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Bills Eliminated From Playoff Contention Falling to the Chargers 37-10

Jonathan Ellish — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 09:00:08 +0000

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The San Diego Chargers are finally playing well, while the Buffalo Bills have completely lost their way.

Behind Philip Rivers’ three touchdown passes, two of which went to Antonio Gates, the Chargers kept their playoff hopes barely alive in their 37-10 victory over the Bills Sunday, while eliminating the Bills from playoff contention for the 12^th straight season.

The Chargers have won two straight following a six game losing skid to move to 6-7, but a few minutes after their game ended the Broncos beat Chicago in overtime to move into first place atop the AFC West at 8-5. The Raiders are still ahead of the Chargers as well, despite losing to Green Bay sitting at a 7-6 record.

“Until they say we’re done, there’s always a chance,” said safety Eric Weddle, “Even if we were done, we’d be playing our hearts out.”

The Chargers will have to win out and hope they get some help from other teams to have a shot at winning the AFC West, but it won’t be easy as the Ravens, in a divisional race of their own, are up next for the Chargers.

For Buffalo, this marked their sixth straight loss and the final nail in the coffin on a season that started out with so much promise. The Bills started 5-2, but haven’t won in over a month and a half.

“I think the last few weeks we made some progress. Today obviously we took a step backward,” Buffalo quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick said. “We didn’t do anything well.”

Both teams came into the game desperate for a win to keep their seasons alive and the Chargers put their foot on the gas pedal and never let up.

Rivers finished with 240 yards on 24 of 33 passing and running back Ryan Matthews continued his good running with 114 yards on 20 carries.

The Bills tried to make it a game when Rivers fumbled a ball that was recovered by Bryan Scott in the end zone for a touchdown that pulled the Bills close at 16-10, but San Diego kept their composure and with a successful fake punt by Weddle, the Chargers were able to punch it in on Antonio Gates’ two yard reception.

“We had a very small window to make that a game and we didn’t stop that drive when they faked the punt,” Chan Gailey said. “We didn’t stop that drive and we couldn’t get anything going offensively consistently.”

After the touchdown on Buffalo’s first play, Fitzpatrick was picked off and it was returned by Steve Gregory for the touchdown to make the score 30-10 and seal the game.

Fitzpatrick finished the game 13 of 34 for 176 yards and two interceptions a far cry from the numbers he was putting up at the beginning of the year.

San Diego will need some help from other teams if they hope to make the playoffs trailing in the AFC West. Their schedule also doesn’t lend itself to them as they face the Ravens, Lions, and Raiders to finish the year. The Bills, now looking to play spoiler have the Dolphins, Broncos, and Patriots remaining on their schedule.

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NFL: Week 9 Power Rankings

Jonathan Ellish — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 12:15:17 +0000

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Besides the Packers which are again atop the Power Rankings this week, there is some shake up near the top of this week’s rankings with some big losses and gains. The 49ers move up into the number 2 spot sitting at 6-1 atop the NFC West. The Steelers, after their big win over the Patriots, move up to number 3 and are the top team in the AFC just ahead of division rivals Baltimore who moved from 8^th to 5^th.

The Patriots and Saints saw themselves drop four spots from 2^nd and 3^rd to 6^th and 7^th respectively after bad losses this week. The Chargers are the big losers this week dropping all the way from 7^th down 15^th after a loss for the 2^nd straight week this time coming at the hands of division rivals the Chiefs.

The Eagles saw themselves jump four spots from 22^nd to 18^th after an impressive victory over the Cowboys. The Vikings also saw themselves making a jump from 28^th to 23^rd behind a second impressive game from rookie QB Christian Ponder and another stud performance from Adrian Peterson.

The Rams who got their first win of the season against the Saints saw themselves leapfrog the Cardinals who blew a 23-6 halftime lead against the Ravens. Bringing up the rear of the rankings again this week are the Dolphins at 31 and the Colts at 32 as both teams failed to get a win again and don’t look very good.

Rank (LW)	Team	Record	Comment
1 (1)	Packers	7-0	The Packers got a bye week to get healthy which is bad news for the rest of the NFL because they’re ready to repeat.
2 (4)	49ers	6-1	The 49ers notched another win behind RB Frank Gore’s 4th 100th yard game in a row.
3 (5)	Steelers	6-2	The Steelers beat down Tom Brady and the Patriots and if they beat the Ravens this Sunday will establish themselves as the team to beat in the AFC.
4 (6)	Lions	6-2	The Lions put a decisive end to Tebow-mania and look like a playoff contender.
5 (8)	Ravens	5-2	The Ravens were too focused on the upcoming Pittsburgh game and barely escaped Arizona with a W.
6 (2)	Patriots	5-2	The defense is bad and the Steelers showed teams just how to beat the Patriots.
7 (3)	Saints	5-3	A bad loss to the winless Rams shows that the Saints have some problems that need addressing.
8 (11)	Bills	5-2	They shut out Mike Shanahan for the first time in his career and move back into a tie atop the AFC East with a key game against the Jets coming up.
9 (9)	Giants	5-2	The Giants increased their lead in the NFC East, but almost blew a game against the winless Dolphins. Super Bowl XLII rematch waiting for them this week.
10 (10)	Bears	4-3	Quiet bye week for the Bears with a tough game against Philadelphia coming up.
11 (12)	Texans	5-3	Texans are 3-0 against the week AFC South and face the woeful Browns this weekend hoping to move to 6-3.
12 (14)	Falcons	4-3	The Falcons are streaking with the only loss in past 4 games coming against the Packers.
13 (13)	Jets	4-3	The Jets are coming out of the bye week with two critical games against the Bills and the Patriots which could decide their season
14 (15)	Bengals	5-2	The Bengals are quietly tied for 1st in the AFC North behind rookie QB Andy Dalton, but have had a relatively weak schedule so far.
15 (7)	Chargers	4-3	Rivers did his best Tony Romo impression and fumbled a snap late against the Chiefs on Monday which led to an eventual loss in OT which puts them in a 3-way tie for 1st with Kansas City and Oakland.
16 (19)	Chiefs	4-3	A big win over the Chargers on MNF gives the Chiefs their 4th straight win and share of 1st place in the AFC West
17 (16)	Raiders	4-3	The Raiders used their bye week to try and get Carson Palmer up to speed and even brought in former Ravens/Bengals WR TJ Houshmandzadeh
18 (22)	Eagles	3-4	The Eagles beat the Cowboys down and with the D playing better could make a run with Mike Vick leading the high-powered offense.
19 (17)	Buccaneers	4-3	The Bucs haven’t hit their stride, but they’re lurking a half-game back in NFC South with a 2-0 division record. (Mike Sando ESPN)
20 (20)	Titans	4-3	Beat the Colts as they should, but Chris Johnson’s struggles and a game coming up against a good defense in the Bengals makes this team merely 2nd place in the AFC South.
21 (18)	Cowboys	3-4	The Cowboys got spanked by the “All-Hype Team” and Rob Ryan’s defense got ran all over.
22 (21)	Redskins	3-4	They were shut out in Toronto, but they have bigger problems than the QB position.
23 (28)	Vikings	2-6	Christian Ponder looks like the real deal and Adrian Peterson is the league’s leading rusher which is a good foundation for next season.
24 (23)	Browns	3-4	Coach/offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur has made little impact on Cleveland’s 25th-ranked offense. (James Walker ESPN)
25 (24)	Panthers	2-6	Cam Newton is putting up numbers not seen since Peyton Manning was a rookie and a missed chip shot FG isn’t on him.
26 (25)	Jaguars	2-6	Rookie QB Blaine Gabbert isn’t playing bad, but he’s not playing well either.
27 (27)	Seahawks	2-5	QB troubles will plague the Seahawks all season as Tavaris Jackson and Charlie Whitehurst aren’t the answers.
28 (26)	Broncos	2-5	Tim Tebow doesn’t look like the answer and it doesn’t look like the Broncos think he is either.
29 (30)	Rams	1-6	Rams got their first win of the season upsetting the Saints behind a spirited performance by RB Steven Jackson
30 (29)	Cardinals	1-6	After blowing a 24-6 halftime lead over the Ravens the Cardinals need to take a long hard look at whether Kolb is going to be their future QB.
31 (31)	Dolphins	0-7	Seems like every week the Dolphins find a way to lose the game doesn’t it?
32 (32)	Colts	0-8	You know the team is really bad when they’re trying as hard as they can and still are playing this bad.

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NFL Week 8 Power Rankings

admin — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 10:00:40 +0000

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The Packers top the Power Rankings again this week with another impressive performance from Aaron Rodgers. The Steelers make a push for the top jumping up to 5^th, and with a win over number 2 New England can jump up next week. The Texans, Falcons, and Chiefs all jumped up 5 spots to 12^th, 14^th, and 19^th respectively.

The Ravens saw themselves drop from 3^rd to 8^th after a horrible loss to the Jaguars. The Raiders dropped 7 spots from 9th to 16th after trouble at the QB position post Carson Palmer trade gave them a loss going into their bye week. The Bucs also dropped 5 spots from 12^th to 17^th after getting whooped in London by the Bears.

The Colts again round out the bottom of the rankings this week after getting obliterated by the Saints 62-7 and they don’t look poised to move anytime soon.

Rank (LW)	Team	Record	Comment
1 (1)	Packers	7-0	Aaron Rodgers is the best QB in the game right now and every week he shows us why.
2 (2)	Patriots	5-1	Coming off the bye week the Pats square off against the Steelers in a potential playoff preview.
3 (5)	Saints	5-2	After picking apart the hapless Colts the Saints get the winless Rams this week.
4 (4)	49ers	5-1	Coming off their bye week they’re getting Braylon Edwards back among others making this team even better.
5 (8)	Steelers	5-2	The Steelers have won three straight and are looking to continue that against the Patriots.
6 (5)	Lions	5-2	Two straight losses and a possible injury to Stafford don’t look good, but the Broncos are next up.
7 (7)	Chargers	4-2	Have lost to the only two decent teams they’ve played the Patriots and the Jets
8 (3)	Ravens	4-2	Horrible loss to a very bad Jaguar team. Flacco has some work to do.
9 (10)	Giants	4-2	The Giants are sitting atop the NFC East and getting healthier.
10 (14)	Bears	4-3	The Bears beat up the Bucs in London and they look to remain relevant til the end.
11 (11)	Bills	4-2	Buffalo is coming off a bye and looking to improve defensively so the offense doesn’t have to score 30+ every game.
12 (17)	Texans	4-3	The next two games for the Texans should be easy, the Jags and the Browns, but we’re talking about the Texans.
13 (15)	Jets	4-3	A solid win over the Chargers thanks to Plaxico Burress’ 3 TD performance has the Jets on a two game win streak going into their bye.
14 (19)	Falcons	4-3	The Falcons are looking to get back on track and are lucky Ryan wasn’t badly injured last game.
15 (18)	Bengals	4-2	Somewhere Mike Brown is smiling over the Palmer trade.
16 (9)	Raiders	4-3	This teams season rest on the shoulders of Carson Palmer, but the bye week should help him get more up to speed.
17 (12)	Buccaneers	4-3	Josh Freeman has four more INTs through six games than he had in 16 games last season. (Mike Sando ESPN)
18 (21)	Cowboys	3-3	Thanks to DeMarco Murray’s monster 253 rushing yard game the Cowboys got a much needed blowout win.
19 (24)	Chiefs	3-3	After starting 0-3 the Chiefs have picked up their play and gotten back to .500.
20 (13)	Titans	3-3	Chris Johnson got payed as the best player in the league, yet is ranked last in ypc and doesn’t look the same.
21 (16)	Redskins	3-3	A season that started with such promise now looks doomed by injuries and a lack of a QB.
22 (20)	Eagles	2-4	If the ‘dream team’ is going to turn things around they need to start now and start with defense.
23 (23)	Browns	3-3	They won a defensive battle against Seattle and move back to .500.
24 (25)	Panthers	2-5	Cam Newton is on a mission to prove everyone who said he wasn’t going to be good wrong.
25 (29)	Jaguars	2-5	A big win over the Ravens showed how good they could be and with a weak division don’t count them out.
26 (27)	Broncos	2-4	After 3 and a half quarters of dreadful football against the winless Dolphins Tebow found a way to comeback and win it in OT.
27 (22)	Seahawks	2-4	They held the browns to 6 points, but forgot to score more than that.
28 (28)	Vikings	1-6	Christian Ponder looked good in his first career start keeping them in the game against the Packers with some help from a guy named AP.
29 (26)	Cardinals	1-5	The Kevin Kolb signing might be one of the worst of the off-season.
30 (31)	Rams	0-6	The only thing keeping pressure of of Spagnoulo is the baseball Cardinals and if they lose he will be on the hot seat.
31 (30)	Dolphins	0-6	How did they find a way to blow that one? Even Bush says they “stink.”
32 (32)	Colts	0-7	They were blown out 62-7. Enough said.

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NFL Week 7 Power Rankings

Jonathan Ellish — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 12:30:25 +0000

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The Packers still hold the top spot in this week’s Power Rankings. The 49ers and Giants are the big winners both jumping five spots up to 4^th and 10^th respectively. This week’s big losers are the Texans who fall five spots down to 17^th and the Cowboys who dropped from 14^th down to 21^st. The Colts, Rams, and Dolphins still round out the bottom of the pack.

Rank (LW)	Team	Record	Comment
1 (1)	Packers	6-0	The Packers dominated again this week and clearly look like the best team in football.
2 (2)	Patriots	5-1	Not a great game against Dallas, but the Patriots proved they can win without Brady throwing for 400 yards and 3 touchdowns.
3 (5)	Ravens	4-1	Ravens got another solid win against a good team and look ready for a run at the AFC North and the Super Bowl
4 (9)	49ers	5-1	The49ers won a hard fought game handing the Lions there first loss of the season
5 (3)	Lions	5-1	Tough loss to a good 49er team, but the loss of Best might be huge for a team lacking in a power running game.
6 (4)	Saints	4-2	Drew Brees has no fumbles in 2011, but eight INTs in past four games. (John Clayton ESPN)
7 (6)	Chargers	4-1	Coming off there bye week the Chargers head east to play the Jets whom division rival Oakland has already beaten.
8 (8)	Steelers	4-2	Mendenhall torched the Jags for 146 yds and a TD, but Jacksonville made things interesting late.
9 (11)	Raiders	4-2	Solid win over the Browns to keep pace with the Chargers though a questionable call on fourth down almost cost them the game.
10 (15)	Giants	4-2	A win over the streaking Bills puts the Giants in first place in the NFC East.
11 (7)	Bills	4-2	Losing to the Giants drops them a game behind the Patriots and there defense is still a major question mark.
12 (16)	Bucaneers	4-2	After getting trounced by the 49ers the week before the Bucs bounced back to beat the Saints to tie the race atop the NFC South.
13 (13)	Titans	3-2	Next up is a divisional showdown against the Texans. Will this be Chris Johnson’s breakout game?
14 (18)	Bears	3-3	The Bears travel to London for a game at Whembly Stadium.
15 (17)	Jets	3-3	They needed a win in the worst way and got one Monday Night against the pitiful Dolphins. There schedule doesn’t get any easier though.
16 (10)	Redskins	3-2	Rex Grossman was benched in favor of John Beck after throwing 4 Ints. Who will be the starter next week?
17 (12)	Texans	3-3	They will either leapfrog the Titans into first place or drop three straight and fall under .500. Still no Andre Johnson.
18 (20)	Bengals	4-2	Andy Dalton has this team in the hunt in the AFC North, but how long will this last?
19 (19)	Falcons	3-3	They beat the Panthers, but the true test for this team will come agains the Lions next week.
20 (22)	Eagles	2-4	They avoided a never ending nightmare by beating the Redskins and with the way the division is looking they’re still right in the mix
21 (14)	Cowboys	2-3	Tough loss in Foxboro, but a game against the Rams should cure everything.
22 (21)	Seahawks	2-3	Another injury to the defense as CB Marcus Trufant has been placed on the IR.
23 (23)	Browns	2-3	The Browns are…well the Browns and with no Peyton Hillis (injury/contract) this team doesn’t have many weapons.
24 (25)	Chiefs	2-3	The Chiefs get Oakland and new QB Carson Palmer out of the bye and coming off of two wins they look to get back to .500.
25 (24)	Panthers	1-5	Cam Newton’s doing everything except getting wins. Three home games in a row should help that though.
26 (29)	Cardinals	1-4	After a bye the Cardinals get the Steelers.
27 (27)	Broncos	1-4	They’re giving Tim Tebow the reigns, but without Brandon Lloyd who’s he going to throw too?
28 (26)	Vikings	1-5	After getting blown out by the Bears it looks like Christian Ponder is the new starter for the Vikings.
29 (28)	Jaguars	1-5	They showed life fighting back against the Steelers, but this team isn’t very good.
30 (30)	Dolphins	0-5	The Dolphins haven’t won a game in almost a year (Dec.21,2010) and Tony Sparano might not make it through the bye. Hard to argue when their gameplan was to throw at Revis as much as possible.
31 (31)	Rams	0-5	Sam Bradford looks to be sidelined with an ankle injury.
32 (32)	Colts	0-6	This team is now perfecting the art of finding ways to lose.

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NFL Week 6 Power Rankings

Jonathan Ellish — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 12:00:43 +0000

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Still ruling the top of the pack is The Packers which means there is little to get exited over there. However, the lower we go, the muddier it gets. Here are the Toonari Post Power Rankings of NFL week 6:

Rank	Team	Record	Comment
1	Packers	5-0	The reigning Super Bowl champs look poised to make a run at repeating last year’s win.
2	Patriots	4-1	With Tom Brady and the 6th ranked rushing offense, the questions lie with the defense.
3	Lions	5-0	This team is for real with a lot of young talent led by Stafford and Megatron who appear unguardable.
4	Saints	4-1	After escaping a game against the Panthers, the Saints still look like one of the league’s best.
5	Ravens	3-1	The Ravens’ offense looks very good, and adding this to their defense makes this a formidable team.
6	Chargers	4-1	No slow start for the Chargers this year and with a early soft schedule they reach the bye virtually unscathed.
7	Bills	4-1	The Bills have beaten some good opponents, but it is not clear if they can score 30+ points all season.
8	Steelers	3-2	Steelers look to have righted the ship, though injuries might slow them down.
9	49ers	4-1	Alex Smith is 3rd in the league in passer rating, making new coach Jim Harbough look like a genius.
10	Redskins	3-1	Rex Grossman predicted it, but no one payed attention. Now that the NFC East is wide open let’s see what the Redskins can do.
11	Raiders	3-2	McFadden is having his usual season and the defense looks solid. The Raiders are a dangerous team and coming off a comeback win following the death of Al Davis.
12	Texans	3-2	They had a tough loss late to the Raiders last week, but with WR Andre Johnson hurt and losing DE Mario Williams for the year, things don’t look good for the Texans.
13	Titans	3-2	Chris Johnson doesn’t look the same and with no Kenny Britt the Titans are iffy. A weak division may end up helping them in the end.
14	Cowboys	2-2	The Cowboys have the talent, they just need to put it all together, even though getting the Patriots out of a bye week isn’t the easiest game.
15	Giants	3-2	The Giants have had injuries and after losing last week to a bad Seattle team, who knows where the Giants will end up.
16	Buccaneers	3-2	They have the Saints up next and if they win that everything is okay even after getting demolished by San Francisco 48-3
17	Jets	2-3	Three weeks. Three bad games. If they lose to the winless Dolphins on Monday Night prepare for the biggest implosion New York has ever seen.
18	Bears	2-3	This might be one of the worst offensive lines in history.
19	Falcons	2-3	Falcons had big plans coming into the season, but the defense has struggled and Matt Ryan isn’t having the greatest year either.
20	Bengals	3-2	Andy Dalton has looked good and this team has a lot of heart. How that translates in their record remains to be seen, especially with Baltimore and Pittsburg in the same division.
21	Seahawks	2-3	The Seahawks aren’t very good, but managed a solid win last week against the Giants.
22	Eagles	1-4	The “Dream Team” is living a nightmare and it looks to continue the whole season.
23	Browns	2-2	They aren’t the greatest team ever and with Peyton Hillis having problems due to his contract the Browns don’t have much help.
24	Panthers	1-4	Cam Newton looks like the real deal they’ve lost a lot of close games this season.
25	Chiefs	2-3	A comeback win against the Colts doesn’t say much and without Jamaal Charles this team won’t do very much this year.
26	Vikings	1-4	The Vikings are the best of the worst for one reason: Adrian Peterson. McNabb has been a bust and the defense isn’t the same.
27	Broncos	1-4	Going into the bye week the fans’ prayers have been answered. Tim Tebow has been named the starter.
28	Jaguars	1-4	Going to be a real long season for the Jags. There punter whom was just released is the least of there problems.
29	Cardinals	1-4	Kevin Kolb hasn’t been what the Cardinals expected.
30	Dolphins	0-4	Matt Moore is now the starting QB and Dolphin fans can only hope they lose every game to get Andrew Luck in next years’ draft.
31	Rams	0-4	Too many key injuries and a bad offensive line leave the Rams in no mans land and Bradford on pace for 72 sacks.
32	Colts	0-4	Wonder how good Peyton Manning is? A one or two win season is a definite possibility.

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