Thanks to eight hapless teams with either one win or none, the remaining 23 teams in the NFL enter Week 6 with honest if not realistic visions of playoffs. There are 19 teams sitting at .500 or better and another four only a game under .500. It’s a good thing the league didn’t have to reduce its postseason field from 12 to eight teams after postponing Week 2.
But this is a pivotal week, with several matchups that will begin to separate pretenders from contenders. The Jacksonville Jaguars (2-3) started falling away Thursday night by losing their third straight game, this time to the previously winless Buffalo Bills.
If the Bears are in contention Jan. 6, they will be happy to welcome the Jaguars into Soldier Field for the rescheduled season finale. In Week 2, the Jaguars might have been a much more healthy and formidable opponent.
Key games: Bears (3-1) at Bengals (3-2). Both teams are off to surprise starts. If the Bengals can’t extend their home winning streak to six, they will begin to have second thoughts.
– Packers (4-1) at Vikings (2-3). The Vikings are 7-2 against Brett Favre’s Packers in the Metrodome, but these are different Vikings, struggling to hang on, and these are different Packers, still smarting from a loss to Tampa Bay and eager to validate last week’s win over Baltimore with two in a row. At 5-1, the Pack would be hard to catch in the NFC Central.
– Steelers (3-1) at Bucs (2-2). Surprisingly alone at the top of the AFC Central, the Steelers have the league’s No. 1 rushing team and No. 1 defense. The Bucs thought that was their job description.
– Broncos (3-2) at Chargers (3-2). After promising starts, the Broncos have lost two of their last three and the Chargers have lost their last two. What will this loser think?.
– Patriots (2-3) at Colts (2-2). The Colts were flying high and the Patriots were flying low until the Pats ripped the Colts 44-13 three weeks ago.
– Ravens (3-2) at Browns (3-2). Stung last week by Green Bay, the Ravens are likely to make the Browns pay. What if the Browns are similarly stung by their loss to the Bengals?
– Falcons (2-3) at Saints (3-1). After losing two at home to San Francisco and the Bears, the Falcons are already in a tailspin. The Saints want to stay within striking distance of the Rams.
– Eagles (2-2) at Giants (3-2). Game of the week and a relief to bored Monday night fans. The Eagles have lost nine in a row to the Giants, including three last year. Has anything changed in the NFC East?
Moss watch: Green Bay is an important game for Vikings receiver Randy Moss, who is nursing a sore ankle. Off to the slowest five-game start of his career with 21 catches for 321 yards and one touchdown, Moss dropped three passes against the Lions last week and rested the ankle much of the week.
“We’re trying to get him to play and play with it more effectively,” coach Dennis Green said.
Moss has averaged 125.5 receiving yards a game against Green Bay in his career, the best per-game receiving mark by a player against an opponent since 1970 (minimum five career games).
Giant thoughts: Most “experts” picked the Eagles to unseat the Giants in the NFC East because of one flimsy reason: the law of averages.
After nine straight New York wins, Giants running back Tiki Barber sounds as if he agrees: “If you flip a coin 10 times, eventually it’s going to land on heads once. We just hope it’s not this time.”
Although the Giants are defending NFC champions, cornerback Jason Sehorn sounded as if last week’s 15-14 loss to the St. Louis Rams were a moral victory: “We showed ourselves something–that we can play. I hope we play them again. That means we’re in the playoffs. We know we can play them. Whether the outcome is different or not, we know now the fear factor is gone.”
Fear factor? “Yeah,” Sehorn acknowledged. “You’re looking at a team putting up 35 points. Our team matches up with them and we can play them.”
In the previous two seasons, the Giants had given up 69 points and 809 yards to the Rams. Last year they lost 38-24 even though Kurt Warner and Marshall Faulk didn’t play.
Football town: Even during the Rams’ 1999 Super Bowl run, St. Louis remained a baseball town. But last week’s Rams-Giants game drew a 33 rating and 62 share on Fox in the St. Louis market.
The Cardinals’ playoff game against Arizona that night on the same channel drew a 32 rating and a 44 share.
Engram update: The Seahawks wanted to sign Jerry Rice before the season and ended up with ex-Bear Bobby Engram, who has revitalized a young receiving corps.
His one-handed grab on third-and 2 kept alive an important drive against Denver last week, and his leaping grab of an onside kick made sure the Broncos didn’t rally. Engram also subbed for injured punt returner Charlie Rogers, returning three punts for 50 yards.
Fabulous Favre: The Ravens’ defense leads the league in fewest number of 20-yard plays against it with 11. The Packers had four against it last week.
Peyton paying: Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning leads the league with nine interceptions.
“I’m not going to be any less aggressive,” Manning said. “I’ll throw five [interceptions] next week if I have to. I’m going to try to keep scoring points. You have to keep throwing the ball.
“We make a lot of throws in this offense that other teams don’t attempt because of the risk. We’ve been very successful in a lot of those. I don’t think we can afford to change our offense or change our aggressiveness. We just need to be a little sharper and execute.”
Only four of the interceptions appear to be Manning’s fault. Last week tight end Marcus Pollard stopped on his route, leading to an interception that was returned for a touchdown, the fourth time that has happened to the Colts this season. Against New England the first time, Colts receivers bobbled two passes that turned into interceptions, one returned for a score.
“It’s one of those things that only quarterbacks understand,” Manning said. “I watched the Chiefs-Broncos last week. Trent Green throws four interceptions and he’s getting blasted. I wasn’t in their meetings, but I have a feeling some of those receivers weren’t doing the right things and there were some missed assignments. There’s certainly a story behind every one.
“I’ll take all the blame, but we’ve certainly had some things that could have been prevented. We’ve had some tipped balls, some missed assignments and we’ve had some bad decisions on my part.
“It’s been a mix.”
Hey, beer man: The amazing story of Saints kick returner Michael Lewis, the former beer-truck driver who didn’t play high school or college football, may not have a happy ending.
Lewis fumbled twice against Carolina last week, giving him six muffs or fumbles in four games.
“Ridiculous,” coach Jim Haslett said. “And that doesn’t include any number of bobbles and a couple of bad decisions. If we’re sitting here today at 2-2, it’s kind of a no-brainer what you would do. But being 3-1, maybe we’ll be a little lenient.”
Lewis has only one season of work in NFL Europe and two NFL training camps. “A lot of people come up to me and say, `You’ve got to catch the ball,'” Lewis said. “And I just look at them and say, `Can you do it?'”
