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While the NFL's project of civic pride delivered a statement of force at Detroit this past Thanksgiving, Sunday - in the highest rated game of the season to date - we got to see what they were made of. The Giants - the most mercurial of middle of the road teams - were ready to compete in front of their home fans and delivered a performance of considerable courage and perseverance. Despite a ghastly pick-six, Eli Manning led the Giants to a stirring game tying touchdown and two. Of course he did it with 58 seconds to go, and it was amazing to see the Packers slice right upfield, with a couple of really astonishing throws and catches. The NFL is an Any Given Sunday sort of league, and the title will be decided by a single elimination tournament and the vagaries that come with that - but the identity of who 2011's best team is is not in doubt. As always the rankings compare teams on RPI, adjusted scoring margin, record vs common opponents, record vs good teams and head to head play:
1 (1). Green Bay Communists (12-0) 31 pairwins
2 (2). Baltimore Edgar Allan Poems (9-3) 30
3 (4). New Orleans Saints (9-3) 28
4 (5). Greater Providence and Boston Patriots (9-3) 27
5 (3). San Francisco 49ers (10-2) 26
6 (7). Houston Texans (9-3) 26
7 (6). Pittsburgh Steelers (9-3) 25
8 (9). Detroit Lions (7-5) 23
9 (13). Denver Incompletion Jesuses (7-5) 21
10 (15). Northern New Jersey Jets (7-5) 21
11 (8). Chicago Bears (7-5) 21
12 (10). Cincinnati Other Paul Browns (7-5) 19
13 (12). Atlanta Falcons (7-5) 19
14 (16). Tennessee Non-Oilers (7-5) 18
15 (11). Dallas Cowboys (7-5) 18
16 (14). Los Angeles Raiders of Oakland (7-5) 15
17 (19). Northern New Jersey Giants (6-6) 15
18 (17). Buffalo Bills (5-7) 14
19 (22). Los Angeles Chargers of San Diego (5-7) 12
20 (27). Arizona Cactus Wrens (5-7) 10
21 (20). Seattle Seahawks (5-7) 9
22 (25). Kansas City Texans (5-7) 9
23 (18). Philadelphia Eagles (4-8) 9
24 (21). Land Mass Surrounding Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-8) 7
25 (26). Miami Dolphins (4-8) 7
26 (29). Carolina Panthers (4-8) 6
27 (23). Jacksonville Jaguars (4-8) 6
28 (24). Washington Racial Slurs (4-8) 4
29 (28). Cleveland Paul Browns (4-8) 3
30 (30). Minnesota Vikings (2-9) 2
31 (31). Anaheim Cleveland Rams of Saint Louis (2-9) 1
32 (32). Peyton Manning's Co-Workers (0-12) 0
8 Toughest Slates so Far (opp W/L, SOS %)
Detroit Lions (76-56, .535)
Baltimore Ravens (74-58, .531)
Tampa Bay Bucs (75-57, .530)
Pittsburgh Steelers (72-60, .522)
Minnesota Vikings (72-60, .521)
Denver Broncos (70-62, .519)
Jacksonville Jaguars (70-62, .514)
Chicago Bears (68-64, .512)
8 Easiest Slates so Far
New England Patriots (63-69, .499)
Cleveland Browns (62-70, .488)
San Francisco 49ers (62-70, .487)
Kansas City Chiefs (60-72, .487)
Dallas Cowboys (61-71, .477)
Carolina Panthers (59-73, .474)
Arizona Cardinals (57-75, .467)
Washington Redskins (58-74, .463)
The big story, aside from the game of the year of course, is the Cowboys stunning loss at Arizona which suddenly flips the division upside down - and even still keeps the Eagles teeny tiny dreams alive. Of course the Eagles win scenario is very unlikely and so we are left with Dallas playing the Giants twice over four weeks to figure this out. But right now, their schedules seem fairly even. Granted, the Giants facing the Jets feels like a tougher matchup, but the Eagles thumped Dallas once, so it is possible.
In Chicago, we get the second loss of the Caleb Hayne era, coupled with the possible season ending knee injury to Matt Forte. With the Giants, Lions (admittedly reeling) and the Falcons all in the soup, and perhaps the Cowboys too if things tilt, the Bears offensive impotence could be hard to ignore. I also could mention the latest in Tim Tebow's heroics, but I figure sports threads on RedState or whatever do him plenty of justice - let's move on.
The AFC playoff chase feels much cleaner, now that the Texans delivered a very quality win with their third string QB. They might collapse with the injuries, but it feels like there is cushion and resourcefulness there. Wade Phillips' role fixing the defense cannot be overstated. The drama is - as noted a week ago - the Jets, the Titans and the Bengals and the Broncos/Raiders playing for one spot. The Jets still feel like the best positioned, although the Bengals have to be acknowledged (though that egg they laid against Pittsburgh did nobody any favors).
As always, there is a lot of justice to be had, and a lot of serious problems - and the diaries in our community are invaluable. This is not one of those diaries.