Sports

Tuesday morning quarterback

The best and worst of week 15.

By By JOANNE KORTH
Published December 18, 2007

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Three best performances

 

QB Cleo Lemon, Dolphins: A few weeks ago, Lemon was benched for rookie John Beck. Back in the starting lineup, Lemon delivered the overtime touchdown pass that snapped the Dolphins' 16-game losing streak and rescued the franchise from the infamy of a winless season. RB Jamal Lewis, Browns: In conditions suited for skiing, Lewis rushed for 163 yards on 33 attempts on a snow-covered field in Cleveland. The playoffs are all but a certainty for the Browns after an 8-0 victory against the Bills. Cleveland is tied with Pittsburgh for first in the AFC North. Coach Bill Belichick, Patriots: Not only did Belichick shake hands with Jets coach Eric Mangini after the Patriots' 20-10 victory, he even uttered words of encouragement - "Good game" or "Good luck" or something to that effect - to his former defensive coordinator during the encounter.

 

Three worst performances QB Tony Romo, Cowboys: Okay, blame it on the bruised thumb, but Romo was 13-of-36 with three interceptions in a 10-6 home loss to the Eagles that puts the No.1 seeding in the NFC in jeopardy. The good news about a possible NFC Championship Game in frigid Green Bay? Romo wouldn't feel the pain in his thumb. Panthers fans: Carolina upset Seattle 13-10 on Sunday, but plenty of fans missed quarterback Matt Moore's debut. According to the Charlotte Observer, actual attendance at Bank of America Stadium was 51,288, meaning there were slightly more than 20,000 no-shows. Giants receivers: Quarterback Eli Manning is struggling enough as it is, but in extremely windy conditions Sunday night at Giants Stadium, he was victimized by nine dropped passes. Running back Brandon Jacobs was the leading culprit in a 22-10 loss to the Redskins. And don't forget wide receiver Amani Toomer, below.

 

Three for the record books QB Brett Favre, Packers: Another week, another NFL record. On Sunday,Favre, right, surpassed (who else?) Dan Marino to become the league's all-time passing yardage leader. Favre had 227 yards in Sunday's win against the Rams, giving him 61,405 in his 17-year career. Marino had 61,361. QB Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers: Roethlisberger broke the Pittsburgh franchise record for touchdown passes in a season with his 29th in Sunday's loss to the Jaguars. Terry Bradshaw threw 28 in 1978. QB Todd Collins, Redskins: Making his first start in 10 years and two days, Collins led the 'Skins on five scoring drives in a 22-10 upset of the Giants. He set a post-1970 record for longest gap between starts by an NFL quarterback, previously held by Tommy Maddox at 9 years, 298 days. Best decision: Okay, be honest. Who out therewould have had the wherewithal,as Eagles running back Brian Westbrook did, to take a knee atthe 1-yard line rather than scorebecause the opposing team wasout of timeouts trailing by fourpoints with two minutes to play? Uh-huh. Thought so. Quarterback Donovan McNabb took a knee three straight times to finish out a 10-6 victory against Dallas. Of course, it could be argued a touchdown would have sealed the victory at 17-6, but Westbrook spared his team the drama of a possible Dallas touchdown and onside kick attempt. Best decision, part II: Running out of chances to win a game, the Dolphins called on seven Hall of Fame members from the undefeated 1972 team to serve as honorary captains and participate in the coin toss. Hey, when you've lost 16 straight, you need all the mojo you can get. Best performance nobody saw: San Francisco quarterback Shaun Hill was 21-of-28 for 197 yards and one touchdown in Saturday's 20-13 victory against the Bengals. The game was broadcast on the NFL Network, so most of the country will consider Hill's game Sunday against the Bucs his first NFL start.

 

Three teams on the rise Texans: They've won two straight with backup quarterback Sage Rosenfels and, at 7-7, matched the franchise record for wins. But they are mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, and their final two are at the Colts and vs. the Jaguars. Redskins: Washington has won two straight since attending the funeral of teammate Sean Taylor on Dec. 3. Maybe Hall of Fame coach Joe Gibbs has a few tricks left, after all. Titans: Vince Young is looking like a quarterback. Tennessee is one game out of the AFC's final wild-card spot at 8-6 and plays its final two against the Jets and at Indianapolis.

 

Three teams losing momentum Giants: They eked out consecutive victories against the Bears and Eagles with fourth-quarter comebacks but looked a mess in Sunday night's home loss to the Redskins. Oh, and tight end Jeremy Shockey is out for the season with a broken leg. Cowboys: The fourth-quarter comeback at Detroit was fun, but Sunday's dismal effort at home against Philadelphia makes the ugliness an alarming two-game trend. And quarterback Tony Romo's bruised thumb is worrisome. Steelers: Two weeks ago, they were 9-3 and had a solid lead in the AFC North. After consecutive losses to the Patriots and Jaguars, the Steelers have no margin for error.

 

Three good games in Week 16 Cowboys at Panthers 8:15 p.m. Ssaturday: Who will Tony Romo bring as his date to this one? More importantly, will the Cowboys shake off a bad game against the Eagles? Redskins at Vikings, 8:15 p.m. Sunday: The NFC wild-card race is down to four teams. These are two of them. The Redskins are in playoff mode already. Browns at Bengals, 1 p.m. Sunday: Suddenly, Cleveland is tied for the division lead with Pittsburgh. And this is still a decent rivalry.

[Last modified December 18, 2007, 01:28:28]