The playoff picture is slowly shaping up, but for a lot of teams it isn't shaping up quite like they thought it would a few weeks ago. Green Bay, Miami and Seattle all suffered tough defeats that darkened their playoff prospects.
The St. Louis Rams clinched at least one home game in the playoffs with an easy 30-14 win over the New Orleans Saints on Sunday. The Rams need to win only one of their last three games to make sure that the NFC playoff road will travel through the TWA Dome in January.
Jacksonville also assured itself of at least one game at Alltel Stadium in January with its 27-24 last-second win over Denver on Monday night.
Washington held onto its one-game lead in the NFC East with a 25-point thrashing of the Arizona Cardinals at Fed Ex Field in suburban D.C. The Cowboys and Giants both stayed within striking distance of the Redskins by winning -- with Dallas dropping Philadelphia 20-10 at Texas Stadium, and the Giants upsetting the Bills 19-17 in Buffalo on a late field goal by Cary Blanchard.
| Week 14 NFL Recap |
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| Titans 21 (10-3) Raiders 14 (6-7) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
204: Yards rushing by the Titans against a Raiders' defense that had been allowing less than half that total coming in. |
| Player of the Game |
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Eddie George, RB, Tennessee: Gained 249 total yards, including 199 yards and two touchdowns rushing on 28 carries.
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| Breakdown |
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Tennessee won another ugly game, but it improved to 10-3 on the season, and looks like a very safe bet to make the playoffs at this point. The Titans got a huge game out of Eddie George, and the defense held the Raiders to two touchdowns despite allowing them 364 total yards. Jevon Kearse continues to stake his claim to the defensive rookie of the year award, adding two more sacks to push his season total to 11 1/2.
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| Cowboys 20 (7-6),
Eagles 10 (3-11)
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| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
34:05: Time of possession by the Cowboys.
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| Player of the Game |
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Chris Warren, RB, Dallas: Replaced Emmitt Smith after he suffered a groin injury on his first carry, and ran for 92 yards on 25 carries. |
| Breakdown |
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Dallas kept pace with division foes New York and Washington by beating the basement-dwelling Eagles. The Cowboys held the Eagles to 233 yards of total offense, and knocked Donovan McNabb out of the game with a sprained knee in the third quarter. Dallas plays two of its last three games at home, including games against both New York teams. The Eagles close out their season with home games against the Patriots and Rams, and a bye week on Christmas weekend.
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Panthers 33 (6-7), Packers 31 (7-6)
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| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
13: Rushing yards by the Panthers, who had been averaging 102.8 yards per game.
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| Player of the Game |
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Steve Beuerlein, QB, Carolina: Dominated the game through air with 373 yards and three touchdowns, and won it on the ground with his last-second quarterback draw for a touchdown. |
| Breakdown |
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Carolina struck a critical blow to Green Bay's playoff hopes by pulling the huge upset at Lambeau Field. The Panthers burned the Packers secondary all afternoon long, with Wesley Walls and Patrick Jeffers both having big games. The play call by Panthers offensive coordinator Gil Haskell on the game-winning touchdown run was the result of Green Bay rushing only three down lineman for the rest of the drive leading up to that point. Carolina saw something in the defense that it thought it could take advantage of, and Steve Beuerlein's execution of the quarterback draw was perfect, pushing the Panthers to 6-7 and keeping its slim playoff hopes alive for at least another week. |
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| Rams 30 (11-2), Saints 14 (2-11) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
3,558: Season yardage total for Rams quarterback Kurt Warner, who threw for 346 more yards against the Saints on Sunday. |
| Player of the Game |
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Marshall Faulk, RB, St. Louis: Gained 210 total yards, including 154 yards rushing on 29 carries, and scored two touchdowns to help the Rams to their 11th win.
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| Breakdown |
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The Rams clinched a playoff home game with the win, and moved closer to clinching home-field advantage for the entire NFC playoffs. St. Louis' last three opponents have a combined 15-25 record, making it very likely that the road to Atlanta will have to go through the TWA Dome in the NFC.
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| Bengals 44 (4-10), Browns 28 (2-12) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
459: Total yards by the Bengals against Cleveland's league-worst defense. |
| Player of the Game |
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Corey Dillon, RB, Cincinnati: Ran for 192 yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries, for an impressive 6.9 yards per carry.
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| Breakdown |
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The Bengals closed out Cinergy Field/Riverfront Stadium with an impressive win over their cross-state rivals. Cincinnati may have saved head coach Bruce Coslet's job with its three-game winning streak. The Bengals have scored 146 points in their last four games with Jeff Blake at quarterback.
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| Colts 20 (11-2), Patriots 15 (7-6) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
9: 100-yard rushing games by Colts rookie Edgerrin James in his 13 career games, tying the record for most by a rookie. |
| Player of the Game |
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Marvin Harrison, WR, Indianapolis: Caught six passes for 118 yards, and broke the team's single-season record for catches and receiving yards.
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| Breakdown |
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The Colts' "Big Three" helped Indianapolis continue its march toward its first division title since 1987. Peyton Manning only threw for 186 yards, but he completed 55.6 percent of his passes and tossed two touchdowns. The biggest concern for the Colts may be that they allowed Drew Bledsoe, who had been struggling badly coming into the game, to throw for 379 yards.
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| Giants 19 (7-6), Bills 17 (8-5) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
0: Sacks allowed by the Giants. |
| Player of the Game |
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Michael Strahan, DE, New York: Recorded five total tackles, had one sack and recovered a fumble.
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| Breakdown |
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The Giants stayed in the heart of the NFC East race with a tough win on the road in Buffalo. Cary Blanchard's 48-yard field goal with 40 seconds to play was the difference. Blanchard has been brilliant since taking over for the injured Brad Daluiso earlier in the year, making 13-of-14 field goals, including all four of his attempts Sunday. Jim Fassel's career record in the month of December moved to 9-0 lifetime.
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| Redskins 28 (8-5), Cardinals 3 (6-7) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
233: Advantage in total offense for the Redskins, who gained only 173 yards on Sunday against the league's second-worst defense. |
| Player of the Game |
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Stephen Davis, RB, Washington: Overtook Edgerrin James for the league rushing lead with a career-high 189-yard game.
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| Breakdown |
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The Redskins controlled the ball for 38:46 in their rout of the Cardinals, and when Arizona did have the ball it turned it over. Jake Plummer threw three interceptions, and the Cardinals lost a fumble as well, giving Washington plenty of opportunities to show off its high-powered offense. Stephen Davis averaged 5.1 yards per carry, though his average was helped by a 50-yard run early in the game. Davis is now only 19 yards away from breaking Terry Allen's single-season club rushing record.
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| Ravens 31 (6-7), Steelers 24 (5-8) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
447: Total yards for the Ravens, surpassing their season average of 272.5 by almost 175 yards. |
| Player of the Game |
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Qadry Ismail, WR, Baltimore: Caught six passes for a career-high and franchise-record 258 yards and three long touchdowns in the third quarter.
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| Breakdown |
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Pittsburgh fell to 1-5 at home this season, ensuring its worst season record at home since the team went 1-6 at Three Rivers Stadium in 1969. Tony Banks completed only 30.8 percent of his passes, but three of them were long scoring passes to Ismail in the third quarter which saved the day for the Ravens. The Steelers still have three tough games left on the schedule, having to travel to Kansas City next week before returning home to close out the season against Carolina and Tennessee.
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| Chargers 19 (6-7), Seahawks 16 (8-5) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
2.7: Yards per carry for the Chargers on Sunday, just slightly off their league-worst 2.9 yards per carry for the season. |
| Player of the Game |
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Jeff Graham, WR, San Diego: Caught nine passes for 114 yards, giving him 25 catches for 420 yards in the last four games.
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| Breakdown |
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Todd Peterson picked a bad time to go into a slump. Seattle's kicker was 25-of-28 on the season on field goals going into the fourth quarter of the game -- including 3-of-3 in the first three quarters on Sunday -- before missing three kicks in the final 15 minutes of the game. That's three misses in the first 765 minutes of the season, and then three misses in a 15-minute span of a crucial divisional game. Seattle turned the ball over only twice on Sunday after giving it away 10 times in the last two games, but the downfall of the kicking game cost Seattle the chance to extend its division lead.
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| 49ers 26 (4-9), Falcons 7 (3-10) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
105: Total yards by the Falcons, who also managed only seven first downs on offense. |
| Player of the Game |
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Charlie Garner, RB, San Francisco: Went over 1,000 yards for the first time in his career, and finished with 169 total yards.
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| Breakdown |
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The 49ers broke their eight-game losing streak by dominating the Falcons on the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. San Francisco recorded five sacks (including two-and-a-half by Bryant Young) and held Atlanta to 38 yards rushing. The 49ers dominated the time-of-possession battle by keeping the ball on the ground, running up 181 yards rushing on 44 carries, allowing them to keep the ball for 40:43.
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| Jets 28 (5-8), Dolphins 20 (8-5) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
36:40: Time of possession by the Chargers. |
| Player of the Game |
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Keyshawn Johnson, WR, New York: Caught a career-high 11 passes for 144 yards and two touchdowns.
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| Breakdown |
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Miami is slumping at the wrong time, with its third straight defeat and fourth in its last five dropping them right back to the pack in the AFC Playoff race. Dan Marino struggled again, completing only 18-of-37 passes for 192 yards, before being benched for Damon Huard prior to Miami's last series of the game. Ray Lucas played well for the Jets, connecting on 22-of-38 passes for 230 yards.
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| Buccaneers 23 (9-4), Lions 16 (8-5) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
115: Receiving yards out of the backfield by Tampa Bay running back Warrick Dunn. |
| Player of the Game |
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Derrick Brooks, LB, Tampa Bay: Led Tampa Bay's defense with 14 total tackles and four passes defended.
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| Breakdown |
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Tampa Bay inched closer to its first division title since 1981. The Bucs extended their franchise-record winning streak to six games in beating the Lions for only the second time in their last 11 regular-season meetings. Shaun King completed 62.2 percent of his passes and threw for 297 yards and two touchdowns. Detroit was held to 55 yards rushing on 20 carries, for an average of 2.8 yards per carry.
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| Chiefs 31 (8-5), Vikings 28 (7-6) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
6: Combined fumbles lost, with the Vikings fumbling four times and losing all four, and the Chiefs fumbling three times and losing two. |
| Player of the Game |
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Tony Gonzalez, TE, Kansas City: Led the Chiefs receiving efforts with six catches for 63 yards and two touchdown.
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| Breakdown |
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Kansas City turned the AFC West back into an exciting race, just three weeks after Seattle looked like a shoo-in for the division crown with a three-game lead. The Chiefs ground out 173 yards on 40 carries, with four players getting six or more carries. Kansas City plays host to Pittsburgh next week in what could be a dangerous game for the Chiefs with a trip to Seattle looming the following week.
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| Jaguars 27 (12-1), Broncos 24 (4-9) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
100: Yards by which the Broncos (365) outgained the Jaguars (265) on Monday night. |
| Player of the Game |
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Fred Taylor, RB, Jacksonville. Came off the bench in the third quarter to fill in for his own injury replacement, James Stewart, and rushed for 74 yards and a touchdown on nine carries.
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| Breakdown |
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Jacksonville came back from a 14-0 deficit early in the game to take a 17-14 lead at the half. The second half was plagued by sloppy execution and fumbles as heavy rain started to fall. The Jaguars clinched a playoff berth with the win, and they moved to within striking distance of sewing up home-field advantage for the entire AFC playoffs with the win, but their struggles against a mediocre Broncos team should be as much cause for concern as for celebration. Jacksonville will try to clinch the division next week at lowly Cleveland, and then it closes out the season at Tennessee and home against Cincinnati before heading on to the AFC playoffs.
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