Read the arguments from Bleacher Fan and Sports Geek.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I hope you are enjoying your holiday with your family and friends (Editor’s note: and The Sports Debates!). If you’re like my family you stuff your face with turkey and all the fixings, then you kick back and watch football. Maybe you’ll enjoy today’s Packers-Lions game, or perhaps the mid-afternoon game between the Raiders and Cowboys. I am personally going to enjoy tonight’s game between the Giants and Broncos because it has massive playoff implications for both teams. However, I am looking further into the weekend to find the best game. In fact, I am going all the way to Monday night, when the Patriots travel to New Orleans to take on the undefeated Saints.
I know the Patriots (7-3) are coming off a win over the Jets last week in which they played pretty well. I had a chance to watch a good bit of that game. Wes Welker, who has 79 catches for 854 yards and four touchdowns, is quietly having a phenomenal year, a fact I did not really realize until last week. But I think we can all agree that Bill Belichick’s reputation took a serious hit in Indianapolis two weeks ago with the fourth down gamble. The Patriots and the coach need this game to get some swagger back, and beating the undefeated Saints would go a long way. Not to mention the Patriots are currently fighting the Chargers and Bengals for the number two seed in the AFC, a position that would give the winner a first round bye and at least one home playoff game. We all know how critical that is during January… who wants to go to Foxboro in January to play in those conditions?
The real focus on this game, however, is on the Saints. The buzz for this game has been building for weeks. The Saints have not exactly been hitting on all cylinders of late like earlier in the season. But, at 10-0 it is hard to be too critical. Either way, the Saints are still averaging a robust 36.9 points per game. Looking at the schedule, the Patriots game also represents one of the last remaining hurdles for the Saints to clear to make a run at a 16-0 finish to the season. Yes, they still have to host the Cowboys in December and they still have a possible tough game in Atlanta but the combined won-loss record of their opponents after the Patriots is 20-30 (with the Cowboys being the only team yet to face the Saints with a winning record). What is cool about this season so far is that there is a decent shot that both the Colts and Saints finish 16-0, two years after the Patriots finished the regular season undefeated. Wouldn’t that be something? It is something to keep an eye on as the season comes down the stretch.
For this week, I am focusing on the Patriots and Saints. It should be a highly entertaining game. Remember that it is on Monday night, so expect the hype to be monumental over the coming days, especially if you watch a certain network. The Superdome is sure to be rocking!!
In the meantime, Happy Thanksgiving!
