Good question. The Texans beat them earlier in the season, but they're a southern dome-playing team that would likely fold in a cold weather game in January. I wouldn't read a whole lot into tonight's game. Cincinatti had little to play for and sat a bunch of its starters (especially on defense). The Jets had to win this game. That said, it wouldn't surprise me if the Bengals lost again next weekend.
I'm not reading a whole lot into it either. I've been a Jets fan for over 40 years. I've learned to handle disappointment. When they came out winning at the beginning of the season, I was thinking, "Holy shit!" Then they fell apart mid-season and I thought they were back on track. The fact that they're in as a wildcard has already exceeded my expectations.
The funny thing is that if the Texans had beaten the Jets when they played early in the season, they would've made the playoffs.
The Texans had more than enough chances to make the playoffs, just like every other team. I love it that they missed it. Living in Houston I take a lot of shit for being a Cowboys fan. I never had an issue with Houston or the fans until I moved here. Houston just has such a chip on its shoulder about Dallas that it makes me enjoy their pain.
Given that they rested only one offensive starter in the first half and managed all of seven yards of offense, I'd guess the Bengals would rather be playing a bunch of drunken girl scouts in the playoffs. Sadly for the Bengals, they never had any chance of playing the Rams . . . I wouldn't read too much into last night's game, but I wouldn't read nothing into it either. Even as an eternally pessimistic Jets fan I'm expecting them to go 1-1 this post season.
Against any of the other playoff teams, probably. The Bengals, however, are the weakest team in the playoffs--essentially league average on offense, defense, and special teams--and also a particularly good matchup for the Jets. They really can't score on the Jets if the Jets' defense plays even close to its ability, and the Jets will win if they don't beat themselves. Now the Jets are, of course, perfectly capable of beating themselves, but they've also learned to draw up game plans that minimize the chances for mistakes. I expect something next week along the lines of Jets 17, Bengals 10, with the Bengals' touchdown coming on or after a long return. The Jets defense really is good enough to totally dominate the game.
When I was a kid in the 70s, I rooted for both teams unless they were playing each other and then I rooted for Dallas. When I worked in B/CS, though, is when I first encountered the "angry/hostile" Oilers fan and I started rooting against them. Loudly at times. When I moved here, one of the sports guys at my station hated the Cowboys and loved the Oilers. I remember telling him once that the Houston Oilers "would never play in a Super Bowl, much less win one!" Fortunately, Bud Adams did me the favor of moving the team to Tennessee a few years later. Ironically, I've always liked the Titans. The Texans don't really register on my radar.
BTW, for those of you with the NFL Network (sorry, Slime Warner Cable customers ) there's a really good series starting this Friday about the AFL called Full Color Football. It ran on Showtime last month and is a great bit of football history.
I'm gonna laugh when Jared Allen kills Tony Romo. Still, I picked the Cowgirls to go to the Super Bowl.
I'm thinking that the Chargers are probably the team to beat right now. They've been on fire for the past couple of months.
Wow! The Ravens are whipping the Pats like a red-headed stepchild. Still in the 1st quarter and the score is already 21-0.
Holy shit. Brady throws a deflected interception, the Ravens take it 20 yards, then laterals it for another 10. God hates the Pats.
Well, the Jets did good. Now it's off to San Diego. The Bolts opened as 9.5 point favorites. The Chargers should win, but I'm guessing a Jets cover. San Diego 24, Jets 17. The next couple of years look really good for the Jets, assuming that a 2011 season actually happens.
Yeah, I watched it. I thought the Pack was gonna make a comeback, but it just didn't happen. Poor receiving and no protection for the QB.
Anyone else wonder how the referees manage to sleep at night? There was some really terrible officiating this weekend. There's the obvious no-call on the facemask to end Arizona/Green Bay. That call's been justly criticized and had the most impact of any of the bad calls, but there were a few in the Jets/Bengals game that were much worse calls if you ignore the impact of context. One in particular really stands out where Revis was clearly tackled by a receiver pushing off and got called for illegal contact. I've never seen a worse blown call in my life; there's simply no way that any official who actually saw the play could have called that penalty in good faith. The NFL really needs to start hiring professional full time officials. The current situation of officiating being a part time gig with essentially no training or off season commitments is a joke. Also, since we have instant replay anyway, the league really should make most penalties reviewable. It makes no sense for completion/incompletion to be reviewable but not an interference call. Anyway, I think all four games this coming weekend look like good ones, assuming the refs allow them to be so.
