Football this 'n' that

Of the eight division leaders in the NFL, two had a bye week (New England, Houston), one plays tonight (San Francisco), and five were in action on Sunday. The results? Ehhh.

AFC North leader Baltimore shredded the last place Cincinnati Bengals.

NFC North front-runner Green Bay survived a late rally from Carolina to defeat the Panthers at snowy Lambeau Field.

NFC East leader Dallas fell to Minnesota as their late rally fell woefully short.

NFC South kingpin New Orleans was upset by Atlanta, ending a six game winning streak for the Saints, and a six game losing streak for the Falcons.

AFC West leader Kansas City, with the returning Patrick Mahomes, dropped a decision to Tennessee, as the Chiefs' special teams failed them when they were needed the most. The resurgent Oakland Raiders, ending their 2nd run in the Bay Area after this season, are now a half game back.

The 49ers play Seattle tonight in a game that could have playoff implications. Seattle has not had a bye week yet this season, and will get one soon, but they're a game and a half behind the undefeated Niners, and can trim that lead to just a half game with a win tonight.

It's been a crazy week.
=======================================
Break up the Miami Dolphins. Tied for third in the AFC East with the Jests, Miami made it two in a row, upsetting Indianapolis. The Jests kept pace by beating the Giants, who now have lost six in a row, have a bye week, then have to play Chicago next, while the Jests will entertain the Washington Trumpets next week.
======================================
One week after Jests coach Adam Gase was getting shredded by the Valley of The Stupid, 2nd year Giants coach Pat Shurmur is on a hot seat now with the six straight losses, but it's easy to see where the Giants made mistakes.

1. Team management stubbornly stuck with an over the hill Eli Manning to start the season, and couldn't afford another bad start.

2. While Daniel Jones got off to a fast start, he's come down to earth, and one wonders why the Giants didn't draft Shurmur's son, Kyle. Had they done so, they could've assured the elder Shurmur that he'd be safe beyond this season. Instead, color him gone after the holidays.

3. Offensively, the Giants were in a hole early when receiver Golden Tate started the season with a 4 game suspension. Injuries to receiver Sterling Shepard and bringing running back Saquon Barkley back too early from injury haven't helped.
========================================
After the first College Football Playoff rankings came out, two of the top four teams fell, and fell hard, on Saturday.

First, Penn State stunk it up against Minnesota. That was hard to watch. Then, the heavily hyped "Game of The Century" between Alabama & LSU, with President Donald Trump in attendance, lived up to the hype, and then some. That was the good news for Crimson Tide Nation. The bad news? LSU defeated Alabama, 46-41. Trump might've gotten the loudest ovation in Tuscaloosa, aside from the home team, and he's almost assured of attending at least one more football game this season, that being Army-Navy next month. But don't you think that in the back of his mind, he might feel like he's a jinx? After all, the Nationals lost when he attended a World Series home game, and now, Alabama falls.

There are also questions as to whether or not LSU, which entered play Saturday at #2 in the CFP rankings, could overtake top ranked Ohio State, which crushed Maryland, 73-14. The argument might involve the Terrapins similarly shredding Syracuse back in September, and raise issues about the Buckeyes' strength of schedule. Stay tuned.