Harbaugh vs. Harbaugh

The Turkey Day Harbowl came and went. It was everything it was expected to be. It was a hard hitting defensive struggle, and in the end, the Baltimore Ravens played just a smidgen better on their home field and pulled out the victory over the San Francisco 49ers. I blogged it if you missed it.

The Ravens sacked Alex Smith 9 times and the poor guy probably had nightmares of Terrell Suggs’ big old face. Sorry Primetime Traitor, I refuse to call him T-Sizzle. Whoops.

(In 1994, the 49ers signed Deion Sanders and he helped them win a Super Bowl that year. Deion signed with the Dallas Cowboys the very next season and spent most of his career there, except for a time with the Ravens. Whenever Deion has a chance, he dogs out the 49ers. I think it’s just because Jerry Rice called him out on his lack of preparation and hardcore partying during the week of the Super Bowl. I’m done with you Primetime Traitor. And yes, I used to have a Deion 49ers’ jersey. No more.)

1. While I don’t expect the 49ers to all of a sudden lose their identity, I do think this was the jump-off game for the Ravens. They now sit at 8-3 and have games against Cleveland (twice), Indy, San Diego, and Cincy. They could realistically be 13-3 and fighting for that number one seed in the AFC. I will see Pittsburgh in a couple weeks, but the Ravens were the best team the 49ers have faced all year.

2. Oh, to be a Dallas Cowboys fan. Miami should’ve been a decently tough game, but not a “kick a field goal at the end of regulation to win” kind of tough game. It’s the Romo-coaster! As Romo goes, so do the Cowboys. With the win, the Cowboys are now 7-4, but have 2 games against the NY Giants and one against the Philadelphia Eagles. Yes, the Eagles aren’t who we thought they were, but they did roll the Cowboys earlier in the season. It’s insane that DeMarco Murray could finish the season with over 1200 yards rushing. Shame on you Felix Jones.

Also, what was Jason Witten doing, using the cheerleader to brace his fall? She weighs about a buck-o-five. How’s she going to hold you up?

3. Just because your coach is a grade A d-bag, Ndamukong Suh, you don’t need to follow suit. It looks like Suh will get at least a 2-game suspension for stomping on Evan Dietrich-Smith who was on the ground. Originally, Suh said, “I was on top of a guy getting pulled down and trying to get up off the ground. That’s why you see me pushing his helmet down. I’m trying to remove myself from the situation. As I’m getting up, I’m getting pushed.” That would be a fine excuse if we didn’t see him look down a split second before he stomped. Check it out here:

This comes only a few weeks after a meeting with the NFL commish. You don’t think they got their eye on you Suh?

4. Tim Tebow ran the football 22 times and is now the QB on a team who has won 4 straight and is one game back in the AFC West for the division. Yep, still Tebowing.

5. The team Tim Tebow and those pesky read-option-defensive-minded Broncos trail is none other than the Oakland Raiders. The now 7-4 Raiders beat the visiting Chicago Bears 25-20 in an ugly football game. This was the Sam Cassell, Tyrone Hill, and Popeye Jones of games. Sebastian Janikowski kicked 6 field goals and Carson Palmer did just enough to move the chains in the win. Naysayers will point to Caleb Hanie, starting QB of the Bears, as a big reason why they were able to win this game. I agree. But they’ll be tested for sure in 4 out of their next 5 games. And in the easiest game left on their schedule, they’ll have to head into Arrowhead, which isn’t what it used to be, but it’s still Arrowhead. And who knows, maybe Kyle Orton will provide a spark for them.

6. Stick a fork in the Philadelphia Eagles. They are done. If the previous 6 teams who beat the Eagles didn’t show it before, the Patriots sure undressed the Eagles. They are just not very good. The Pats went into Philly and beat the Eagles like Dr. D David Schultz beat John Stossel after he asked him if wrestling was fake. The Eagles actually scored the first 10 points, but then the Pats went on to outscore them 38-10 the rest of the way. I bid you adieu, Andy Reid.

7. Matt Leinart’s mustache injured his collarbone in the Houston Texans’ win over the Jacksonville Jaguars and is probably out for the year. That left the Texans with the great T.J. Yates as their starting quarterback. The Texans, Chiefs, and Bears should all call Jeff Garcia. The man can play!

8. Speaking of the Kansas City Chiefs, they were in what was another bad Sunday Night Football game. They lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers 13-9. All you really needed to know about this game was the text I received from my buddy Young Randall who I was playing in fantasy football this week. I have Big Ben as my QB this week and Randall texted, “How many chances is KC going to give your QB!” I texted him back. “When you give Tyler Palko chances, good things happen. For the other team.”

9. And the rest … Stevie Johnson made fun of Plaxico Burriss after scoring a touchdown by pretending to shoot his own leg. The Jets would have the last laugh, though, Johnson had a chance to take one to the house late in the 4th quarter, but dropped the pass. Let’s hope God doesn’t get blamed this time. The Washington Redskins scored 16 points in the 4th quarter to upset the Seattle Seahawks at home. Beanie Wells ran for an Arizona Cardinals record 228 yards in their victory over the St. Louis Rams. Chris Johnson ran for 190 yards in the Tennessee Titans win over the Tampa Bay Bucs. Mike Nugent kicked a field goal with 38 seconds left to give the Cincinnati Bengals a late victory over the visiting Cleveland Browns. A late Matt Ryan touchdown pass to Michael Palmer put the game out of reach as the Atlanta Falcons beat the Minnesota Vikings 24-14. And last, but not least, the Indianapolis Colts kept their perfect record in tact in their loss to the Carolina Panthers. They are still leading the Suck For Luck campaign.

10. The New Orleans Saints are undefeated at home and Drew Brees is on a tear. The NY Giants love to surprise you when you think they’re done and fail when you think they’re good, so it wouldn’t surprise me to see them surprise the Saints here. But I’m sticking with the Saints. I think Drew Brees throws for over 350 yards in a close victory.