Raiders upset Chiefs; Pats in driver's seat

BlueThunder said:

Just Win baby !!!

Can't have any mental lapses by coaching OR players down the stretch....it seems that they have the horses to win out, still a tough schedule but they have already beaten the top teams soundly..BIG test at Lambeau coming up. Will be nice to have Siliga and Jones back for the stretch run. Blount is a nice addition for the ground and pound side of the game...wear down the opponents DL for late in the game....

In Brady and BB We Trust !

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NO NO NO NO NO NO NO...

Forget Lambeau!

Big TEST Sunday against Detroit. That team has attitude and is playing for their playoff lives.

One game at a time, baby. One game at a time.

Oswlek said:

It makes sense in theory, but not really in practice. Denver is still a much better team than Indy with every possible tiebreaker advantage. I wouldn't call Indy's chances "trivial" (that's for you 74!), but it is probably in the 10-15% range.

Personally, I think Denver is going to make people remember how good they are at home this weekend.

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It really doesn't matter who is the better team. It is about who is on their schedule and who they have left. There is a very good chance they will both be 7-4 after this weekend and the Colts being 8-4 while the Broncos being 7-5 after next weekend. The Broncos are likely going to play the Dolphins with no weapons and then go into KC next week. The Colts have the Jags and Redskins the next two weeks.

If the Broncos were at full strength this weekend, I might agree with you. But they are likely going to be without Sanders and Julius Thomas. All the Dolphins have to do is double D. Thomas.

What the Chiefs do doesn't concern me that much because they are one of two teams I consider us a lock to beat soundly the next time we see them. The other is Miami.

PatsWickedPissah said:

Not I.
I wish to savor another one & done by Peyton on wildcard weekend.
I think that quick exit will finally penetrate the thick skulls of the pundits that PM is a fantasy football QB.

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Nope, everyone is going to act shocked and then pick him to win the super bowl again.

Bella*chick said:

What the Chiefs do doesn't concern me that much because they are one of two teams I consider us a lock to beat soundly the next time we see them. The other is Miami.

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I don't consider any game a lock. I'm sure KC vs. Oakland was considered as close to a "lock" as you can get.

Let the other teams beat each other up and fight it out (Denver vs. Miami, then @KC, for example). Take it one game at a time, and don't take anything for granted. I like our chances against anyone if we play the way we have been. If we take anyone lightly, we'll be in trouble.

Rob0729 said:

If the Broncos were at full strength this weekend, I might agree with you. But they are likely going to be without Sanders and Julius Thomas. All the Dolphins have to do is double D. Thomas.

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I keep reading that. Does anyone know what the Denver injury/practice reports say?

mayoclinic said:

I don't consider any game a lock. I'm sure KC vs. Oakland was considered as close to a "lock" as you can get.

Let the other teams beat each other up and fight it out (Denver vs. Miami, then @KC, for example). Take it one game at a time, and don't take anything for granted. I like our chances against anyone if we play the way we have been. If we take anyone lightly, we'll be in trouble.

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Ah, but the reason I consider it a lock is not because we will take them lightly. Precisely the opposite in fact. You think the team might not have something they want to prove to the Chiefs? Buffalo bills in 2003/4 may look like a squeaker in comparison.

PatsWickedPissah said:

I keep reading that. Does anyone know what the Denver injury/practice reports say?

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Neither have practiced this week. If Sanders isn't cleared to practice today, there is no way he will be cleared to play on Sunday.

Here is a link to the injury report from yesterday:

http://www.thephinsider.com/miami-d...njury-report-jonathan-freeny-out-for-dolphins

Pittsburgh looks likely to win out. Or at most have one loss. Big Ben playing phenominally.

Oh well, if the Pats win then all is academic...At Green Bay will be tough...every other game is winnable I think. Not that at green bay isn't.

They are alot of Pretenders in the AFC this year the Chiefs being one of them...how do you lose to a winless pathetic Team at this juncture?? The Chiefs next game vs Denver is there season rigt there.

mayoclinic said:

I don't consider any game a lock. I'm sure KC vs. Oakland was considered as close to a "lock" as you can get.

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Not for me! I haven't been impressed with KC for a while now and Oakland has actually been feisty lately. Not that I gave them great odds of winning, but I expected it to be close and had a gut feeling right before the game that the Raiders would pull it out.

Rob0729 said:

Neither have practiced this week. If Sanders isn't cleared to practice today, there is no way he will be cleared to play on Sunday.

Here is a link to the injury report from yesterday:

http://www.thephinsider.com/miami-d...njury-report-jonathan-freeny-out-for-dolphins

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Well Rob its not like Denver hasn't bend to rules before Sanders looked fine on twitter.

Oswlek said:

Not for me! I haven't been impressed with KC for a while now and Oakland has actually been feisty lately. Not that I gave them great odds of winning, but I expected it to be close and had a gut feeling right before the game that the Raiders would pull it out.

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That makes you and the canine on NFL.com as the only ones.

I wasn't surprised that Oakland was competitive. They played SD close at home, and played the Pats close. But I didn't expect them to win.

kennyb said:

Pittsburgh looks likely to win out. Or at most have one loss. Big Ben playing phenominally.

Oh well, if the Pats win then all is academic...At Green Bay will be tough...every other game is winnable I think. Not that at green bay isn't.

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They do? Other than Ben's two 6TD games, Pitt hasn't looked like an elite team all year. Sandwiched around those two wins are a blowout loss at Cleveland, a loss at the Jets, a game in which they trailed TN 24-13 in the fourth quarter and another that Houston completely gave away.

Pitt will not win out. 3-2 is their most likely record the rest of the way.

Apparently Jason LaCanfora says expects Julius Thomas is out for Sunday and no one knows if Sanders will pass the concussion protocol:

A

nd @JasonLaCanfora just added "nobody knows" on Emmanuel Sanders for Sunday, and he doesn't expect Julius Thomas to play.

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https://twitter.com/JameyEisenberg/status/535595818909466624

PatsFan2 said:

Well Rob its not like Denver hasn't bend to rules before Sanders looked fine on twitter.

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I wonder if the Welker situation last year will make them more cautious with Sanders than less.

Oswlek said:

Not for me! I haven't been impressed with KC for a while now and Oakland has actually been feisty lately. Not that I gave them great odds of winning, but I expected it to be close and had a gut feeling right before the game that the Raiders would pull it out.

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Right. Oakland was winless, but they definitely have been making opponents earn it.

They lost to SD by a FG, gave the 'Hawks a scare (scoring 21 points in the second half) and held SD to 13 points the second time they played them. (Not to mention holding a certain AFC East team to 16 points on the road at the opponents' home opener).

Looking past the next game always makes me nervous, but even my hyper-cautious self has to admit that things seem to be shaping up.

The challenge, of course, is that every team they play from here on out is going to be highly motivated to beat our guys...Detroit coming off two straight losses...@Rodgers in a must win game both to show he can beat Brady at home as well as see a path to the Playoffs without having to sweat a Wild Card...@San Diego and Rivers trying to show that their early season performance was not a fluke (which I think it was) and trying to claw their way back into the Playoff picture...three Division games against teams that will either be playing their SB (Buffalo and @Jets) or fighting for a Wild Card (Miami).

If 13--3 gets us the Number One Seed, I think that's not out of reach. 12--4 might do it as well.

If a tough close to the season is the best preparation for January, then the Pats have a big opportunity ahead of them.

But, for now, let's just think about "Moving on to Detroit."

Oswlek said:

They do? Other than Ben's two 6TD games, Pitt hasn't looked like an elite team all year. Sandwiched around those two wins are a blowout loss at Cleveland, a loss at the Jets, a game in which they trailed TN 24-13 in the fourth quarter and another that Houston completely gave away.

Pitt will not win out. 3-2 is their most likely record the rest of the way.

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They host NO, play at Atlanta, host Cincy, those are 3 easy wins.

At Cincy and at hosting KC are only possible losses. And they'd be favored.

Lot of really good teams. Miami is playing REALLY well, I've already taken flack for saying Tannehill could be a dark horse MVP candidate. They will beat the Broncos this week, pretty sure.