Bronx, NY - The New York Jets lost three-straight road games and were left for dead after only 5 games in the 2011 football season. It wasn't so much that they lost those games after starting the year 2-0. It was the way they lost them. They lost by 10 traveling across the country to face the Oakland Raiders in the Black Hole. The following Sunday night they got abused back east by the Baltimore Ravens. The final was 34-17 but the game was never that close. They had a chance to right the ship when they faced hated division rival the New England Patriots. They only trailed by 3 at halftime but could not stop Tom Brady and company in the second half as the Pats amassed 446 total yards by game's end. Running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis trampled over Rex Ryan's defense for 136 rushing yards.

Then the infighting began with veteran wide receiver Santonio Holmes calling out the offensive line and their failure to protect quarterback Mark Sanchez. When Derrick Mason, Plaxico Burress, and Holmes complained to Ryan about the offensive play calling, Mason gets traded to Houston. Although Ryan and General Manager Mike Tannenbaum denied it, many in and out of the organization felt Mason was used as a scapegoat. The New York Jets were in an early season crossroad when they faced the winless Miami Dolphins.

Although they came away with the victory, Miami gave them a run for their money. The more talented San Diego Chargers came into MetLife Stadium before the Jets were scheduled for their bye week. Sanchez throws 3 touchdown passes to Burress and Shonn Greene rushed for 112 yards. The defense forced 2 Phillip Rivers interceptions and shut out the Chargers in the second half. After the bye, their next 2 games would be against the Buffalo Bills and the rematch against New England. A chance to distance themselves and put themselves in the position to win the division. One down one to go.

In what may have been their best defensive performance, the Jets shook off first-half offensive mistakes and buffaloed the Bills 27-11. How dominant were they defensively? They only allowed 14 first downs for the entire game while picking off two Ryan Fitzpatrick's passes. Buffalo did not score in the first half. They kicked a field goal early in the third quarter and did not score again until the game was totally out of reach. Fitzpatrick had averaged 234 yards per game. He ended up with 191. The running game, led by Fred Jackson, came into the game averaging 135 yards. The Jets stuffed them, giving up only 96 yards. If not for a first-quarter Sanchez red zone interception, a fumble and a Nick Folk-missed field goal, the game would have been a complete laugher.

The New York Jets had been 0-2 under Rex Ryan coming off the bye week. He reminded the team of that stat and it must have caught their attention. Now he's hoping they can keep the momentum going when Wonder Boy, Tom Brady, comes to town Sunday night.
A win would at least give them a tie, depending on what Buffalo does when they travel to Dallas Sunday afternoon.

Know one thing: The Jets will be looking at the tapes from the New York Giants, Patriots game to see what Big Blue did on both sides of the ball to come away with a 24-20 victory. It was the first time the two teams met since the Giants blew up New England's quest to run the table in the 2006-2007 season winning the Super Bowl in Arizona. Although the game Sunday did not have that kind of significance, it showed the Giants could overcome injuries at key positions against a quality team. Running back Ahmad Bradshaw was out with broken bone in his right foot. Starting wide receiver Hakim Nicks hamstring prevented him from playing. Still, Eli Manning showed why he is becoming one of the elite quarterback's in the league. Twice, with his team trailing, he drove them downfield to take the lead.

First, down 3 (13-10) with a little more than 7 minutes to go, Manning directs an 8 play, 85-yard drive connecting on a 10-yard touchdown pass to Mario Manningham. Brady gets the ball with 3 minutes to go and good field position as Manningham was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. Nine plays later, the Patriots took their last lead of the day when Brady finds tight end Ron Gronkowski for a 14-yard touchdown pass. With 1:36 left in regulation, a field goal would have sent the game into overtime. Manning wanted it all. Starting at their own 20, Manning completes passes to wide receiver Victor Cruz (19 yards) and tight end Jake Ballard (28 yards). Looking downfield on his next pass attempt, Manning steps up in the pocket and scrambles for 12 yards. On the next play with Cruz streaking towards the end zone, Manning heaves the pass as Cruz gets bumped by free safety Sergio Brown who is called for pass interference. It sets up the game-winning, one-yard touchdown pass to Ballard.

Both the New York Jets and the New York Giants set themselves up with big wins to dictate how their season will go from this point on. After losing three in a row, many were ready to throw dirt on the Jets. They can put some room between them and New England with a win Sunday night. The Giants travel to San Francisco to play the surprising (7-1) 49ers. It only gets more interesting after that as they face the Eagles, New Orleans, and Green Bay. Hopefully, they can get both Bradshaw and Hicks back. They're going to need them.

Upon Further Review: Shame on Dallas, the Jets, Minnesota, Oakland, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, San Diego, New Orleans, Green Bay, and the Eagles 

I wish the first 11 weeks were as easy to write about the results of the NFL games as Week 12 was. Why, do you ask? Very simple: There were two sets of turkeys, the ones that were carved up on the dinner table and the ones that were carved up on the football field.

In order, starting with the traditional annual holiday day games, Dallas, the Jets, Minnesota, Oakland, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, San Diego, New Orleans, Green Bay, and Philadelphia did not give their fans any reason to celebrate the long weekend. In fact, they were probably responsible for more upset stomachs and throbbing (hangover) headaches after watching their teams lose in the fashion they did.

Dallas took a 3-0 lead against the Washington Redskins and then were burned by 28 second-quarter points as Robert Griffin 3rd threw touchdown passes of 68, 59 and 6 yards in the 38-31 win. The Cowboys did manage to make a game of it with a second-half run, but the lead was insurmountable. The Boys go on to host the Eagles Sunday night while the Skins host the Giants Monday night...The Jets laid the biggest turkey egg of the weekend when they hosted the hated New England Patriots. There are a lot of things you can do in a span of 52 seconds. Having 3 touchdowns scored against you should not be one of them. That's exactly what happened to Gang Green in their 49-19 loss. The Patriots scored 35 points in the second quarter putting the Jets asleep faster than the chemical digested from having too much turkey. Most embarrassing was Jets QB Mark Sanchez bouncing off the rear end (insert joke here) of right guard Brandon Moore causing Sanchez to fumble and recovered by Steve Gregory who returned it 32 yards for the touchdown. The Jets and their playoff hopes are as done as the turkey that was waiting for them after the game. They host Arizona while the Patriots travel to Miami. Their stomachs are hurting not from the amount of food they ate but because they are still laughing at the outcome of the game...Minnesota had a chance to tie Chicago for first place when they faced the Bears on Sunday. They got out to a 3-0 lead then saw the Bears score the next 25 points in their 28-10 win. Chicago's defense helped the cause by getting into the end zone twice. The Vikings go to Green Bay while the Bears play another home game against Seattle...Oakland is still asking themselves why they trekked halfway across the country to play the Bengals. Before they knew it, the Raiders were down 24-0 in losing 34-10. Cinci's QB Andy Dalton throws for three TDs and 210 yards while running back BenJarvis Green-Ellis ran for 129 yards and one TD. The Bengals play another west coast team, but this time they travel across the country when they face the Chargers who allowed a 4th and 29 conversions to the Ravens losing in overtime 16-13. Baltimore was on its own 37 with 1:37 left in the game when Rutgers star Ray Rice took the screen pass and scampered the 29 yards needed for the first down. Justin Tucker kicked the 38-yard field goal to send the game into overtime in which they won to push their record to 9-2. The Ravens host the Steelers who started third-string QB Charlie Batch but could not overcome 7 turnovers in their 20-14 loss to Cleveland. It was only the second time the Browns had beaten Pittsburgh in their last 18 games. Cleveland goes to the black hole to face the Raiders...The Titans were facing a Jacksonville team that had only one win coming into the game. The Jaguars left with their second win after QB Chad Henne threw two TDs in the 24-19 win. The Jags came into the game having lost their previous seven games. Tennessee goes home to face Houston while Jacksonville goes to Buffalo who are coming off a loss to the surprising Colts 20-13 as Indianapolis improved its record to 7-4. The Colts head to Detroit who is still trying to get over their 34-31 OT loss at the hands of the Texans. It appeared that Texans running back Justin Forsett was down but he continued to run and turned it into an 81-yard TD run. Before the play could be reviewed, Lions head coach threw the challenge flag which not only negated the review but penalized Detroit for unsportsmanlike conduct. The Texans would score a late touchdown and then kick a field goal in overtime to win the game and improve to 10-1. The Saints took a hit to their playoff chances when they fell at home to San Francisco 31-21. For his second straight start, backup QB Colin Kaepernick had a solid game throwing for one TD and running for another. Saints Drew Brees threw three TDs but also threw two INT's, which were returned for touchdowns. The 9ers visit St. Louis while the Saints play Atlanta Thursday night...The Eagles free fall continues in losing Monday night to Carolina 30-22 for their seventh straight loss. Carolina saw Cam Newton pass for 2 TDs (306 yards) and run for another 2 (54 yards) as they visit the Chiefs...Atlanta squeezed by Tampa 24-23 to become the second team with 10 wins...The Rams invade the Cardinals Janoris Jenkins picks off two passes and returns them for touchdowns in the 31-17 rout. The Cards are another team with a seven-game losing streak. Miami kicked a field goal as time expired in its 24-21 win over Seattle. Ex-Jets running back Leon Washington (seems like the ex-Jets are the only ones having a good year) ran a kickoff back for a touchdown. The eighth time he has done that tying an NFL record...Denver kept the Chiefs winless at home in its 17-9 win to improve to 8-3. Peyton Manning continued his campaign for MVP throwing 2 more TD passes and 285 yards. Denver hosts Tampa...Finally, talk about taking advantage of a bye week. The Super Bowl Champion New York Giants were coming off 2 straight losses (Pittsburgh and Cincinnati) when they came off their bye week to face the Green Bay Packers. Giants QB Eli Manning shook off the "weak arm" rumors by throwing three TDs for 249 yards in the whipping of the Packers. The defense had Packers QB Aaron Rodgers on the run all night as he was sacked 5 times before the night was over.

So Week #12 is in the books. I'm not sure who had the worst weekend, the turkeys that were cooked for hours in the oven or the teams that were cooked on the field.

Upon Further Review: Arizona Cardinals, Philadelphia Eagles, Houston Texans, Atlanta Falcons, and the San Diego Chargers, three of these teams are still undefeated

New York, NY - And then there were three! If Week Three is any indication of the kind of football year it will be, both betters and bookies are going to be in for a long, expensive year.

Let's start with the three teams that remained undefeated: Once again, the Arizona Cardinals shocked everyone when they stomped the visiting Philadelphia Eagles 27-6 getting off to their best start in 38 years. The Eagles entered the game with the best offense after two games, even though both games were won by a total of two points. Arizona forced two Michael Vick fumbles, one returned for a 93-yard touchdown by James Sanders. The Cardinals pressured Vick all game, sacking him five times as he misfired on 20 of 37 pass attempts. Cards QB Kevin Kolb, once a member of the Eagles, passed for 222 yards on 17 of 24 attempts and two touchdowns. The Cardinals have now won their last seven home games. They have only done that one other time in team history. They host the Miami Dolphins Sunday. Philadelphia will play its first division game of the year when it hosts the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants...

The Houston Texans joined the 3-0 club the hard way going on the road sending Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos to its second straight loss 31-25. The Texans QB Matt Schaub threw four touchdowns and Arian Foster ran for 105 yards on 25 carries. As a franchise, Houston has never begun a year winning its first three games. Up next, the Texans host the Tennessee Titans. Speaking of the Titans, the team came away with the craziest win of the weekend over the Detroit Lions in overtime 44-41...

To finish off the victorious trifecta we travel west to find the Atlanta Falcons visiting the San Diego Chargers. Both teams came into the game undefeated but the Falcons rode the arm of QB Matt (Matty Ice) who threw three touchdowns to three different receivers connecting on 30 of 40 passes for 275 yards. Atlanta comes home to host Carolina while San Diego looks to regroup as it travels to Kansas City...The same Chiefs team that kept New Orleans out of the win column despite falling behind 24-6 with little more than six minutes to go in the third quarter. From that point on, KC did not give up another point and did not allow a Drew Brees (20-36, 240 yards) pass completion in all of the fourth quarter or overtime in their 27-24 win...The Saints joined the Cleveland Browns (they may not win a game this season) as the only winless team when they hosted the Buffalo Bills. The ugliest game of the weekend was as exciting as watching paint dry especially after Buffalo lost its leading rusher in CJ Spiller. Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for more than 200 yards and three touchdowns, including a 32-yard screen pass that Spiller turned into a touchdown. Soon after, Spiller would get tackled after a first-quarter run, landing on his shoulder ending his day. He is not expected to play next Sunday when they face division rival New England...The Patriots may well be playing without head coach Bill Belichick who made contact with a referee at the conclusion of its 31-30 loss to the Baltimore Ravens. After a game-winning 27-yard field goal by Ravens Justin Tucker that just cleared the right goal post, Belichick attempted to get the attention of a ref. The "Hoodie" tugged at the ref who continued to run off the field. Belichick also questioned calls during the game. Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith was playing with a heavy heart a day after his 19-year-old brother Tevin Jones died in a motorcycle accident the day before. Smith caught 2 touchdown passes. The Ravens have a short week as they host those lowly Browns...Looking like the most dominant team coming into week three, the San Francisco 49ers visited the Minnesota Vikings. Another week and another suicide pool upset. The Vikings saw QB Christian Ponder run for one touchdown and throw for two more in their 24-13 victory. The 9ers were coming off impressive victories over Green Bay and Detroit but could not get anything going consistently on offense or defense. San Fran now has to travel cross country to face a New York Jets team coming off the second ugliest game of the weekend. When the Jets face the Miami Dolphins, games are usually entertaining coming down to the last possession that determines the outcome. Not Sunday in South Florida. The Jets did come away with a win in overtime (the third OT game of the day) but not after both teams did everything they could to give the game away. Dropped touchdown passes, shaky running, pass defense and costly penalties plagued both squads. Making matter worse for Gang Green was losing Darrelle Revis for the rest of the year with a torn ACL in his left knee. The Jets defense is clearly not the same without Revis in the lineup. That was evident after he came out of the home opener win against Buffalo and in the loss against the Steelers the following week due to a concussion. New York may be 2-0 (2-1 overall) in its division but the schedule starting next week is brutal...The other New York team, the Football Giants could not have had a better-extended break after routing the Panthers last Thursday night. Big Blue was without four offensive starters (David Diehl, Ahmad Bradshaw, Hakeem Nicks, and Dominic Hixon) but the defense suffocated Carolina's Cam Newton all night while the offensive back-ups led by Eli Manning stepped up big in the 36-7 scorching. Newton, who is just as dangerous with his legs as he is with his arm, only ran for six yards on six attempts. Cam was picked off three times while Manning (27-35 288 yards) had all day to find his receivers. Andre Brown ran for 113 yards on 20 carries and two TDs. Ramses Barden hauled in nine passes for 138 yards and one touchdown. The health of the four and whether or not they will be available against Philadelphia has not been determined yet...The Raiders and Jacksonville got into the win column by beating the Steelers and Indianapolis respectfully. Oakland trailed by 10 (31-21) late in the third but shut out Pittsburgh the rest of the game. Seven touchdown passes were thrown (4 by Pittsburgh 3 by Oakland) while the Raiders Darren McFadden gained 113 on 18 carries and one touchdown in the 34-31 OT win. The Steelers get a bye next week while Oakland travels to Denver...The Jags turned back the Colts 22-17 as Maurice Jones-Drew ran for 177 yards on 25 carries and one touchdown. The Colts wasted a passing performance by Andrew Luck who threw for 313 yards and one touchdown. Like the Steelers, the Colts have a bye while the Jags host the Bengals...Dallas improves to 2-1 with an unimpressive win (16-10) in its home opener over Tampa Bay (1-2)...Same for the Bears (2-1) who dropped the Rams (1-2) 23-6 in a game that saw Chicago's Major Wright return an int 45 yards with the score 13-6 extending the lead...The Bears travel to Dallas next Monday night while the Rams host Seattle...Finally, those Seahawks and Packers finished off week three with a rock'em, sock'em affair Monday night that ended in the most bizarre fashion in recent NFL history. Packers QB Aaron Rogers was sacked seven times in the first half as Green Bay was kept off the scoreboard in the first half (7-0). The Packers returned the favor shutting out Seattle in the third quarter while taking the lead kicking two field goals and a touchdown to take a lead (12-6) until the very last possession. If the play that ended the game does not wake up the NFL hierarchy to end the ref lockout, nothing will. Seahawks QB Russell Wilson throws up a Hail-Mary pass in the direction of wide receiver Golden Tate. Just before Tate jumps up, he clearly pushes Sam Shield in the back (with both hands) driving him to the turf. Tate and Packers MD Jennings rise at the same time and it appeared that Jennings came up with the interception (the TV replays shows the ball pressed against Jennings' chest) but as they crash to the ground, Tate is awarded possession and the game-winning touchdown. The backlash, as a result of the game, will be talked about the rest year even when and if the dispute between the NFL and the referee union is resolved.