As the halfway point of the NFL season has passed, playoff races have begun, and numerous teams have faded from the spotlight like Mark Hammill after the third Star Wars film. It is clear now that Michael Vick is no Lando Calrissian, and will not swoop in at the last moment and save the Eagles’ playoff chances due to his nagging hamstring injury. Han Solo and Princes Lea, or you may know them as Tony Romo and Dez Bryant , had their honeymoon interrupted Sunday by a last-second touchdown in Detroit. While I might have saved Admiral Akbar for Tom Coughlin’s analogy, Mike Shanahan’s struggle-face is much closer to the half-sea creature half-Starfleet commander than Coughlin’s usual puzzled yet furious facial expression. Nevertheless, Shanahan and the Redskins are reeling after a fourth quarter melt-down in Denver. In a Division that looks less threatening than an Ewok eating porridge, all four franchises still have somewhat of a shot at contention. Washington and the Giants find themselves just two games out of first, with Philadelphia a game behind the division-leading Cowboys who stand at 4-4. Just half of the season is left to play and only time will tell if the Big Blue Empire can strike back, or if the return of Dallas’ resident Jedi DeMarco Murray and Demarcus Ware , can give the Cowboys a New Hope.
Denver Broncos(7-1) 45 vs. Washington Redskins(2-5) 21
Things started off well for the most controversially named team in professional sports, who took a lead over the Broncos into the third quarter after back to back turnovers by Peyton Manning. But, the Manning face came out, and so did Peyton’s superhuman tendencies. Now with 2,919 yards passing, the most through half of a season in NFL history, Manning and the Broncos are on the verge of something special in 2013, but I digress. After coughing up a 21-7 lead, Washington floundered down the stretch, specifically Robert Griffin III. The sophomore quarterback struggled late in this contest, and ended up with a mediocre stat line of just 132 yards passing on 30 attempts with just 15 completions, one touchdown, and two interceptions. Though Griffin III left with an aggravated knee injury, his exit was more likely due to the team’s poor play down the stretch than actual injury. Washington went from 14 points up on the NFL’s best team, to an embarrassing 45-21 loss in what seemed like an instant. If not for their residency in the NFC East, Washington’s trek for a repeat division title would be over before it even started.
It was not all doom and gloom for Washington, as the team’s rushing attack seems to be back in business. Alfred Morris carried the rock at 5.5 yards per clip, well enough for 93 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. The last silver-lining for a team that has lost its way is rookie tight end Jordan Reed who once again found his way into receiving relevancy with eight receptions for 90 yards on 14 targets. Kiss Fred Davis goodbye Washington, Reed is here to stay. For a team allowing the second most points per game at 32.7, that places 28th and 30th in passing yards and rushing yards allowed, there is little hope for a defensive resurgence. Should Griffin III have an epiphany tomorrow and regain his form from his rookie season, there would still be little hope for the worst defensive unit in football. Washington’s game plan is about as effective as the Empire placing a direct chute from space to the nuclear reactor of the Death Star; ineffective and most likely explosive.
Detroit Lions(5-3) 31 vs. Dallas Cowboys(4-4) 30
The colossal heartbreak in Dallas after this loss must rival only the elation in Detroit. Down 10 points in the fourth quarter, Matthew Stafford rallied his team and pulled off the win with just 12 seconds left in regulation. After Calvin Johnson was stopped at the 1-yard line, Stafford called for a spike ball but noticed a lack of attention on the Dallas defense. The former Georgia quarterback called his own number, leapt over his line and into the end zone for a Detroit Lions victory, and a devastating loss for the Cowboys. As good as Stafford’s day was, Johnson’s was better. Tallying 329 yards on 14 receptions and one touchdown, Johnson set the second highest receiving yard total in NFL history, behind only the 336 yards Flipper Anderson acquired for the St. Louis Rams against the Saints in 1989. Historical performances aside, the Lions proved they have the grit and determination required of a contender in the NFL, and Johnson asserted his dominance over the talkative Bryant.
Much like the Redskins’ first half on Sunday, things were going well at first for the team from the lone-star state. Many had incorrectly supposed that Brandon Carr would be able to cover Johnson alone, even using Carr’s performances against DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon as evidence. Not only was this claim unfounded, idiotic, and completely irrelevant due to Dallas’ use of the Tampa-2 defense which frequently employs a cover-2 zone, it was just plain false as Johnson turned Dallas’ secondary into a burning tire fire reminiscent of the Rebel base on the planet Hoth from The Empire Strikes Back. Usually a more than capable linebacker in coverage, Bruce Carter was burned badly all day by Megatron, while Carr appeared frozen in Carbonite. Dallas’ defense had little answer for the high-powered vertical offense employed by Detroit, and lost in a horrific manor in a shootout in the motor city.
New York Giants(2-6) 15 vs. Philadelphia Eagles(3-5) 7
This one was not pretty. For the rubber match between two NFC East rivals many expected an aerial display rivaling those of the greatest show on turf in the early 2000’s. Unfortunately for fans of seamless passing displays and offenses running rampant, this slugfest is not for the faint of heart. Five field goals and a touchdown scored off an errant long-snap were the only points scored in this forgettable battle in South Philadelphia, and both teams left with more questions than answers. The Eagles offense looked as sluggish as Jabba the Hut on his pleasure barge without a healthy Vick, and rookie Matt Barkley did little to encourage Philadelphia that his is their quarterback of the future. While the Eagles are still a top-5 offense averaging 397.2 yards per game, they have failed to capitalize on good field-position, and rank just 19th in scoring offense with 22 points per game. If the Eagles cannot regain their form from their hot start offensively, it will be another long season in the city of brotherly love. For now, the Eagles are just a scrawny bunch of Nerf-herders struggling to stay afloat in one of the NFL’s worst divisions.
I almost can’t believe I’m saying this but, the New York Giants are just two games out of first place. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here however, as New York has beaten two of the NFL’s worst teams due to problems at quarterback. Minnesota started Josh Freeman in his first appearance in purple against the Giants, while the Eagles started an injured Vick who was replaced by the lost-in-translation Barkley. Giants’ defensive coordinator Perry Fewell employed the obvious scheme for situations like the two the Giants were most recently presented with. Facing teams with superior run-games and lackluster passing attacks, Fewell stacked the box with eight defenders, and dared the two inferior passers to beat his team under pressure. Fortunately for Fewell’s career as a Giant and the team itself, his simplification worked, and the Giants are back in playoff contention. While New York is a far cry from a contender, the play of linebacker Jon Beason has energized a struggling defensive unit, that has allowed just 14 points in two weeks after surrendering 209 points during New York’s 0-6 start to the season. While the road to the playoffs seems less likely than a horde of Ewok’s taking down the Imperial army, New York continues to battle as many wrote them off. If there is one thing we know about a Tom Coughlin coached-team, is that it’s not over until Eli Manning throws an interception, something he has not done in either of the team’s two victories.