Four Games to Go as NFL Season Enters Final Quarter

Peyton Manning QB, Indianapolis Colts

It's Week 14 of the NFL season and only four games remain to decide who advances to the playoffs. And who goes is anyone's guess as 26 teams remain in contention for a postseason berth.

"You hope to be playing your best football in December," says head coach KEN WHISENHUNT of the NFC West leading Arizona Cardinals, "so that makes these late-season games important."

Two 12-0 teams have already clinched a playoff spot -- the AFC South champion Indianapolis Colts and the NFC South champion New Orleans Saints. It is the first time in NFL history there have been two 12-0 teams in the same season.

Both teams seek to join select company at 13-0, a feat that only five teams in NFL history have achieved:

 

 

The Indianapolis Colts, who defeated Tennessee last week, have won 21 consecutive regular-season games and can pass the 2006-08 New England Patriots (21) for the longest winning streak in NFL history.

"It's great to be part of something that meaningful," says Indianapolis cornerback KELVIN HAYDEN. "It just shows the type of character guys we have around here because there's really not much said about any of that. No one brings it up."

The Colts regular season winning streak has been pushed to the brink several times, but the team has consistently shown an ability to recover from fourth-quarter deficits, winning six games in 2009 after trailing in the fourth quarter. The 2009 Colts are only the fifth team since 1970 with six fourth-quarter comeback wins in a season.

 

 

With one more such victory, Indianapolis would be the first team since the AFL-NFL merger with seven fourth-quarter comeback wins.

With a win on Sunday against Denver, the Colts can secure homefield advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.

 

The New Orleans Saints improved to 12-0 for the first time in franchise history with a come-from-behind 33-30 overtime victory at Washington. That marked the longest winning streak ever extended by an overtime victory. The win secured the NFC South title for the Saints, who finished in last place in the division a year ago. It is the seventh consecutive season that a team has gone from "worst-to-first" in its division, the longest such streak in NFL history.

"It means a lot to win the division and to do it with a win," says New Orleans quarterback DREW BREES, who passed for 419 yards in the victory over Washington. "We earned this, we absolutely earned it. It is really just one stepping stone toward our ultimate goal."

New Orleans trailed 30-20 in the fourth quarter against the Redskins before rallying for 10 points in the final seven minutes to send the game into overtime. The Saints have now won two games this season in which they trailed by at least 10 points in the fourth quarter on the road (Week 7 at Miami). No other team in the NFL has even one such win this year.

"That game was amazing," says Saints running back PIERRE THOMAS about the team's comeback win at Washington. "We kept fighting and we never gave up. You could see it in our eyes. When we were down, we had a look that said we weren't done. Everybody showed that we weren't finished and the game was not over yet."

By virtue of the New Orleans Saints clinching the NFC South in Week 13, 2009 marks the seventh consecutive season that at least one team has gone from last place to first place in its division from one year to the next, the longest such streak in NFL history. Of the 32 teams to go from "worst-to-first" in NFL history, 15 of them have done so in this decade (2000-2009).

The Saints can clinch a first-round bye this weekend with a win against the Falcons in Atlanta.

 

The San Diego Chargers, who can clinch a playoff spot this weekend, have won 15 consecutive December games dating back to a to a 24-21 win at Buffalo on December 3, 2006, the longest streak in NFL history. The previous mark was set by the 1968-1972 Dallas Cowboys, who won 13 games in a row during the month. The Chargers streak is on the line this week against Dallas when the Chargers visit Cowboys Stadium for the first time.

"We always look to play our best football in December," says San Diego Chargers running back LA DAINIAN TOMLINSON, who leads the NFL in rushing yards and rushing touchdowns in December since 2000. "That's when we want to be at our best. We focus more in December because we know what's coming up."

Tomlinson and the Chargers aim to ride that momentum to a fourth consecutive AFC West title.

"We seem to finish strong," says Tomlinson. "We've talked about it and really made it one of our mottos. I think that has a lot to do with our mindsets in December. We want to play our best football in December going into January. This team is a real focused team, and we have a knack for really taking it one game at a time and taking that idea to heart."

 

With a victory against the Minnesota Vikings this Sunday, the Cincinnati Bengals can join the 1963 Oakland Raiders and the 1999 Indianapolis Colts as the only teams in NFL history to improve by nine wins through 13 games from one season to the next.

 

Arizona Cardinals quarterback KURT WARNER has posted a passer rating of 120.0 or better in each of his past four games, joining Pro Football Hall of Famer JOHNNY UNITAS (1965) as the only players in NFL history to accomplish the feat (minimum 15 attempts).

Warner can become the first player with five such consecutive games when the Cardinals travel to San Francisco for a key NFC West game on Monday Night Football in Week 14.

 

New England Patriots wide receiver WES WELKER leads the NFL with 95 receptions in 2009 despite missing two early-season contests due to injury.

With five receptions against Carolina this Sunday in his 11th game of the season, Welker can tie MARVIN HARRISON for the fewest individual games played to reach 100 receptions in a season in NFL history. Harrison caught 100 passes in his first 11 games of the 2002 season en route to an NFL-record 143 catches.

New England Patriots wide receiver RANDY MOSS ranks sixth on the NFL's all-time receiving yards list with 14,259, but he has never led the NFL in the category in a single season. That may change this year as Moss leads the NFL with 1,058 yards through Week 13.

If Moss is the 2009 receiving yardage leader, he would become the third-oldest player in NFL history to lead the league in a season. He will be 32 years and 324 days old on January 3, 2010 when the Patriots play their final regular-season game.

Randy Moss (1,058) and Wes Welker (1,053) currently rank No. 1 and No. 2 in the NFL in receiving yards. If both players finish the season at the top of the league in the category, they will become the fifth pair of teammates to accomplish the feat in NFL history.

The 1980 San Diego Chargers are the only team since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger to feature the top two receiving yards leaders. That season, wide receiver JOHN JEFFERSON led the NFL with 1,340 receiving yards and Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end KELLEN WINSLOW finished second with 1,290.

New England Patriots quarterback TOM BRADY has a history of producing late in the season. Brady has a 26-5 (.839) record as a starter in December and says the toughest and most prepared teams come out on top.

"Toughness, preparation, playing physical and playing smart, I think those four qualities have been the makeup of this team and are the reason why we have been successful late in the year," says Brady.

 

Games of the Week NFL 2009 Week 14

DENVER BRONCOS (8-4) AT INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (12-0)

With a win on Sunday, the Indianapolis Colts can reach two milestones and take a step closer to reaching their ultimate goal of a Super Bowl championship.

The Colts are aiming for their 22nd consecutive regular-season win, which would be the longest streak in NFL history (2006-08 New England, 21 games). A victory would also give the Colts 114 regular-season wins since the start of the 2000 season, the most by a team in a single decade (San Francisco, 113 wins in the 1990s).

"It's a great accomplishment, but it's not the goal we set," says Indianapolis center JEFF SATURDAY. "We wanted to win the division, and we've got that. Now we've got to get homefield advantage and do something with it."

That goal of homefield advantage can be achieved this week as a win would give Indianapolis the top seed in the AFC playoffs.

Denver enters Week 14 in second place in the AFC West with an 8-4 mark, one game behind the San Diego Chargers. The Broncos rushed for 245 yards in their 44-13 win at Kansas City last week, the highest rushing total by the visiting team in games between these two rivals since 1977.

"My big focus this week is beating them because it'll mean we're 9-4," says Denver head coach JOSH MC DANIELS. "I think that's the most important thing for me and our team. If it in some way can derail history, then it is what it is."

With 13 passing yards against the Broncos, Indianapolis Colts quarterback PEYTON MANNING will surpass Pro Football Hall of Famer WARREN MOON (49,325) for fourth on the all-time list. In his 12-year career, Manning has 49,313 passing yards. The NFL's all-time passing yardage leaders:

 

 

CINCINNATI BENGALS (9-3) AT MINNESOTA VIKINGS (10-2)

Two division leaders meet on Sunday when the Bengals (AFC North) visit the Vikings (NFC North).

Cincinnati is 9-3 and can clinch the AFC North with a victory. The Bengals's nine victories are an eight-win improvement over their first 12 games last year (1-10-1). That is tied for the largest win improvement through the first 12 games from one season to the next in NFL history (1963 Oakland and 1999 Indianapolis).

The Bengals defeated Detroit last week 23-13 and running back CEDRIC BENSON rushed for 110 yards. He became the third different Bengal to rush for 100 yards in each of the team's past three games (BERNARD SCOTT & LARRY JOHNSON). The Bengals and the 2006 Green Bay Packers are the only teams to accomplish that in the past 15 years.

At 10-2, Minnesota can clinch a playoff berth with a win and, combined with a Green Bay loss at Chicago, the Vikings would win the NFC North. Minnesota is 6-0 at home this season and quarterback BRETT FAVRE has posted a 119.1 passer rating with 16 touchdowns and just one interception at the Metrodome.

"I'm excited to face him again," says Bengals quarterback CARSON PALMER, who faced Favre and the Green Bay Packers in 2005. "He's a guy I grew up watching and I've been a fan of his ever since I've been a fan of the NFL."

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (8-4) at NEW YORK GIANTS (7-5)

A key NFC East contest will take place in New York when the 8-4 Eagles visit the 7-5 Giants. Philadelphia and Dallas enter the week tied for first place in the division with New York just one game back.

The Giants knocked off the Cowboys 31-24 last week, highlighted by two big-play touchdowns -- a 79-yard punt-return TD by DOMENIK HIXON and a 74-yard TD reception by running back BRANDON JACOBS. It was the first time in 96 regular-season meetings between the two teams that the Giants have scored two 70-yard touchdowns.

New York is looking for payback after the Eagles knocked the NFC East champion Giants out of the playoffs last year.

"This will be a big game," says New York head coach TOM COUGHLIN. "It's a division game, against the Eagles, at this time of year. December is such a critical time for all the teams in our league."

Philadelphia has thrived in December as the Eagles are 12-3 since 2006 during the month. Last week, Philadelphia defeated the Atlanta Falcons 34-7, the team's third consecutive win.

"It's that time of the year, the last quarter," says Eagles head coach ANDY REID. "If you're still in the hunt, things get a little faster, guys play a little faster and so on. That's the nature of the game. That's where we're at. It's important that we keep practicing the way we've been practicing and preparing the way we've been preparing. The guys have been very focused the past few weeks."

MIAMI DOLPHINS (6-6) AT JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (7-5)

Winners of four of the last five games, the Jaguars host the Miami Dolphins.

Last week the Jaguars defeated the Houston Texans 23 - 18 at home. Texans QB Matt Schaub left the game in the first quarter with a dislocated shoulder, but returned with his team trailing 17-0. The Texans outscored the Jaguars 18-6 the remainder of the game.

The Dolphins overcame a 14-0 first half deficit and edged out a 22-21 victory over the visiting New England Patriots. Miami started their game-winning drive at their own 26-yard line with 3:44 left to play. Faced with a fourth-and-six situation from the New England 41-yard line, Miami QB Chad Henne connected with WR Greg Camarillo for 13 yards to the Patriots 28-yard line. That play set up PK Dan Carpenter's 41-yard field goal that gave the Dolphins a 22-21 lead with just under a minute left in regulation. The Dolphins sealed the victory when LB Channing Crowder intercepted Brady at the Patriots 40-yard line with 35 seconds to play.

The Jaguars begin a stretch of three consecutive games (Miami 6-6, Indianapolis 12-0, New England 7-5) against teams with a record of .500 or better. The Jaguars have the toughest schedule in the NFL over the next three weeks with an opponents combined record of 25-11.

The Jaguars five losses have come against opponents with a combined record of 35-25 (.583 pct.) including one of the NFL's two undefeated teams, the Indianapolis Colts (12-0) The Jaguars are 5-1 at home with their only loss against the Cardinals in week two.

While 4-2 against AFC East opponents, the Dolphins are 0-2 against other AFC opponents and 2-4 on the road. Two of the Dolphins losses have come against the Colts (27-23) and the Saints (46-34)

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS (9-3) AT DALLAS COWBOYS (8-4)

The Cowboys host the Chargers for the 4th time. The Cowboys are 2-1 against the Chargers at home. However, the Cowboys last hosted the Chargers in 2005 season and narrowly defeated the Chargers by a score 28 to 24.

The Chargers bring a 7-game winning streak to the new Cowboys Stadium During the streak the Chargers have defeated three playoff caliber teams -- Eagles (31-23), Giants (21-20) and Broncos (32-3). Against the same opponents the Cowboys are 1-3 -- losing to the Broncos in Denver (17-10) and twice to the Giants (33-31, 31-24), while narrowly defeating the Eagles (20-16) on the road during NFL 2009 Week 9.

Last week, the Dallas Cowboys suffered a 31-24 defeat at the hands of the New York Giants on the road.

After a scoreless first quarter, Dallas began the scoring in the second quarter by taking a 10-0 lead. Nick Folk kicked a 34-yard field goal to give the Cowboys the first points of the game, and after a fumble by New York on the ensuing possession, Dallas capitalized on the turnover via a Tony Romo passing touchdown to Roy Williams. The Giants retaliated on the next drive when Eli Manning hit Hakeem Nicks for a 21-yard passing score that cut into the Cowboys lead, 10-7. New York took the lead before the end of the second quarter following a Marion Barber fumble when Brandon Jacobs scored from a yard out to allow the Giants to hold a 14-10 advantage at halftime.

In the third quarter, Romo hooked up with Williams for the second time - this time from five yards out - to allow Dallas to retake the lead. On the Giants next drive, Jacobs took a short pass from Manning and went 74 yards for a score that put the Giants back up in one play, 21-17. In the fourth quarter, the Giants continued to score, first with a 23-yard Lawrence Tynes field goal that made the score 24-17, followed by a Cowboys punt that was returned 79 yards by Domenik Hixon that upped the Giants lead to 31-17.

Looking to stay in the game, Romo threw a 22-yard passing touchdown to Miles Austin to make the score 31-24 with less than a minute remaining in regulation. Dallas attempted an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff but was unsuccessful, allowing New York to hold on for the win.

In Week 13, the San Diego Chargers defeated the Cleveland Browns 30-23 on the road to extend their winning streak to 7 games.

Cleveland struck first with an 11-yard Brady Quinn-to-Mohamed Massaquoi passing touchdown. San Diego went on a 27-0 run over the next three quarters. In the first quarter the Chargers scored on a 32-yard Nate Kaeding field goal followed by a Philip Rivers-to-Mike Tolbert 66-yard passing touchdown. The Chargers added a 42-yard Kaeding field goal as time expired to hold a 13-7 advantage.

San Diego scored twice in the third quarter behind a 31-yard passing touchdown from Rivers-to-Darren Sproles, followed by a four-yard rushing touchdown by LaDainian Tomlinson. The Browns scored again in the fourth quarter on an eight-yard Quinn scoring toss to Jerome Harrison to make the score 27-14. San Diego increased its lead to 30-14 with a 22-yard Kaeding field goal. Cleveland kept things close, scoring twice late in the final quarter with a Quinn-to-Harrison hookup (failed two-point attempt), followed by a 49-yard Phil Dawson field goal to cut the deficit 30-23 with less than 1:00. The onside kick on the ensuing kickoff was unsuccessful, and San Diego held on for the win.

 

NFL 2009 Week 14 Playoff Scenarios

AFC

CLINCHED: Indianapolis -- AFC South

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS

The Colts can clinch homefield advantage throughout AFC playoffs with either a win; or a tie plus a Bengals loss and Chargers loss

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS

The Chargers can clinch a playoff spot with:

a win or a tie

CINCINNATI BENGALS

The Bengals clinch the AFC North division title with either a win; a tie; or a Raven loss

NFC

CLINCHED: New Orleans -- NFC South

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS

The Saints can clinch a first-round bye in the NFC with a win; tie; or Cowboys loss or tie + Eagles loss or tie + Cardinals loss or tie

MINNESOTA VIKINGS

The Vikings can clinch the NFC North division title with a win plus a Packers loss

The Vikings can clinch an NFC playoff spot with a win; or a tie + Giants loss

ARIZONA CARDINALS

The Cardinals can clinch the NFC West with a win

 

NFL 2009 Week 13 Highlights

Minnesota quarterback BRETT FAVRE has now played in 283 consecutive regular-season games, passing Vikings legend JIM MARSHALL for the longest consecutive game streak in NFL history by a non-kicker/punter. New York Giants punter JEFF FEAGLES has played in an NFL-record 348 consecutive regular-season games, including today's 31-24 win over Dallas.

 

The CINCINNATI BENGALS improved to 9-3 with a 23-13 win over Detroit.

The Bengals nine victories are an eight-win improvement over last season (1-10-1) through the first 12 games. Cincinnati is tied with the 1963 Oakland Raiders (0-12 in 1962; 8-4 in 1963) and the 1999 Indianapolis Colts (2-10 in 1998; 10-2 in 1999) for the best win improvement through 12 games from one season to the next in NFL history.

 

Indianapolis quarterback PEYTON MANNING threw for 270 yards and one touchdown in the Colts' 27-17 win against Tennessee.

Manning has 3,685 passing yards and 25 touchdowns this season. He is the first player all-time to pass for at least 3,500 yards in 12 consecutive seasons and is also the first player in NFL history to throw at least 25 touchdown passes in 12 seasons in a row.

 

Tennessee running back CHRIS JOHNSON rushed for 113 yards in a 27-17 loss against Indianapolis.

Johnson leads the NFL with 1,509 rushing yards and became only the fifth player in NFL history to rush for 1,500 yards in his team's first 12 games. He joins Pro Football Hall of Famers JIM BROWN, WALTER PAYTON and O.J. SIMPSON and former Denver running back TERRELL DAVIS as the only players to accomplish the feat.

 

San Diego running back LA DAINIAN TOMLINSON rushed for a touchdown in the Chargers' 30-23 win against Cleveland.

Tomlinson, who has scored 150 total touchdowns (135 rushing, 15 receiving) in 137 career games, is the fastest player in NFL history to reach 150 total TDs. Tomlinson joined JERRY RICE and EMMITT SMITH as the only players to score 150 career touchdowns.

Tomlinson rushed for 64 yards against the Browns and has 12,321 career rushing yards. He passed MARSHALL FAULK (12,279) and Pro Football Hall of Famer JIM BROWN (12,312) to move into eighth place all-time.

 

New England wide receiver RANDY MOSS had 66 receiving yards in the Patriots' 22-21 loss at Miami.

Moss has 1,058 receiving yards this year and joined JERRY RICE (14) as the only players in NFL history to record 10 1,000-yard seasons.

 

For the first time in NFL history, there are two 12-0 teams in the same season. The INDIANAPOLIS COLTS, who clinched the AFC South last week, improved to 12-0 with a 27-17 win over Tennessee. The NEW ORLEANS SAINTS reached the 12-0 mark for the first time in franchise history with a 33-30 overtime victory at Washington. With the win, New Orleans also clinched the NFC South.

The Colts have now won 21 consecutive regular-season games, tying the 2006-08 New England Patriots for the longest streak in NFL history.

 

 

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NFL 2009 Week 14 - Four Games to Go as NFL Season Enters Final Quarter