The Week That Was

From 1-15 to 11-5 and AFC East Champions. What the Miami Dolphins have accomplished is miraculous. He may not be flashy but Dolphins QB Chad Pennington is the MVP of the league. Without him the Dolphins wouldn't have won more than six games. He provided stability at the most important position on the field, didn't turn the ball over (Dolphins tied with the Giants for fewest turnovers ever in a season), and came up huge in December. Bill Parcells involvement also can't be overlooked. Everywhere he goes, save for the sorry Cowboys, that team has won a division title. He may not be coaching but I guarantee his presence was felt on that team, plus he brought in the right coach, Tony Sparano, gave them perhaps their best pass catching threat, TE Anthony Fasano, and signed Pennington. I hope the Dolphins are still hungry because they can make some noise in the playoffs.

The Minnesota Vikings avoided choking away a playoff berth for the second straight year as Ryan Longwell hit a game winning field goal at the buzzer to defeat the Giants and give the Vikings the NFC North crown. The Vikings got off to a 10-0 lead but the Giants, playing mostly with backups came back and scored 19 unanswered points. Vikings WR Bernard Berrian came up with some huge catches at the end of the game to allow the Vikings to have a chance. Tavaris Jackson is still a major weakness at QB but with the best running back in the game the Vikings can also make an impact in the playoffs.

Because of the Oakland Raiders shocking upset of Tampa Bay the Eagles/Cowboys game became a play in game for the final playoff spot in the NFC. The Eagles came ready to play and trounced the Cowboys 44-6. The Eagles are a hard team to understand but when they play to their best they are one of the better teams in the league. The Cowboys finished the season 9-7 and despite being media darlings won't even be in the playoffs. Tony Romo continues to shrink in December and the Cowboys will add to their 12 year run of being without a playoff victory.

The Redskins and 49ers closed out their seasons in a meaningless game. Both teams played hard but a key Clinton Portis fumble with the Redskins up 17-7 in the 3rd quarter proved to be a huge momentum changer, as the Niners won a last second field goal 27-24. The Niners finished the season 7-9 and did the right thing by removing the interim tag from coach Mike Singletary. Hopefully, the 49ers can truly take the next step, as the last time they finished 7-9 they were made everyone's sleeper team the next season and then fell on their faces to a 5-11 finish. Shaun Hill was definitely better than J.T. O'Sullivan at the QB position but if Matt Cassell becomes available the 49ers should make a run at him. The Skins went 2-6 in the second half of the season after a 6-2 start and need a massive overhaul on the offensive and defensive lines. Jason Campbell will be going into a contract year next year and unless he and the team improves significantly I believe the Redskins should let him walk. The Redskins and the 0-16 Lions were the only teams to never reach 30 points in a game this season.

This is how I see the NFL playoffs shaking out.

NFC

Eagles over Vikings
Falcons over Cardinals

Giants over Eagles
Panthers over Falcons

Panthers over Giants

AFC

Dolphins over Ravens
Colts over Chargers

Colts over Titans
Steelers over Dolphins

Colts over Steelers

Super Bowl

Panthers over Colts

In college football, Notre Dame finally won a bowl game as they destroyed Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl 49-21. QB Jimmy Clausen played an almost perfect game and WRs Golden Tate and Michael Floyd looked fantastic. Charlie Weis has recruited some great, young offensive talent for the Irish. Anything less than a BCS berth next year and Weis should be shown the door.