Ten Things I Think I Think

1. I think these are my quick-hit thoughts of Week 14:

a. Any comments on sharing the Browns QB job now, Trent Dilfer?

b. Why things happen the way they do in football: At halftime of St. Louis-Minnesota, Ryan Fitzpatrick was 10 of 17, Brad Johnson was 10 of 18. Fitzpatrick had thrown two picks, Johnson none. Minnesota 13, St. Louis 6.

c. Jerome Bettis is a Hall of Famer. No doubt. No question.

d. Football in the snow is utterly fantastic.

e. The weirdest thing in Week 14 was seeing Curtis Martin in stocking cap on the sidelines. That guy's never hurt. But he's hurt now.

f. The Giants might have gotten beaten up too much in Philly -- both tackles got hurt (Luke Petitgout's back and Kareem McKenzie's hammy) and middle linebacker Antonio Pierce injured his ankle -- to win the NFC.

2. I think this is why Peyton Manning climbed atop my MVP list this weekend -- and I'm not saying he wasn't at the top already anyway. I'm inclined to put him in a group of three or four right now. In Jacksonville: First drive of a big game. Lots of noise. Huge crowd. Noisy crowd. Angry crowd. Frothing-at-the-mouth Jags defense trying to crack him in the skull. What does Manning do? Drives his team 89 yards in 11 plays. Goes 6-of-6 passing. Hits four receivers. Ends it with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Marvin Harrison. Now that's an impressive drive.

3. I think this is what I liked about Week 14:

a. Jerome Bettis carrying Brian Urlacher.

b. The Eagles giving the Giants everything they had. Great gut-check by Philly.

c. Speaking of great gut-checks, how about Miami? The Dolphins had the ball for just 19 minutes. They let San Diego run 82 plays. But Zach Thomas' return from two injuries keyed a resurgent defense and helped them win.

d. The Minnesota defense forced six more turnovers. The Vikes are a factor now.

e. New England. That was a vintage mid-2004 whipping the Pats put on the Bills up in Buffalo.

f. Mark Brunell was the cat who fell out of the tree and landed on all four paws in Arizona.

g. Last eight quarters: Seattle 83, Foes 3.

h. Still don't know what it means.

i. Great, great football game in Dallas. One of the games of the year. Five lead changes.

j. I know they lost, but the Chiefs have to be euphoric about the play of Larry Johnson. Three TDs, 143 rushing yards. If this season was 20 games long, he'd run away with the rushing title.

4. I think this is what I didn't like about Week 14:

a. Why all the empty seats at Heinz Field? Weird. Very weird. I'm looking across the field from the press box early in the second quarter and there are scores of four-seat and two-seat gaps. What gives?

b. Alex Smith's progression as a quarterback -- or is that regression? -- is incredibly painful to watch.

c. Nice drop with the game on the line, Roy Williams. No wonder the Lions stink.

d. Green Bay guard Will Whitticker and his false starts. Absurd.

e. Gee whiz, Jeff Garcia. Stop your whining out there.

f. The best back in football, Willis McGahee, had this rushing line versus New England: eight carries, three yards. Quite a prophet, that Willis.

g. Aaron Brooks. My bet is the Saints can't wait to boot him out of town. Whatever town that is.

h. Carolina's too inconsistent for my blood.

i. The Chargers have no one but themselves to blame for missing the playoffs, which now looks quite probable. As good a game as Miami played, you simply do not lose to the Dolphins at home in December with the playoffs on the line.

j. Lousy call by Lovie Smith at Pittsburgh, helping the Steelers get their second touchdown. On third-and-3 at the Pittsburgh 45, Roethlisberger completed a two-yard pass, but Ward was called for offensive pass interference. Instead of letting the play stand and making it fourth-and-1 at the Steelers 47, Smith took it. Now it was third-and-13 and Roethlisberger completed a 16-yard throw for the first down. The Steelers went on to score on Bettis' 1-yard TD plunge. "I'd do the same thing again,'' said Smith. Then you'd be wrong again, coach. Dumb call, because this was a field-position game, and the Steelers would never have gone for it on fourth-and-1 in their own territory against the best defense in football. I know you want to be sure of yourself, coach, but sometimes you've got to admit you made a mistake.