New York Jets (6-3) vs. Miami Dolphins (6-2) Sunday @ 1 p.m.
The last time these teams met, the Dolphins jumped out to a 17-0 halftime lead before collapsing to allow a Jets comeback. This time, in Miami, the Dolphins hope to have a tighter grasp on the game. To do that, their defense will need to get a firm grasp on New York running back Curtis Martin, who leads the NFL with 917 rushing yards. Miami has the eighth best run defense in the league, so the winner of that battle will have an emormous edge in the game.This is also a battle of two inept passing games. The Dolphins, behind quarterback Jay Fiedler, are 15th in the league, while the Vinny Testeverde-led Jets are 29th.
This game also has huge AFC East implications. It is the final time the teams will meet this year. If the Dolphins pull out a victory, they will take a game and a half lead in the division and eliminate the tie breaker advantage the Jets held.
A Jet victory, however, propels New York into first place in the division, and if things remain close down the stretch, the Jets will have the head-to-head advantage.
Indianapolis Colts (4-4) vs. New Orleans Saints (4-4), Sunday @ 1 p.m.
This is a battle of two underachievers. Each team was supposed to contend for its division title, now they're each just struggling to stay in the playoff hunt. Falling below .500 late in the season in a league in which 14 teams have at least five wins heading into Sunday could be fatal.Word on Bourbon Street is that some of the veterans on the Saints are displeased with the play of quarterback Aaron Brooks. This is Brooks' second year in the league, but first as the starter, and some older players are griping about his inconsistency. They would rather see veteran Jeff Blake - whose job Brooks took last season when Blake was injured - under center. This is a young team, though, and young coach Jim Haslett is right to stick with his young quarterback.
But no one is complaining about the Colts quarterback. Peyton Manning is still amongst the best in the league, but he's going to have to win Sunday with the broken jaw he suffered in last week's loss to the Dolphins. What could be more painful than a bum jaw is no running game. Star running back Edgerrin James - who was drafted before Saints running back Ricky Williams in 1999 - is likely out for the year, and backup Dominic Rhodes was injured last Sunday and rushed for only 42 yards.
St. Louis Rams (7-1) vs. New England Patriots (5-4), Sunday @ 8 :30 p.m.
All of New England is relieved, Drew Bledsoe is back and healthy. He can finally get back under center where he belongs and lead the Patriots to the playoffs. What's that? Bledsoe's not playing this week despite being cleared by the medical staff. Interesting.Apparently the Patriots coaches are pleased with the way Tom Brady has quarterbacked the team, and are letting him play against the best foe the team will face all season. Brady is 5-2 as a starter, but you get the sense the oness isn't as much on Brady to play a good game. Sure, the Rams have an improved defense, but they'll still give up some points. They aren't too concerned about this, however, since they can outscore almost anyone.
No matter how well Brady plays, he's not going to outperform the Rams offense if the game turns into a shootout, which means the Pats 'D' better toughen up. Running back Marshall Faulk had a great game last week, rushing for 183 yards and two touchdowns. Of course, it only took him 30 minutes to do it. Backup running back Trung Canidate played the second half, and had a great game as well, going for 145 yards and a score. The Rams main advantage will be their quarterback, Kurt Warner, who was the quickest player in NFL history to reach 10,000 passing yards.
If the Patriots plan to win this game, which they can, they might need some divine intervention in the way of wind and rain. Not many defenses have been able to slow the Rams, but if you can slow their passing game and force them to become one-deimensional, at least you have a snowball's chance in hell.
Sorry Drew, maybe next week.
- compiled by Jon Japha
