For the first time in their 92 year history the Green Bay Packers are 13-0 after defeating the Oakland Raiders in a rout, 46-16. The Packers dominated on both sides of the ball, and showed early on that it was going to be a long day for the Raiders. On the Raiders first possession of the game, pressure from Clay Matthews forced Carson Palmer to throw an ill advised pass that was picked off by D.J. Smith.

That would be the first of four picks the Green Bay defense would force Palmer to throw. The Packers made sure not to squander those turnovers, converting them into 21 points on the day. Fourteen of the points came off of Ryan Grant touchdown runs and both before halftime.

Grant’s first touchdown was a 47 yard scamper on the first offensive play of the day for the Packers, his second came during a six yard run in the second quarter to put the Pack up 31-0.

While the rest of team was firing on all cylinders, the frontrunner in the MVP race, Aaron Rodgers had a quiet night by his standards.  Rodgers only threw for 2 touchdowns with 281 yards and for the first time this season had a passer rating under a 100. Rodgers “pedestrian” numbers can be attributed to the fact that he did not play a single down in the fourth quarter.

With the game well in hand Coach McCarthy wisely replaced him with backup Matt Flynn. Coach McCarthy wishes he would have replaced star wide receiver Greg Jennings who went down in the third quarter with a knee injury. The details of Jennings’ injury are being held close to the vest by the Packer organization, simple being classified by McCarty as a sprain that warranted further evaluation.

If Jennings injury causes him to miss any serious time, this is the best stretch for him to be absent. The Packers have locked up the top seed in the NFC playoffs, earning them a first round bye week, giving Jennings five weeks before it’s absolutely necessary for him to make his return.

With the divisional race and home field advantage throughout the playoffs locked up, the only concern for the Packers is do they make an attempt at a perfect season or sit their starters for the rest of the season. If the Packers elect to strive for 19-0, they run the risk of getting one of their star players injured during a “meaningless” game, which could have repercussions on their run for a second straight championship.

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What a difference five weeks can make in the NFL. A 0-7 start for the Miami Dolphins suddenly seems like a distant memory from a different season. Miami has now won four of its last five after pounding the Oakland Raiders 34-14 on Sunday. “We’ve had our ups and downs,” said Reggie Bush, “but I couldn’t be more proud.”

If this recent run wasn’t impressive enough, the Dolphins nearly shut out their opponent for the first time since a 2006 victory over the New England Patriots. The Raiders were unable to get on board until they scored two touchdowns during the last eight minutes of the game.

“We couldn’t run. We couldn’t stop the run. We didn’t pass very well,” head coach Hue Jackson said. “Just a bad day at the office.” The Raiders offense definitely missed Darren McFadden, Denarius Moore, Taiwan Jones, and Jacoby Ford. All four were inactive due to injury.

Carson Palmer threw for 273 yards, but most of them came in the second half once the game was already out of reach. On top of that, the Raiders rushed for only 46 yards the entire afternoon. It’s even more astounding that Oakland sported the league’s fourth ranked rushing attack before kickoff.

Instead, it was ironic that the Dolphins’ ground game that put up huge numbers. The team ran for a total of 209 yards, 73 of which Daniel Thomas contributed on 13 carries. But the majority of the yardage came from Bush, who has been criticized throughout his career for not being a hard-nosed runner that goes between the tackles to pick up the tough yards. He’s been committed to changing that perception since coming to Miami.

A 100-yard performance on 22 carries certainly helped his cause. For Bush, it was his second 100-plus yard rushing game of the season, and just the third of his career. He also added a one-yard rushing touchdown to his final line. A 21-yard punt return by Davone Bess in the second quarter began what would eventually be their first touchdown drive on their own 37.

Matt Moore led a 63-yard drive that Bess would finish off with a 13-yard touchdown reception that would give them a 13-0 lead. While the Dolphins began moving the ball more efficiently, the Raiders never even brought the ball deep into Miami territory until it was too late. A 77-yard kickoff return by Clyde Gates to open the third quarter would put the Dolphins on the Oakland 25.

A pass interference call against the Raiders in the end zone would set up Bush for his touchdown. Kevin Burnett returned an interception by Palmer on Oakland’s ensuing drive to wrap up Miami’s scoring with 34 points. Palmer would finish up the overall scoring with two insignificant touchdown passes to T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Darrius Heyward-Bey in the fourth quarter.

The loss was severely deflating for the Raiders, as a late Broncos victory over the Minnesota Vikings officially knocked them out of first place in the AFC West. Both teams sit at 7-5, but Denver currently holds the tiebreaker with a week nine victory over Oakland. Meanwhile, 4-8 Miami continues to build toward next season. They have shown remarkable improvement over the last few weeks and hope to win like this in 2012.

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