The election may be over, but in the NFL ranks, Pennsylvania's still the biggest swing state in the nation. The Philadelphia Eagles remain undefeated after a 15-10 victory over the Baltimore Ravens, while the Pittsburgh Steelers did what no other team has been able to accomplish in over a year on Sunday: beating the New England Patriots.
The Pats hadn't lost in 21 straight games, an NFL record streak that stretches back to Sept. 28, 2003. Pittsburgh jumped all over the Patriots as the game got under way. Many fans and experts, including "Inside the NFL," had assumed that Patriots head coach and defensive mastermind Bill Belichik would find ways to end the honeymoon of Pittsburgh rookie quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
Instead, Roethlisberger and the Steelers' offense torched the Pats early, as Big Ben threw two first half touchdowns to Plaxico Burress and Duce Staley kept the ground game going for the Steelers. Pittsburgh finished the day 9-9 on third down conversions. It was the Patriots who were kept at bay throughout the day, held to just 248 total yards and turning the ball over four times, compared to Pittsburgh's zero in that category.
To their credit, the Patriots were without feature back Corey Dillon and wide receiver Deion Branch due to injuries. For all their depth, even the Patriots can't keep winning with all those injuries.
But the Pats' injury problems take nothing away from Pittsburgh. Apparently Big Ben hasn't heard that rookie quarterbacks aren't good - that or he's so terrified of Bill Cowher's "I can't believe you just threw that interception, I'm going to murder you with my eyes" stare that he's literally inspired to be perfect. Either way, Pittsburgh's offense is clicking on all cylinders and its defense is looking very solid.
"Inside the NFL" still thinks the Patriots are the team to beat in the AFC. They are simply too well-balanced to lose more than three to five games in the regular season, and Brady's boys are so good at winning close games that the Pats will remain an incredibly strong playoff team this year.
The New York Jets continued to be a strong AFC championship contender as they beat the basement dwelling Miami Dolphins in a romp. For now though, the road to the Super Bowl looks like it will go through either Pittsburgh or Foxboro.
Taking a trip across the great state of Pennsylvania, the Eagles are clearly the team to beat in the NFC, as well as in the entire league. The Ravens kept things interesting on Sunday, despite having an offense that features ... well, it doesn't really feature much of anything, but the Eagles are just too good offensively to be held down for long. Watching T.O. and Donovan McNabb play together makes for one of those rare occasions in sports where you feel like you're watching transcendence, like watching M.J. in big games or playing as Jeremy Roenick in NHL '94 for Sega Genesis. They can score at will.
The Eagles will be that much better when Brian Westbrook returns from a rib injury. If they have a weakness right now, it's their inconsistency to control the pace of a game. Teams have proven that the Eagles are susceptible to the run, as shown in the Cleveland Browns game, and Philly's offense is based on short passes and the deep threat to Owens.
This week the Eagles will meet their biggest challenge yet when they take a travel through the Pennsylvania boondocks to face off against the Steelers. In what many predict could be a Super Bowl preview, the Steelers will have to do to the Eagles what the Ravens did for three quarters. Baltimore kept Owens in check and disrupted the Eagles' rhythm for much of Sunday's game, and if T.O. can be stopped this week while Westbrook is still hurt, the Eagles could suffer their first loss of the season to the Steelers.
Besides Pennsylvania, the other state boasting two strong playoff caliber teams right now is New York. The Jets continue to roll, their only loss a tight one to the Pats, and the New York Giants rebounded from Week 7's hiccup against the Detroit Lions to roll over the Minnesota Vikings in Minnesota, reviving memories of 2000's 41-0 pummeling in the NFC championship game.
No matter how many touchdowns Daunte Culpepper has thrown, Tiki Barber has to be the leading MVP candidate right now. He has been the deciding factor in each of the Giants' five wins, and leads the league in yards from scrimmage with the mind-boggling number of 1100 total yards through seven games, on pace for over 2200 for the season. An even more impressive number? Zero. That's how many fumbles Tiki has coughed up thus far.
