By Jay Busbee
When you play football for 18 weeks, they're not all gonna be winners.
Last week's NFL slate was, well, less than compelling. Of the 14 games, only five finished with a winning margin of less than double figures, and that includes the Monday night Bills-Pats slog. Yes, we got perhaps the season's best finish in the Lions' final-play win over the Vikings, but that was pretty much it. The week looked like a dog from the start, and barked all the way through.
But the football schedule-makers did us a solid this week, giving us multiple crucial late-season divisional matchups to get the ol' blood pumping. We're not at win-or-go-home territory yet, but as we round the season's final turn, any team that wants to make some noise this postseason needs to get the engine fired up this weekend.
How close is the playoff race? This close: Of the 32 teams in the NFL, only eight ? four from each conference ? are more than a game out of the postseason hunt. Every weekend is crucial from here on out, and here are the games we'll be watching to see who puts up a fight ... and who shuts up and packs away the big talk for next year.
