Associated Press
Today’s NFL lineup …
The Indianapolis Colts get no breaks in the midseason portion of their schedule.
This week it’s a trip to Pittsburgh following a loss at Tennessee and a home win over New England that gave the Colts a half-decent shot at their seventh straight playoff berth. It’s almost sure to be a wild-card spot if they do get it.
That’s because at 4-4 they trail the unbeaten Titans by four games in the AFC South, meaning their run of five straight division titles is all but over.
“It was a win we needed,” said safety Bob Sanders, who made his return after missing five games with ankle and knee injuries and helped stiffen what has been a porous defense.
Pittsburgh is a win the Colts need, too, and one that will be hard to come by. The Steelers (6-2) are 5-0 against AFC teams, lead the NFL in defense and are almost impossible to run against, something that Indy will have to do if it wants to get Peyton Manning into the rhythm he had against the Patriots.
The question for Pittsburgh is the health of Ben Roethlisberger, whose throwing shoulder is slightly separated after batterings in losses to two NFC East teams. He was sacked eight times by the Eagles and five by the Giants.
But Byron Leftwich stepped in efficiently in the second half of Monday night’s 23-6 win in Washington, going 7-of-10 for 129 yards and a touchdown.
“We all know Ben’s the guy,” Leftwich said. “Ben’s the quarterback of this football team, and I know I was going to be there in case something happened.”
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In other games today, Seattle is at Miami; St. Louis at the New York Jets; Tennessee at Chicago; Baltimore at Houston; Jacksonville at Detroit; Green Bay at Minnesota; New Orleans at Atlanta; Buffalo at New England; Kansas City at San Diego; and the New York Giants at Philadelphia.
San Francisco is at Arizona on Monday night.
Cincinnati, Dallas, Washington, and Tampa Bay are off in the last set of byes.
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New York Giants (7-1) at Philadelphia (5-3)Washington’s loss to the Steelers and the Giants’ win over Dallas last week probably left the Eagles as the second best team in the NFC East and the most likely challenger to New York. A win here by the Giants, who face a tough final eight games, would be a big step toward a division championship and potential home-field advantage in the playoffs.
Tennessee (8-0) at Chicago (5-3)The Bears lead Packers and Vikings by a game in the AFC North after overcoming a 10-point halftime deficit against winless Detroit behind Rex Grossman, who is likely to spell Kyle Orton (sprained ankle).
The Titans, who have held seven of their eight opponents to 17 points or less, remained unbeaten with an overtime victory over Green Bay.
Green Bay (4-4) at Minnesota (4-4)
A win by the Packers would give them a two-game lead over the Vikings in what figures to be a three-team race in the NFC North. That’s because they beat Minnesota the opening week.
Seattle (2-6) at Miami (4-4)
Miami may have benefited as much from the Brett Favre trade as the Jets. That’s because New York let Chad Pennington go and he signed with Miami, giving the Dolphins the best quarterback they’ve had since Dan Marino retired nine years ago. That’s one reason a team that was 1-15 last season can think of winning the AFC East.
New Orleans (4-4) at Atlanta (5-3)The Falcons are the most pleasant surprise of the first half, led by rookie QB Matt Ryan, free agent RB Michael Turner and DE/LB John Abraham, who led a defense that held Oakland (OK, it was only the Raiders) to 77 yards of offense last week.
Kansas City (1-7) at San Diego (3-5)The Chiefs are the best one-win team in the NFL, which means they are better than the Bengals and winless Detroit. At least they are young and (supposedly) building.
The Chargers are the NFL’s biggest underachievers.
Buffalo (5-3) at New England (5-3)
These two are tied with the Jets for first in the AFC East, with surprising Miami just a game behind.
St. Louis (2-6) at New York Jets (5-3)
This is the kind of game the Jets historically lose ó just when their fans are getting hope, they get beaten by a team they should beat.
Jacksonville (3-5) at Detroit (0-8)
Daunte Culpepper might start for the Lions at quarterback after a day or two of practice because Dan Orlovsky has an injured thumb on his throwing hand.
Baltimore (5-3) at Houston (3-5)
The makeup of the game postponed by Hurricane Ike in September.
San Francisco (2-6) at Arizona (5-3) (Monday night)
The Cardinals, three games up on the other three NFC West teams, won the opener in San Francisco and are 3-0 at home.
This will be San Francisco’s second game under Mike Singletary, who lost his first to Seattle but made a splash by calling out tight end Vernon Davis and dropping his pants to motivate his players.