The Bears need to find a way to contain the Brady Bunch and a couple of coaches are chasing full-time gigs.
Peyton Manning threw for 319 yards and two touchdowns as the Colts beat the Titans 30-28 in the Thursday night game. The big reason the Colts won is because Manning had his first game without an interception since their win over the Bengals in Week 10. The Colts are now in a position that if they run the table, they will win the AFC South. Time now to take a look at some of the other key games in Week 14.
The possible Super Bowl preview game
Bears vs. Patriots
Someone asked me this week if the "vaunted Bears defence" stood a chance at slowing down Tom Brady. It is no secret that the key to victory for the Bears will be finding a way to slow down Brady. That means Israel Idonije, Julius Peppers, Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs need to find a way to get in Brady's face and get him out of his comfort zone. On Monday, the Jets were unable to get Brady out of his comfort zone and he hung 45 points on one of the top defences in the AFC. The Bears come into this game riding a five-game win streak and a big reason for that is Jay Cutler is playing his best football of the season. It goes without saying that the Bears can't win if Cutler ends up throwing three interceptions like Mark Sanchez did last week. Here's something to consider, despite their 10-2 record, the Patriots are ranked 31st in the NFL against the pass. If the Bears are going to beat the Patriots, look for kick returner Devin Hester to be the "X" factor.
The best kept secret in the NFL game
Jaguars vs. Raiders
If Maurice Jones-Drew played for the Jets or the Patriots, he would be a household name in North America. MJD has put the Jags on his back and carried them to the brink of winning the AFC South. The Jags are 4-1 in their last five games; largely because of the fact Jones-Drew has five straight 100-yard games. Sunday is the beginning of the two most important games the Jags have played since the 2007 playoffs. The Jags face the Raiders Sunday and the following week face the Colts. If the Jags can find a way to win both games, they will have all but locked up the AFC South. The Raiders secret weapon this year is a rookie speed burner out of Clemson by the name of Jacoby Ford. Ford has been making big plays for the Raiders both as a receiver and as a returner. The Raiders ran for 251 yards in their win over the Chargers last week. So it goes without saying that the big challenge for Jack Del Rio and the Jaguars defence is to come up with a game plan to slow down the Raiders running attack.
(Editor's note: Watch for Jim Lang's feature with Maurice Jones-Drew on Thursday).
The ground and pound game
Jets vs. Dolphins
After their devastating 45-3 loss to the Patriots on Monday night, the Jets desperately need to bounce back against the Dolphins. To that end, Rex Ryan made a point to bury one of the game balls from that debacle under the Jets practice field in New Jersey. A bigger concern for Ryan and offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer is finding a way for Mark Sanchez to rebound from his brutal effort against the Patriots. A stronger commitment to running the football would take a lot of pressure off of Sanchez and really open up the play-action-passing game As much as I like LaDainian Tomlinson, the Jets need to give the ball more to Shonn Greene. Last year, from Week 16 on, Greene was the feature back for the Jets in their run to the AFC Championship game. The forecast for Sunday's game is calling for rain and cold temperatures. That kind of forecast will put more emphasis on keeping the ball on the ground. Meeting with the media this week, Rex Ryan talked about the importance of the Jets running game. "I always talk about being able to run the ball when the other team knows you're going to run it." The Dolphins are not about to do their division rivals any favors and they received good news this week with the expected return of Brandon Marshall. Darrelle Revis was hurt the last time these two teams met and Marshall ended up with 10 catches for 166 yards and a touchdown.
The battle for the AFC West game
Chargers vs. Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs were living a fairly charmed life this season until Wednesday of this week when their starting quarterback Matt Cassel underwent an emergency appendectomy. While everyone is putting on a brave face, it seems a bit of stretch to think that Cassel will be able to play Sunday after having his appendix removed on Wednesday. If he can't go, that would mean the Chiefs will be forced to start Brodie Croyle. That would be good news for the Chargers and after the way they played in their loss to the Raiders last week, they could use a little sunshine. The Chargers allowed the Raiders to run for 251 yards last week. Now they're facing the team with best running game in the NFL, the Chiefs. With Croyle expected to start, expect the Chiefs to run the ball more than ever. A win over the Chiefs and Philip Rivers and the Chargers will still have a shot at winning the AFC West.
The ballad of the interim head coaches
Cowboys vs. Eagles and Vikings vs. Giants
In the Wade Phillips era, the Eagles would have been looking forward to facing the Cowboys. Under Jason Garrett, the Cowboys have done a complete 180-degree turnaround of their effort which has led to a 3-1 record since the change. As good as Michael Vick and the Eagles are, beating the Cowboys under Garrett will be anything but easy. A win over the Eagles and Jerry Jones might have no choice but to make Garrett his permanent head coach.
The same scenario is being played out in Minnesota with interim head coach Leslie Frazier. I know from speaking to Jared Allen that the players love Frazier both as a coach, and as a person. After being turned down for seven head coaching jobs, Frazier is making the most of this opportunity. The 8-4 Giants are under tremendous pressure to keep winning so they can keep pace with the Eagles. If the Giants are going to win, they will need to find a way to establish the running game with Brandon Jacobs. That won't be easy, because the Vikings have the second best run defence in the NFC. Like Jerry Jones in Dallas, if the Vikings beat the Giants, Zygi Wilf might have no choice but to retain Leslie Frazier full time.
My Las Vegas lock of the week - I love the way that Drew Brees and the Saints have been playing lately. But even though they are at home, I still think 10 points is too big of a spread against the Rams. Under rookie Sam Bradford, the Rams are a much better team than we are used to seeing and for that reason; I believe they can cover the spread.
