Eagles 45 Giants 38

Your choice for 'Game of the Week' was the battle for the lead in the NFC East. This game was also 'Sunday Night Football', and what a game it turned out to be. The first quarter started with a bang as the Eagles jumped out to a 14 - 0 lead, thanks to an 8 yard TD from Brent Celek, and a fumble return of 60 yards from CB Sheldon Brown. The Giants ended the quarter with a huge 15 play drive, but eventually had to settle for a field goal. The 2nd quater began with Hakeem Nicks dropping a sure TD pass from Eli Manning, but a few plays later he broke away from a couple of Eagles defenders for a 68 yard TD. David Akers added a 20 yard FG, before DeSean Jackson had a 72 yard punt return for a TD. The Giants responded with an Ahmad Bradshaw 3 yard TD, then as the Eagles drove down to the 1 yard line, before Michael Vick went in from 1 yard. 30 - 17 Eagles at half time.

The 2nd half started with a Brandon Jacobs 2 yard run, before a 61 yard TD reception by Dominic Hixon. This gave the Giants a 31- 30 lead, as the Eagles had missed an extra point. The Eagles though came up with another big play, again from DeSean Jackson, who caught a 60 yard TD pass from McNabb. The Eagles ultimatley put the game out of reach when, at the end of a 12 play, 7 1/2 minute drive, FB Leonard Weaver went in from a yard out. The Giants did score another TD through TE Kevin Boss, but there was not enough time to complete the comeback.

As you can see this was a very high scoring, entertaining game. But does this show a weakness on each teams defences. If so, will these teams be able to cause any damage in the playoffs, (if they even get there). For the Eagles this is a massive step in the right direction as they now sit at the top of the NFC East, with a 9 - 4 record. They now have a 1 game lead over the Cowboys, and a 2 game lead on the Giants. A large thank you can be sent to WR DeSean Jackson for this win. He had 6 catches for 178 yards in the game and a TD, with a punt return TD also. He is proving hiself to be one of the most explosive players in the NFL, and he will be a handfull for any secondary come playoff time. The NFC East looks to be shaping up well for an exciting finish, keep watching people.

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Week 14 Predictions

My week 14 predictions are:

Saints, Ravens, Packers, Texans, Colts, Dolphins, Bills, Bengals, Patriots, Jets, Titans, Raiders, Chargers, Eagles to win.

Thursday Night Football

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cleveland Browns

‘Thursday night football’ this week comes live from the Dog pound as the 1 – 11 Browns host their divisional rival 6 – 6 Steelers. This game is absolutely vital for the Steelers playoff hopes. If they lose this, they can pretty much forget making the post season. The Browns have not been making the playoffs for a long time, so a prime time game, at home, against a divisional rival is as good as it gets for them. I’m sure that they will be relishing playing spoiler in this game. To be completely honest, I don’t think they have a chance.

A big talking point surrounding the Cleveland Browns is who will be the QB next year. Will it be Brady Quinn? Derek Anderson? Or will they use draft picks (which will obviously be high ones) to select somebody? I personally believe that Brady Quinn should be the future. The problem he has had this year is that he has a very poor surrounding cast, and the coaches are very conservative. I would like to see Quinn, with a decent receiver, and being allowed to air the ball out a bit. I think you would see a different player in this situation. Quinn may be able to throw the ball a bit easier than expected in this game as the Steelers are still without Polomalu. This, of course, makes this defence a lot less scary than normal. I think Quinn has an ok game, but as I said before, the supporting cast are not up to much. One interesting thing to look out for is kick returner on the Browns Josh Cribbs. He is one of the elite returners in the league, and may run riot against this poor Steelers coverage unit.

The Steelers will have Big Ben back at QB for this game. This obviously drastically improves the offence. Ironically, after criticising Big Bens toughness when he missed the Ravens game, WR Hines Ward looks to be out of this game. Wonder what Ben makes of this?? The loss of Ward would decrease the effectiveness of the Steelers passing game, but they should easily win this game on the ground. The Browns defence ranks 29th in rush defence. Also they have now lost nose tackle Shaun Rodgers, who was a beast in that defensive line. His loss undoubtedly increases the Steelers ability in the run game. Steelers RB Rashard Mendenhall is getting 5 yards/carry this year and have 5 TD’s. I expect him to have a big game here.

Lee’s Prediction: Steelers 24 Browns 7