It was a very tense Christmas Eve as we sat and watched the final minutes of the Lions/Vikings game dwindle away. It hadn't been that great of a game. The Lions were doing typical Lions things and it was looking like we were going to have to wait for the final two games of the season to see if they could actually pull off a miracle.
Then, with one mighty heave and one well read route, the Lions intercepted the ball and sealed the deal on something fans have been waiting over 30 years for.
The Lions are the NFC North Champions. Something they haven't done since before the division even existed. It's such a good thing they did too because the Cowboys next week is probably going to be a tough game. Add to that the Vikings again to close out the season, and we thought sure it was going to be a zero hour sort of thing.
College Bowl season is now in full swing with at least one game being played pretty much every day for the rest of the year. Today there are three on the slate. I will probably be watching a bit of the Minnesota game at 2:00 and showing my support for the Big 10. That Kansas game at 9:00 PM could be good too.
It looks like Air Force handed James Madison their second loss of the season in the Armed Force bowl (seems fitting). Meanwhile, Eastern Michigan had a huge loss to South Alabama and didn't handle it well. They started a fight that is likely going to have big consequences next season.
Finally, Northwestern took down Utah 14 to 7 in the Las Vegas Bowl.
Besides the big Lions win to clinch the NFC North, there were a lot of other games played this weekend as well. The Rams are still making their case to be included in the playoffs even though San Francisco has already taken the division.
Buffalo had a big win against Los Angeles which lands them just below Miami in the AFC East. Green Bay narrowly beat the Carolina Panthers 33 to 30 which quite honestly isn't much to be excited or proud about.
It wasn't until later in the weekend that the biggest games were played. Miami had a close game against Dallas coming away with the 22 to 20 victory, and New England beat Denver 26 to 23 in a game that probably doesn't mean anything.
Las Vegas smacked down Kansas City 20 to 14, and Philadelphia had a close call against New York, but came away with a 33 to 25 win. Finally, Baltimore took advantage of some major mistakes by the 49ers to take home a 33 to 19 win.
It's going to be interesting to see how the playoff picture shakes out for many of these teams. I will be interested to see how much effort Detroit puts into the next two games given the fact that they have already taken the division. I don't see them playing soft, but then again, these playoffs are a big deal for them.
Either way, you know I will be watching!
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