NFL Week 8
Week 8 of the 2009-2010 NFL season featured a very special first in the annals of football. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers became the first team in history to lose in their bye week. The Bucs started the weekend in a three way tie for last place and came out all alone in dead last.
Without setting foot on the field, the Bucs were passed by both the St. Louis Rams and the Tennessee Titans. The Rams beat the now 1-6 Detroit Lions, which really isn’t much to crow about, but it does spare them the indignity of a possible 0-fer the season. Ditto the Titans, who vanquished the mighty Jaguars to avoid the possibility of a winless season.
In games that people actually watched, fans of the Philadelphia Eagles collectively let out a sigh of relief as the Eagles pummeled the New York Giants into the fake turf of Lincoln Financial Field in a lopsided drubbing. The Giants’ 40-17 loss to their hated division rivals begs a question. Are the Eagles getting much better than the team that was embarrassed by a 13-9 loss in Oakland two weeks ago, or are the Giants getting much worse than they looked in their 5-0 start?
The Broncos tasted their first defeat, and it was bitter. The Baltimore Ravens pulled away in the second half and gave the Denver team a thorough roughing up. I just hope Broncos owners aren’t superstitious. I’d hate for this to spur a return to their throwback uniforms, in which the Broncos were unbeaten.
Brett Favre – what can you say about this guy that hasn’t been said, restated, paraphrased, copied, over-stated, and analyzed in his career? I think the folks in Wisconsin may have to invent a few new swear words to express their feelings for the man after he led the Vikings to their second victory this year over the Packers.
The AFC East is shaping up into a fun race to watch. All those who assumed that they may as well just hand over the divisional title to the Patriots this year should stay tuned. Both the Dolphins and the Jets are showing mid-season signs of life, and the upcoming schedule is not kind for New England with divisional games against the Dolphins (twice) and the Jets wrapped around visits to Indianapolis and New Orleans in the next five weeks.
Things are just getting interesting in the NFL. Next Sunday is just around the corner…
