Week 14 Sunday Scores & Monday Predictions

By TLarner

These games become more meaningful as the playoffs near, especially with so much parity in the NFL this season. Check the scores from Sunday and read up on more Monday night action.

Game of the Week Results: KC 0, SD 31

Not exactly the outcome I was expecting from this game. After seeing San Diego lose to Oakland last week, I thought the upstart Chiefs would pose some kind of threat. The absence of Matt Cassel truly halted the Kansas City offense, and the Chargers’ continue to assemble a playoff résumé.

Philip Rivers again looked like an early MVP candidate. His 17-yard touchdown pass to Malcom Floyd was the beginning of the slaughter of the AFC West leading Chiefs. Running back Mike Tolbert followed up with a touchdown run in the second quarter. With less than a minute left in the half, Rivers found Floyd again for another touchdown to take a 21-0 lead. Kansas City quarterback Brodie Croyle made his first start since the beginning of the 2009 season, and struggled greatly to create any offense. Rookie Ryan Mathews scored the Chargers fourth touchdown on touchdown run late in the fourth quarter. Showing signs of his first round potential, Mathews was able to break a tackle and maintain his balance, then outran everyone else for a 15-yard score.

The box score clearly shows the struggles of Kansas City. Croyle completed seven of 17 passes for 40 yards. Running backs Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones combined for 13 carries for only 41 yards. Dwayne Bowe caught one pass for three yards. The Chiefs had five first downs and failed to convert on all 11 third downs. They managed a dismal 67 total yards. Croyle was sacked four times. The Chargers, on the other hand, had 25 first downs and converted 11 of 15 third down attempts. The offense racked up 426 total yards, including 207 yards on the ground. Despite losing the turnover battle, San Diego held the ball for over 40 minutes. Rivers threw for 226 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Tolbert ran for 66 yards while Mathews gained 65 yards, and each scored once. Floyd caught four passes for 51 yards with two touchdowns.

Remaining Scores from Sunday:

Cleveland 6, Buffalo 13

Atlanta 31, Carolina 10

Green Bay 3, Detroit 7

Oakland 31, Jacksonville 38

Cincinnati 7, Pittsburgh 23

Tampa Bay 17, Washington 16

St. Louis 13, New Orleans 31

Seattle 21, San Francisco 40

Denver 13, Arizona 43

New England 36, Chicago 7

Miami 10, New York Jets 6

Philadelphia 30, Dallas 27

Monday Night Football

New York Giants at Minnesota (In Detroit)

In case you missed it, the roof of the Metrodome collapsed under the weight of a heavy snowstorm that hit Minnesota over the weekend. In an effort to keep the game in a dome, the NFL has moved yesterday’s game to Detroit on Monday night. The question is whether or not Brett Favre will be able to play with another shoulder injury, and keep his 297 start streak intact.

New York (8-4) is second in the NFC East behind Philadelphia. Last week, they easily took care of Washington 31-7. The Giants offense, led by other Manning, Eli, is fourth in the league with 384.6 yards per game. This season, Manning has thrown for 2,982 yards with 23 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. Running back Ahmad Bradshaw broke the 1,000 yard barrier, and currently sits at 1,013 yards with seven touchdowns. Brandon Jacobs has added another 577 yards and seven touchdowns. Receiver Hakeem Nicks, who hasn’t played since Week 11, is expected to return. He has a team high 62 receptions for 800 yards and nine touchdowns catches. The Giants defense allows the second fewest yards per game with 290.8. Defensive end Justin Tuck has eight sacks and six forced fumbles, while Osi Umenyiora leads New York with nine sacks and eight forced fumbles. Corner Terrell Thomas has five interceptions.

Minnesota (5-7) is third in the NFC North. Favre has struggled again this season with injuries and turnovers. The Vikings average 18.9 points per game, 25th in the league. Favre leads the league with 18 interceptions. He has a 69.6 passer rating and 10 touchdown passes. He may not be able to play after reinjuring his shoulder against Buffalo. Tarvaris Jackson was able to provide a spark in that game. Adrian Peterson once again has put up great numbers. He has gained 1,23 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground. In his third game back from hip surgery, receiver Sidney Rice caught five passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns. Last year’s leading receiver has 181 yards and two touchdowns. Percy Harvin has caught 51 passes for 627 yards and four touchdowns. Defensive end Jared Allen, who started the season off slow, has now had a sack in five straight games. Minnesota is sixth in the league, giving up 302.2 yards per game.

Prediction

Whether or not Favre plays tonight, the New York Giants will win this game. They are good at stopping the run, and will forced both possible starting quarterbacks to make mistakes. If the Giants are able to get some players back on the field after nursing injuries, that will make them even better. If Favre is able to go, expect the defense to send the house and forced turnovers and QB hits. If not, Brett’s streak ends and the Giants will remain in the hunt for the NFC East.

Baltimore at Houston

The Baltimore Ravens ravel South to Texas to face the Houston Texans. Baltimore (8-4) sits second in the AFC North, behind the Steelers, who they lost to last week. The Texans (5-7) looked promising earlier this season but have had trouble finding a rhythm, and lost to Philadelphia last week.

The Ravens have a good offense with many weapons, although they have middle of the road stats. Joe Flacco takes the snaps and has thrown for 2,988 yards with 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions. Running back Ray Rice has gained 844 rushing yards and scored three touchdowns. He also has 49 receptions for 410 yards. Anquan Boldin leads the Baltimore receivers with 770 yards and a touchdown. The feared Ravens defense allows the third fewest points per game with 16.8. Ray Lewis continues to harass opposing offenses. He has 108 tackles with two sacks, two forced fumbles, and two interceptions. Ed Reed has a team high four interceptions.

The Texans’ offense has the ability and talent to be a high scoring team. Quarterback Matt Schaub has a 93.2 passer rating. He has thrown for 3,089 yards with 17 touchdowns and eight interceptions. The gem on this team is breakout star Arian Foster. He is having a career year. Going into this weekend, he lead the NFL with 1,230 rushing yards. Foster also has a NFL best 13 rushing touchdowns. He also has 50 receptions for 479 yards with two touchdown catches. Andre Johnson leads the Texans with 71 catches for 1,018 yards and five touchdowns. Houston’s defense has been a liability this season. They are second to last in the NFL by giving up 388.8 yards per game. They have only 19 sacks as a team, with eight and a half coming from Mario Williams. Rookie corner Kareem Jackson has two interceptions.

Prediction

The Texans have a beast at running back with Foster. He has emerged out of seemingly nowhere to become the best back of 2010. However, this isn’t the Colts defense, in which he ran for 231 yards and three touchdowns in Week 1, and 102 yards with one touchdown in Week 8. The Ravens know how to stop the run. Lewis, Reed, Haloti Ngata, Terrell Suggs will not let this guy run all over them. Houston has lost three of their last four games, and Schaub has an average passer rating of over 103 in with only one interception in those games. Baltimore will shutdown Houston.

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