The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, Week 10 Edition

The Good
Atlanta – The Falcons started another Good performance by intercepting Brees on the game’s first offensive play. That was the first of three interceptions, the last being returned 95 yards for a TD late in the game. In between the Falcons outplayed the Saints. While the stat sheet pretends the Saints had an impressive 521 yards, 296 came in the fourth quarter after the Falcons had amassed a 27-6 lead. For a team that was supposed to be bad, the Falcons have provided a lot of Good.

Baltimore – With three minutes left in the third quarter the Texans were hanging with the Ravens. Over the next 13-1/2 minutes the Ravens outscored the Texans 22-0, outgained them 106-10, intercepted two passes and converted them into touchdowns. The result is a Good performance, particularly down the stretch, to turn a tight game into a rout.

Jacksonville – A lot of teams get healthy in Detroit and the Jags are the latest. Still, this was a Good win. The Jags ran for almost 160 yards with Jones-Drew rushing for three TDs. Given their recent problems this game had to be a concern, but Jacksonville put together a Good performance to put this one out of reach by halftime.

New England – The Pats made their claim for the AFCE by controlling the Bills at home for most of the game. A few things place them on the Good. First, they held the Bills to 10 first downs and 168 yards while amassing 370 yards themselves in over 37 and a half minutes of possession. Add to that the fact that their only three-and-out was when they ran out the first half clock. Finally, with the game still in reach early in the fourth quarter they executed a 19-play, 92 yard drive killing over 9:00 and resulting in the TD that effectively ended the game.

New York Giants – Winning on the road in the NFC is never an easy task. The Giants pulled it off by scoring 16 points in 6 minutes late in the third and early in the fourth to open up a tight game. In the process they ran for 219 yards, totaled over 400 and held the ball for over 39 minutes to put the Eagles to sleep. The result is some breathing room in the NFCE and a spot here.

New York Jets – Pounding the Rams at home is not necessarily a ticket to the Good. Pounding any NFL team by the count of 40-0 at the half is. The Jets defense gobbled up five turnovers en route to a record margin of victory, maintaining a share of the AFCE lead and a slot here.

The Bad
Buffalo – Not much explanation is necessary here. Simply acknowledging that the Bills were hardly noticeable in a huge divisional game is enough to place them here. The scoreboard pretended the game was closer than it was, or deserved to be.

Houston – The Texans played almost three decent quarters against the Ravens, about matching them drive for drive. The difference was in points, illustrated by such efficiency as capping off a good first quarter drive by throwing an interception on first and goal at the Raven 1. They also nullified a TD on offense with a holding penalty and took a safety with a holding penalty in the end zone. They were hardly any more polished in the second half, eventually collapsing in a 41-13 dismantling, led by a total of four interceptions and ten penalties.

New Orleans – There is no shame in losing a road game against a 5-3 (going in) divisional opponent. Losing the game 34-20 is not shameful by itself, either. Those numbers are too kind. The Saints squandered 521 yards of offense and two additional scoring opportunities, one on downs and one via interception. The final score was buffered by a Saints TD on the game’s final play. This was a Bad road divisional road loss.

Oakland – They more than tripled their offensive yardage from last week and they held the Panthers to 219 yards, 10 first down and less than 23 minutes of possession. Sounds good so far. The problem is that they failed to take advantage of Delhomme tossing a 7 for 27 day with only 57 net passing yards and 4 interceptions. Turning the ball over three times themselves, committing ten penalties and giving up five sacks doesn’t help. The final score looks okay, but when you squander that sort of effort and wind up with only two field goals, it translates into a Bad day. The defense prevented it from being Ugly.

The Ugly
Detroit – We’ll say this for the Lions: they are great at pulling other teams out of a funk. This week’s benefactor was Jacksonville and its ailing running game. The Lions defense did not exactly remind anyone of the Steel Curtain or Fearsome Foursome by giving up 4.8 yards per carry and over 350 yards total in a 38-14 rout. Considering they led 7-3 at the end of the first stanza and scored a sympathy TD at the end, even that score does not sum up this Ugly.

St. Louis – After stinking up the joint for the opening four weeks, they actually played well in the next three, winning two. But never fear, the Rams are back in full force. The Jets are a pretty decent football team, but they are NOT 40-0 at halftime better than most teams. But the Rams are not most teams. I would go on, but words can not do justice to this Ugly.