NFL Week 17--Whither Farvre? (Updated)

Whether it was balance in the league or a fluke in scheduling, this year weeks 16 an 17 in the NFL have had meaningful games between playoff contenders. It made for a great day of football watching.

My main preference coming into the game in the NFC was for the Eagles to get in the playoffs. For this to happen they needed some help. First, they needed my RAIDERS to win at Tampa Bay. This wasn't as onerous as it sounded as the Bucs were riding a 3 game losing streak. But still, this was the RAIDERS. Amazingly, and behind some great running by Michael Bush, they won. Next, the Eagles needed either Chicago or Minnesota to lose. The Vikings won a nail-biter against the Giants (whose playoff positioning would not be affected by today's games), but the Bears got beat by Houston. This meant that Philly would still have to beat Dallas at home in what was essentially a playoff game.

It was a laugher. I cannot count the number of ways that the the Cowboys sucked and it was beautiful to watch. I called my relatives in the Philly area and they were jubulant.

In the AFC, my only concern was the cheating Patriots to miss out on the playoffs. For this to happen they either needed to lose to the Bills or have the Jets beat Miami, or have Baltimore lose. The New England beat Buffalo in a gale, so it was up to the 'Fins to beat the J-E-T-S.

This game was filled with intrigue. First, it was the Jets who turned in the cheating Patriots, so it was ironic that the Pats were in a position to root for them to win. Also, the Miami quaterback, Chad Pennington, was given the unceremonious boot when the Jets signed Brett Favre. Pennington has completely outplayed Favre this year, especially during the last month and now had the chance to stick it to New York in their own stadium.

Favre may have taken the Jets about as far they could go this year (rember, they were 8-3 with the first win over the Titans). But, like in last year's NFC championship game, he KILLED his team with his play today (20 of 40 for 233 and 3 interceptions). OK, since the Ravens won it didn't matter what the Jets did, but that's not the point. The Jets tossed aside a perfectly good QB in Pennington and a 3rd round draft pick for Favre and now have basically nothing to show for it, except a whole lot of jersey sales. And they get to go through Favre's annual "Will he or won't he retire" dance. Nice.

But, at least the cheating Patriots got shut out of the playoffs. Karma's been good to them in 2008. Blew their perfect season in the Super Bowl to the Giants, lost Tom Brady for the year in week 1, and missed the playoffs because they team that caught them cheating couldn't win. It doesn't get any better.

The Chargers and Broncos are playing right now for the last spot. I've got in on DVR and will watch it later. I haven't decided who to root for. I just wish I would have invested my good luck in games while in Vegas.

[In an update, the Bolts HAMMERED the Donks, giving Denver the honor of one of the greatest collapses in NFL history. Also, the Jets' head coach is the first casualty of the Favre trade. I'm sure there is more to come.]