The playoff shakedown in the AFC East has commenced.
By virtue of Miami's 33-6 rout of Buffalo and New York's 27-17 win against Indianapolis, the race for the division crown in the AFC East is down to two teams.
The playoff hopes of the Colts and Bills took serious blows with their losses, leaving the Dolphins and Jets to battle it out in the final three weeks.
The Jets have completed their divisional play for the season, finishing with a 6-2 record, and an all-important season sweep of the Dolphins.
Miami is still a game ahead of New York, but if the two should tie, the Jets would win the head-to-head tiebreaker because of their two wins against the Dolphins.
| Week 14 NFL Recap |
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| Vikings 24 (11-2), Lions 17 (8-5) |
Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
1,002: Career catches for Vikings wide receiver Cris Carter, putting him second to 49ers wide receiver Jerry Rice on the all-time receptions list. |
| Player of the Game |
| Cris Carter, WR, Minnesota: Vikings' veteran leader joined Rice in the 1,000-catch club, and now has 102 touchdown catches in his 11 seasons in Minnesota. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| The Vikings became the first team to clinch a playoff berth by holding off the Lions. Minnesota running back Robert Smith carried 17 times for 115 yards and two touchdowns, giving him career-highs of 1,391 yards and seven touchdowns this season. Vikings quarterback Daunte Culpepper played his shakiest game in weeks, completing 19 of 32 for 160 yards and two interceptions. The highlight of the game was Carter's 1,000th career catch in the second quarter, which no surprise, came on a touchdown grab, the 121st of his illustrious career.
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| Titans 15 (10-3), Eagles 13 (9-5) |
Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
21: Career 50-plus yard field goals for Titans kicker Al Del Greco after booting Sunday's game-winner at the final gun. |
| Player of the Game |
| Al Del Greco, K, Tennessee: Veteran had been struggling lately, but kicked five field goals, including the game-winning 50-yarder as time expired. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| The Titans struck a blow to the Eagles' chances of winning the NFC East. Steve McNair was poised running the two-minute drill, as Tennessee completed a patient drive in the final minute to set up Del Greco's kick. McNair completed 23 of 37 for 210 yards, and Eddie George ran 32 times for 101 yards for the Titans. Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb played another spectacular game. McNabb's 2-yard touchdown scramble with 3:11 to play put the Eagles ahead temporarily. He finished 18-of-31 passing for 239 yards, and ran seven times for 39 yards and one touchdown. |
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| Giants 9 (9-4), Redskins 7 (7-6) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
112: Advantage in rushing yards for the Giants (141) over the Redskins (29). |
| Player of the Game |
| Brad Daluiso, K, New York: Outscored the Redskins' once-vaunted offense 9-7 by himself. |
CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| The Giants' effective, if unattractive, rushing attack chalked up another victim. New York running backs Tiki Barber and Ron Dayne combined for 146 yards on 32 carries. Neither found the end zone, but Daluiso's three field goals and a stellar defensive effort were enough to toss aside the again-slumping Redskins. Washington quarterback Brad Johnson looked awful in his return from injury, completing only 14-of-29 for 126 yards and two interceptions before getting lifted for Jeff George in the second half. The Giants held banged-up Redskins running back Stephen Davis to 29 yards on 12 carries. May the quarterback controversy and Norv Turner watch officially begin, as the Redskins are in danger of missing the playoffs. |
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| Broncos 38 (9-4), Saints 23 (8-5) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
262: Advantage in rushing yards for the Broncos (283) over the Saints (21). |
| Player of the Game |
| Mike Anderson, RB, Denver: Rookie passed the 1,000-yard mark with his first-quarter touchdown run, but he added three more after that for good measure, finishing with 37 carries for 251 yards and four touchdowns. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| Running backs must sit around on the second day of the NFL Draft each year just begging for the Broncos to pick them. Like fellow late-round picks Terrell Davis and Olandis Gary before him, Anderson passed 1,000 yards, giving Denver three different 1,000-yard rushers in three consecutive seasons. Anderson's 251-yard game broke Davis' team record of 215 set against Cincinnati on Sept. 21, 1997. The Saints weren't able to get their own ground game going, but Aaron Brooks was solidr throwing the football. Brooks set a New Orleans team record with 441 yards on 30-of-48 passing. |
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| Buccaneers 27 (8-5), Cowboys 7 (4-9) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
5: Number of teams to rush for more than 200 yards against the Cowboys this season, as the Bucs (250) joined the Eagles (306 in Week 1), 49ers (261 in Week 4), Giants (203 in Week 7) and Ravens (250 in Week 12). |
| Player of the Game |
| Warrick Dunn, RB, Tampa Bay: Shattered his previous career high of 130 yards, rushing for 210 yards and two touchdowns in 22 carries. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| The enigma that is Les Steckel's offense exploded for 250 rushing yards. Impressive, but the Cowboys are allowing 176.9 after Dunn's trampling of their porous defense. Bucs quarterback Shaun King only threw 15 passes, completing nine of them for 65 yards, but with the ground game going, King didn't need to do much except turn around and find No. 28. The Cowboys lost three fumbles and one interception as Tampa Bay improved on its turnover ratio by only giving the ball up once. The win was the first for the Bucs in nine games against the Cowboys. |
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| Panthers 16 (6-7), Rams 3 (8-5) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
7: Turnovers committed by the Rams, compared to only two by the Panthers. |
| Player of the Game |
| Jimmy Hitchcock, CB, Carolina: Veteran defensive back picked off two passes, including one for a 88-yard touchdown in the third quarter that gave the Panthers a 7-3 lead. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| So much for the return of Kurt Warner helping to get the defending champs back on track. Hitchcock's interception return for a touchdown in the third quarter and Joe Nedney's three fourth-quarter field goals were surprisingly enough to do in the team that came into the game averaging 36.3 points. The Rams were held without a touchdown for the first time since a 24-3 loss to the Saints on Nov. 15, 1998. Warner completed only 18-of-36 passes for 189, and his career-high four picks were uncharacteristic of his usual efficient play. Panthers wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad caught 10 passes for 95 yards. |
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| Steelers 21 (7-6), Raiders 20 (10-3) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
390: Rushing yards needed by Steelers running back Jerome Bettis to pass 10,000 career yards. |
| Player of the Game |
| Kordell Stewart, QB, Pittsburgh: Returned in the second half after being declared out for the game with a knee injury, and threw two touchdown passes and ran 17 yards for the go-ahead score early in the fourth quarter. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| The Raiders would've clinched a playoff berth with a win, thanks to losses by both the Bills and Colts, but Oakland has to wait at least one more week to try to clinch its first playoff spot since 1993. Raiders kicker Sebastian Janikowski missed a 44-yard field-goal attempt with about four minutes left that would've given the Raiders the lead. Oakland quarterback Rich Gannon completed only 21 of 40 passes, but threw for 273 yards and a touchdown. Bettis ran for 128 yards on 24 carries, giving him 1,147 yards for the season, the fifth time in his eight-year career that he has rushed for more than 1,100 yards. |
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| Dolphins 33 (10-3), Bills 6 (7-6) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
6: Sacks by the Dolphins, who have 42 this season. |
| Player of the Game |
| Jason Taylor, DE, Miami: Recorded three of the Dolphins' six sacks, extending his career-high total to 13. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| The return of Jay Fiedler and the continued dominance by the Dolphins' defense gave Miami its first win in Buffalo after October in nine attempts. Fiedler threw a career-high three touchdown passes in the first half alone, then the Dolphins turned the ground attack, with Lamar Smith finishing with 28 carries for 100 yards. Defensive ends Taylor and Trace Armstrong combined for five sacks, and Armstrong's two pushed his career-high total to 15 1/2 this season. Miami had three interceptions -- two of Bills starter Rob Johnson, one of Doug Flutie after he relieved Johnson late in the third quarter -- to extend its team record to 25. |
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| Seahawks 30 (5-8), Falcons 10 (3-11) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
4: Turnovers committed by the Falcons, who have turned the ball over 13 times during their five-game losing streak. |
| Player of the Game |
| Ricky Watters, RB, Seattle: Caught seven passes for 58 yards and carried 21 times for 79 yards and one touchdown to become the 13th player to rush for 10,000 yards in his career. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| Falcons rookie Doug Johnson looked lost at times in his first start, throwing two interceptions and completing only 17 of 33 passes as Atlanta dropped its fifth game in a row. The Seahawks jumped out to a 24-3 halftime lead with quarterback Jon Kitna leading the way. Kitna completed 73.5 percent of his passes (25 of 34) and threw for 252 yards while starting in place of the injured Brock Huard. |
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| Bengals 24 (3-10), Cardinals 13 (3-10) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
15.6: Percent of Corey Dillon's career rushing total of 4,737 yards that he recorded in three games: a 246-yard game against Tennessee on Dec. 4, 1997; a 278-yard game against Denver in Week 8 this season; and 216 against the Cardinals on Sunday. |
| Player of the Game |
| Corey Dillon, RB, Cincinnati: Recorded his third career 200-yard game, putting him up there with legends O.J. Simpson (6), Jim Brown (4), Barry Sanders (4) and Eric Dickerson (3). |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| Cincinnati might want to consider abandoning the pass altogether. Dillon is now averaging 4.8 yards per carry and is on pace for 1,572 yards. Bengals quarterback Scott Mitchell threw for only 109 yards, the 11th time this season that Cincinnati has passed for fewer than 160 yards and the seventh time they were under 110 yards. Cardinals wide receiver David Boston had a career day in a losing effort, catching nine passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns. |
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| Jets 27 (9-4), Colts 17 (7-6) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
866: Total combined yards for the Jets (491) and the Colts (375). |
| Player of the Game |
| Curtis Martin, RB, New York: Carried 30 times for a career-high 203 yards and one touchdown. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| While Martin was running wild through the Colts' defense, the Jets were holding Edgerrin James to the second-worst game of his career. James carried 11 times for 49 yards, three more than he totaled in the third game of his NFL career on Sept. 26, 1999, at San Diego. With Martin chewing up yards, the passing game opened up for New York and Vinny Testaverde had one of his best games of the season. Testaverde completed 26 of 41 for 295 yards and two touchdowns. Colts quarterback Peyton Manning had his fifth 300-yard game of the season, but four of the five have been in Indianapolis losses. |
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| Jaguars 48 (6-7), Browns 0 (3-11) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
minus-9: Passing yards by the Browns, thanks to six sacks for a loss of 42 yards nullifying Cleveland's 33 passing yards on 7-of-18 combined passing by three quarterbacks. |
| Player of the Game |
| Fred Taylor, RB, Jacksonville: Carried 30 times for 181 yards and three touchdowns, his seventh consecutive 100-yard game. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| The Jaguars won for the fourth time in their past five games, but after an early season five-game losing skid, it will be too little, too late even if they win out. The disparity in offensive numbers in this game was just mind-boggling. Jacksonville finished with 449 total yards while Cleveland was held to 53; Jacksonville passed for 205 yards while Cleveland had minus-9; Jacksonville rushed for 244 to Cleveland's 62; and Jacksonville had 28 first downs to only two for Cleveland. The Browns only committed one turnover, but the Jaguars were moving the ball so well on the ground that Cleveland only ran 42 offensive plays. Jaguars wide receiver Jimmy Smith caught six passes for 104 yards to pass 1,000 receiving yards for the fifth year in a row.
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| 49ers 45 (5-8), Chargers 17 (1-12) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
15: Interceptions thrown by Chargers quarterback Ryan Leaf this season after tossing four against the 49ers. |
| Player of the Game |
| Jeff Garcia, QB, San Francisco: Completed 18 of 32 for 323 yards and two touchdowns, his fourth 300-yard game in the past eight games. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| After a one-week respite from losing, the Chargers returned to their futile ways against the 49ers. Leaf reverted back to his turnover-prone form, and has now thrown 30 interceptions his 18 games in the NFL. The 49ers started slowly, but poured it on in the second half, outscoring the Chargers 28-10 in the final 30 minutes. 49ers wide receiver Terrell Owens caught four passes for 93 yards and veteran Jerry Rice grabbed three passes for 41 yards and two touchdowns. |
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| Packers 28 (6-7), Bears 6 (3-10) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
200-97: Scoring margin in the last seven meetings at Soldier Field, all wins by the Packers. |
| Player of the Game |
| Brett Favre, QB, Green Bay: Bounced back from a terrible game at Carolina last Monday to complete 19 of 31 for 225 yards and one touchdown. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| Green Bay continued its mastery of Chicago at Soldier Field, winning for the seventh consecutive time. Packers wide receiver Bill Schroeder caught six passes for 119 yards, giving him 32 catches for 509 yards in the past six games. Green Bay running back Ahman Green carried 20 times for 69 yards and two touchdowns before leaving with an injury. Bears running back James Allen had an excellent all-around game, gaining 173 yards on 28 touches. Chicago starting quarterback Shane Matthews completed only 22 of 43 for 222 yards and two interceptions before leaving the game after having the wind knocked out of him. |
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| Patriots 30 (4-9), Chiefs 24 (5-8) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
36:42: Time of possession for the Patriots, who controlled the clock with a short, safe passing game rather than with the run. |
| Player of the Game |
| Troy Brown, WR, New England: Caught 12 passes for 119 yards and one touchdown, and is on pace for 83 catches for 961 yards. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| What looked to be an awful Monday night matchup actually turned into an exciting game down the stretch. Elvis Grbac marched the Chiefs down the field in the fourth quarter, but apparently lost his mind on the final drive, scrambling for short yardage when he could've thrown the ball away early in the drive and then tossing it to tight end Tony Gonzalez over the middle shy of the goal line as time ran out. Chiefs wide receiver Derrick Alexander had another huge game, catching five passes for 116 yards and a touchdowns, and Gonzalez grabbed 11 passes for 147 yards and a touchdown. Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe passed for a season-high 282 yards and went without an interception for only the fifth time this season. |
