For those who may have spent their Sunday getting a jump on their holiday shopping, all you missed from yesterday's action was the NFL's remaining unbeaten team going down in flames, the re-emergence of Terrell Owens to fantasy football relevance, the Oakland Raiders actually winning a meaningful game on the road, and a certain superstar quarterback enduring the first non performance-related benching of his long and decorated career.
And plenty of scoring. Eleven teams put up 30 points or more during yesterday's slate, with Buffalo, New England and Atlanta amassing at least 45 in their Week 12 victories.
As expected, there are now a few questions in need of answering in the wake of the league's latest wild weekend:
Are the Jets the best team in the AFC? Certainly appears so, the way Brett Favre & Co. took apart the previously-unbeaten Tennessee Titans on the road yesterday. The win was the fifth in a row for the Jets, who with a relatively soft schedule the rest of the way, have a legitimate shot at wresting away the AFC's number one seed from the Titans with the tie-breaker advantage gained by Sunday's 34-13 triumph. May the premature talk of the ultimate dream Super Bowl scenario, where Gang Green would face its fellow Meadowlands tenant Giants, the unquestioned favorite in the NFC, begin as well.
Who needs Tom Brady? Matt Cassel has now accomplished a feat even Cover Boy has yet to achieve during his illustrious tenure as a Patriot, which is to throw for 400 yards in back-to-back games. Brady's understudy backed up his breakout 400-yard, three-touchdown effort against the Jets a week ago by torching Miami for 415 yards and three scores on 30-of-43 passing to trigger New England's 48-28 rout of the Dolphins on Sunday. Not only has Cassel helped keep the Pats afloat in the playoff race, but the previously-unknown quarterback may have made himself the most coveted signal-caller among the 2009 free-agent class, assuming Kurt Warner remains in Arizona for next year and beyond. Sorry Gisele, but Matt's married.
What in the world is going on in Philadelphia? Speculation of Donovan McNabb's departure from the Philadelphia Eagles has existed for two years now, but the events that unfolded during yesterday's pitiful 36-7 loss at Baltimore have clearly enhanced the possibility that No. 5 will be playing in some other city next season. McNabb was benched by head coach Andy Reid at halftime after committing three turnovers (2 interceptions, 1 fumble) and completing just 8-of-18 throws for 59 yards against the Ravens' strong D. It's the second straight weekend that Philly's longtime field general has stunk it up and had to endure some serious heat from the press afterward. McNabb threw a trio of picks in last Sunday's infamous 13-13 tie at lowly Cincinnati, then created plenty of talk-show debate with the revelation that he wasn't aware that NFL regular-season games can end in a stalemate at the conclusion of the 15-minute overtime period. Reid's reputation seems to be taking a hit as well after his hand-picked heir apparent to McNabb, second-year man Kevin Kolb, was completely ineffective after taking over in the second half.
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Hmm, no one's mentioned yet that maybe playing the Ravens D really isn't the best judge of a QB's ability. Even during seasons where the Ravens don't amass many victories, they pride themselves on punishing quarterbacks. If D-Nabb plays terrible against, let's say the Rams, them we know something's wrong.
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