| Contributing editor Joel
Buchsbaum discusses what jumped out at him during the Sunday games from Week 11. Arizona vs. Minnesota: "Minnesota just totally
outclassed them. It was on the Vikings’ home field and (Arizona was) just totally
outclassed — it’s just that simple."
Atlanta vs. Detroit: "Atlanta gave them a heck of
a battle, but Danny Kanell’s shortcomings as a quarterback cost the Falcons the game.
Jamal Anderson ran very well, especially in the first half."
Baltimore vs. Tennessee: "It’s a game that
could have gone either way. It’s the type of game that Tennessee’s been winning
all year. They lost because Al Del Greco missed an extra point and then missed a field
goal he should have made. I was very impressed with the quarterbacks in the game and was
very, very impressed with Jamal Lewis’ running."
Chicago vs. Buffalo: "Buffalo’s a good team,
and they’re making a drive to the playoffs. They’re very tough at home, and the
Bears lost Jim Miller, who was their best option at quarterback at this point, for the
year with the Achilles injury, and Shane Matthews, who had gotten almost no reps in
practice, just wasn’t ready to play in the game."
Cincinnati vs. Dallas: "Aikman played very well.
The Cowboys played a solid game. The Bengals simply have been unable to throw the ball at
all. You can’t be one-dimensional and beat many teams in the NFL."
New England vs. Cleveland: "Bledsoe played, but
he was totally ineffective with a bad thumb. He could not hold on to the ball; (the
Patriots) couldn’t hold on to the ball. And it was just one of those games where
everything just went wrong for them. Cleveland got some momentum. They had the home crowd
behind them, and the home crowd really wanted them to beat Belichick. And it was just a
good day for Cleveland and a horrible day for the Patriots."
New Orleans vs. Carolina: "New Orleans outclassed
them. They’re a better team right now; they were a healthier team by far, until Ricky
Williams got hurt. And they hurt them pounding the ball with Ricky to set up the
play-action pass."
Philadelphia vs. Pittsburgh: "Great comeback win
for the Eagles — second overtime win in a row. Mc-Nabb makes some mistakes, but he
atones for them late in the game with big plays, and Akers did a great clutch kicking job
for them. And they also got the onside kick, which was all important. You don’t
expect Pittsburgh to have a 23-13 lead with about two minutes left in the game and then
lose the game."
Seattle vs. Jacksonville: "Jacksonville had a
good offensive start, then they slowed down and their defense did not play very well. They
didn’t get a lot of pressure on Kitna, and they didn’t cover very well."
Kansas City vs. San Francisco: "Just did not get
the feeling the Chiefs were ready to play the 49ers, who were very inspired. The 49ers
played far and away their best defensive game of the year. But I think Kansas City also
helped them because they weren’t sharp."
Miami vs. San Diego: "Basically what you’d
expect. The Dolphins got the early lead, played very close to the vest, and let Moses
Moreno give them the game."
Green Bay vs. Tampa Bay: "Gutty game for the
Packers, but just not enough. They were without so many key players, then Brett Favre went
down with the ankle. They played them very tough, but just did not have enough."
St. Louis vs. New York Giants: "Huge win for the
Rams — a win on the road. The Giants showed how far they’ve got to come. They
still have not beaten a good team this year. The only team with a winning record
they’ve beaten is the Eagles, and they have matched up fabulously well with the
Eagles all along. And it’s a team they have great confidence they can beat. But other
than that, this is a very disappointing game for (the Giants). In the first half, they
didn’t put any pressure on Trent Green, and he picked them apart. Then they went and
had a couple of costly turnovers and went in at halftime (trailing) 28-7, and they’re
not a comeback team."
New York Jets vs. Indianapolis: "Basically,
it’s the same story: The Jets keep digging themselves to big a hole to come back from
now. They can’t keep digging themselves a hole and expect to come back. They have to
play better from the start of games. They have to play complete games against teams like
the Colts who are Super Bowl-caliber." |
