The NFL is Poop - Week 10

Time to Pay Attention
Cam Newton started his career as the best rookie QB in history. Then he had one of the worst sophomore slumps ever. Now in Year 3 Cam is the quarterback of a really good, really balanced team. Cam himself is playing well, they have a good running game, but most importantly, the Panthers defense is absolutely awesome. It's allowing barely 12 points a game. With the rest of the conference struggling, even if they don't pass the Saints, the Panthers have an excellent chance to make the playoffs. And if they do, with that defense, and Cam Newton playing how he is playing, they might be a serious Super Bowl contender.

Every Dog Has Its Day
The 2008 Detroit Lions can pop the champagne because there are no more winless teams this season. Both the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Tampa Bay ExpensiveCornPrices got off the schneid. But don't worry, they're both still terrible.
Strangely enough, a safety played an important role in each of these games. Jacksonville got its 2-pointer on a holding penalty in the end zone, to give it a 22-13 lead. They ended up winning by 2 points. The ECPs took a 12-0 lead on their safety and ended up winning by 3 points, but only because Miami went for 2 and missed, because of the safety.
Also, both victims were 4-4 (not bad) heading into this game, and counting on a win, at 5-4 would have been in serious playoff contention. But now we have to think they really suck if they each lost to an 0-8 team.
On a side note, I don't really think the Martin/Incognito affair played a role in this loss. I know people like to talk about psychological factors, "distracting" a team from playing at its best, but I just think the Dolphins got beat.

Poor Packers
The Green Bay Packers are decimated by injuries. In the first quarter of their last two games the starting quarterback has been knocked out. First Aaron Rodgers, then Seneca Wallace. Wallace is out for the season and though Rodgers may return at some point, neither can play this week forcing the Packers to sign an old friend to back up Scott Tolzien.
They went for a quarterback who had his greatest days as a Packer and then went elsewhere but was never able to replicate the magic he experienced as a Packer. Yes, I'm talking about Matt Flynn.
On the strength of one performance in Week 17, Flynn got a huge contract with the Seahawks. But then he was beaten out by Russell Wilson in Seattle, by Terrelle Pryor in Oakland and by everyone in Buffalo. Maybe he can make it work once Tolzien gets hurt in the first quarter this week against the Giants.

Game of the Week
Baltimore Ravens 20 Cincinnati Bengals 17
If a Hail Mary is caught in a loss, does it still count? It was an amazing play to cap an amazing comeback, AJ Green alone in the back of the end zone catching a ball that was allowed to bounce upwards out of the usual scrum that occurs on Hail Marys.
KNOCK. IT. DOWN.

The eventual loss in overtime was aided by a horrible play by Giovani Bernard. He took an 11 yard loss on a 4th and 2 (I would have punted), setting up the Ravens for a short drive for the game-winning field goal.
And it also overshadowed that great catch, and a great comeback from a 17-0 deficit, a win the Bengals could have and maybe should have had.

Game of Next Week
Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos
A huge matchup in the AFC in Denver. If the Chiefs can somehow pull this off, not only would the be a legitimate Super Bowl contender, they'd have to be seen as the favorite.
Honorable mention in a packed week goes to 49ers-Saints and Panthers-Patriots (who would have thought that?)

A Brief Rant About the Redskins
Yes the Redskins defense is horrible, I know that. It got completely torched by a very bad Minnesota team in a game that could have brought the Skins within half a game of the division lead.
But the Redskins offense which worked so well in the first half thanks to rollouts and bootlegs by RGIII and crossing routes to Garcon and Reed, abandoned those types of plays in the second half in an effort to further establish the running game.

Picture of the Week
Cam Newton stretches while the 49ers defense watches.

If the Super Bowl Were Played Today
Kansas City Chiefs 13 Seattle Seahawks 10
You can't lose your spot your spot on this list due to a bye week. And the Seahawks earned theirs back with a thumping of the Falcons. But doesn't everyone do that?