Chicago 23, Jacksonville 10- The Chicago Bears did their part to stay in the NFC North race by knocking down the disappointing Jaguars, who are now 4-9 on the season after a trip to the playoffs last year. Robbie Gould drilled three field goals and Kyle Orton found his groove again going 20-of-34 for 219 yards, 2 TDs, and an interception to pace the Bears. Chicago cannot afford to slip up, however, from here on out. Thursday's game against the New Orleans Saints is a must-win for the Bears if they have any hopes of a. winnning the division and b. making the playoffs.
Next game: New Orleans (7-6) at Chicago (7-6)
Houston 24, Green Bay 21- Kris Brown's 40-yard field goal as time expired may have pushed the Packers right out of playoff contention. At 5-8, Green Bay is essentially out of both the North division race and playoff consideration. The Packers would have to win out and hope for some upsets along the way. Houston put up 549 yards of offense at Lambeau Field including 414 yards and 2 TDs passing from a healthy Matt Schaub. Steve Slaton also rushed for 120 yards to lead the Texans (6-7). Aaron Rodgers and Ryan Grant did what they could to rally against the Texans in the fourth quarter after trailing for most of the game, but it was Houston that would have the last laugh.
Next game: Green Bay (5-8) at Jacksonville (4-9)
What does it mean for Minnesota?- Chicago's win didn't help the Vikings out any, but fortunately Minnesota took care of business on their own end with a 20-16 win over the Detroit Lions. Green Bay is pretty much done and more than likely will be after this week regardless whether they win or lose. Minnesota can actually clinch the NFC North division title this Sunday, but it's gonna take a loss from the Bears on Thursday to do so.
A Chicago loss to the Saints coupled with a Vikings win over the surging Arizona Cardinals could clinch the division title for Minnesota and assure them of their first playoff berth since 2004. This scenario stems from the two teams' records in NFC play. Chicago can still tie Minnesota at 4-2 in the division with a win over Green Bay, but the tiebreaker will be the conference records and a Bears loss will make it impossible for the Bears to catch up.
Of course the only thing the Vikings should be worried about is going to Arizona and taking care of business against a tough Cardinal team led by a potential MVP candidate in Kurt Warner. Minnesota could also extract some revenge for what the Cardinals did to the Vikings in 2003 when the Cardinals robbed the Vikings of a playoff berth on the last play of the last game of the season.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I just need to give a little rant about the Packers. How disappointing. I wanted them to come out and have a break through season without Favre because Aaron Rodgers got so much crap from the country all season long. I think he had a pretty impressive season so far with all that was on his shoulders, I mean he was trying to come back and fill the shoes of the most known football player in America. But the rest of the offense sucked (Grant did pretty well) and the defense sucked even more. To be honest, I think the only other game I'm interested in watching the rest of the season is the Bears/Packers game. Everything else is just too depressing and I'm sick of watching them lose.
Post a Comment