NFL: TOP 10 LOSERS

10. The betting public. A week after the favorites went 12-4 against the spread, the presumably better teams were 7-8 with the MNF game left to play. Included in the carnage were the previously golden Cowboys, the surging Seahawks, and the Bengals (who are terrible, but were playing the Niners, for heaven's sake). If anyone tells you they won a three-team parley this week, they're either insane or lying.

9. Dallas Cowboys. Eagles fans have been waiting all year to see how Terrell Owens would react to a bad loss, and the answer is... same as always. In a game that was within one possession all day, the Cowboys forgot all about Marion Barber, despite Tony Romo having one of his worst days as a pro. And have you ever seen a RB (Brian Westbrook) sit on the 1, just to make sure that the win was sealed? (Add to the list of losers -- anyone who had Westbrook on their fantasy team and wound up losing by the lack of touchdown.)

8. The New York Giants. Not only did they lose, but they also got battered (Shockey's done for the year, if not his career)... and while they're still pretty much a lock to make the playoffs, things get uglier from here, with a physical game against Tennessee, followed up by the Patriots date with destiny. This was the worst 9-4 team in NFL history... and now they are the worst 9-5 team.

7. Pittsburgh Steelers. In bad weather at home against a Florida road team, the previously highly regarded AFC contender looked like a finesse team against the tougher, younger, much more physical Jaguars. There's something very wrong with this team, and that something is indicative by their constant tendency towards gadget plays in short yardage. They should still win the division, but if they get this Jaguars team again in the playoffs, the road team may be the favorite. (And what the hell is up with Willie Parker getting 100 yards... on 14 carries? The Steelers are eating quiche right now. With non-lactose cheese.)

6. Detroit Lions. Those 10-win dreams suddenly seem very, very far away, as the previously 6-2 Lions dropped their sixth in a row to the Chargers in a 37-point laugher. In road games, the Lions are now 2-5, with losses of 35, 31, 32 and 37 points among the carnage. When, exactly, does Mike Martz stop being a genius?

5. Atlanta Falcons. Way to buck up and show Bobby Petrino that he was wrong to quit on you dogs. That 34-point dog of a loss, in which you have up the very first kickoff return for a touchdown in Buccaneer history, really makes those love notes from Petrino look, um... extravagant? Pity poor Emmit Thomas, who waited a lifetime to be a head coach, only to get these gutless wonders.

4. The New England Patriots. What, a winning team on this list? Yes, if only because a 10-point win against a terrible Jets team without its starting QB, that was in doubt most of the way, showed that the Patriots' Achilles heel -- i.e., bad weather takes a lot of their margin for error away by neutralizing their passing game advantages -- is still well in effect. Also, the Niners' recent run of quasi-competence is making their pick in next year's draft less potent; what was once a top 2 pick is now at 5 and sliding.

3. Denver Broncos. Hey, you know all of those comparisons of how the first 20-odd games of Jay Cutler's career stack up well against John Elway's? Forget 'em. Because there's no way that Elway ever got his lunch eaten by players of the caliber of Sage Rosenfels and Ron Dayne. OK, maybe Mario Williams is really the bomb, but an 18-point loss to the Texans in a must-win game is not exactly living up to the Elway Standard.

2. Seattle Seahawks. What on earth was that? A 3-point road loss to a team that was working with its fourth string QB, on a day when you could have kept your dreams of a first-round bye alive... sheesh. The Seabags also earned special points for kicking a tying field goal, rather than going for it on 4th and 1 from the Carolina 4 with 8:23 left. Expect them to bounce back next week, which will be in the only stadium where they can be almost counted on to show up (that'd be home).

1. The Baltimore Ravens. They kick a field goal, rather than go for it from the 1, against an 0-13 team. They miss a field goal in overtime from their kicker, who had never previously missed in overtime. And they will probably go down in history as the team that came the closest to beating New England, and the only team to lose to Miami.

Seriously, does this three-week span erase any memory of the Super Bowl win, especially as that win was the worst looking Super Bowl ever? At this point, being a Ravens fan has to be a worse rise in 2007 than even the Dolphins.

source: http://www.epiccarnival.com