It was a rather strange week 5 of NFL action. Both undefeated teams lost despite each coming right off of a bye week. The Browns rallied from down 25 to beat the Titans. The Saints and Cowboys both won in overtime and there had only been 1 overtime game in the season prior to this week. The Bills beat the Lions on a last second field goal. Then on Monday Night, Russell Wilison led the Seahawks in both passing and rushing yards. Every week of NFL action brings out the unexpected. Here is how this past week's games have impacted the playoff picture.
AFC Home Field Advantage: #1 San Diego Chargers (4-1, AFC West Champion)
The Chargers looked absolutely great this week as they took the Jets behind the woodshed and simply destroyed them in every facet of the game. It was the first shutout in the NFL this season. Philip Rivers played excellent yet again, throwing 3 touchdowns and just one interception. All of this is behind the brilliant mind of Head Coach Mike McCoy. Remember, he was the Offensive Coordinator in Denver before he took this job, so not only was he there for Peyton Manning's first year making him look good, but he also was there to install the Tim Tebow offense that enabled them to win the AFC West and even beat the Steelers in the wild card game. Rivers is obviously more talented than Tebow, and McCoy has found a way to bring out the best in him. Also, keep on the lookout for young rookie Branden Oliver, who had a huge game against the Jets this past week. They are closely followed by the Denver Broncos who are at 3-1, but right now the Chargers have the advantage. The Chargers look to keep that advantage as they travel to Oakland this week to take on the Raiders.
AFC First Round Bye: #2 Cincinnati Bengals (3-1, AFC North Champion)
The Bengals remain high in the playoff picture despite their rough loss to the New England Patriots this past Sunday. Tom Brady showed that the Bengals are weak up the middle of the field as he used Rob Gronkowski and Timothy Wright to pass the ball right up the middle of the field against the Bengals. It is a bad sign that the Bengals crumbled in their first primetime game of the season, since they have struggled in primetime and in playoff games the past several years. Maybe they can still get over the hurdle as the Patriots came into this game with something to prove, and they sent a message to the rest of the league and to their fans that they are doing just fine. Also, the rest of the division is hot on their heels. The Steelers and Ravens are both 3-2, while the Browns are 2-2. The Bengals will try to recover next week at home as they take on the Carolina Panthers, which should be a great game between two strong teams.
AFC Wild Card Game: #3 Indianapolis Colts (3-2, AFC South Champion) vs. #6 Houston Texans (3-2, Wild Card)
Last week the Texans were the 3 seed, but after their overtime loss to the Dallas Cowboys they have fallen behind their division rivals in Indianapolis. Obviously they have the same record, and the Colts have the edge right now because they are 2-0 in the division and the Texans have yet to play any divisional games. This would be a high quality game that would be for the third time in the year, but they have yet to play any of them yet. Andrew Luck against J.J. Watt for three times a year is something that the fans certainly would not mind though. But this is something that the fans will not have to wait until the postseason to see, in fact, they are playing each other in Houston for the division lead on Thursday Night Football this week. It doesn't happen any faster than that typically. After this week they will meet each other again in week 15.
AFC Wild Card Game: #4 Buffalo Bills (3-2, AFC East Champion) #5 Denver Broncos (3-1, Wild Card)
Kyle Orton is now 1-0 as the starter of the Buffalo Bills. This writer was pretty certain that they would fall to the Detroit Lions on the road this past week, but they were able to come back and get the victory on a game winning Dan Carpenter field goal. They are a top level defense and it just depends how much they can get out of their offense to know just how far they will go. Their opponent at this time would be the Denver Broncos. The Broncos took down the undefeated Cardinals this past week and are one of the top teams in the AFC, but are behind the Chargers in the AFC West. One of the top storylines if this game were to occur is how Peyton Manning plays in cold weather games, because going on the road to Buffalo is certain for cold temperatures. The Patriots are right behind the Bills though too, so both of these teams are having difficulty holding onto their playoff spots.
The Rest of the AFC:
7. Baltimore Ravens (3-2)
8. Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2)
9. New England Patriots (3-2)
10. Miami Dolphins (2-2)
11. Cleveland Browns (2-2)
12. Kansas City Chiefs (2-3)
13. New York Jets (1-4)
14. Tennessee Titans (1-4)
15. Oakland Raiders (0-4)
16. Jacksonville Jaguars (0-5)
NFC Home Field Advantage: #1 Philadelphia Eagles (4-1, NFC East Champion)
The Philadelphia Eagles take the top spot in the NFC with Arizona's loss this week. It's tough to imagine if they can hold onto this position long term since their offense has been fluttering the past few weeks as they have faced the high level defenses of the NFC West in the 49ers and Rams. But they keep finding other ways to score, with another punt block touchdown and a defensive touchdown in their victory against the Rams this past Sunday. The real question though is why is the offensive visionary in Chip Kelly's offense struggling so badly. The answer is that their offensive line has had some major injuries and they can't really block anyone. In the meantime they just keep finding ways to win, and that is really what football is all about. Next up for the Eagles is an appearance on Sunday Night Football against the rival New York Giants at home.
NFC First Round Bye: #2 Arizona Cardinals (3-1, NFC West Champion)
The Cardinals are still ahead of Seattle in the division because they are 1-0 in the division with the victory of San Francisco and Seattle has yet to play anyone in the division. Carson Palmer needs to be coming back for this team soon though, because Drew Stanton and Calais Campbell were both hurt in Sunday's game against the Broncos. Stanton of course was the backup quarterback so rookie Logan Thomas from Virginia Tech got some playing time in Sunday's game as well. Campbell is the star of the Cardinals defense and he was hurt on a chop block by the Broncos offensive line. This obviously made Head Coach Bruce Arians livid. It also raises the question that if someone is hurt on an illegal hit then should the person who hits them be suspended at least for a few games while the hurt player is out. Campbell is going to be out 3-4 weeks with a MCL sprain. It will be interesting to see how well the Cardinals defense holds together with Campbell on the sideline. Their first test will be when they take on the Washington Redskins at home next Sunday.
NFC Wild Card Game: #3 Carolina Panthers (3-2, NFC South Champion) vs. #6 Seattle Seahawks (3-1, Wild Card)
The Panthers are back in the playoffs this week with a victory and with the Falcons losing to the Giants. After losing back-to-back games against the Steelers and Ravens, they were able to beat the Bears at home by 7. Cam Newton and Greg Olsen were the two who got everything together on offense, because the running game was still non existent this past week. On the other hand, the Seattle Seahawks are still one of the hottest teams in football and they would help have this game be a defensive battle between the two teams. Russell Wilson against Cam Newton with some potential read option by both sides. This would be a fantastic playoff match-up. The Panthers take on the Bengals in Cincinnati this next week, while the Seahawks face the other wild card holder, the Dallas Cowboys, at the home of the 12th man in Seattle.
NFC Wild Card Game: #4 Detroit Lions (3-2, NFC North Champion) vs. #5 Dallas Cowboys (4-1, Wild Card)
Does everyone else remember the last time the Cowboys and Lions faced each other? The game where Matthew Stafford faked a spike and jumped over the goal line, and then still ran around everyone into the end zone for the game winning touchdown. If this game would be anywhere as thrilling as that game was then this writer is definitely on board with that. The Lions fell from second to 4th this week with their loss to the Bills, partially because they lost to the Panthers so they had a head-to-head advantage over the Lions. It doesn't really seem like anyone is talking about the Lions, probably because they are winning with defense, and it seems like they are having offensive struggles as well, despite all of the offensive talent they have. They only scored 14 points on Sunday, and part of that was an interception return for a touchdown. Meanwhile the Cowboys have won 4 in a row and are looking like an elite team in football for the first time in a very long time. Leaning mostly on DeMarco Murray and then getting the ball to Dez Bryant when they need to, they have done what has been needed in getting victories. They struggled against the Texans with untimely turnovers, but looked good on both sides of the ball to get the win. Dallas is going to Seattle this week for an excellent game, while the Lions are also on the road in Minnesota.
The rest of the NFC:
7. San Francisco 49ers (3-2)
8. New York Giants (3-2)
9. Green Bay Packers (3-2)
10. Minnesota Vikings (2-3)
11. Atlanta Falcons (2-3)
12. New Orleans (2-3)
13. Chicago Bears (2-3)
14. St. Louis Rams (1-3)
15. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-4)
16. Washington Redskins (1-4)