For the third year in a row, the Dallas Cowboys will be home for the playoffs following a week 17 loss to a divisional rival in a de-facto division championship game. This time, we can’t blame Tony Romo, or any of the Cowboys’ quarterbacks for that matter. Kyle Orton gave Dallas a chance, but in […]

On the back of a gutty performance by quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the Green Bay Packers now find themselves in the playoffs as the NFC North champions, beating the Bears in Chicago with a touchdown in the closing minute of the game. For their efforts, the Packers will host the San Francisco 49ers in the opening […]

The first round of games Sunday provided some surprising results that saw the Dolphins and Ravens eliminated from postseason contention. The Pittsburgh Steelers, who needed four games to fall in their favor, are still alive pending the result of the Chargers’ matchup with the Chiefs in the late round of games. The Steelers were able […]

This Given Sunday will start rolling out award winners over the next few weeks. And although the 2013 regular season still has a week to go, we're ready to kick things off with the offensive and defensive rookies of the year.  Offensive Rookie of the Year  The Candidates   Eddie Lacy  Stats (heading into Week […]

After preserving the Cowboys’ playoff hopes with one of the most clutch late-game moments of the season against the Redskins, news hit that Tony Romo would be unable to continue due to a herniated disk in his back. In his place, Kyle Orton will step in as the Cowboys’ starting quarterback, and he couldn’t have […]

Only one of the last 10 Super Bowl winners was fresh. The Patriots, Steelers, Colts, Giants, Packers and Ravens had all won Lombardi Trophies before, with only the Saints losing their Super Bowl virginity in 2009. But this year, we could add a new franchise to the all-time Super Bowl register.  The Bengals have locked […]

On Thursday, Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy announced that quarterback Aaron Rodgers would be Green Bay's starting quarterback. Rodgers will be playing for the first time since being sidelined against the Chicago Bears in early November. Now, with Rodgers likely rusty moving into a winner-take-all showdown with the Bears, we have to wonder […]

Statistics in the NFL can be as misleading as they can be helpful. Obscure statistics like quarterback rating can give us a very broad picture of a player, but they don’t necessarily tell us much beyond the overall quality of a player. Other stats such as completion percentage or interceptions on defense can tell us […]

Week 17 in the NFL is almost here, and you might be entering the weekend with your own preferences regarding which games to focus on, and which to place on the backburner. Most of you have your favorites and fantasy players to track. But in case you're completely neutral or need help breaking ties with […]

For quite some time, there was a popular belief that Robert Mathis wasn't as good as his sack numbers indicated. Dwight Freeney was the true star on that Indianapolis Colts defensive line, they'd say, and Mathis was just living off of the lack of attention opposing pass protectors were affording him.  But now, with Freeney […]

Every year, there’s a number of players that see their own talent wasted on terrible rosters with little hope for the future. No two players have seen their great talent wasted more than receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Calvin Johnson. Those two receivers are likely the best players in the league at their position, but both […]

Another stupid week, but this time one game was significantly more stupid than all the rest. In fact, nearly half of this column focuses on the stupid Packers and stupider Steelers. The stupidest policy That would be the policy that allows coaches to challenge whether or not a team gained possession of a loose ball […]

It appears that the playoffs will be starting early with a pair of NFC elimination games. The NFC north features a matchup between two thoroughly inconsistent teams, the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears. After Green Bay’s loss to the Steelers during the early round of games on Sunday, the Bears had a golden […]

After losing to the Giants during the late round of Sunday games, the Detroit Lions have completed an improbable collapse that saw them move from 6-3 and in control of the NFC East to 7-8 and eliminated from postseason contention. The cliché of “who wants it more” was completely the opposite of Detroit’s latest effort […]