today.

Ah, they found it. A controversy. I know, a controversy in the NFL. Who would have thunk it? You never put it by those quick observers that favor controversy over acceptance. And why not? We enjoy some controversial banter enabling us to take both sides of the argument. It's why politics can be emotional and sometimes addictive. And it's complete coincidence that politics and ad-DICK-tive are in the same sentence. Dude, you're rambling. Indeed.

The controversy, this week, children, is "running up the score". Personally I see no logic keeping your starters in during the fourth quarter with a minimum three touchdown lead. That does not apply to teams playing the Colts on Monday Night Football. Well, actually the Colts at all. It's the same argument you've heard the past few days. And we all agree that Bill Belichick is giving the big finger to everyone else in response to spygate. His reasoning -- "think the championships are tainted?" -- are understood, but keeping a low profile has never been Belichick's strongest attribute.

With that said, I will provide NO sympathy votes for grown men, playing 3.5 quarters of a single game (by my count, getting paid for 2.5 hours of work) allowing the score to be run up against them right before they charter their private jet off to some exotic island because the level of disrespect was worse than the heat of the sun. OK, I'm being rough. But you get my point. It's the $$$ argument I'm making in this simple paragraph. Randall Godfrey's base salary gives him $12,812.50 per quarter. So, you know, earn it.

But in a way, we can understand. Sometimes life beats us all to a bloody, unrecognized, pulp that begs, craves, implores, pleads, supplicates, conjures and prays for mercy. On the other hand, we don't have to deal with the evil Belichick reign that makes Lord Waldemart or the encompassing eye of Sauron seem like preschool children. Dude, you're rambling. Indeed.

I will give credit where it's due. Indy Star's Bob Kravitz says what all beat reporters say when their team plays the Patriots. Kick their ass! Yea, throw me a beer. I'm with you, Bob.

But I see no reason to get bent out of shape because dominate-team-A beat down non-dominate-team-B. No, actually one argument sits with me. Its Joe Gibbs. Some question Belichick's class beating down a Joe Gibbs team -- one of the classiest, respected and established head coaches in NFL history. That, I can accept. Gibbs has earned the respect that Godfrey demands of Belichick. That, I accept.

To hit a little closer to home, think of it this way. Who would you be more angry with? The Bengals or the other team? What do you guys think? Do you have a problem with teams that run up the score?

Watching and blogging the early games.

It's about 4pm, so I've got to jet. We're out.

[FINAL, Bills 17, Jets 14] Bills win their first game of the season, 17-14 over the Jets.

[Bears 20, Lions 17] As soon as hit "UPDATE", all sorts of hell broke out with the Bears/Lions. After the Lions scored to take a chunk out their deficit, the Lions' Smith intercepts a Griese pass and returns it 64 yards for the touchdown. Then Devin Hester on the kickoff return, takes the ball 97 yards for the touchdown.

So about 3 minutes ago, the score was Bears 13, Lions 10. Now the score is Bears 20, Lions 17.

[Bears 13, Lions 10] Jon Kitna completed a 4-yard touchdown pass making the Bears/Lions game interesting. Will a win over the Bears validate the Lions? Or will the Bears missing four starters be the reason for the Lions success?

[Bills 17, Jets 14] Respond! The Jets responded after the Bills went up 17-7 on an 11-play, 64 yard drive. Pennington's efficiency continues, 26/31 255 yards and TD.

[Raiders 21, Dolphins 7] Even though Daunte Culpepper is 4/11 for 48 yards, the quarterback ran for his second touchdown on the day giving him three total. The Raiders have called 11 passing plays to 30 rushing plays so far.

[Cowboys 35, Rams 7] Not convinced the game was over? Tony Romo connected on his third touchdown pass -- fourth TD overall -- on a 17-yard strike to Jason Whitten. Romo is 20/31 for 329 yards passing and three scores passing. On the last touchdown drive, Romo went 3/3 with passes of 24 yards, 23 yards and 17.

[Bills 17, Jets 7] Even though Chad Pennington is 22/25 for 216 yards passing, the Jets have only one touchdown to their credit. They are now 10 points behind after a 46-yard Rian Lindell field goal and Michael Gaines 1-yard touchdown reception from Trent Edwards. Edwards is 22/27 for 234 yards passing.

[Bad Griese?] Griese stat line: 18/32, 154 yards passing, TD and 2 picks.

[Cowboys 28, Rams 7] You can write "game over" on this one. With over nine minutes left in the third quarter, Romo completed a 37-yard touchdown pass to Crayton to take a 21-point lead. Why is this over? No Steven Jackson and an 8/19, 72 yards passing day from Marc Bulger.

Turf Show Times: "Now I think is a good time to bench Bulger. They know we're gonna throw. Might as well have Gus get the beating now."

[Examining late games] The Seahawks play the 49ers. The Chiefs play the Chargers .The Bucs play the Panthers. The Broncos play the Colts. If you live in Cincinnati, you're stuck with the Steelers and the Cardinals. Not sure who the idiot was that gave us a game that will likely end in a blowout. So much for ratings. Sure, there's Steelers fans everywhere. But the Broncos and Colts would appeal to a much larger NFL community. This is reason #1 why I'll likely move over to the rain-delayed NASCAR race because I really have little interest watching the Steelers dominate Arizona.

[Browns 27, Ravens 6] The Browns keep clicking off points against the league's toughest defense. After a 13-yard pass to Edwards and a 2-yard run by Lewis, Anderson completes a 49-yard pass to Winslow. Even an illegal contact couldn't stop the "soldya". Then Lewis went 2-yard run, 2-yard loss and then Anderson, on third down, threw an incomplete to Edwards. Dawson kicked the 20-yard field goal to take a three touchdown lead.

[NASCAR update] Still under a rain delay.

[Cowboys 21, Rams 7] After throwing two incompletes passes to start the second half, Tony Romo throws a short pass to Crayton, whom took the pass 59 yards for the touchdown.

[Bills 7, Jets 7] Chad Pennington, throws a touchdown pass in his ninth straight game after a 5-yard toss to Laveranues Coles on a 7-play, 78 yard drive.

[Ravens miss FG attempt] The Ravens opened the second half with a nice drive highlighted with a 30-yard reception by Willis McGahee. However, the Ravens offense stalled after a holding call deep into Browns territory. So Matt Stover attempts a 41-yard field goal. Wide right.

[Lamont Jordan] Jordan helped off the field after a reception. Silver and Black Pride: "Oh, No, Lamont Jordan is down, looks like it might be the balky back"

[Bills 7, Jets 0] It took midway through the third quarter before the Bills/Jets saw the first score of the game. The Bills went 56 yards on 10 plays ending with a 10-yard Marshawn Lynch touchdown run. Trent Edwards, rookie quarterback with the Bills, is 16/20 for 186 yards and a pick. Dock Ellis at Buffalo Rumblings says of Lynch: "He wants it so much.  The son of a gun is STRONG!  What a heart!  We needed that!"

[Cowboys 14, Rams 7] With two minutes left in the half, Tony Romo completed passes of 7 yards, 4 yards, 15 yards, 7 yards, 19 yards, 12 yards that ended with a 15-yard touchdown run by Romo. Also on the drive, Romo fumbled the ball at the Dallas 17-yard line and scrambled 37 yards after recovering the ball.

[Browns 24, Ravens 6] The Ravens, with a chance to tighten the score to two touchdowns, instead kick a field goal. With second-and-one at the Cleveland 12-yard line, the Ravens went one-yard rush, incomplete, incomplete and incomplete. The last incomplete, a pass intended for Todd Heap, was the result of a spectacular defensive play by Browns' secondary Brodney Pool. This game is at halftime.

[Packers 7, Vikings 6] After the Vikings joined the land of the scoring with a 44-yard field goal by Ryan Longwell, the Packers went three-and-out. The Packers' punter, Ryan, shanked the punt 33-yards to the Minnesota 42-yard line. After a 40-yard pass from Holcomb to Wade, the Vikings went 2-yard run, incomplete, offensive hold and 9-yard pass that fell nine yards short of a first down. Ryan Longwell kicked a 34-yard field goal to reduce the deficit to one point.

[Rams 7, Cowboys 7] The offensively struggling Rams gets an assist from Special Teams after Dante Hall returned an 85-yard punt tying the game at 7 with the Cowboys.

[Bears 7, Lions 3] Brian Griese's stat line: 11/18, 94 yards passing, TD. Griese completed a 15-yard pass to Muhsin Muhammad to take the lead over the Lions.

[Browns 24, Ravens 3] After the off-sides that changed a missed field goal into a new set of downs, the Browns ran six more plays capped off by a 1-yard Jamal Anderson Touchdown run.

Brian Billick threw a challenge well after the PAT was kicked. He's freaking out. Freaking out badly. The commentators "believe" Lewis didn't cross the goalline. Baltimore gave up their first rushing touchdown since last November.

Chris: "Billick, you were too slow throwing the flag. Baltimore is completely off their game today, and I'm loving it. For the record, Lewis' dangerous extension of the football on the leap was shy of the goal line."

[Raiders 14, Dolphins 0] On 12 plays that covered 58 yards, the Raiders' quarterback Daunte Culpepper rushed in for a two-yard touchdown. Gonzo: " Have I mentioned recently that Adrian Peterson is pretty great? Because he is."

[Adrian Peterson] With six minutes left in the second quarter, the Vikings Adrian Peterson has already rushed for 108 yards on 10 attempts -- 55-yard rush the longest.

[Cowboys 7, Rams 0] It took until midway through the second quarter for this game to see its first scoreboard change. Tony Romo and the Cowboys went 80 yards on eight plays scoring with a 2-yard run by Julius Jones.

[Browns/Ravens] The Browns went three-and missed field goal after the fumbled kickoff return. Two runs for six yards by Jamal Lewis and an incomplete pass to Winslow. However, the Ravens jumped off-sides on the missed field goal attempt giving the Browns a new set of downs. Durrr.

[Falcons 17, Texans 7] Joey Harrington and Michael Jenkins hooked up for a second time after a 7-yard touchdown pass taking a 10-point lead. The Falcons took possession after the Texans' Leach fumbled the ball on a 3-yard pass play that was recovered by Nicholas at the Houston 34-yard line.

[Browns/Ravens] On the ensuing kickoff, the Ravens' Figurs fumbled the return giving Cleveland's offense the ball at the Baltimore 31-yard line.

[Browns 17, Ravens 3] Jamal Lewis (28) and Jason Wright (15) combined with two rushes of 43 yards on an eight-play, 49-yard drive. Phil Dawson kicked a 41-yard field goal to take a two-touchdown lead.

[Browns 14, Ravens 3] Hey, the Ravens are on the board. After Ed Reed returned a Derek Anderson interception 20 yards, the Ravens ran four plays finishing with a 21-yard field goal. On the interception, lead writer at Dawgs by Nature says, "UGH ...a near perfect first quarter ruined by Anderson's miscue. Again, what is his obsession with throwing into triple coverages?"

[Raiders 7, Dolphins 0] With everyone else playing into the second quarter, the Raiders and Dolphins are left with 10 minutes in the first. Why? Weather. Raiders' starting quarterback early line, 1/3, 7 yards and a touchdown. That's an 81.9 passer rating. The touchdown pass was described on the Raiders blog: "McCown would not have been able to thread that needle. Way to go Daunte."

[Falcons 10, Texans 7] Joey Harrington and the Falcons respond. After the Texans marched down the field to take the lead, the Falcons offense went eight plays for 68 yards finishing with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Harrington to Jenkins.

[Green Bay 7, Vikings 0] Favre did it. Brett Favre breaks Dan Marino's all-time passing touchdown record after a 16-yard strike to Greg Jennings. Congrats Brett! Vikings fans weren't happy before the game about the Favre coverage.

"I have never, in my life as a sports fan, heard anything as nauseating as today's pregame shows. Why did it take two hours to hear that Favre is almost as close to the all-time interception record as he is to the all-time touchdown record?"

Even Gonzo is relieved that Favre got the record, "Now his stupid record is out of the way."

[Texans 7, Falcons 3] The Texans respond after the Falcons kicked a field goal with a 7-play, 74-yard touchdown drive on a 35-yard Schaub to Davis touchdown pass. Must have been a great catch. Some of the comments on the Texans blog.

"That was even more amazing on replay!"
"Effing Amazing catch by Apostrophe." (I guess that's a nickname for Andre Davis)

[Browns 14, Ravens 0] What a start by the Browns. After Leigh Bodden picked off a Steve McNair pass, on the first play after change of possession, Braylon Edwards ran a seam route down the left sidelines for a 78-yard touchdown. Derek Anderson, with 5:46 left in the first quarter is 5/6 for 119 yards passing and two touchdowns.

Even Browns fans are surprised. Brutus Buckeye says, "Wow. Wow. I don't know what else to say."

[Lions 3, Bears 0] Robbie Gould's 52-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Rogers and returned 33 yards by Kennedy. Without recording a first down, Hanson kicked a 49-yard field goal for the early lead.

[Falcons 3, Texans 0] A 29-yard Joey Harrington pass to Michael Jenkins on third down set up a 28-yard Anderson field goal.

[Browns 7, Ravens 0] The Browns took care of business early. On their opening drive, the Browns went 55 yards on nine plays finishing with an Anderson to Jurevicius 10-yard touchdown pass.

Games I'm interested in.

Division rivals, Browns and Ravens square up in Cleveland. Pittsburgh heads to Arizona for the late game. Both are on CBS in Cincinnati. Revenge of the Birds (Cardinals blog is our newest member). If there's a Chargers fan out there wanting to blog, step up.

More early games.

Bears at Lions
Packers at Minnesota
Raiders at Dolphins
Rams at Cowboys
Texans at Falcons
Jets at Bills

FINAL UPDATE (5:35) Raiders/Lions QB: Through the first half, quarterbacks in the Lions/Raiders game are a combined 31/41 for 304 yards and a touchdown. Jon Kitna: 16/21, 164 yards, TD, INT. Josh McCown: 15/20, 140 yards.

L.T.: 9 carries for -1 yards. He also has 15 yards receiving on three receptions for 14 total yards. Then, the last play of the second half, L.T. picked up nine yards on a run. However, San Diego's defense has one interception, three sacks and a forced fumble.

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