Top Three Shocking Things About Week 10


gracias a Pro Football Talk

Yeah, there's still the chance something shocking will happen out of the Carolina-Tampa Bay MNF matchup (more shocking than the lopsided nature of good games for Al Michaels and John Madden's Sunday Night Football versus zzzz games for MNF?) but we'll push on nonetheless with those games that have happened up to now.



Jets over Patriots in New England - This is immensely exciting (or is that shocking) for Jets fans not only because it puts the kabosh on Bill Belichick's haughty disdain for Jets coach Eric Mangini who has gotten more out of this team than humanly possible, but also because it ends an amazing 57 game streak wherein the Patriots hadn't lost consecutive games. Aaaaand, if you're counting, it ends the Jets' 7 game losing streak against the Patriots and puts them within a game of the division lead. Not only that, this was such a brilliant game because of the mud and rain. Never would have expected such a performance out of the 30th ranked defence in the NFL but the The Sack of Tom Brady deserves a photo:

2. Chargers Strike Back - It wasn't all that hard to imagine at halftime, down 28-7, was it? After all, as the announcers pointed out whilst the teams exited the field at the half, the Chargers are the highest scoring team in the NFL. Still, this one one of the most exciting games of the season in a season of exciting games.



Granted, it tied the biggest comeback in franchise history. Total net yards, Bengals 545, Chargers 430. Total points Chargers 49 Bengals 41. Quite a massive display of offence and passing. But here's what was funniest. Philip Rivers, the Chargers' first year starting QB had the wit to note: "We didn't panic," Rivers said. "We didn't point fingers like some teams around the league do." - and of course, the finger pointing Bengals lost another, this one the most demoralising of the season and will send them to the rubbish bin for 2006. My only complaint was that the game was not played on turf.

And let's not forget LaDainian Tomlinson rushed for four touchdowns and became the first player in NFL history to score 15 touchdowns in a five-game span. Jim Brown, Tomlinson's idol, had 14 over five games in 1958. Are the Chargers for real? Well, a defence that surrenders 41 points to the Bengals might make you wonder.


3. Bears Regain Domination - Again, probably not the most shocking event of Sunday but the margin of victory and the fact that this not only strengthens the Bears for the NFC title run but simultaneously hammered down the Giants hopes with injury after injury leaving this a badly wounded team who aren't likely to get up off the mat fully for the rest of the season.

- (Brandon Jacobs brings us one step closer to humping the football after scoring a touchdown. Let's see - T.O. has already slept with it and BJ is now pregnant with it...what is this, the PG version? Who will be man enough to go and hump the football already?)

And within this surprising margin of victory, especially considering the Giants looked early to be able to dominate, the 108 yard return by Devin Hester of a failed field goal which tied the NFL record set by another Bear nearly a year ago (13th November 2005 by Nathan Vasher) - what are the chances of that?

Perhaps the most shocking thing about this game was Al Michaels' sudden rant about blogging and how "blagging or blogging, however you call it" produces such disdain for Michaels because "one week the Bears are great, the next minute they stink now what, they're going to be great again?" - yeah, dickhead, it's only the bloggers who can't make up their minds about the Bears. What about the city of Chicago, douchebag? What about the Bears themselves? For the record, the Bears are officially back to favourites although the Eagles will beat them should they face each other in the playoffs. In fact, that's my dream NFC Championship game, Philly @ Chicago. I seem to vaguely the Fog Bowl back in 1988.

Random Notes

1. Pro Bowl Injuries - Orlando Pace, Tony Gonzalez, Clinton Portis and Troy Polamalu, all of whom have played in the Pro Bowl, were sidelined in a Week 10 that was filled with injuries. Pace had the worst and will miss the rest of the season. Of course, the Rams, Chiefs and Redskins were all bound to disappoint anyway so these injuries are likely only another excuse in seasons which will not result in playoffs. The Steelers, with two games remaining against the Ravens following this week's must-win victory over the Saints, still have a fighting chance and Troy and his unspecified head injury would be a big loss.

2. The Chiefs and Falcons, both with their own history of post-midway choking, predictably lost in upsets, the Chiefs to the suddenly resurgent Dolphins and the Falcons to the Browns.

3. After their near-debacle against the Bills, it is now four home games in a row that the Colts have been either tied or trailing at intermission.

4. After the Chicago Bears' halloween hideous coloured uniforms a few weeks ago, the Cardinals' red on red number ranks as one of the ugliest combinations of the season.