2012 NFL SEASON: WEEK 7

The Cowboys find new ways to lose games.

Dallas lost despite rushing for 227 yards, the most the Ravens have ever given up. The Cowboys trailed by eight and were able to lead a touchdown scoring drive, but missed the two-point conversion. So, it looked like the Cowboys were going to lose the game… onside kicks rarely work when they are expected.

But, Dallas attempted and recovered the onside kick. Hey, maybe it will be like Buffalo 5 years ago.

But, alas, no. The Cowboys dicked away the final 26 seconds and failed to get kicker Dan Bailey closer. His 51-yard field goal sailed wide left and the Ravens held on for the 31-29 victory.

Man, what is it about field goals in Baltimore this season?

For the Ravens, the victory might have been bittersweet. They lost all-Pro linebacker Ray Lewis to a torn right triceps muscle for the rest of the season. It might end his career; it might now. I hope that he recovers from his injury so that he can give the NFL just one more season.

Anyways…. The Cowboys. Too many penalties (13 penalties for 82 yards), especially at the wrong time. The penalties caused drives that could have been touchdowns result in field goals. That is another issue: too many field goals.

Speaking of the penalties, that final drive was 18 plays for 80 yards. Factor in the penalties for making up the lost yardage, it was 110 yards.

Special teams gave up the longest kickoff return for a TD in NFL history. What is it about this team and special teams?

This was a game Dallas could have won. Again, the Cowboys rushed for 227 yards against the BALTIMORE FREAKIN’ RAVENS!!! AND THEY STILL LOST!!!

2-3, and their next two games are road games against the NFC South in Carolina and Atlanta. Not feeling too confident about these games.

Other games in Week 6. The Titans upset the Steelers with a late field Rob Bironas goal after Steelers’ kicker Shaun Suisham 54-yard try fell short of the goal post with 49 seconds left.

The Falcons stayed unbeaten after a close call against the Raiders. The Eagles… again another close game, easily be 5-1; also could be 0-6. After this overtime loss to the Lions, the Eagles are 3-3. The Lions might have saved their season with that win.

Speaking of the Lions, the Browns got their first win of the season. The 2008 Detroit Lions can rest assured that no one will challenge their 0-16 record. Maybe they’ll celebrate with a bottle of cheap whiskey…

The Dolphins beat the Rams. This was a tough game to call. Both teams aren’t expected to do much this season, but they aren’t as bad as people think they are.

No surprises here: Tampa beat up on a really awful Chiefs team (how they scored 10 points confuses me…) and the Jets curbed the Tebow for QB chants for another week with a 35-9 beating of the Colts.

The Bills went into Arizona and upset the Cardinals. Since starting 4-0, Arizona has lost their last two games. In the other AFC East-NFC West matchup, the Seahawks upset the Patriots. Every team in the AFC East is now tied with a 3-3 record.

The much anticipated rematch of last season’s NFC Championship Game turned out be a dud, as the Giants defeated the 49ers 26-3. San Francisco came into the game having beaten the other New York based teams (Jets and Bills) by a combined score of 79-3.

Robert Griffin III…

After suffering a concussion last week, Griffin threw for 182 yards and a touchdown pass. He also had 182 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns. The Redskins won 38-26 over the Vikings.

Sunday Night saw the Texans in their first home NBC Sunday Night Game. How did they do? Well, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers remembered that he was the reigning NFL MVP. His stat line: 24-37, 338 yards, 6 TDs, 0 interceptions, 54 ESPN fantasy points. Receiver Jordy Nelson was his prime target catching 9 passes for 121 yards and 3 touchdowns which produced 33 ESPN fantasy points.

Yeah, I play fantasy football. What?!

The Texans… were very un-Texan like the entire game. The Packers opened up a 14-0 lead and their lead was never threatened as Green Bay moved to 3-3 with a 42-24 win to drop Houston out of the unbeaten ranks.

Monday night was a tale of two halves: the first half belonged to San Diego as the Chargers jumped out to a 24-0 lead; the second half belonged to the Broncos as they scored the game’s final 35 points.

For the second consecutive season an NFL team has overcome a 24-point halftime deficit in a regular season game. Last season the Lions trailed 27-3 at the half to defeat the Cowboys 34-30.

Oh, FYI, the largest halftime deficit a team came back from to win a game: 1980, San Francisco trailed New Orleans by 28 as quarterback Joe Montana threw for two touchdowns and ran one in to win 38-35 in overtime. It was during the Saints 1980 “Aints” season and even though the 49ers didn’t make the playoffs that season, the next season they were Super Bowl Champions.

The quarterback of that 1980 Saints team: Archie Manning, Peyton’s dad.

Everything is connected.

As for my picks… ugh for both Ms. Roberts and I. Yeah, I cut the deficit down to three games, but I don’t want to do it like that. I went 6-8; she went 4-10. We both know we’re better than this.

Hope for a better week.

WEEK 6:            6-8

TOTAL:         48-43

BREAKDOWN OF RECORD

	MONICA	NOON	3PM	NIGHT	HOME	AWAY	TV	≤ 8 PTS	OT
WK 6	4-10	4-3	1-3	1-2	4-3	2-5	3-3	2-5	0-2
TOTAL	51-40	28-19	11-14	9-10	31-18	17-25	20-16	21-30	3-4

Now the undefeated team pool is down to one: Atlanta. I predict that the Falcons will remain undefeated for one more week… they have a bye this week. After their matchup, the Broncos and Chargers have the week off. So does Miami, the Eagles, and the Chiefs. Miami is not as bad as people are predicting. The Eagles need to do a better job in close games. The Chiefs… are a mess. The week off should spare Kansas City from seeing the disaster that is Chiefs football.

Week 7 starts off with an NFC West showdown between the 49ers and Seahawks in San Francisco.

Sunday’s games have the Cowboys playing against a below average Panthers team. The Texans and Ravens face off in a matchup between AFC powers. I think this could be a preview to this season’s AFC Championship Game. Tennessee is in Buffalo. The Browns look to win their second game of the season against a Colts team that had a worse trip to New York than Homer Simpson did in The Simpsons’ episode “The City of New York vs. Homer Simpson.”

Arizona at Minnesota: this has gut check written all over it. We learn which team is the real deal. Arizona has lost two in a row since starting 4-0 while the Vikings are coming off a loss to the Redskins.

An NFC East matchup between the Giants and Redskins take place in New York. The Packers are in St. Louis to take on a not-so bad Rams team. New Orleans is in Tampa for their first game after the bye week.

There are only TWO afternoon games in part due to the number of teams on the bye week and Fox covering the National League Championship Series. The St. Louis Cardinals lead the best-of-seven series over the San Francisco Giants 2-1 and an if necessary Game 6 would air on Sunday afternoon after football.

The two Sunday afternoon games are Jacksonville traveling to Oakland’s famous Black Hole and the Patriots hosting the Jets. The New York at New England game is probably going to generate more interest than Jacksonville at Oakland game… just call it a hunch. Both the Jets and Patriots are part of a four-way 3-3 tie in the AFC East. One team will still be 3-3 at the end of Sunday (the Dolphins are on a bye week). Though, what will the rest of the division look like?

Sunday night is an AFC North showdown as the Steelers travel down the Ohio River to Cincinnati and face the Bengals.

Monday night is the third and final Presidential debate between President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. It is at Lynn University in Boca Raton, FL and the topic will be on foreign policy features the Detroit Lions taking on the Chicago Bears. I’m sensing some political undertones with this matchup.

The picks for Week 7 are below.

Kickoff Times are Central Time
Picks Indicated in BOLD
Sunday Day Games for the Dallas-Fort Worth Area are indicated with (DFW)

NFL 2012 Week 7 TV Distribution Map

BYE WEEK

Atlanta Falcons

Denver Broncos

Kansas City Chiefs

Miami Dolphins

Philadelphia Eagles

San Diego Chargers

THURSDAY NIGHT (10/18)

Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers, 7:20 PM NFL

SUNDAY (10/21) CBS DOUBLEHEADER

NOON FOX

Dallas Cowboys at Carolina Panthers (DFW)

Arizona Cardinals at Minnesota Vikings

Washington Redskins at New York Giants

Green Bay Packers at St. Louis Rams

New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

NOON CBS

Baltimore Ravens at Houston Texans (DFW)

Tennessee Titans at Buffalo Bills

Cleveland Browns at Indianapolis Colts

3PM CBS

New York Jets at New England Patriots (DFW)

Jacksonville Jaguars at Oakland Raiders

SUNDAY NIGHT

Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers, NBC 7:20 PM

MONDAY NIGHT (10/22)

Detroit Lions at Chicago Bears, 7:30 PM ESPN