The season will be halfway over when the Cowboys-Eagles game ends Monday night. While it’s hardly been the greatest NFL season in memory, there have been some highlights:
– Denver and Terrell Davis. The Broncos are the only team without a loss this year. Their toughest remaining games figure to be a Monday night game Nov. 16 at Kansas City, a Sunday home game Nov. 22 against Oakland that could feature a Denver letdown, and a Dec. 21 Monday nighter at Miami–remember the Dolphins tripping up the 1985 Bears?
Davis has gained 1,150 yards, almost 200 yards ahead of the pace of Eric Dickerson’s record of 2,105 set in 1984 for the then-Los Angeles Rams. But the Broncos will likely rest him in the final week or two, assuming they have clinched playoff home field.
– Return of the AFC. No fewer than eight AFC teams have winning records. The Broncos’ Super Bowl victory not only ended a 14-year drought in the big game, it seems to have rubbed off on the whole conference. The AFC is 19-9 this year, led by 3-0 marks from Denver, Oakland and Seattle. The Vikings, the NFC’s best so far, haven’t played any non-conference games yet.
– Atlanta? Yes, Atlanta. The Falcons are 6-2, and 12-4 since the midpoint of last season. But the Falcons’ fortunes are tied to the health of Chris Chandler. Atlanta is 1-7 in the last two years when the often-injured QB can’t play. His backup is 44-year-old Steve DeBerg.
NO ESCAPE FOR REDSKINS
Even Washington’s first victory of the season was dogged by some controversy.
Troubled receiver Michael Westbrook was benched before Sunday’s game against the New York Giants for missing a practice.
Westbrook also was fined for what coach Norv Turner called the receiver’s “unexcused absence” from Saturday’s team meetings and walk-through practice.
Westbrook was unhappy with Turner’s decision, telling the Washington Post that he “was on the floor vomiting” Saturday morning and couldn’t reach anyone at Redskin Park. When he finally did, Westbrook said he was told to turn around and go home.
“I’m trying to change people’s perceptions of me,” he said. “I really want to play. I’m ticked off. . . . I really want to play.”
Westbrook had not given an interview since he beat up teammate Stephen Davis on the sideline during a practice in 1997, for which he was fined $50,000.
INJURY REPORT
The Giants lost All-Pro defensive end Michael Strahan to a strained lower back and back spasms in the first quarter against Washington. In the same game, Redskins running back Terry Allen aggravated a strained calf in the first half.
Other key injuries: Steelers CB Carnell Lake (ankle), 49ers CB Marquez Pope (back), Packers WR Bill Schroeder (sprained ankle), Jaguars WR Keenan McCardell (sprained shoulder), Falcons PR Todd Kinchen (concussion), Rams LB Lorenzo Styles (separated shoulder), Rams DE Grant Wistrom (hamstring), Bengals WR James Hundon (broken ribs), Bengals LB James Francis (knee).
WELCOME HOME
Former Panthers quarterback Kerry Collins stood on the sideline Sunday in a baseball cap with arms folded in the Saints’ 31-17 loss at Charlotte’s Ericsson Stadium, where he led the Panthers to the NFC title game not too long ago.
Collins, the first draft pick of the expansion Panthers in 1995, was claimed off waivers by New Orleans on Oct. 14 after coach Dom Capers said the quarterback told him his heart was no longer in the game.
After the game, Saints coach Mike Ditka wasn’t in much of a mood to talk about Collins. When asked if it crossed his mind to use Collins against the Panthers, the coach said: “I don’t have a mind.”
WOULDA, COULDA, SHOULDA
Lions receiver Johnnie Morton, after Detroit lost 17-15 to the Cardinals to fall to 2-6: “Even if we had beat this team by 20 points, I would have expected the papers to say we didn’t beat them bad enough; I wouldn’t expect any praise for beating this team. We should have crushed ’em.”
