Well, the playoffs are around the corner:
"I could tell it was very special for him," said Saints quarterback Drew Brees, who was 26-of-38 for 384 yards. "He didn't put a lot of added pressure on us this week. He just went on with his business. But I could see in the gleam in his eye at the end of the game. ... I could tell it meant a lot." Saints whipped Dallas 42-17 in a game that was scoreless in the 4th quarter. I agreed with the playcalls that Sean Payton did but I think the onside kick was kind of corny. I think he did it to say "We gon MURDA yall!" but it was his old mentor he did it to. I didn't think it was right, especially if you're up by as big a margin as they were. On the other hand, I thought to kneel on the ball with a full 3 minutes to go was classy. Good move, Payton.
"I swear we are trying," Oakland QB Aaron Brooks said. "It's a lot of mishaps." Brooks' touchdown pass broke a streak of eight straight games without a fourth-quarter score, but they still lost to Cinncinatti, 27-10. The Bengals (8-5) looked at alot of tape of the Raiders (2-11), who have a pretty good defense and an offense that can't protect the quarterback or keep time of possession. 27-10
"However you dice it up and look at it, it's a positive — we won the game," Philly defensive end Darren Howard said after the Eagles hung on to beat Washington 21-19. The Eagles once led 21-3. "But if you keep having performances like that, sometimes you're going to get yourself in a bind and you're not going to be able to pull out a game. Those are the things we have to fix," Howard said.
"I haven't seen anything like that since I watched NFL Films," Jaguars defensive end Paul Spicer said of Jacksonville's thumping of the Indianapolis Colts, 44-17. What made it worse was that Indy (10-3) practiced all week on tackling, trying to correct the league's worst run defense. Still, the Jaguars (8-5) amassed 375 yards rushing — tied for the second-most in the NFL since the 1970 merger and the most since Cincinnati gained 407 yards against Denver in October 2000.
"If Cincy had lost, you might see a lot more celebration," defensive tackle Trevor Pryce said after Baltimore's 20-10 victory over Kansas City on Sunday. "We're looking at our division first." The Ravens (10-3) lead the Cincinnati Bengals by 2 games with 3 to play. Baltimore is the first visiting team to win at Arrowhead Stadium in December since Indianapolis beat the Chiefs 24-19 on Dec. 15, 1996.
"He is a king and he should be treated like one," San Diego left guard Kris Dielman said after hoisting LaDamlian Tomlinson onto his shoulders and carrying him toward the sideline, with Tomlinson holding the ball and waving. "That is what a king gets," Dielman said after the Chargers' 48-20 win over the Denver Broncos and the AFC West title. LT heard chants of "L.T.! L.T.!" and "MVP! MVP!" after Tomlinson's record 29th touchdown of the season on Sunday.
"If we win our next 3, I believe we'll definitely be in," Minnesota safety Darren Sharper said after the Vikings (6-7), losers of 5 of their last 6 games, beat the Lions 30-20 to stay in the playoff hunt. The Lions (2-11), meanwhile, have lost 5 straight.
"It was a great ending, just being from Houston," Titans quarterback Vince Young said after his 39-yard dash in overtime on Sunday lifted the Tennessee Titans to a 26-20 victory over the Texans, the team that passed over him in the draft. "And then being in front of my family and the fans who respect me as a person as well. It doesn't get any better than that," Young said. The rookie phenom weaved through the Houston Texans defense for the winning touchdown, ripped off his helmet and started screaming and dancing in front of his hometown fans.
"You play a young quarterback and it's very simple," Seattle defensive end Bryce Fisher said. "If you knock him down, he'll find a way to lose. If you don't knock him down, he'll look like he's on the way to the Pro Bowl." That's what happened as the Seattle Seahawks, runaway leaders in the NFC West, lost to the Cardinals 27-21 on Sunday, giving Arizona 3 victories in 4 games after an eight-game losing streak. The Cardinals' lone loss in the last month was a close one at Minnesota.
"I don't think any confidence is lost at all,"We just played bad and they played very, very well, they're a talented team. ... If you're going to have this type of game, this is the best time to have it.""Terrell Owens said after the Cowboys lost to the Saints, 42-17. Owens caught a fluke touchdown when it went through the hands of a Saints DB Fred Thomas and landed in Owens' hands at the 10 yard line.
"I didn't even know who the guys were," Plaxico Burress said on abusing and beating two Carolina Panthers defenders (one of which was on Tampa Bay's practice squad last month) on a 45-yard pass and a 28-yard TD that made it 10-0 in the second quarter. " I told one of the coaches I think we could jump some of the shorter routes and go up top a couple of times," Burress said. The Giants got the Panthers 27-10.
"It wasn't a championship game, it wasn't a playoff game, but I've grown to appreciate these more and more," 37-year-old Brett Favre said after a 30-19 win over the 49ers. "There may have been times in my career when I took these games for granted, but these wins are much harder to come by now. I don't want to sound crazy, but this one means as much as any of them, just because of circumstances." Favre tossed two long touchdown passes on his way to a 293-yard game that helped snap a three-game losing streak for the Packers (5-8).
"I've never seen him like that," Miami defensive end Kevin Carter said of Patriot QB Tom Brady, who was seen screaming at teammates as he trotted off the field as the game wore on, and again after he reached the bench. "He's always very composed and confident in the pocket. We got in his face a little bit. To see him frustrated like that meant good things for us," Carter said. The Patriots were blanked by the Dolphins, 21-0.
"It's one of those things that we practice every day. ... Get into the guy's area, you give him a head fake. They're going to miss you every time. You've got to break down, give him the tippy toes, then go on in," Justin Griffith said.The 232-pound Atlanta fullback Justin Griffith said after rumbling 21 yards for his first career rushing touchdown. He finished with a team-high 52 yards on 12 attempts as the Falcons kept their playoff hopes alive with a 17-6 win over Tampa Bay.
"It's not very often, in an NFL game, you see a player sitting on the bench eating a sandwich," Buffalo Bils coach Dick Jauron said of his out-of-gas running back Willis McGahee. "We had to get some food in him. He came back and obviously played really well." McGahee, who playfully told Jets linebacker Jonathan Vilma during the week that he couldn't be stopped, had 125 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries — despite missing the second quarter with an upset stomach. He has gained 100 or more yards in each of his last five games against New York. The Bills pimp-slapped the Jets 31-13.
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