Let the debate begin as to which team; Minnesota or New Orleans is the best team in the NFC. After watching both teams take apart yet another team right now I would call it a draw. On Sunday, Brett Favre added to his MVP stats by passing for almost 400 yards and three TD’s in Minnesota’s 36-10 win over Chicago. Not to be outdone, Drew Brees had a perfect game throwing for 350 yards and 5 TD’s in Monday night’s 38-17 win over New England. His passer rating was an off the charts 158.3. While these two teams have left the rest of the conference in the dust, there were some other teams with big wins last week. Green Bay help solidify a playoff spot with a Turkey Day roast of Detroit 34-12. Dallas provided the desert, improving to 8-3 with a 24-7 drubbing of Oakland. Philadelphia needed some fourth quarter heroics by Donovan McNabb in a 27-24 come from behind win over Washington that moved them to 7-4 on the year. The 6-5 Falcons saved their season with a dramatic come from behind win over Tampa. Trailing by four points late in the game, Atlanta QB Chris Redman, who was in for the injured Matt Ryan found Roddy White for a five yard TD reception with 26 seconds to play to pull out the 20-17 win.
Moving onto week thirteen in the NFC, the key match ups we will be reviewing are; Philadelphia @ Atlanta, Minnesota @ Arizona, and Dallas @ N.Y. Giants.
Philadelphia Eagles (-6) @ Atlanta Falcons Current Over/Under 44
Both teams are coming off a big wins that proved to be costly in terms of injuries to some key players. Atlanta’s QB Matt Ryan suffered a turf toe early in the game and it appears he will be out for this game. RB Michael Turner aggravated a previous ankle injury and left in the 3rd quarter. His status is still unknown for this Sunday. Philadelphia’s sensational big play receiver DeSean Jackson sustained a mild concussion against the Redskins and his status for Sunday is unknown. Despite missing some star power, this game is going to come down to which team executes their game plan the best. Neither team has looked all that consistent lately on either side of the ball as they have both struggled to not only score points, but keep opposing teams out of the end zone. This is the time of year where Philadelphia traditionally plays their best ball as they make a stretch run for the playoffs so I’m going with the Eagles and the OVER.
Minnesota Vikings (-2) @ Arizona Cardinals Current Over/Under 49
The Vikings have been unstoppable on offense this season as Brett Favre is having another MVP like year. The 40 year old QB has brought a sense of confidence to this team that will be hard to shake. Arizona’s defense will not be able to stop Minnesota or even slow them down, so it will be up to QB Kurt Warner and Co. to run with them as far as they can. If they can match the Vikings score for score through the first half and into the 4th quarter they will have a chance to win. If Minnesota gets up a couple of scores early this one is over. The Vikings have not played in a close game since they lost to the Steelers back in week seven so keeping this game close from the start is the Cardinals only hope. Warner, who missed last week with a concussion should be rested and ready to go. He will need to use every weapon he has to try and take advantage of Minnesota’s only weakness, their pass defense which is ranked 19th in the league. This small window of opportunity plays right into Arizona’s strength. The Cardinals and the OVER.
Dallas Cowboys (-1.5) @ New York Giants Current Over/Under 45.5
These are the kind of games you live for, a classic NFC East rivalry with major playoff implications on the line. Dallas currently leads the East at 8-3 by one game and has a two game lead on the 6-5 Giants. Back in week two these teams met with New York coming away with a 33-31 win in Big D. In that game Giant QB Eli Manning threw for 330 yards and 2 TD’s while the Cowboy’s Tony Romo threw for only 127 yards and 3 interceptions. Much has changed since then including the fortunes of each team’s QB. Manning has struggled with a lingering foot injury and only looks like a shell of the player that led his team to a 5-0 start. Romo has managed the past few games much better and as long as he is not counted on to win the game on his own, his team has flourished. While there are numerous stats that can make a case for either team, you need to throw them away in games like this. This game is New York’s season in a nutshell. A loss and they are not only out of the division race they could find themselves out of the playoffs all together. Head coach Tom Coughlin has a way of getting the most out of his team in crucial situations and this week will be no different. Go with the Giants and the UNDER.
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