NFC race has many contenders
Michael David Smith
Updated 10 hours ago
No one is calling it the Game of the Century, but when the Dallas Cowboys head to the Meadowlands on Sunday to take on the New York Giants, it will be more than just any old Game of the Week.
Cowboys-Giants will go a long way toward determining how the playoff race in the NFC shapes up — and it's shaping up to be a much more interesting race than the one in the AFC, where everyone just assumes it'll be a Colts-Patriots rematch in New England to determine who goes to the Super Bowl. We examine the entrants in the NFC playoff race below.
The favorite
Dallas Cowboys
Through the first half of the season, the Cowboys have been by far the best team in the NFC. They already have sole possession of first place in the NFC East, plus a head-to-head win over their nearest rival, the Giants. That means that if they complete the season sweep of the Giants on Sunday, they can start to focus on wrapping up home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. If they lose to the Giants, however, things get awfully interesting. A Giants win would put the teams in a tie for the East lead and give new life to several NFC contenders.
Player to watch down the stretch: Outside linebacker Greg Ellis missed the first three games of the season but has 5.5 sacks in the last five. His ability to rush the passer will be a big part of a Super Bowl-quality Dallas defense.
The contenders
Green Bay Packers
The Packers should win their next two, at home against the Vikings and Panthers. After that they play consecutive Thursday road games, at Detroit and Dallas, and those two games will tell us a lot about whether Brett Favre is getting back to the Super Bowl. Win both and they've supplanted the Cowboys as the NFC favorites. Win one and they're near the top of the pack. Lose both and they'll look like just another wild-card team.
Player to watch down the stretch: Ryan Grant became the Packers' third different starting running back last Sunday against the Chiefs. He suffered a concussion in that game, but if he stays healthy for the next couple of months and runs effectively, Favre won't have to win every game with his arm.
New York Giants
No team has more to gain — or more to lose — on Sunday than the Giants. They can make an emphatic statement that they have a real chance to get to the Super Bowl if they beat the Cowboys, but they could be headed toward yet another second-half collapse if they suffer an ugly loss. When the Giants lost to the Cowboys in the opener, Tony Romo took advantage of gaping holes in the secondary and found Jason Witten, Terrell Owens and Patrick Crayton open all night. This time the key for the Giants is their pass rush, which has improved since that Week 1 loss. The Giants can't afford to give Romo the time he needs to find those gaping holes.
Player to watch down the stretch: Guard Chris Snee is a dominant run blocker on an excellent offensive line, a unit that has allowed its running game to be effective whether it's Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward or Reuben Droughns running the ball.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers It can get a little aggravating watching Tampa Bay's offense because they do everything so cautiously. Jeff Garcia has the highest completion percentage of his career, but he hardly ever pulls the trigger on anything deep. Still, you can't argue with the results, and the results are that this is by far the best offense Jon Gruden has had in Tampa. With a half-game lead over the Panthers and Saints in the NFC South and head-to-head wins over each team, it looks like the playoffs are coming to Tampa in January.
Player to watch down the stretch: Middle linebacker Barrett Ruud is a full-time starter for the first time in his three-year career, and he's thriving. Coming out of Nebraska in 2005 the knock on Ruud was that he wasn't fast enough, but on the field he looks like the prototypical speedy Tampa 2 middle linebacker, flying all over the place and making plays everywhere.
Seattle Seahawks
It's hard to know whether to call these guys contenders or not. They're really not that good, but the rest of their division is so bad, and the rest of their schedule is so easy, that they're almost assured of winning the division. Once that happens, they'll be the kind of experienced veteran team that no one wants to bet against in January. The special teams, especially the outstanding returns of Nate Burleson, make the offense look better than it is.
Player to watch down the stretch: At age 34, wide receiver Bobby Engram is on pace for his first 1,000-yard receiving season. Engram was never extremely fast in the first place, and he's lost some speed over the years, but he's a smart player, understands his role in Mike Holmgren's offense, and has a good rapport with Matt Hasselbeck.
The up-and-comers
Washington Redskins
Jason Campbell looks like a better young quarterback than Alex Smith, the guy who went 24 spots ahead of him in the 2005 draft. And if Sean Taylor and LaRon Landry aren't the best pair of safeties in the league, they will be soon. Unfortunately for the Redskins, their schedule is rough down the stretch, and they're in by far the toughest division in the NFC. That means they're more likely to miss the postseason than make it.
Player to watch down the stretch: Wide receiver Santana Moss has been injured and ineffective. Whether he can turn into a big-play threat again could determine the Redskins' fate.
Detroit Lions
It still seems strange to talk about the Lions as a playoff team, but maybe it's time we start doing so. With two games coming up against the Packers, as well as dates with the Giants and Cowboys, they'll have every opportunity to prove themselves as contenders — or to demonstrate that they're the same old Lions.
Player to watch down the stretch: Roy Williams, Mike Furrey and Shaun McDonald all get the ball more, but rookie Calvin Johnson is already Detroit's best wide receiver. Offensive coordinator Mike Martz wants to bring Johnson along slowly, but by December he should be the focal point of the passing game.
New Orleans Saints
Given up for dead after an 0-4 start, they now look like a real threat in the NFC South. It's still a big hole the Saints dug for themselves, but they've got three very winnable games coming up and could easily be 7-4 when they host Tampa Bay in Week 13.
Player to watch down the stretch: Wide receiver David Patten looked washed-up in Washington the last two years, but playing for the Saints has rejuvenated him. He already has more catches for more yards than he had the last two seasons with the Redskins combined.
The has-beens
Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles aren't a bad team, they're just a disappointing team. They looked like they had a real shot at the Super Bowl before the season, but that isn't going to happen. Donovan McNabb is right when he says he's not to blame — the defense and special teams are bigger problems than the offense — but the funny thing about blame is that attempts to deflect it usually end up amplifying it.
Player to watch down the stretch: What everyone wants to know is whether rookie quarterback Kevin Kolb will get any playing time once the Eagles are out of it. The rookie will get a shot and McNabb won't be back in 2008.
Carolina Panthers
With Jake Delhomme at quarterback these guys would have a real shot in the NFC South, but with Vinny Testaverde or David Carr, this looks like a 6-10 club.
Player to watch down the stretch: Rookie linebacker Jon Beason is one of the few reasons for optimism. With Dan Morgan on injured reserve, Beason will start the rest of the season at middle linebacker, and he'll make the Panthers worth watching even if they are 6-10.
Chicago Bears
You'd never know from watching the Bears that they have mostly the same personnel now that they had in the Super Bowl nine months ago. In recent years, it's become common for the losing team in the Super Bowl to decline the next year, but the Bears are such a bad team that it's hard to find any explanation.
Player to watch down the stretch: Linebacker Lance Briggs, who signed a one-year contract before the season that will guarantee him unrestricted free agency in March of 2008, is ensuring with his play that he'll make a fortune in the off-season. Briggs is playing in 2007 as well as he played in 2006 — something hardly anyone else on the team can say.
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NFC race has many contenders
NFC race has many contenders
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