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AFC North
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||||||||||||
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Team
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W
|
L
|
T
|
PCT
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PF
|
PA
|
Home
|
Road
|
AFC
|
NFC
|
DIV
|
Streak
|
|
10
|
3
|
0
|
.769
|
276
|
170
|
5-1
|
5-2
|
7-2
|
3-1
|
3-1
|
Won 1
|
|
|
8
|
5
|
0
|
.615
|
317
|
250
|
4-3
|
4-2
|
6-3
|
2-2
|
4-1
|
Won 4
|
|
|
6
|
7
|
0
|
.462
|
286
|
264
|
5-2
|
1-5
|
4-6
|
2-1
|
2-2
|
Won 2
|
|
|
4
|
9
|
0
|
.308
|
208
|
293
|
2-5
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2-4
|
3-7
|
1-2
|
0-5
|
Lost 1
|
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Baltimore Ravens
The Kansas City Chiefs had won 18 straight home games in the month of December until Sunday when the Ravens defense refused to allow No. 19 (19 does belong to Baltimore, right?) as Baltimore won for the 6th time in its last 7 games 20-10. Perhaps the best tackle of the game and maybe even the most important one was the tackle made by K Matt Stover on Chiefs RS Dante’ Hall preventing Kansas City from seizing the momentum on the game’s very first play. Much criticism was directed at Brian Billick and his decision to give the players 5 days off after their loss to Cincinnati on Thursday, 11/30; however the team looked refreshed and rejuvenated. QB Steve McNair, who was 21 for 27 for 283 yards, agreed with Billick’s decision. "Coming off a rest like that, you’ve got to take advantage of it," said McNair, whose four-game streak without an interception is the longest of his career. "I wanted my arm to be fresh, and it was." DE Terrell Suggs became the Ravens’ career leader in forced fumbles (14) when he sacked and stripped QB Trent Green in the second quarter.
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals won their 4th straight game defeating the Oakland Raiders 27-10 at Paul Brown Stadium on Sunday. The win helped to push the Bengals to the forefront of the AFC Wild Card race. At the moment, Cincinnati is positioned for one of the two spots, with pivotal games coming up the next two weeks at Indianapolis and Denver. QB Carson Palmer had a good, but not great game going 20 for 28 passing for 297 yards and 2 TDs, but also threw 3 INTs. RB Rudi Johnson had 30 carries for 117 yards and 2 TDs. The defense had another record-setting performance — Cincinnati has given up only 17 points in the last three games, another first. They’ve come a long way from that 4-5 start that left them with no margin for error. Bengals CB Deltha O’Neal was inactive, a day after his arrest for drunken driving. Coach Marvin Lewis declined to talk about the benching. O’Neal is the eighth Bengals player arrested this year. DE Robert Geathers sacked Raiders QB Aaron Brooks twice, leaving him with 10.5 this season. He’s the first Bengal with a double-digit sack total since Alfred Williams in 1992. WR Chad Johnson topped Isaac Curtis’ career record for 100-yard games.
Cleveland Browns (4-9)
The Cleveland Browns were soundly defeated at Heinz Field on Thursday night 27-7. The Browns defense was horrendous allowing the Steelers to accumulate 528 total yards of offense, with 303 of those yards coming from the rushing game. Assured now of their fourth consecutive losing season; the Browns are 2-11 in December over the past three seasons. Cleveland never did find a way to slowdown a Steelers running game that only two weeks ago was limited to 21 yards in a 27-0 loss to Baltimore. "You can’t stop it and you can’t move it, you get beat," coach Romeo Crennel said. "They ran inside, ran outside, and we couldn’t tackle him." The “him†refers to RB Willie Parker. Cleveland appeared to be headed toward its second shutout loss in three weeks until QB Derek Anderson, making his first NFL start for the injured starting QB Charlie Frye, threw a 45-yard TD pass to WR Braylon Edwards with 5:20 remaining. Anderson couldn’t replicate his dramatic debut Dec. 3 when he threw two TD passes to lead a 31-28 overtime victory against Kansas City. Browns S Brian Russell sat out with an elbow injury. He had a staph infection in the same elbow earlier this season.
Pittsburgh Steelers (6-7)
The Pittsburgh Steelers seem to excel in cold weather as indicated by their 27-7 triumph over the now hapless Cleveland Browns. RB Willie Parker broke the Steelers’ single-game rushing record with 223 yards. Parker, the first player in Steelers history to have two 200-yard games in a season, broke John "Frenchy" Fuqua’s record of 218 yards against Philadelphia in 1970. The Steelers ran the ball so well, OT Marvel Smith said, the Browns’ defensive players were yelling at each other in the huddle. "There’s no better feeling than that, when they know you’re going to run it and they still can’t stop it," Smith said. "We rammed it down their throats." The Steelers withstood temperatures in the teens, a wind chill that was below zero in the 2nd half and an occasional snowflake to win their seventh in a row against their Rust Belt rival, following up a 41-0 rout in Cleveland last December and a 24-20 comeback victory last month in Cleveland. Pittsburgh is one of the NFL’s best clubs when the weather gets bad and the games usually are more important, going 21-6 past Dec. 1 since 2001. The announced crowd of 55,246 was about 10,000 below Heinz Field’s capacity, and there weren’t nearly that many fans around even by the 3rd quarter.
PREDICTIONS
Cleveland (4-9) at Baltimore (10-3)
Besides the extra time between games, it’s difficult to find any angle that would support selecting the Browns in this contest. With the Ravens in position to possibly clinch the division title and the possibility of finishing first or second in the conference standings; all signs point to a Ravens victory. The Browns have only won 2 December games in the past 3 years, but one of them was against Baltimore. Cleveland’s offense ranks 29th in the league and their defense looked totally listless and uninterested in their pounding by the Steelers. Baltimore continues to play well on offense and its defense looks dominating and rounding into playoff form having given up an average of only 8 points in the last 4 games.
Baltimore 30 Cleveland 7
Cincinnati (8-5) at Indianapolis (10-3)
Try to comprehend this statistic: 375 rushing yards on 42 attempts. That’s what the Colts defense allowed in its loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. These teams appear to be headed in opposite directions. Cincinnati has won 4 straight and the Colts have lost 3 of their last 4. Along with Jacksonville at Tennessee, this is the premier match-up in the AFC in Week 15 and it’s a Monday night affair. Interestingly, the Colts can clinch their division with a Jacksonville loss at Tennessee on Sunday. The Colts begin to start fixing their woes against the run, but it won’t be enough to hold off the Bengals, who quite frankly are playing better football right now than Indianapolis.
Cincinnati 32 Indianapolis 22
Pittsburgh (6-7) at Carolina (6-7)
The Steelers come off of last Thursday night’s drubbing of the Browns to face a Carolina Panthers team that has forgotten how to rush the football. Both teams have key players injured, but the Steelers have won 4 of their last 5 while the Panthers have lost 3 straight. Look for the Steelers to take advantage of Carolina’s weak rushing attack when they are on defense. Carolina still plays solid defense ranking 10th overall; the Steelers are 9th. While Carolina has had no luck playing against NFC East opponents, they have been very competitive against the AFC North with wins over the Ravens and Browns and a 3-point loss to the Bengals. The Steelers are 1-5 as a road team in 2006. Look for the Panthers to rebound at home and edge the Steelers this Sunday.
Carolina 20 Pittsburgh 16
ITH Record: Last Week 2-1
Season to date 23-19
