1. Ravens and Steelers battle on Sunday Night- We all love this rivalry. Something memorable always happens and this game always determines who wins the AFC North most of the time. Love isn’t the word I would use to describe the two teams feelings to each other. This is the best rivalry in the NFL and these teams simply hate each other. There’s usually smack talk in press conferences before the game, flags being thrown for unsportsmanlike conduct. This is everything you want to see in a rivalry game. The Steelers may not have Ben under center for this game and possibly a few more games due to a shoulder injury. The Ravens are looking to continue their dominance as of late to the black and yellow. They took both games from the Steelers last year including a
35-7 beatdown to open to 2011 season. I can’t wait for this one, this makes me
want to get back and play again, but I’m good on that one.
2. Bears look to bounce back in San Francisco- The Bears are 7-2 and still atop the NFC North. Their defense did a fantastic job against a highly powered offensive team in the Texans but that offense is what ended up hurting them in the end. Jay Cutler is a question mark as he left Sunday’s game with a concussion. The 49ers enter at 6-2-1, yes a tie. they tied with the St. Louis Rams last week and they didn’t look as dominant as normal. Steven Jackson had a field day on a dominant team who prides themselves on playing good defense so I can see the 49ers coming into this game with an angry mindset.
3. Stanford and Oregon square off- For Oregon to stay in line for their second National Title game appearance in the last two seasons, they need to beat Stanford. If they win, the road to Miami for the title game is theirs and we could even see them at number one in the rankings jumping over Kansas State. This is a matchup of two teams with different styles of play. Oregon is that high flying, power offense that likes to score and score when possible. The Cardinal have some one in getting to the Quarterback averaging mutiple sacks a game. This
should be a great one to watch.
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4. Colts and Patriots renew rivalry- This is another one of those great rivalries everyone has discussed. We never thought it’d be the same after the Colts and Peyton parted ways but now we can say it’ll be renewed Sunday with Andrew Luck who’s had a phenomenal rookie year against the legend Tom Brady. Whoever thought we’d be saying in week 11 of this season that the Colts, a team who was 2-14 last year would be 6-3 and in the hunt for the playoffs. If they playoffs started today, they would be in. The Patriots are still struggling on the defensive side of the football. Too many big plays are given up down the field by these guys. The offense can’t carry the team always, you have to show some type of balance;
5. Packers look to continue winning ways in Motown; Broncos look to
keep streaking against Chargers- The Packers are coming off the bye
week at 6-3 and look to continue their winning ways against the disappointing
Lions. Aaron has played well and the Packers have come back in a big way after
their surprising 2-3 start; Denver is now playing the type of football we’ve
expected them too. This is the most balanced offense Peyton Manning has been on, no disrespect to those great Colt offenses he was a part of in Indy.
