The Baltimore Ravens were so very close tonight but as Tony Kornheiser said just before the Patriots scored the winning touchdown, there was a tragic inevitability about their loss.
No matter how well Willis McGahee ran, no matter how much Kyle Boller defied expectations and no matter how late into the blustery evening they led New England, the Ravens never quite put to rest the sneaking suspicion that they would find a way to have the whole thing blow up in their face.
There was Ed Reed's fumbled interception near the end of the first half and Boller's interception at the Patriot 1 that ended a drive that could have put the game away in the third. There were the 11 penalties and the timeout called from the sideline on fourth and one just before stopping the Patriots short of the first.
There was the Patriot false start on the ensuing snap which negated another stuffing and the holding by Jamaine Winborne on fourth down in the end zone to give the Pats another chance. There were the two unsportsmanlike calls on Bart Scott on the winning touchdown which allowed the Patriots to get a touchback rather than deal with Yamon Figurs, who had broken a couple of swell returns earlier in the proceedings.
And then, finally, the catch by Mark Clayton of a Hail Mary two yards short of the end zone.
Oh yeah, there was Tom Brady with the ball in his hands of a winnable game with less than two minutes to play and driving toward their end zone, too.
Tragic Inevitability could be the title of the NFL Films video of the Baltimore Ravens 2007 season. As for the Patriots video, Undefeated remains the clubhouse favorite.
With their season on the line, the Titans finally snapped a three-game losing streak. That should have been expected, as Albert Haynesworth was back in the lineup.
As has become obvious with every game he missed, Haynesworth is the cornerstone for this Titans defense. Without him, the defensive line is ordinary; with him they bring ferocious pressure. Without him, offensive linemen carve out mammoth holes. When he's around, running backs are lucky to grind out three-yard gains.
So now that Haynesworth is back, the Titans are once again pretty interesting. They knocked Matt Schaub out of the game for the second time in two meetings, but this time they didn't let Sage Rosenfels turn into Joe Montana in the fourth quarter.
Ever since his first battle against Ben Roethlisberger, Carson Palmer has been the AFC North quarterback Steelers fans fear. He has the receivers, the arm strength and the accuracy to give any defense problems. And he's given the Steelers plenty of problems.
Somehow that Carson Palmer was kidnapped and replaced by someone who looked a lot like Charlie Frye on Sunday night. Palmer missed on 27 of his 44 pass attempts. The Steelers defense has been very good this year, but this seemed to be more a function of Palmer missing high repeatedly. Sure it was wet, but after a little adjustment, the rain and the poor field conditions didn't seem to affect Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers. That same rain made the Bengals passing game melt. Not only did Palmer throw incompletion and incompletion, but he also failed to connect deep--his longest pass of the night was only 24 yards, and he averaged only 4.16 yards per attempt.
It's hard to say which is more surprising, the Vikings climbing back into the thick of the wild card race or the fact that Tarvaris Jackson is a big reason why.
The Lions found out on Sunday what the Giants learned last week--this Vikings team is a whole lot different from the one that struggled early in the season.
The only team to put up more than 40 points in each of the past two weeks isn't the New England Patriots, it's the renovated Minnesota Vikings. Who would have imagined that this Vikings team would become this scary? I can't believe I'm typing these words, but the Vikings all of a sudden are a team you don't want to face come playoff time, if they can make the playoffs.
You'll have to forgive me if I was a little bit surprised to see Gus Frerotte littering completions all over the field in a first half against the Falcons that included three touchdowns. This was the guy, after all, who couldn't transfer the ball about a yard from the center to the running back last week. But there he was today against the Falcons, all Steve Young and ish.
That lasted solely through the first half, however, as the real Frerotte showed up in the second. As Chris Redman was giving the Falcons new life operating under center, Frerotte was sucking the life from the Rams. He sandwiched two Redman touchdown drives with interceptions, allowing the Falcons to score 16 unanswered points.
Say what you will about Eli Manning but good or bad, win or lose, he's never boring.
He was as bad through the first three quarters of today's game with the Chicago Bears as he's ever been and you could almost read the back pages of tomorrow's New York tabloids. "Eli's Goin'" they'd say or "Oh Mann-ing, Not Again." But then he goes and leads a fourth quarter comeback on the road in crummy weather and keeps the Giants in the driver's seat of the Wild Card race with a 21-16 victory.
Manning's second pass was intercepted by Brian Urlacher, he just dropped a ball in the second quarter to set up a Bears field goal and got picked off in the end zone at the end of the third quarter prompting Giant fans to flood email, cell phones and telegraphs with messages of hatred for their quarterback. But then, when all hope appeared lost, Manning earned himself a reprieve and a rebirth. Like Marty McFly's family portrait at the Enchantment Under The Sea dance, those headlines were rewritten and those text messages turned from ire to disbelief.
He found Amani Toomer for a touchdown to cap an 11-play, 75 yard drive and then took the Giants 77 yards in nine plays for a Ruben Droughns touchdown and a win that all but ends the playoff hopes for the defending NFC Champions.
I'm not smart enough to be an NFL coach. For all of the criticisms, complaints, and second-guessing lobbied at these guys, I speak only for myself in saying it's a job they're much better than me at. Including Norv Turner.
But there have been a handful of moments in this bizarre Saints season where Sean Payton has made in-game decisions that even the greenest Madden player would recognize as immediately stupid. The newest one lost New Orleans an important divisional game and maybe a chance at the postseason.
Up by a field goal with about three minutes left. The Bucs have no timeouts. It's second down at midfield. All the Saints have to do is run it straight ahead and take the clock down, right? Even if the Bucs force a punt, it leaves them bad field position and little time. Instead, the Saints decided to play ticklesticks in the backfield and Reggie Bush botched a handoff to Devery Henderson on a reverse. TMQ probably wrote "game over" in his notebook, and he'd have been right. The Bucs drove, played for the win instead of overtime, and got a touchdown with 14 seconds left that finished New Orleans.
You could talk all day about the Arizona Cardinals rebounding after an improbable loss to the San Francisco 49ers last week, but it would be irrelevant. Despite what the paper and the box score will say tomorrow, the Cleveland Browns beat them this afternoon. According to everyone but the game officials, that is.
With .00 left on the clock, Derek Anderson hit Kellen Winslow Jr. in the endzone for what appeared to be the game winning touchdown. However, upon review further discussion, the referees came to the conclusion that Winslow came down out of bounds, not that he was pushed out of bounds.
It was the incorrect call, but in the end, it won't make any difference. They can complain to the league all they want, but the bottom line remains the same: The Browns fall to 7-5, while the Cardinals improve to 6-6.
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, this controversial win came at a cost. Despite the victory an impressive turn back the clock-like performance courtesy of Edgerrin James, things will taste sour due to an injury to Anquan Boldin.
LaDainian Tomlinson is kryptonite to Kansas City, and he proved that once again this afternoon. In a game that all but ended the Chiefs playoff hopes, LdT ran all over K.C. to the tune of 177 yards and two touchdowns. He also added 20 yards receiving for good measure, in a Chargers 24-10 victory. And those two touchdowns pushed Tomlinson past Walter Payton on the all-time list. Pretty heady company for a back who's having a Hall of Fame career.
But all is not well in San Diego's world. Philip Rivers regressed a bit after a promising game last week, completing only 47.6% of his passes for 157 yards, one touchdown and one interception. It was another textbook example of inconsistency and something Chargers fans are growing extremely impatient with.
For Kansas City, what is left to say? Injuries and struggles at quarterback continue to doom this team. After starting for Brodie Croyle (injury), Damon Huard played so poorly that he eventually got himself pulled in favor of Tyler Thigpen, who didn't do much better.
On the bright side, Tony Gonzalez had a huge day, while Kolby Smith continued to impress in the absence of Larry Johnson and Priest Holmes. Unfortunately, neither of them were able to carry their team to victory, or even make the game more competitive.
The Chargers improve to 7-5, while the Chiefs drop to 4-8.
Coming into this weekend, I really felt that the Miami Dolphins had a good shot to beat the Jets. Why not? Despite all the injuries and weather issues, they have been very competitive for the most part this season. The defense had played better and the offense ... well ... the defense has played better. The Jets suck as well, and Miami had to believe that this was their chance to win their first game of the season.
So, Miami runs out there and loses 40-13. How?
Well, let rookie QB John Beck toss three interceptions ... and fumble the ball away twice. Maybe rush the ball for a total of 37 yards while giving up 163 yards to New York. Maybe have the defense score more points than the offense? Or allow 40 points to a team that was averaging just 16 ppg heading into the weekend.
The Dolphins are the first team to go 0-12 since the 2001 Detroit Lions and only third team to do that in 27 years. Their remaining games are at Buffalo, home against Baltimore, at New England and home against Cincinnati.
As for the Jets, well, they should thank god that the Dolphins are in their division. Their 3-9 record includes two wins over Miami and their 221 total points this year include 71 against the Phins.
With their season on the line, the Titans finally snapped a three-game losing streak. That should have been expected, as Albert Haynesworth was back in the lineup.
Ever since his first battle against Ben Roethlisberger, Carson Palmer has been the AFC North quarterback Steelers fans fear. He has the receivers, the arm strength and the accuracy to give any defense problems. And he's given the Steelers plenty of problems.
It's hard to say which is more surprising, the Vikings climbing back into the thick of the wild card race or the fact that Tarvaris Jackson is a big reason why.
You'll have to forgive me if I was a little bit surprised to see 
I'm not smart enough to be an NFL coach. For all of the criticisms, complaints, and second-guessing lobbied at these guys, I speak only for myself in saying it's a job they're much better than me at. Including 
Coming into this weekend, I really felt that the Miami Dolphins had a good shot to beat the Jets. Why not? Despite all the injuries and weather issues, they have been very competitive for the most part this season. The defense had played better and the offense ... well ... the defense has played better. The Jets suck as well, and Miami had to believe that this was their chance to win their first game of the season.
