subject: Nfl Tickets - Winners And Losers Of Week 13 [print this page] The most crucial part of the regular season is well underway, and several NFL teams are fighting to stay alive as playoff teams start falling into place. The New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts have both secured their spots in the playoffs this year as they soar to 12-0 records after Week 13, but their respective wins aren't everything that Week 13 held for teams around the league. Here are the biggest winners and losers following Week 13.
New England Patriots, Losers: The fourth-and-1 run didn't work for the Patriots against the Colts in Week 10, and it didn't work again in Week 13 against the Dolphins. This time it wasn't as crucial as the Indy game, but New England's one-point loss to Miami could have been turned around from the fourth-and-1 call from Belichick late in the second quarter, when Sammy Morris was stopped for no gain at Miami's 6-yard line. Speaking of short yardage, the Patriots need to work on improving their short-yardage situations on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball. It's putting a damper on Tom Brady's comeback season, and when Brady's not happy, nobody's happy (except for maybe the Colts).
Pittsburgh Steelers, Losers: Are the Oakland Raiders that good, or are the Pittsburgh Steelers just that bad? The Steelers have been the portrait of instability for the better part of this season, and their Week 13 defeat to the Raiders has pushed them further down the power rankings as the end of the regular season ensues. The Steelers are now 6-6 on the season, still sitting behind the Cincinnati Bengals as they try to vie for a wild card spot in the playoffs. Will it happen this year for the Steelers? It's all up in the air right now, but this certainly doesn't look like the Pittsburgh team that won the Super Bowl last year. The Steelers have never needed Troy Polamalu like they do now, and their season might just depend on his return to the football field.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Losers: If quarterbacks No. 1 and 2 can't do the job, what about No. 3? The revolving doors game of quarterbacks isn't working out so well for Tampa, and their Week 13 loss to the Carolina Panthers proved it. Tampa Bay made Carolina's defense look good during the Panthers-Bucs game during Week 13, with QB Josh Freeman getting intercepted five times during the day (that's even more than Jake Delhomme's average!). Now at the bottom of the NFC South with a 1-11 record, the Bucs might have just reached rock bottom. Or were they already there?
Washington Redskins, Winners: The Redskins lost a hard-fought battle against the New Orleans Saints when they ran out of steam at the end of the fourth quarter and into overtime, but QB Jason Campbell did a magnificent job at the helm, going 30 for 42 passing with 367 yards and three touchdowns, also giving the Saints a huge scare as the 'Skins proved they're no blow-off team. Washington's 3-9 record doesn't reflect how good this team really is, and while their top-rated pass defense took a hit from Drew Brees and Co., their offense stepped up big time in Week 13.
Arizona Cardinals, Winners: The Cardinals put the brakes on the Minnesota Vikings in Week 13, bringing Brett Favre back down to earth. Favre, notorious in another life for throwing interceptions, had only thrown three this season before the game against the Vikings, but he came away from the game being picked off twice, also sacked three times against Arizona. The Cards proved their worth on both sides of the ball, and the play of the game went to Anquan Boldin, who picked off a pass and broke two tackles on his way to a 39-yard touchdown play. Arizona soundly thumped the Vikes 30-17, reinforcing their claim as the first place seed in the NFC West with an 8-4 record. Watch out, folks: the Cardinals are back.
Indianapolis Colts, Winners: Horse fans with NFL tickets have almost gotten so used to seeing the Colts come from behind with miraculous fourth-quarter fervor they surely didn't know what to expect when Indy was up on the Tennessee Titans so much by halftime during the battle of the AFC South in Week 13. With Vince Young leading the Titans to a 5-0 improvement over the team's 0-6 start with Kerry Collins, the Titans were supposed to give the Colts a run for their money. Instead, Peyton Manning and his blue-and-white crew played their ever-consistent role and now sit at an unwavering 12-0, clinching a playoff spot with ease and looking toward the Super Bowl in the meantime.
