Week 9 is approaching fast and it looks like a good one. We have six team on a bye again (Buffalo, New York, Minnesota, Cleveland, St. Louis, Oakland) but next week is the last week of byes and only two teams have one next week.
The best matchups this week as divisional bouts: Philadelphia vs. Dallas, Baltimore vs. Cincinnati, and Houston vs. Indianapolis.
Here’s what you should watch for on Sunday:
1. Is Houston a Playoff Team?
Johnson and Schaub will need to be huge if the Texans want to spring the upset.
The perennial sleeper team, the Houston Texans, may have finally awoke this season. After a slow start the Texans have won three in a row and stand at 5-3 and are fighting for a playoff spot. The task this week though, is the undefeated Indianapolis Colts. The Colts have had the Texans number historically and if the Texans want to be considered one of the best they have to beat the best.
The season ending loss of Owen Daniels hurts the Texans but luckily the Colts secondary is severely hurting. They lost Bob Sanders and Marlin Jackson for the season this week in addition to Kelvin Hayden who will be sideline for at least another month. It will be interesting to see how Gary Kubiak shuffles his running backs this week. He comes from the mike Shanahan tree and has been Shanahan esq this week only saying he will play all three of his backs.
2. Baltimore looks for Revenge
In Week 5 the Ravens lost 17-14 to the Bengals at home on a late touchdown inside of two minutes. This week these two teams meet again this time Cincinnati in a huge AFC battle. The Bengals currently sit atop the division, a game ahead of the Ravens, and a loss for the Ravens this week would put them back to .500 and 3 games behind the Bengals because they would lose the tiebraker.
As big as last week’s game for the Ravens was this one is even bigger. Last time these foes faced off Cedric Benson broke the Ravens streak of not allowing a 100 yard rusher in 29 straight games and I’m sue that will be in the back of the minds of Ray Lewis and Co.
3. New England gets another shot at the Wildcat
It was Week 3 of the 2008 season in New England when the Wildcat was unleashed. The Dolphins ran for over 200 yards and Ronnie Brown ran for four scores and threw one in the air. On Sunday these team return to the scene when it all began.
The Patriots have had an extra week to prepare for the Dolphins but the ‘Phins are the one team that has given Tom Brady fits his entire career. Brady has throwin 13 interceptions against the Dolphins, the most he has against any team. The Dolphins may be only 3-4, but are 3-0 in the division.
4. Can Dallas Win on the Road?
Dallas has been getting a lot of media hype these past few weeks as they have enjoyed a nice 3 game winning streak. Too bad the teams they have beaten have been the Chiefs, Falcons, and Seahawks, whose combined record is 7-14, and the one decent team they’ve beaten, the Falcons, came at home.
This is a big statement game for both teams, but ever more so for the Cowboys. They need a signature win and have to amend their humiliating 44-6 loss in the finals week of the ‘08 season in Philly, with the playoffs on the line. Romo has been turnover free the last threee games but the Eagles secondary is a lot better than what he’s been facing.
5. Flashback to 2004 Draft: Eli vs. Rivers
The much talked 2004 NFL Draft centered around one player Eli Manning. Manning publicly said he didn’t want to play for the Chargers, but they selected him anyway. They ended up trading him to the Giants in a deal in which they Phillip Rivers among other players. Now five years later these two quarterbacks meet.
It’s fair to say this trade worked out great for both sides. The Giants of course, won a Super Bowl behind Manning while Rivers has put up great numbers for the Chargers and they also received Shawne Merriman and Nate Kaeding in the deal. This game has greater implications for both teams rather than the history. The Giants are on the verge of collapsing if they drop a fourth straight while the Chargers need a win to keep pace with the surprising Broncos. This game very well could coe down to which quarterback plays better and fewer mistakes.
6. Will Ryan Clark Play?
