NFL Passion Week 13 Monday Edition: In the Bag

As the weeks go by the leaders of the Pack continue to separate themselves from the rest, with there now being a petty nice gap between the top teams and the "ok" teams. As usual, we have a 3 or 4 teams from each conference looking really good and playoff bound, another 3 or 4 teams in each conference swinging frantically in hopes of securing the final wild card spots. Each 6-5 as well as 8-3 team in the AFC handled business this week, and every 7-4 team in the NFC fell. The standings are no clearer than they were last week. One thing is now clear though, the Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers will be heading to the postseason after each team clinched their divisions with wins Sunday. They are the only two teams to eclipse 10 wins this far in the year. The 9-3 New Orleans Saints aren't looking too far behind these days, as their offense is looking better than ever as the Detroit Lions were taught yet another lesson on what happens when you play with the big boys. Meanwhile the fourth NFC division leader the dallas cowboys were stunned and had their 4 game winning streak snapped against the Arizona Cardinals. I can't explain that one, but it does set up a nice little Sunday night match up against the New York Giants for first place in the NFC East next week. Plus the Raiders were destroyed in Miami, the Bears fell once again without their starting quarterback, and the Texans survived the Atlanta Falcons without theirs. Here's a recap of all of Sunday's action. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly.

Broncos 35, Vikings 32

It is official. No matter what you do or how you try to slow him down, Tim Tebow simply will find a way to win and win any football game. His greatest attribute is his competitive edge. In a game where the Broncos unorthodox quarterback only rushed for 13 yards he for once used his arm to win the game, throwing for 202 yards and two touchdowns, and moving the Broncos down the field in crucial situations. It was a game the Vikings seemed poised to win, leading for most of the game and getting a Minnesota rookie record 381 yards passing out of Christian Ponder. But it was also a game where Denver rarely trailed by more than one score, the kind of game where you could just feel a Tebow steal coming. Down by 8 at the start of the fourth quarter, Willis McGahee found the endzone on a gritty 24 yard rush. A Tim Tebow draw for the 2 point conversion tied the game at 29 with 9 minutes to play. From there it became a back ad fourth game, with Minnesota taking the lead on a 39 yard field goal with 3 minutes left before Denver managed two in the closing minutes, including a 23 yard chip shot as time expired. With the win the Broncs have now won 5 straight games and are tied with the Oakland Raiders at the top of the AFC West. What a long way both Tim Tebow and his running Broncos have come this season.

Falcons 10, Texans 17

Unlike many teams this season, the Texans have so far survived their quarterback debacle and have found ways to win. T.J Yates successfully managed the game for Houston, Arian Foster did his job, and the defense stifled, all resulting in a 17-10 win against a very good Atlanta Falcons football team. One more win should all but seal the Texans playoff hopes, but they get a pretty big test next week when they travel to Cincinnati to face the Bengals. The Falcons now fall two games behind the Saints in the NFC South, and face the Carolina Panthers next week.

Colts 24, Patriots 31

After being blown out through 3 quarters, the Colts decided to step up and make it a game in the 4th. Indianapolis shut out New England 21-0 in the fourth quarter to pull within 7 with 36 seconds to play. They eventually fell, but you have to love the Colts fight in this one. Quarterback Dan Orlovsky threw for an impressive 353 yards ad two touchdowns in his first start for the Colts, nice even if it was against the Patriot defense. These guys are 9-3, bt they only have four weeks to tighten up that d or they are going to have themselves an early playoff exit this year.

Titans 23, Bills 17

You can finally stick a fork in the Buffalo Bills after their 5 straight loss came at the hands of the Titans Sunday, they were 5-2 when it all began. Crushing loss for Buffalo, who all season had dreams of returning to the postseason. What once seemed a dream for the Titans may actually be doable, as they are now in a 4 way tie for the final wild card spot in the AFC. Only thing in their way at the moment are the red hot New Orleans Saints they have to face next week. Huge test for the Titans.

Packers 38, Giants 35

Aaron Rodgers threw for 369 yards, 4 touchdowns, and one interception, and produced his lowest quarterback rating of the season 106.2. And to answer your question yes the guy is a freak of nature. Green Bay's defense gave up yards and points while making huge plays as usual, and the Giants barely left the game without snapping the champs 11 game winning streak and ending their own 3 game losing streak. In fact after a touchdown and two point conversion brought the Giants into a tie with Green Bay with under a minute to play, it took a last second Mason Crosby field goal to give the Packers the win, easily their closest of the season. Those streak numbers now go to 12 and 4 respectively, as the Packers clinched the NFC North while the Giants now fall to 6-6. All is not lost in New york, they can still retake first place in the NFC East with a win over the Cowboys next Sunday. This could be just the message the rest of the league needs to realize that at times, even the Pack Attack can be vulnerable.

Chiefs 10, Bears 3

The loss of Jay Cutler has hurt the Bears more than I had anticipated, as they have lost both games without him following a 5 game winning streak. Now they've lost Matt forte for at least 2-4 weeks. It would be an absolute shame for this talented team to miss the playoffs because of injury. Even as a Packer fan, I feel for Da Bears.

Raiders 14, Dolphins 34

The Dolphins are playing excellent football the last few weeks, look out for them in 2012-2013. I actually think they may end up winning that division despite being last in it this year. The absolutely beat up on the Oakland Raiders and Reggie Bush and Daniel Thomas were running all over the place. Ugly game for the Raiders, who are now in a tie that they are not at the moment winning with Tim Tebow and the ever confidence growing Denver Broncos in the AFC West. Hey, this was supposed to be Oakland's big comeback season story!!! Someone forgot to tell Denver.

Jets 34, Redskins 19

It wasn't until the fourth quarter that this one got ugly, but it got ugly indeed. With the score tied at 13 Mark Sanchez threw his only touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes, and Shonn Greene rushed for two of his three as the Jets steamrolled the Redskins 21-6 in the fourth for the win. The Jets are now 7-5 and one of the four teams deadlocked into the final playoff spot in the AFC.

Bengals 7, Steelers 35

After a tough first game, when the Steelers came home to face the Bengals in round two they were not playing. Andy Dalton got his first taste of the Steel Curtain, and it wasn't pretty. Pittsburgh controlled the field all game and shut the Bengals offense down. Perfect formula for victory. The Steelers remain neck and neck with the Ravens for first place in the AFC North, as well as the Texans and Patriots for first place in the entire AFC.

Panthers 38, Buccaneers 19

The Bucs season has become sadder to watch by the week, and Cam Newton continues to be impressive. He had three rushing touchdowns to go with his one touchdown pass, breaking the NFL record for most rushing touchdowns in a single season for a quarterback. We still have four weeks left folks. This guy is special.

Ravens 24, Browns 10

Ray Rice rushed for 204 yards and a score, and the Ravens improved to 9-3 in the dogfight for top dog in the AFC. They get the Indianapolis Colts next week, so 10-3 it is. The Browns now fall to 4-8.

Rams 0, 49ers 26

The 49ers handled their business Sunday, they did it in flawless fashion, and they did it at home, in front of their always loyal fans, against their division rivals. It had to be one of the sweetest occasions in some time at Candlestick Park, where the Niners downed the St. Louis Rams from start to finish to clinch the NFC West and their first playoff berth in ten years. Alex Smith threw for 274 yards and two touchdowns, and the defense locked down once again, bouncing back with authority from their Thanksgiving loss to the Ravens ten days before. The 49ers improve to 10-2 and remain in second place in the NFC.

Lions 17, Saints 31

The Saints continue to roll, and the Lions continue to play like a young football team with talent that has never been to the postseason. At this rate, they may not be going this year either. They play good football, but they make too many stupid mistakes, get too many costly and unnecessary penalties that shoot only themselves in the foot, and they continue to do childish things like throw balls at people and shove referees out of the way when they are trying to stop you from fighting. Get out my way ref!!!!! These guys are immature, and I'm just glad that for the most part Matthew Stafford an Calvin Johnson have kept it cool, because they are the main reasons I like the Lions. They just play the game. With that said, the Saints put a nice whoopin on Detroit, with Drew Brees throwing for 342 yards and three touchdowns. Next up for New Orleans is the Tennessee Titans, the Lions get Minnesota Vikings at home. They must win that game.

Cowboys 13, Cardinals 19 OT

This is just like the Dallas Cowboys. Just when you think they are coming around, something like this happens. Dallas had it's four game winning streak snapped Sunday by a Cardinals team that had only won four games all season prior. Tony Romo played well again but failed to reach the endzone in the fashion he has in recent weeks, and DeMarco Murray was nowhere to be found. The bottom line is next week a win over the Giants and we will be all but declaring Romo and the Boys NFC East champions, a loss and we will have to once again reconsider how good the Cowboys really are. I'm as tired of this as you are.

San Diego Chargers (4-7) at Jacksonville Jaguars (3-8) 8:30 PM ET 5:30 PT ESPN

The Chargers try to snap a 6 game losing streak against the lowly Jaguars. You can go out tonight if you want to.