$.01--The “War of 18-12” dominated the NFL coverage throughout the week, and the Sunday night meeting between Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck was certainly worthy of the attention. This was Manning’s return to Indianapolis, where for 13 seasons he directed one of the best and brightest franchises in the league to one Super Bowl win and several highly successful seasons.

Denver really imploded on the Colts’ drive in the third quarter that pushed the score to 33-13. A personal foul penalty followed by an unsportsmanlike conduct flag gave Luck and the Colts an easy score. Luck trotted into the end zone from 12 yards out when the Broncos defense abandoned containment. After the extra point, Denver was flagged for two more unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.

That drive was emblematic of how I saw the game. For all the hype and circumstance surrounding Manning, it was his Broncos' teammates who appeared to wilt under the pressure of the enormity of the game.

After the first quarter, the Broncos offense was pathetic. The Colts defense consistently dictated the action, pressuring Manning and knocking the Denver receivers offline. Their drives in the second and third quarters:

3 plays, -6 yards, 41 seconds, fumble in end zone for a safety

3 plays, zero yards, 48 seconds, punt

6 plays, 18 yards, 2:20 off the clock, punt

1 play, end of half

3 plays, -1 yards, 1:12, punt

3 plays, 5 yards, 1:09, punt

3 plays, 8 yards, 1:08, punt

10 plays, 67 yards, 4:18, field goal

That is so decidedly un-Manning in efficiency that I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t watched it. They picked it up after that, but it was too little, too late. Adam Vinatieri booted a couple of long field goals and the Colts held on for the 39-33 win. The worst part of that win is Jim Irsay getting to light his victory cigar after dogging those who brought him so much success. But his Colts are unquestionably a legitimate Super Bowl contender, having ruined Peyton’s perfect season.

$.02--I’m normally on top of all the entries in the rather thick NFL rule book. But the New England Patriots lost to the New York Jets courtesy of a rule I’ve never seen enforced before.

The good folks at FootballZebras.com tweeted out an abridged detail of the rule in question:

 

The Patriots clearly violated that rule on New York’s overtime field goal attempt, and they got flagged for it. That gave Jets kicker Nick Folk a second chance at a game-winner after he missed the initial 56-yarder. Folk nailed his next opportunity from 42 yards and the Jets sent the Patriots home a loser.

Everyone is going to point to the penalty as the focal point of the game, but rookie Chris Jones is not the only goat. Tom Brady has not been good, to be kind. In their last three games Brady has just one touchdown, against three interceptions and 13 sacks. Brady threw an egregious pick six to Antonio Allen in this game; it was just as bad as Geno Smith’s equivalent play to Logan Ryan earlier in the game. Even with Rob Gronkowski back in the lineup, Brady still is having major trouble finding open receivers. He’s not getting the time he’s used to having to step up and buy time for himself. New England went 1-for-12 on third downs.

What does all of that mean? It tells me these Patriots are not the indefatigable juggernaut which has cruised to so many easy AFC East titles lately. The injuries and departures have really taken a toll on New England, and the remaining talent just isn’t as great as recent vintages. It also means the Jets are pretty solid, especially on defense. Their defensive front three is the best in football, period. With a competent quarterback like Geno Smith, a player whose teammates clearly trust and respect him, they’re just as good as New England. The scoreboard proved it today, even though Patriots fans will never let the field goal penalty die.

$.03--The Houston Texans played their best game of the season in Kansas City. Unfortunately their best was not quite good enough to knock off the unbeaten Chiefs, who won 17-16.

Houston was playing under dire circumstances. With embattled QB Matt Schaub out with an ankle injury, they opted to promote third-stringer Case Keenum. The local product was solid, completing 15-of-25 for 271 yards and a touchdown. They played almost the entire game without Arian Foster, who departed after an early injury and did not return. His backup, Ben Tate, also left the game for a spell. Left tackle Duane Brown was badly hobbled. Defensive bellwether Brian Cushing left the game with a knee injury, which appears serious. Even JJ Watt had to leave the game for a while.

Through all that, the Texans held tough against the Chiefs. It was the best the Texans secondary has played all year. Their special teams weren’t awful, a refreshing change. The Chiefs are just a better team, and the Kansas City defense really stepped up down the stretch. Their ability to bring pressure from so many different places overwhelms offenses, as it did when Tamba Hali nailed Keenum for a strip sack on Houston’s death-gasp final drive.

I think Gregg Rosenthal summated Houston quite nicely here:

 

It’s just not Houston’s year. Look on the bright side, Texans fans: this bad year will force overdue changes. And you probably found your bridge starting QB in Keenum until the rookie of next year is ready.

$.04--The Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Baltimore Ravens 19-16 on a last-second field goal. Of course the margin was 3 points, because that’s how these two teams always wind up. Their last four meetings have now all been decided by a field goal.

It was another kick that truly decided the game, however. Down 13-9 in the third quarter, Baltimore opted to try an onside kick. It wound up blowing up in their faces like a piñata filled with kerosene. The Ravens committed not one but two penalties on the play, and Pittsburgh took over in field goal range without having to do a thing. Sean Suisham kicked a field goal on the drive, pushing the lead out to 16-9 and giving the Steelers enough of a cushion to absorb a Baltimore touchdown. That score came with just under two minutes left. Had they not screwed up the ill-conceived onside kick, it would have been a potential game-winning drive for Joe Flacco and the Ravens.

Instead, it gave Roethlisberger enough time to drive into Suisham’s range for a game-winning drive of his own. That makes the 28th time Ben Roethlisberger has done that in his career. This one might very well salvage the dignity of a lost season for Pittsburgh. While the win here is nice, the Ravens really looked flat and incompetent offensively. I see this more as two lower-middle-class AFC teams that are both destined to wind up within a game of 6-10, not the kick-start of a big run by the Steelers. Still, it’s nice to see Pittsburgh run the ball effectively and play more inspired, focused defense. They’re just not very good, but at least they look like a Steelers team again.

$.05--The Cincinnati Bengals triumphed over my Detroit Lions 27-24 in a battle of first place teams in Detroit. This was, as expected, a very tightly contested game featuring two very similar teams.

The stud wideouts on each team rose to the occasion. A.J. Green got the scoring started with an 82-yard catch and run on a sick double move that helped get Lions CB Chris Houston benched for a few series. He wound up with 155 yards on 5 catches. Calvin Johnson matched those 155 yards with 9 catches. Two of those were touchdowns, including a phenomenal 50-yard reception where he outleapt three Bengals defenders to pull down a Matt Stafford prayer.

The difference in the game was the Cincinnati offensive line. Detroit’s O-line played well enough, not allowing a sack even though both starting tackles left the games at different times. But Cincinnati’s line dominated the Lions’ fearsome defensive front. Ndamukong Suh, Ziggy Ansah and company were continually stymied in their pass rush efforts. Bengals QB Dalton was sacked just one, by Suh late in the game, and was only hit two or three other times. He often had time to surf thru his channels of receivers, often finding his tight ends badly burning Detroit’s LBs in coverage. The Detroit defense is predicated on the front four getting pressure to ease the burden on the less-skilled back end. That did not happen in this game, and it cost Detroit the win.

The loss also cost them first place in the NFC North. Even though the Bears also lost--and perhaps lost Jay Cutler in the process--Detroit’s 4-3 mark is now a half-game back of the surging Packers. Green Bay dusted off Cleveland 31-13 even though most of the Packers with widely recognizable names are hurt, including another likely concussion for Jermichael Finley. The Packers have now won three in a row and allowed just 39 points in those games.

Green Bay will be heavy favorites in each of its next five games too: at Minnesota, home for the wounded Bears, Philadelphia, at the winless Giants, and home for the same Vikings. The Lions face a much tougher road to hang close with Green Bay before those two teams meet on Thanksgiving: first-place Dallas, a bye week, then at Chicago and Pittsburgh before hosting winless (and likely still winless then) Tampa Bay. The Packers have a chance to run away and hide with the NFC North title in the next month.

$.06--The more things change, the more they stay the same in Arizona. The Cardinals have swapped some names on the back of the jerseys, yet they are still the same old Cardinals.

That is a team with a solid defensive front with playmakers behind them, a strong cast of wideouts led by mega-talent Larry Fitzgerald, and young talent at running back. But all that promise is completely squandered by inept quarterback play behind a truly dreadful offensive line.

The same has been true of the Cardinals pretty much every year since Kurt Warner retired after the 2009 season. Since the future Hall of Famer walked away after seasons of 8, 9 and 10 wins and an improbable Super Bowl berth, the Cardinals have a record of 21-34. They have ranked 31st, 19th, 32nd, and now 28th in yards per play. They have the lowest aggregate passer rating in the league over that time.

After last year’s abysmal carousel of incompetence, which saw four different starting quarterbacks, Arizona tried to upgrade the line and quarterback positions. They imported Carson Palmer from Oakland, where he put up a 4,000 yard season behind a similarly terrible OL. They drafted guard Johnathan Cooper in the first round and signed well-regarded veteran right tackle Eric Winston to bolster the line.

It hasn’t worked, as their 34-22 loss on Thursday night to Seattle graphically indicated. Cooper was lost in the preseason, while Winston has proven why he’s now on his third team in as many years. The line remains atrocious. Palmer is perhaps the worst possible quarterback to have behind a line with protection issues. His default reaction to pressure is to jump onto his back foot and launch balls into coverage. His arm is good, but not that good. They figure to be looking for help once again at both spots this offseason. I slotted them an offensive tackle in my first mock draft, but a quarterback wouldn’t surprise me one bit.

$.07-- Here’s one to ponder for the superstitious:

 

The Panthers won 30-15 in a game where Cam Newton was once again fantastic. He must really like playing in front of Billick. Newton was 15-of-17 for 204 yards and a touchdown. He’s now 35-of-43 for 464 yards with four touchdowns and no turnovers in the last two weeks (thanks ESPN for doing the math!) as the Panthers have clawed to 3-3. That puts them in the thick of the NFC Wild Card race, and they’re the fastest horse in the derby right now.

Carolina raced away with this game on the very first play. Captain Munnerlyn picked off Sam Bradford’s wounded duck that wasn’t within 20 yards of a Rams receiver and took it to the house. This continues Carolina’s strong first-quarter play; the Panthers finally surrendered their first points of the season in the first quarter when Mike Tolbert couldn’t get out of the end zone for a safety. You can realy sense the confidence growing in Charlotte.

The Rams, on the other hand, are sinking quickly. They were flagged for five personal fouls and that doesn’t include Chris Long’s ejection for throwing a punch. Two of those personal fouls were bait jobs by Ohio University product Mike Mitchell, who has quietly played quite well at safety for Carolina. It appears Mitchell might has ended Sam Bradford’s season as well, unintentionally, as Bradford was injured when Mitchell hit him along the sideline.

As long as Billick keeps calling Panthers games, watch out for Cam Newton and Carolina.

$.08--5 NFL Quickies

1. Ndamukong Suh was fined $31,500 for a legal hit in the Lions’ Week 6 win over Cleveland. Why do I refer to it as legal? Because it happened in full view of the referee and he did not throw a flag. On the play, Suh hit Brandon Weeden with both hands to the shoulder/chest area within a half step of when Weeden threw the ball. The top of Suh’s helmet did indeed contact Weeden’s chin, but that’s because Weeden ducked into it.

Suh has brought this ridiculousness onto himself with some truly egregious and dirty plays in the past. Yet this fine is a blatant targeting foul by the NFL. Watch the play for yourself, and read a nice piece about it from Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, right here. While you’re at it, check out this unflagged penalty that happened against Suh in Sunday’s game: https://t.co/sg1uy7MgF4

2. When I was researching a piece for the Bengals/Lions game, I found it odd that the Bengals have just one retired number in franchise history. It turns out that’s one more than some other franchises with a lot more historical successes. The Cowboys, Falcons, and Raiders all have failed to retire a single number. The Texans, Jaguars, and Ravens also have yet to retire a number, but those franchises are relatively new. The most retired numbers? The Chicago Bears with 14, though the Eagles are quickly catching up with 9, including Brian Dawkins and Donovan McNabb in the last 13 months.

3. It appears Rams QB Sam Bradford will be out for the rest of the season after suffering a knee injury in St. Louis’ ugly loss to Carolina. The only other QB on the roster right now is Kellen Clemens, a journeyman backup. You can guess the most prominent free agent QB name right now. That would be Tim Tebow. Let the trolling begin!

4. I picked the Jaguars to upset the Chargers. I was wrong. Dead wrong. That’s all that needs to be said about that yawner of a game. 0-16 still very much in play for Jacksonville. Getting ready for Teddy.

5. So much for Miami being ready to ascend to the AFC elite. After a legitimately impressive 3-0 start, the Dolphins have now dropped three in a row. They lost this week to the Bills, who were led by a third-string QB. It’s never a good thing to come out of a bye week and lose at home to an undermanned foe. At least they’re still the only team in Florida with a win.

$.09--College/Draft Quickies          

1. Blake Bortles, Storm Johnson and the UCF Knights raided Papa John’s Stadium in Louisville on Friday night and shattered the Cardinals’ undefeated season in a 38-35 thriller. It was quite a second half, as the halftime score was 14-7 Louisville. Bortles showed poise and vision in leading the Knights to the road win. Presumed #1 overall pick Teddy Bridgewater was very good in defeat, but his hail mary fell harmlessly to the turf. The loss did nothing to dissuade my high opinion of Bridgewater, who flashed great velocity, ball placement, and escapability throughout the game. I haven’t seen enough of Bortles yet to have a sound draft opinion on him just yet.

2. Grambling forfeited its contest with Jackson State after a player mutiny over a host of issues. Beyond the firing of popular coach and Grambling legend Doug Williams, the players also complained of dilapidated conditions in the program facilities and unfit working conditions. It’s a very sad state of affairs for one of the most storied programs in college football. I support the players for standing up for themselves; it could not have been an easy or popular decision. Here’s hoping the program gets back on its feet quickly.

3. I’ve never been high on Clemson QB Tajh Boyd as a NFL prospect. His performance in Saturday night’s blowout loss to Florida State highlighted all the reasons I just don’t think he’s a viable NFL quarterback. As he consistently demonstrated against the speedy, physical Seminoles, he does not anticipate coverage well. His inconsistent, awkward throwing platform is not conducive to pinpoint accuracy, but what bugs me even more is that he’s an aimer on short throws. Notable aimers in the NFL include Mark Sanchez and Blaine Gabbert. It’s nice that Boyd is a great leader and a good athlete, but he’s nothing more than a very good college quarterback in my mind. Jameis Winston, on the other hand…Wow!

4. I just blinked twice. That’s enough time for Baylor to score again. And again. It’s truly amazing what Art Briles’ Bears are doing offensively. Baylor hung 71 on Iowa State this weekend, the fifth time in six games they’ve scored at least 69 points. It’s really fun to watch their high-flying act, but the impressive part of this win was Iowa State’s score. The Cyclones finished with 7. That’s a sign of life for the Baylor defense, which does have some talent.

5. A quick scouting take on Iowa TE C.J. Fiedorowicz, who had himself a pretty nice day against Ohio State: long but functionally strong for a taller, skinnier tight end; has very strong hands, both as a receiver and a blocker; knows how to present himself as a target and uses his size well in tight quarters; really lacks quick-twitch muscle, slow to release off line and cannot quickly separate from coverage; long speed is decent but straight-linish; very good at plucking the ball from the air with his hands and quickly securing it to his body, as opposed to using his body to help him complete the catch. Iowa doesn’t have very strong QB play, but he’s still able to make a big impact. In a nutshell, he’s Joseph Fauria with better blocking skills but less personality.

$.10--Much is being made of the new college football playoff selection committee, which will choose the four participants in next year’s playoff. That will replace the current BCS system by expanding the pool from two teams to four that have a shot at the national title.

One of the members of the panel is former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Her inclusion on the panel has rankled some feathers from prominent college football names. Among those openly challenging her presence is ESPN talking head David Pollack. Another is former Auburn coach and Athletic Director Pat Dye. He went so far as to comment:

“All she knows about college football is what someone told her, or what she read in a book or what she saw on television.”

Aside from the regrettable concept of a white southern traditionalist scoffing at an educated black woman, I think Dye is completely wrong here. Rice is exactly what the BCS needs--someone with a vision outside of the blatant cash grab and elitist monopoly that it is.

Rice’s political and diplomatic background can be invaluable to the 13-member panel. She has mediated conversations between Palestinians and Israel, as well as trying to help sort out the political and structural rebuild of an entire country in Iraq. Even if she truly doesn’t know anything about football, that experience alone is more than enough to validate her presence in the room.

Yet Rice does know her football. You might have seen her in ads on the NFL Network talking about how she never misses a Super Bowl, even under trying professional circumstances. She has been mentioned in the past as a potential candidate for NFL Commissioner. She is the daughter of a football coach and has spent her life around the game. Just because she’s never stuck her hand in the dirt doesn’t mean she doesn’t understand how to evaluate the relative merits of college football teams.

It’s not a really difficult job, at least not in most years. Three of the four teams will be blatantly obvious just about every year. Take last year as an example. Alabama and Notre Dame were obvious as undefeated teams. Oregon was a top-5 team all season and finished with just one loss, making them a no-brainer as well. The fourth team would have been a debate between one-loss teams Florida and Kansas State, but KSU would have been an easy choice. The Wildcats won the Big 12, while Florida didn’t even make the SEC Championship game. Georgia probably had a stronger argument than Florida as the Bulldogs beat the Gators and nearly beat Alabama, but they had two losses.

This year could even be more obvious; if Alabama, Ohio State, Oregon, and the Florida State/Miami winner all run the table, there’s the foursome. There would be zero debate about that. The only possible outlier would be if Missouri somehow stays unbeaten and knocks off Alabama in the SEC title game. Only then would things get interesting. Should Stanford beat Oregon, they would take that spot. If more than one of those teams has a loss and Baylor remains unbeaten, they’d have an argument. That’s the entire list of possible combatants this year if the four-team playoff existed.

I’d actually like to see more “outsiders” involved in the process. Rice should be celebrated, not derided. Her presence ensures that the good ole boy’s club will not lord over college football without any oversight or challenge to their authority. Maybe it should include another political figure with noted love for football like James Carville, or a former player who has moved onto a different avenue in life like actor Mark Harmon or former Tennessee QB and North Carolina Congressman Heath Shuler.