Looking Ahead: Week Thirteen

As we turn the corner into the post-Thanksgiving portion of our schedule, we'll see some playoff jockeying going on and teams gearing up for a fight down the stretch. November will be torn off the calendar, leaving one lonely sheet containing the final few weeks of the season, and these contests have never meant more. We've had a lot of fun and watched a lot of Jeff George concussions, but now it's time to see who passes the test and makes it into those exclusive 6 spots per conference. Some of our teams have sat back on their heels like Mark Rypien preparing a pass, and now it's time for them to kick it into gear if they want to keep up in the race. Let's take a look at some of the meaningful match-ups occurring in the first of our final weekends.

The AFC West is really the only division with a clinching scenario this weekend, which is the only reason we're highlighting the Seattle versus Denver contest. With a win, the Broncos can hold off the streamers in San Diego as they continue their quest to claw out of the muck after 5 wins in their last 7 games. Seattle surprised many with their wild card steal last year. That won't happen this time around, however their position of spoiler will have eyes in the AFC West on whether or not Stan Gelbaugh faces the right way when he lines up behind center.

Dallas and Washington play important divisional contests, both trying to keep up with the soaring Eagles in Philadelphia. Minnesota, suddenly feeling the salivating teeth of Mike Ditka at their heels, will need to play tough against the unpredictable Rams, while Buffalo goes for another important win at the expense of Indianapolis' 10th straight loss. The Jets look to bounce back from another lackluster performance on Monday Night Football, and as long as the 'Savior' Dave Krieg doesn't wake up at the bottom of the Missouri River they'll have a good chance at a much-needed victory. Detroit will follow up a strong Thanksgiving performance against a formidable foe in Houston, and New Orleans and Miami will wrap up our early schedule in a dogfight of divisional leaders. Bobby Hebert will hope to continue hanging with the big boys as he tries to out-throw Dan Marino, while each teams' running back coaches will take the day off to shuck crab shells in the Bayou.

Cleveland has struggled under the watchful eye of The Tecmo Bowl team of writers after flying under the radar and knocking off 5 straight wins. Since then, they've stumbled backwards, rolling off 3 losses and find themselves fighting off a rabid Bears team with a divisional title suddenly in their sights. Atlanta and San Francisco have taken a step back from New Orleans after weeks of imitating Cerberus in the NFC, and will have some late games to jump back into the bouncy castle of the Wild West.

The day ends in a pivotal AFC Central melee to whet the appetites of anyone looking for mustaches to get tangled as Neil O'Donnell tries to avoid the hungry Carl Zander to get his Steelers their 7th win in a row. The Bengals were the talk of the division last year, but after falling behind early on they'll need to slowly work their way back up a ladder that's had a few rungs slightly sawed in half by the fiery Barry Foster, who's heating up at the most dangerous time.

Monday night has San Diego returning to the stage after a short standby, with their game taking on exponentially more meaning should Denver lose Sunday. They'll take on the Raiders of Los Angeles, which may stand as their final hurdle in claiming the first divisional crown in our 1992 Tecmo Bowl season. As the Raiders await the return of their fearless leader, Jay Schroeder, from "injury" (see: Rogaine sponsorship tour), they'll perhaps be looking toward Todd Marinovich and hoping the side of the bed he wakes up on is the side his father isn't waiting for him with a wooden paddle. Stan Humphries has followed up his MVP performance in the NFC playoffs with an equally solid year, quietly bringing his Chargers into the fold of perhaps the top 3 teams in the league. They've proved it once on Monday Night Football, and this week they can prove it even more with a trophy presentation under the hot bulbs of TheTecmoBowl.com's fancy set design.


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AFC

NFC

Monday Night Football: NY Jets vs New England

In what would normally be a basement level brawl in the AFC East, the Jets will now hope to use the hapless Patriots as a springboard to keep even with Miami in a very tight race for the division lead. The only thing truly separating these two teams is the strong defense of New York, though even that group appears to be tiring out a few weeks too early. They shouldn't have too much of a problem with a Millen-helmed defense tonight, though as of late there's been some rumblings coming out of Alabama of a young, able-bodied running back named Kevin Turner making some waves for the Patriots. As long as the Jets aren't caught unawares and quarterback Browning Nagle doesn't play like a zombie chicken, New York should be able to bounce back for a much-needed win.

Quarter One
Return specialist Jon Vaughn puts his Patriots at the 15-yard line to start the game. He can't bail his quarterback out on first down when Millen faces a full-on Jets blitz, though on second down the man from Des Moines has a much calmer pocket to launch a long 42-yard pass to Greg McMurtry. Finally finding their one successful play 12 weeks into the season, Millen airs it out once more to McMurtry but has his pass knocked away in the end zone. They opt for a shorter connection, with the one-time Red Sox first-rounder taking the pass at the New York 28-yard line. The first play to Weapon X, otherwise known as Kevin Turner, is a failure of a pass, though he resets his confidence with two plays that net 19 yards to slash his way into the red zone. Kyle Clifton stops the bleeding for the moment with an 11-yard sack of Millen, shaking him up enough to see two of Brian Washington intercepting him in the end zone.

New York runs a play action on first down, fooling nobody on the usually short-bus-occupying Patriots defense. Blair Thomas picks up a weak 4 yard run on 2nd down, though it appears rather Espy-Award worthy compared to his 2-yard loss on 3rd down to force a punt.

Though Michael Timpson has a hard time doing anything with Louie Aguiar's punt, the Prattville Punisher (Kevin Turner's alter ego) finishes up the quarter with a mean 32-yard run to put his team in Jets territory and immediately picking up where they left off on the last drive, with Turner melting hearts and Millen forcing bathroom breaks.

Quarter Two
Pin-up boy Turner can't handle Millen's first pass of the quarter, and the sudden panic causes Millen to absorb a second Kyle Clifton sack of the day. On 3rd and 19, Millen throws up along the sidelines for Irving Fryar, who pulls it in at the Jets' 17-yard line. Millen's one-trick pony is in full-gallop mode when his second consecutive pass to Fryar flies hopelessly into the visitor's tunnel. His attempt at getting Vaughn a third receiving touchdown goes unfulfilled, though on another 3rd down play his pass to Fryar is on the money at the 2-yard line and watches his star receiver run it in for a rare touchdown.

New England leads 7-0

Terance Mathis racks up a hefty run to his team's 43-yard line on his first return of the game. Brad Baxter is handed the ball on first down, from which he finds some running room for 20 yards to New England's 37-yard line. Browning Nagle watches no less than 3 receivers streak down the field wide open before experiencing one night in Andre Tippett for a loss of 9 yards. Blair Thomas is called upon to pick up 12 yards, still about 7 short of a first down which he still can't achieve on his second go-round. With a chance to put some points on the board for New York, Cary Blanchard misses his fifth attempt in just eleven tries, this one from 46 yards away.

The only man to escape a Killer Kowalski Claw, Kevin Turner takes a pitch from Millen for 4 yards on first down, but loses 2 of those on the next play when all eleven Jets defenders kamikaze dive on top of him. Undaunted, Turner takes his third straight pitch and picks up a first down and more to the New England 48-yard line. After an innocent miscommunication as Millen throwing to a cute but pesky gopher alone on the 10-yard line, the ball is handed to the unsuspecting Vaughn, who bounces off his left tackle but is otherwise untouched for 52 yards to the score.

New Englands leads 14-0

Mathis takes the kick out from the end zone to the Jets' 35-yard line, though his run leaves only 9 seconds on the clock for Nagle to panic, eschew his two open receivers along the sideline and throw a short pass to Robb Thomas that is harmlessly yet predictably blocked.

Halftime - Patriots 14, Jets 0

Quarter Three
Another stellar Mathis return comes at a high price, with the star receiver going down to a swollen patella. Thomas continues his forgettable day with a 2-yard loss, followed up by Moore finally getting some separation but now unaware what to do with this oblong shaped ball near his hands. On 3rd and 12, Nagle attempts a run of his own, and though his 1-yard run may seem like 100, he mathematically falls short of the remaining yards needed for a first down to force another Louie Aguiar sighting.

A touchback has the Patriots starting at their own 20 with a comfortable lead over the Jets. Wild Man Millen takes advantage of the rare occasion to lob a pass up to Irving Fryar that leaves a decent-sized gash near a table of Gatorade cups. Kyle Clifton has upper New York management thinking of a name change with his one-man show on a third sack of Millen, leading to a pass to Vaughn that falls hopelessly short of a first down.

Freeman McNeil makes his return to kick-fielding to much fanfare, taking the punt 15 yards to the Jets' 45-yard line. Nagle draws upon the play action with not much to lose, finding Moore open along with a desire to catch the ball for their obligatory one connection per game. It's a meaningful one that sees Moore streak down the sideline for a quick 55-yard score to get New York on the board.

New England leads 14-7

Vaughn is unable to get much farther than the 10-yard line on his return, setting up a dangerous 4th sack from Clifton that has the Jets suddenly claiming momentum in a game they had all but let slip away. From the shadow of their goal line, the Patriots are saved once more by Kevin Turner, Vampire Hunter, who escapes a diving defender in the end zone and picks up 8 yards. Millen puts his legs to work, though they disassemble somewhere near the 11-yard line, sounding the bell for a second consecutive Shawn McCarthy punt.

McNeil picks up a few yards to get the Jets a starting spot at the 45-yard line moving into the 4th.

Quarter Four
The Jets continue to put their faith in Thomas, who picks up 3 yards to put his net on the day somewhere around 0. Baxter nabs a rare reception in the flat for a 10-yard gain into New England territory, though it's Nagle who uses his rushing ability to pick up 20 yards on a Patriots' defense caught on their heels. From the 22-yard line, Nagle picks up another 7 before pitching it to Baxter to complete the final 7 needed to knot this one up late.

Score tied 14-14

The Patriots start off a slow, clock-burning drive with a wild overthrow of Fryar that's nearly picked off, along with another pass that's just off the fingertips of Clifton at the line of scrimmage. On 3rd down with 10 yards necessary, Millen drops back and finds a man open, though the 5-yard gain is only notable for the final stat sheet as McCarthy punts it to McNeil for a third straight time.

Suddenly in charge of the game, field general Browning Nagle throws the ball away in the face of a Patriots blitz that nearly proves costly when it goes out of the hands of a New England defender. Thomas is able to run for double digits on second down, though it also takes off double digits from the clock as just over a minute remains in this tied game. Nagle throws incomplete to Moore, the only covered man on the field, and somewhere, some high school quarterbacks coach just had an aneurysm. Baxter takes a pitch on second down, though it's caught immediately and only picks up 2 yards. Tim Goad saves the game for New England on 3rd down with a big sack of Nagle, though New York maintains its hard edge by going for it on 4th down. Though their unconventional play choice of having Thomas go up the middle proves a failure, it still manages to get a round of applause from ironic hipsters at the Built to Spill concert next door.

The Patriots take the ball with just 22 seconds left on the New York side of the field. The Jets send them backwards on first down, however, with a blitz of Turner for a 4-yard loss. Millen drops back on second down and goes for broke with just 15 seconds left, finding Marv Cook who lays out for the ball but can't get out of the frozen mud in time to score. This taxi cab's headed back to the land of deja vu.

Overtime
The Jets win the toss, though any hope the team's fans have at a quick score are dashed when Browning Nagle latches his helmet on and takes the field. The drive starts as slow as ever with a Thomas run for 7 yards, though the nightmares Nagle will have tonight should occur even slower as he watches his pass on second down sail into the gut of Johnny Rembert at the New England 38-yard line.

Kevin Turner the Bounty Hunter gets his team's sails at full mast with two runs that net 30 yards and get the Patriots at the precipice of Jason Staurovsky territory. Clifton breaches the line to knock Turner back 6 yards, though he still shows why his midichlorians are off the charts with a 26-yard scamper to the Jets' 13-yard line. With the soft, drunken whispers of Dan Marino in his ear, coach Dick MacPherson calls Staurovsky on to the field for a 30-yard kick that banks in off the right upright, symbolizing the Patriots banking off a rare late-season win against a fading playoff contender.

Final: Patriots 17, Jets 14 (OT)

 
The Jets come back to the national stage in just a few short weeks, and once again they hit the 14-point glass ceiling. This time, their impotence comes back to bite them in losing to perennial cellar-dwelling Patriots. With Blair Thomas and Browning Nagle leading the team in their respective categories and only totaling 104 yards, they only have New England to thank for not making them look totally inept on the field. Hugh Millen played less-than-horrible enough to keep his game in it, though once again the story of the game for the Patriots was the enigmatic Kevin Turner, who still remains invisible on game tapes to thwart any planning his team's opponents may have. His efforts finally converted into a Patriots win, and though it may be the last for his team, it was a strong showing that shows glimmers of what the future can be should they find a decent quarterback and not trade Turner away to a Caribbean football league.

 

Week Twelve: Troy's Turkeys and Peete's Potatoes

The Thanksgiving holiday has come and gone, and now most of us are lying on our couches with full stomachs and empty pockets. You may have spent three month's salary during Black Friday, but we're here to offer you some twenty-year old football free of charge. Today you'll see some recaps of the classic Thanksgiving throwdowns involving Detroit and Dallas, alongside today's current lineup of superstars mushing eachother's brains for your enjoyment. So grab a plate of microwaved stuffing and potatoes and let us guide you through the final turn on your holiday weekend of food, football and finding new ways to finance your child's college education.

Game One
Cincinnati (5-5) at Detroit (2-8)

The Bengals have picked up their britches after giving up five straight losses, pulling themselves back to .500 and now drawing the Detroit Lions en route to a pretty decent shot at finding some air in the AFC Central. The Lions have played considerably better than last season, but have yet to find any answers to getting their own record to reflect that. One factor may be the dramatic fall of Barry Sanders from being a rushing threat, putting all the pressure on a man named Peete: Rodney Peete, that is. Rodney's done his best to keep his team in close games, but Barry will need to get back on track against one of the league's worst rush defenses to give the Lions some teeth again.

Quarter One
Harold Green's fall from grace had never been more apparent than in Cincinnati's first drive, which featured him running twice into his own linemen and fumbling the ball over to Ray Crockett on third down. Detroit faced their own struggles over the first two plays, with Peete unable to find open men. Unfortunately, Cincinnati must have recorded the part of the tape where Barry Sanders makes catches out of the backfield with coverage of the Fish Toss at Fountain Square, as they totally left him wide open to bring Peete's pass to paydirt on third down.

Detroit leads 7-0

The Lions blitzed Boomer on three straight plays, but only managed to fluster him for two when he found Green open on 3rd and long to set up a fresh set of downs. Green bailed the Bengals out again on another third down situation with a long run into the red zone. With the targets set to Green, Esiason finally got some breathing room and found a sliding Tim McGee just across the end zone for a game-tying score.

Score tied 7-7

Quarter Two
Like your Grandmother and her classically-trained turkey carving, Peete sliced and diced his way past the Cincinnati secondary, leading to a needled pass to Brent Perriman at the 15-yard line. Peete took it on his own over the next two plays, falling a yard short on third down to set up a crucial call by head coach Wayne Fontes on 4th-and-goal. Emboldened perhaps by their negative win-to-loss ratio, the Lions went for broke on 4th down, leading to a somewhat rare incompletion by Peete in the end zone.

Harold Green was called on once more to get his team as far away from the inch line as possible, successfully moving his team forward until Esiason's flea flicker attempt was picked off. With just under a minute remaining in the quarter, the Lions finish what they started earlier with a Peete-to-Herman Moore touchdown connection of 55 yards.

Detroit leads 14-7

Halftime - Lions 14, Bengals 7

Quarter Three
As it has all year, Detroit's new-look rushing attack featured Rodney Peete taking the ball on a few bootlegs to get the Lions in scoring territory. However, in a more traditional fashion, Peete went to the air to attack the porous Bengals' back four and find Herman Moore once again for their second touchdown and Peete's third of the day.

Detroit leads 21-7

Lions' rookie cornerback and future XFL star for the Los Angeles Outlaws, Kevin Scott, intercepted Boomer's first pass of the drive to cut their comeback campaign a bit short. With a more comfortable lead, the Lions finally put Barry's feet on the turf with Peete's first pitch to the explosive back going for 25 yards. The formula was put back on the shelf, however, with Peete lacing it once more to another reciever, tight end Jimmie Johnson, for another 30+ passing touchdown.

Detroit leads 28-7

Time was running out on the Bengals who needed a big play to pull somewhat closer to Detroit, though with Esiason's arm in question they pulled off a trick play to power runner Derrick Fenner that was on its way to netting 30 yards before he fumbled it back over to Ray Crockett for the heart-stabbing turnover as the quarter expired.

Quarter Four
Even with Peete throwing for short gains, his receivers were still able to gather large amounts of ground, including a 10-yard pass to Perrima to start the quarter going for another 47. Sanders finally got his first score over the next two plays that saw him catching a short pass, along with a pitch, to show off his still-explosive speed for Detroit's first non-Peete involved touchdown of the day.

Detroit leads 35-7

Green's ground game was less than inspired over the next few plays of Cincinnati's possession, so Esiason opted to go to him through the air, successfully connecting with the former Trojan for the Bengals' second touchdown.

Detroit leads 35-14

Sanders picked up the fated onside kick and trampled his way to the Cincinnati 35-yard line, unable to burst past kicker Jim Breech. He was able to close off those remaining yards, however, with two runs to give him just his twelfth touchdown of the season, but his third on the day.

Detroit leads 42-14

With just 47 seconds remaining and the Bengals looking for something positive, they opted to show that they're still the best flea-flicking team in the league. The campaign took a few steps back, however, when Green tossed the ball back to a flattened Boomer and William White picked it up for Detroit to run out the clock on a rare Thanksgiving win.

Final Score: Lions 42, Bengals 14

The Lions laid a turducken-sized thumping on Cincinnati in a game the Bengals needed to win to keep up with the surging Houston and Pittsburgh teams in their division. Though it was just Detroit's third win of the season, it was a dominating one in their first time in the national spotlight this year. Rodney Peete's gunslinging still has him gunning for Comeback Player of the Year, and his growing corps of weapons can only be promising for the Lions future in spoiling other teams' quests for postseason play. This was perhaps the turning point in Cincinnati's once-promising season, exposing them as the turkeys they are. Rodney Peete and his four throwing touchdowns may have his hotel door getting a lot of knocks tonight, yet it was Barry Sanders' three scores and dominant second half that have him feasting on the spoils of a Turkey Day award in the early game.

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Game Two
Phoenix (1-9) at Dallas (6-4)

With Dallas heating up at the right time and the Cardinals playing perhaps their worst football since moving from Racine Street, we're only expecting another Thanksgiving Day stuffing with the high-powered Cowboys' offense trampling all over Phoenix. Of course, we'll still see the glimmers of hope with Chris Chandler throwing a similar 5-for-25 for 400 yards, though their one win during Monday Night may as well be the highlight of this rather dismal season that even we here at the Tecmo Bowl weren't jaded enough to predict.

Quarter One
The Cardinals moved backwards on their first drive, with a 7-yard sack being the only movement from the line of scrimmage. To add insult to even more insults being hurled at the league-worst Cardinals' defense, the usually complex-but-misguided Irvin reverse fooled Phoenix for a 58-yard gain. Daryl Johnston uncharacteristically ran in for Dallas' first score, only highlighting where this day was headed for the Cardinals.

Dallas leads 7-0

The Cowboys went up by two scores when Chandler found himself on the bottom of a Dallas dogpile, coughing the ball up to Charles Haley to run it in for a 40-yard score. The game was already a runaway with Troy and Emmitt not even showing up on the scoreboard yet.

Dallas leads 14-0

Phoenix's first positive amount of yardage comes just when the quarter headed towards its end, as Chandler crossed the midfield point with a 24-yard scamper. The next two plays, however, had a riled up Dallas defense coming down on Chandler with two straight blitzes to knock the Cardinals back to their own 32-yard line.

Quarter Two
With a change of scenery and Chris Chandler's arm fed a few more quarters, he lobbed up a desperation pass to Ricky Proehl near the Dallas 2-yard line. The jump ball was brought in by the soft hands of Clayton Holmes, however, who ran it back to the Dallas 11-yard line. Aikman completed what was surprisingly just his first pass of the game to Jay Novacek, though the usually dependable tight end out of Wyoming bobbled it over to safety Michael Zordich. With the Cardinals given a rare second chance, Chandler continued to build up an unfortunate rapport with cornerback Holmes as the rookie pulled in his second interception in as many passes from Chandler. Dallas' next drive burned Phoenix for their amateur play with Aikman picking apart the defense and unleashing Emmitt Smith for 40-something yards, capped off by a 14-yard reception to score a more traditional Dallas touchdown.

Dallas leads 21-0

Unable to find a way to break through the Cowboys' defense, Phoenix called a few trick plays, finally rewarded by a Ricky Proehl reverse that nets 50 yards. With time running under a minute until halftime, however, the Cardinals are forced to revert back to looking for the big play. Though Johnny Bailey found a hole for 22 yards to set up Phoenix for at least 3 points, Greg Davis and his balsa wood leg had the Cardinals banking off the left upright headed into halftime. However, with 15 seconds still left on the clock, Dallas proved that no amount of time is short enough for Emmitt Smith to run 78 yards to score.

Dallas leads 28-0

Halftime - Cowboys 28, Cardinals 0

Quarter Three
Kelvin Martin was taken out by the Cardinals on the opening kickoff. Though it doesn't limit the amount of attacks in Dallas' arsenal, it did prove their vulnerability and give Phoenix's defense some new wind to keep them from scoring on their first drive of the half. Unfortunately, they still had to run out their offense that, still suffering their personality disorder, went 3-and-out on the ensuing drive. The quarter ended as it began with Aikman cutting the Cardinals apart with a slow, methodical drive.

Quarter Four
After tacking on to his league-leading yards by getting his team to midfield, Emmitt Smith gave way to the capable arm of his quarterback as Aikman found Michael Irvin 40 yards away to get into threatening position once more. Opting to sit Smith on the next play, Aikman, perhaps to win a bet, ran a bootleg to score himself and put Dallas up by a very much insurmountable lead.

Dallas leads 35-0

After figuring out that Johnny Johnson wasn't actually on the injured reserves list, Chandler found his man at midfield and watched Johnson show off his legs to the Dallas 15-yard line. The two-headed Johnny attack returned, even if it was just for a short sweet, second, when Bailey ran up the middle untouched for Phoenix's obligatory score.

Dallas leads 35-7

The Cardinals surprised nobody with an onside kick, though Aikman did raise a few eyebrows in running it back to just outside the red zone. Johnston tried to get involved in a score once again, but the presence of a certain safety once again struck the fear of Zordich in Johnston, causing him to cough it up to the one bright spot in Phoenix's defense. Starting at their own 30 after the return, Chandler got his team down to the end zone with a 26-yard throw to Randal Hill, followed up by a pitch to Bailey in the face of a blitz that covered up the final 54 yards for Phoenix's second consecutive score.

Dallas leads 35-14

Smith picked up the onside kick this time, and followed it up with a 49-yard score to slide the icy knife into Phoenix's back and cement the Cowboys' dominant Thanksgiving win.

Dallas leads 42-14

After four touchdowns were scored in the last quarter alone, Bailey tried his best to make it a fifth with a long return that fell just short of a rare exciting touchdown for Phoenix.

Final Score: Cowboys 42, Cardinals 14

It was a game similar to its earlier match-up in score only, with the Cowboys hardly looking weak at all save for a few untimely turnovers. Though Emmitt Smith was once again the story for Dallas on offense, it was a tough defense that never let Chandler get going on one of his normally explosive attacks. Dallas was just .500 three weeks ago, but since then have won three in a row in what could conservatively be called dominating fashion to put the heat on Philadelphia and Washington in their division. Phoenix fell to a league-worst 10th loss, and now the only thing that can stop the bleeding in the southwest would be Freddie Joe Nunn strongbox-sized hemorrhage.

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With the headache of the holiday over, it's time to get back into the thick of the battle. There's some interesting match-ups today, setting up what's sure to be some hot races down the line. Week 12 generally represents the last gasp for a lot of teams, so let's do some cannonballs and see which teams will float to the surface, and which will sink while attached to the dead weight of Dave Krieg. Due to the heft of our Thanksgiving recaps, we'll present this week's games in abbreviated haiku form.

1:00 Games

Buffalo (5-5) * Atlanta (8-2)

Bills score late to win

Miller still wins the air game

Broussard is a bust

Final Score: Bills 28, Falcons 24

Kansas City (2-8) * Seattle (2-8)

Suck-fest in the West

Seattle has Krieg's number

Stan "Joe Cool" today

Final Score: Seahawks 20, Chiefs 14

Miami (6-3-1) * Houston (7-3)

Dolphins outlast Moon

Marino nearly perfect

Duncan one man show

Final Score: Dolphins 31, Oilers 24

San Diego (8-2) * Tampa Bay (4-6)

Chargers can't be beat

Vinny, more picks than catches

Bucs not in same league

Final Score: Chargers 17, Buccaneers 6

Minnesota (7-3) * Cleveland (5-5)

Vikings eke one out

Gannon strangely efficient

Browns losing ground fast

Final Score: Vikings 24, Browns 17

Green Bay (4-6) * Chicago (6-4)

Muster still the man

Bears win despite Harbaugh

Favre reeks of rookie

Final Score: Bears 24, Packers 10

Philadelphia (7-3) * New York Giants (3-7)

Walker fools New York

Eagles step out from Dallas

Hoss to change his name

Final Score: Eagles 35, Giants 14

4:00 Games

New Orleans (8-2) * Washington (6-4)

Hebert has off day

Heyward bails out with big game

Saints hang for ninth win

Final Score: Saints 17, Redskins 13

San Francisco (8-2) * Los Angeles Rams (4-6)

L.A. scores upset

Everett out-Youngs Steve Young

Rams still thorn in side

Final Score: Rams 34, 49ers 31

Pittsburgh (6-4) * Indianapolis (2-8)

Steelers remain hot

Foster over two hundred

Smells in Hoosier Dome

Final Score: Steelers 27, Colts 14

Los Angeles Raiders (5-5) * Denver (4-6)

Raiders take step back

Chargers send Denver champagne

Todd is no Elway

Final Score: Broncos 37, Raiders 14

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Tomorrow night will be bittersweet as we swing up to visit the New England Patriots in our last featured game of teams yet to be featured. From here, it'll be big games upon big games, suddenly meaning the possibility of my head no longer meeting my keyboard. But before we get ahead of ourselves, I'll have one more romantic weekend between my forehead and the space bar when Millen takes his team against the recently anemic New York Jets. The last time we saw Nagle and Co., they were mired in a tie in the biggest game of their season while Nagle floundered in the spotlight. He gets an immediate chance at redemption, and should come away with a few more supermodel phone numbers going up against a Patriots team that only have a defense because it's mandated by the league.One bright spot for New England includes their running back, Kevin Turner, who's recent one-man wrecking crew gimmick is peaking at just the right time for us to view this debacle.