It was “Statement Sunday” in the NFL last weekend and the biggest wiiner was the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers and Colin Kapernick shocked the NFL world by scoring 41 points against New England, in Foxbourough and winning. Also, in the NFC East there is a 3-way tie at the top with Washington, Dallas and New York all (8-6).
First Down: “Colin Kaepernick” Since his debut on Monday Night against the Chicago Bears on November 19th, Colin Kaepernick has been a stud for the San Francisco 49ers. He has won 4 of his 5 starts with the lone loss coming in overtime against the St.Louis Rams. This past weekend in the game of the week the 49ers flew to Foxborough to face Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. Brady had been perfect in December at home until the 49ers and Jim Harbaugh rolled in. The 49ers controlled most of the game on both sides of the ball jumping out to an early 31-3 lead. That was until the 4th, when the Patriots scored 28 unanswered points to tie the game. On the ensuing kick after New England had tied it, LaMichael James returned the ball past mid-field and on the very next play Kaepernick found Michael Crabtree for a 38-yard touchdown, which ultimately made the difference in a 41-34 win. Kapernick finished with 4 touchdown passes and one pick. While New England basically threw away a shot at home-field advantage. This week also on Sunday night the 49ers face a difficult road game against Pete Carroll Seattle Seahawks in what would see the winner take the division.
Second Down: “Massacre in Atlanta” Statement Sunday saw the NY Giants and Atlanta Falcons battle it out, in a rematch of last year’s NFC Wildcard game. Just like last year’s game it was a dud with one team way outperforming the other. However, this time around it was the Falcons who were at home, laying down the beatdown. The Falcons defense picked off Eli Manning twice, including the first play of the game in a 34-0 blowout, putting the Giants in a tough situation. The Falcons solidified themselves home-field advantage but nothing ever goes right for Atlanta in the playoffs so we shall see going forward what will happen. If there is one thing that Sunday showed us it is that these Falcons are not like the past. Their defense hits hard, their secondary plays good coverage, Jacquizz Rodgers is a nice “change of pace” back and Julio Jones, Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez are a tough trio to contain. It’s going to come down to execution and Matt Ryan.
Third Down: “Pack it Up” After eight games the Green Bay Packers had already lost two more games then they had all last season. What was even more of a concern was that the Chicago Bears were flying to a 7-1 start and their defense was playing out of their minds. Since then the Packers have won 5 of 6 and the Bears have lost 5 of 6. Last Sunday, at Soldier Field the Bears needed to stop the freefall and try to hold on to the division with a win over the Packers. Unfortunatley, Aaron Rodgers, James Jones and Clay Matthews had something to say about that and single-handedly beat the Bears 21-13. Jay Culter was constantly bombarded with pressure and no one besides Brandon Marshall (who set a Bears franchise record for receptions) could catch a ball. The Bears still control their destiny and with winnable games against Arizona and Detroit the Bears should be in it until the end. However, overlooking opponents have been costly to teams this year and even a Ryan Lindley led Cardinals team can surprise you on an off day, and the Bears have had too many off-days. If the Bears fail to make the playoffs again, especially after their hot start expect many changes coming including coach and QB and oh yeah, Brian Urlacher is out again.
Fourth Down: “The Embarrassing NY Jets and Mark Sanchez” I really am at a loss for words when it comes to the NY Jets and their franchise. They bring in Tim “the terrific” Tebow only to have him sell jerseys and sit on the bench. On Monday Night, against a weak Tennessee Titans squad the Jets defense played strong but their offense was beyond atrocious. The Jets had chances and Mark Sanchez just dropped the ball (literally!) So with the Jets season over, people were expecting Tim Tebow to step in but it appears that all along Greg McElroy (the supposed 3rd stringer) was the real back up and will get the start this week against the Chargers. That in itself depicts how bad the season has gotten for the Jets squad.
BOLD PREDICTION: My CJ Spiller prediction last week was a little too much, but I believe this week that Jay Cutler will get sacked more times then completions to Brandon Marshall.
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