1. While the Steelers sure looked like favorites to repeat as AFC champions while throttling the Patriots last Sunday, there are serious question marks whether Pittsburgh will be healthy enough to still be on top at season’s end. Ben Roethlisberger is as tough as they come, but he already has been sacked 25 times in eight games and is on pace to match the career high of 50 sacks he endured two weeks ago. Roethlisberger might endure even more punishment in the second half of the season because the Steelers have practically become a run-and-shoot team, if the number of times they used four- and five-receiver sets against New England are any indication. And injuries already are starting to decimate their defense, with linebacker LaMarr Woodley (hamstring) likely to miss Sunday’s rematch with the Ravens and join Aaron Smith, James Harrison, James Farrior, Casey Hampton and Chris Hoke on the list of Pittsburgh defenders that are either out for the season or have missed significant amounts of time. Keeping his resurgent team rolling is likely to be a difficult task for coach Mike Tomlin.
2. Kurt Warner remains the patron saint of overlooked quarterbacks who suddenly had the light suddenly come on late in their careers, and it’s obvious from the six-year, $59 million extension (including $24 million guaranteed) the Bills handed Ryan Fitzpatrick last week that they think he can be their version of Warner. Scouts I’ve talked with about the Harvard grad have their doubts, however, saying it’s perhaps unwise to jump to too many conclusions based on less than half a season. The numbers bear out that caution and skepticism, because Fitzpatrick’s line this season – a 67.7 completion percentage, nearly 250 passing yards per game and a 2-to-1 ratio in TDs to interceptions – is the definition of an outlier. A journeyman who bounced from the Rams to the Bengals before ending up in Buffalo, Fitzpatrick had never completed better than 59 percent of his passes or averaged more than 230 yards per game until this season, and his TD-to-interception ratio was nearly even. So even though it’s hard to blame them, considering the string of awful quarterbacks they’ve endured in a lost decade, the Bills are still taking a big chance giving Fitzpatrick big money. They could see how much as soon as this weekend, considering Fitzpatrick is a career 1-3 against the Jets while completing just 47 percent of his passes (51 of 108) with three TDs and two interceptions.
3. Bill Belichick’s decision to trade Richard Seymour in his prime is still hotly debated in New England, but that move looks downright brilliant in hindsight compared to the Chiefs dealing defensive end Jared Allen to the Vikings four years ago after a 15.5-sack season. Kansas City thought Allen was simply making a contract run and headed for a fall, but that kind of thinking explains why Carl Peterson isn’t running the Chiefs anymore. Not only has Allen failed to miss a game since coming to Minnesota, but he also hasn’t recorded fewer than 11 sacks in a full season. And this year could see Allen challenge Michael Strahan’s single-season sack record (22.5), considering Allen already has 12.5 sacks and is on pace for 25.
4. It defies logic that no team has seen fit to give highly respected Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer a head-coaching job. An excellent tactician and fiery personality who’s loved by his players (sound familiar, Jets fans?), Zimmer is as much of a reason – if not more so -- as rookie Andy Dalton for Cincinnati’s incredible turnaround this season that included the Bengals’ first unbeaten October since 1975. Zimmer’s no-name defense is fourth in the league in total defense, ninth in pass defense and second against the run, and that saltiness is a big reason why Cincinnati will be a factor in the playoff race despite playing in the stacked AFC North.
Steven Jackson, RB, Rams: Jackson has been around seemingly forever, making it hard to believe he’s still just 28 years old. The eight-year veteran continues to be dogged by injury, but Jackson looked like a spry rookie in Sunday’s upset of the Saints by carrying the Sam Bradford- less Rams with 159 rushing yards, 32 receiving yards and two TDs.
Philip Rivers, QB, Chargers: In keeping with his inexplicable season, Rivers inexplicably fumbled the snap at the Kansas City 15 near the end of regulation Monday night. That huge miscue, combined with two interceptions, cost San Diego a victory and intensified the head-scratching about Rivers’ fall-off-a-cliff play this year.
Ravens at Steelers, Sunday: Fresh off ending Tom Brady’s decade-long hex, Pittsburgh will be looking for revenge again this week against bitter rival Baltimore after committing seven turnovers in a 35-7 drilling by the Ravens on opening day. Great omen for the Steelers: Roethlisberger is 7-1 at home against Baltimore in his career.
Packers at Chargers, Sunday: Green Bay has won 13 in a row (including the playoffs), which is the longest streak in the Packers’ storied history. San Diego is struggling but has a nine-game win string of its own in the month of November and is 27-8 at home under Norv Turner.
Buccaneers at Saints, Sunday: What looked like one of the toughest divisions in football coming into the season, the NFC South instead is a mess of mediocrity. A New Orleans victory would help clear things up a bit, but a Tampa Bay win – its second over the Saints in less than a month – would muddle things further with Atlanta also in the mix.
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