Adrian Peterson is having a fine season, but he might indeed be a background figure with how well Favre is playing right now.
HOT
Arizona: Most of the talk in the NFC is about the Saints and Vikings, and justly so, but the Cardinals are on fire, having won six of seven to put the NFC West well beyond doubt before December once again.
Brett Favre: After his second four-touchdown game in three weeks, Favre now leads the league in passer rating at 112.1. Will he add a fourth MVP award to his trophy case? Let’s just say that the Vikings wouldn’t be 9-1 with Tarvaris Jackson or Sage Rosenfels.
Chris Johnson: After last night’s 151-yard performance against the Texans, Johnson now has 774 yards in his last five games. If there were any questions about his ability to be a workhorse in the NFL, he’s answering them emphatically.
The fire under Jay Cutler’s backside: The Bears have now dropped five of six to deal a critical blow to their postseason hopes, and in that period, Cutler has seven touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
To add to the miserable numbers, Cutler is now 0-4 at night, with four touchdowns and 12 picks. Fortunately, five of the Bears’ last six games are during the day, when Cutler is 4-2.
The San Diego Chargers: So the Broncos’ 3.5 game lead over the Chargers after Week 6 was nothing more than San Diego just giving Denver a really good headstart, it seems. A little over a month ago, San Diego was looking nothing like a contender, but after five wins in a row, it should come as no surprise that BetUS sportsbook has the Chargers as one of their prime Super Bowl favorites right now.
HEATING UP
Eli Manning: After having his struggles in the Giants’ four consecutive losses, Manning stepped up when the running game was shut down on Sunday, going 25 of 39 for 384 yards and three touchdowns in the Giants’ overtime win over the Falcons.
Jacksonville: The Jaguars have won three straight by three points or less, and five of their six wins have been by seven points or less.
Ricky Williams: While some of his peers are slowing down or out of work, he’s turning back the clock taking advantage of his chance to be a feature back again, and repaying the organization‘s decision to stick with him when he was busy being Ricky.
Vince Young’s worth as a starter in the NFL: He hasn’t had to put up gaudy numbers, but by simply being efficient and avoiding the kind of mistakes that relegated him to the bench, not only is it benefiting the Titans offensively (namely Chris Johnson), but it’s also helped inject a whole lot of life in a season that looked to be a wash.
COOLING OFF
Division title races: The AFC North and NFC East are tight, but that’s it, which certainly doesn‘t do much for those looking for division drama. And yes, the Chargers are only a game ahead of the Broncos in the AFC West, but do you honestly see San Diego giving up that lead now that they’ve gotten it?
Houston’s postseason hopes: The mark of a playoff team is being able to get it done in the clutch, and that’s where the Texans have fallen short, not only in their two statement games against the Colts and Titans, but also in Week 3 against Jacksonville and Week 5 at Arizona.
Pittsburgh‘s repeat hopes: You’d have to expect the Steelers to right the ship in short order, but following an anemic home performance against the Bengals by throwing away leads against the woeful Chiefs makes Sunday night’s game at Baltimore a must-win for the Steelers’ hopes to make the postseason
COLD
Buffalo’s coaching search: You’ve got to admire the Bills for aiming high for Dick Jauron’s replacement, attempting to court the likes of Mike Shanahan and Bill Cowher, but not all courtships are reciprocated, are they?
Kris Brown: It can’t be much fun to be him right now. Costly misses in two of the biggest games in the Texans’ history have him firmly in ‘goat’ status.
IN THE ARCTIC
Denver: It’s easy to overlook the fact that they’re only a game out of first when they’ve thrown away a huge division lead and looked pretty bad while doing so.
If you’re looking to find out what we think about the Broncos’ chances in Week 12, check out our upcoming NFL picks. And speaking of picks, for up to date lines and odds on NFL games each week, click here.
