It All Comes Down to Next Week

• Aaaahhh!!! It all comes down to next Sunday night!! Green Bay kept their division title hopes in play with a 38-25 Christmas Eve victory over the Minnesota Vikings.

• Jordy Nelson continued to light it up on the field. He had 119 yards and two touchdowns … halfway through the second quarter.  He finished with 154 receiving yards. 

• Nelson and Aaron Rodgers now have the most quarterback-receiver touchdowns in Packers franchise history! Aaron also completed his 3,000th pass! Great job, boys!

• As awesome as Jordy was on Saturday, I did have one problem with him on Saturday: he knocked over a cameraman on a play, and didn’t even help him up!! 😲 Maybe he’s taken his new alter ego a little too far. That’s not the Sideline Ninja I know! 

• Perhaps the Minnesota defensive backs should have stuck to the game plan instead of deciding to do their own thing (for at least the first series). Typically, the Vikings’ DBs stay on their own sides of the field, but head coach Mike Zimmer wanted their top corner Xavier Rhodes to cover Jordy for the game. The DBs, however, did not like that call, and decided to do what they normally do. Said Rhodes: “Us as DBs felt like we could handle [Nelson]. That's how we felt as DBs, that we could stay on our side and cover him. In the beginning, we'd always played against them and played our sides, we never followed, so that's what we felt as DBs. That's what we went with."

Hmm, that statement is oddly absent of any regret or remorse.

• Did you know that Sam Bradford has the highest completion rate in the league this season?? I’m really happy for him because he’s clearly not the best at anything, so I’m glad he at least has this to hang his hat on.

• The Vikings’ plane skidding off the runway in Green Bay and getting stuck for five hours somehow seems like a metaphor for their futility in the state of Wisconsin. Actually, I think the plane debacle is the best thing that could have happened to them -- it gave them a flimsy excuse for getting owned by the Packers once again. SNAP!

• One of the many things I hate about the Minnesota Vikings is the asymmetry of the numbers on their jerseys. It’s ugly and there’s no reason for it.

Why only one pointy number??

• It wasn’t all bad for the Vikings. Receiver Adam Thielen had an absolutely monster game with 202 receiving yards (Packers secondary = eek!) and two touchdowns. As my brother said, it was a banner game for white receivers.

• In all honesty, if they weren’t the Minnesota Vikings, I’d have some compassion for a team that lost its starting quarterback in the preseason, mortgaged its future to trade for a middling quarterback, started 5-0, raised all of its perpetually depressed fans' hopes, was leveled by injuries, and then lost eight of its next 10 games to miss the postseason. But they are the Minnesota Vikings, so, no, I don’t feel bad for them. At least they’ll get a good draft pick, right?

• I need to go back and delete some of the previous posts this season where I fretted over Aaron Rodgers’ play. (Jk, he was really concerning.) In the last six games, Rodgers has completed 70% of his passes for 1,700 yards, 14 touchdowns and zero interceptions.

• Makinton Dorleant?? Who the devil is Makinton Dorleant?!? Apparently he’s a rookie corner for Green Bay, who was pressed into service when LaDarius Gunter left with an elbow injury. I kind of hope he gets good and starts playing more because I like saying "Makinton Dorleant."

• Davante Adams only had one big drop this week, so… improvement!!

• It was nice to see Clay Matthews making a mess of the Vikings’ offensive line. Matthews has been gutting through a bad shoulder injury and has been unusually quiet in the last few weeks, but had a couple of deflected passes and a strip sack.

• The Packers wisely sat Randall Cobb to rest his ankle. Hopefully, he’ll be ready to go next week. I missed seeing Green Eyes on the field, but here’s a video of him that I’ve been watching on a loop. *dreamy sigh*

.@rcobb18 wishing you a Merry Christmas! 🎄 pic.twitter.com/gLg2OBCajQ

— Green Bay Packers (@packers) December 26, 2016

• My head’s spinning from trying to figure out all the playoff permutations for the Packers to get the wild card. Let’s cut all that and just win next week! Here’s how Packers head coach Mike McCarthy ended his post-game presser: "We're planning on going to Detroit to win the division. Merry Christmas." Boom!

• The Cleveland Browns won a game! The Cleveland Browns won a game! A blocked field goal helped seal the Browns’ victory over the San Diego Chargers, the first Cleveland win in more than a calendar year.

Their fans, however, will not be winning any spelling bees.

• It was a very merry Christmas for Cleveland not just with the win, but the San Francisco 49ers’ win kept the Browns in position for the first pick in the 2017 draft. San Fran was down 14-7 to the Los Angeles Rams until Colin Kaepernick hit Rod Streater in the endzone for a score with 31 seconds left in the game. Instead of kicking the extra point to tie the game, the 1-13 Niners thought, “Eh, why not?” and went for the two-point attempt instead, which they converted for the win That’s the 2-13 Niners to you!

• Two quarterbacks broke their fibulas on Christmas Eve! I feel so bad for poor Marcus Mariota and Derek Carr. The Tennessee Titans were eliminated from playoff contention this week, so Mariota’s injury is less crushing to his team. Carr’s injury, however, is a devastating blow to the Oakland Raiders’ postseason hopes. They’ve already punched their ticket to the playoffs, but the up-and-comers’ success is due hugely to Carr’s fantastic play this season. He was even a trendy dark horse pick for MVP for much of the season. The Raiders can’t feel too optimistic about their chances with Matt McGloin at the helm.

"McGloin" is one of those names where I would keep my last name if I married him.

• The always super-positive Carr is in good spirits, at least.

• It’s been a wildly disappointing season for the 6-9 Carolina Panthers, but Greg Olsen has been one bright spot. On Sunday, Olsen became the first tight end in NFL history to have three consecutive seasons with 1,000 yards. (And before you ask, no, not even Anthony Gonzalez ever matched this feat.) Congrats, Greg! 

• Props to Kirk Cousins’ wife for her sartorial taste. Cousins’ wife, apparently, packs his bag for him each week and he just grabs it, so it was only after the game that he discovered that she had packed him a Christmas suit.

• He later donned the matching pants and tie. The real question is whose holiday suit is better, Kirk’s or Jordy’s?

• Normally when a team loses a game on a missed extra point, I feel at least a little twinge of sympathy, but on Saturday it happened to the Seattle Seahawks,so HAH! Down 31-18, the Seahawks finally woke up and scored a touchdown with a little under three minutes left in the game. The Cardinals did their best to keep Seattle in it by going three-and-out on the next possession, having a terrible punt, and committing a penalty on the punt. The Seahawks made quick work of the short field and scored a touchdown … but failed to take the lead by missing the extra point! The Cardinals got the ball back with 55 seconds and one timeout. A 29-yard throw to running back David Johnson helped put Arizona in field goal range, and as time expired, the Cardinals knocked down a 43-yard field goal for the win. HAH!

• The Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens played on Christmas and at stake was the AFC North division title and a trip to the playoffs. With 1:18 left, Pittsburgh was down three with two timeouts and 75 yards to go. The Steelers marched steadily down the field, picking up 6, 8, 10 yards at a clip and using both timeouts. With 14 seconds left, the Steelers spike the ball to stop the clock. They’re four yards away from a touchdown, but if they fail to get the touchdown, it’ll be very difficult for them all to get back to the line of scrimmage, lineup, and spike the ball to stop the clock to bring the field goal unit on, so they either have to score or throw it incomplete. Roethlisberger takes the snap, looks, throws it to -- who else? -- Antonio Brown at the two-yard line, and the Steelers have cast the die; they need to score on this play right now. The Ravens defense is all over Brown, with three defenders keeping him from the goal line, twisting his face mask, and yet, somehow, Brown keeps fighting and is able to reach his arms over the plane for the touchdown!! The Steelers win the division and the Ravens miss the playoffs.

• The Denver Broncos lost to the Kansas City Chiefs on Christmas night, meaning that neither of last year’s Super Bowl teams even made the playoffs this year, which is absolutely crazy to me!

• On Thursday night, Eli threw at least three interceptions for the 22nd time in his career, which is seven more times than anyone else has ever done it. And people still try to say he’s elite. Lolz.

• The second best part of every Eli interception is the succeeding Eli Manning Face.

• Thanks for the early presents, Eli.

• The first half score between the Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys was 21-21. The second half score was 0-21. Yeesh, Detroit. I guess I’m glad Detroit lost (even if it did mean Dallas won), but I’m always wary of playing teams coming off of big losses since they so often seem to come out the next week with a little something extra to prove. And it’s not as if the Lions need any more motivation. And they’ll be at home. Eek! I’m so nervous! I can’t wait for next Sunday night for the Packers to take their rightful place atop the NFC North!!

• Hope you all had a very merry Christmas! Happy new year!

Two More to Go

• Aaaaaahhhhhhhh! Oh my gosh! That was way too close! The last-minute heroics of Jordy Nelson and Aaron Rodgers in the Packers' 30-27 victory over the Chicago Bears are certainly a cause for celebration around the globe, but they also have the effect of covering how bad the Green Bay defense -- and offense, at times --- was on Sunday.

• The defense played pretty well for three quarters, forcing four turnovers (yay! Great job!), but then allowed Chicago to score 17 straight points in the fourth quarter!!! (Booo! Not a great job!) Green Bay allowed the Bears to gain nearly as many yards in the fourth quarter (216) as in the other three quarters combined (233). It wasn’t a pretty second half, in general. Just when things were looking pretty bleak, and I was starting to advocate letting Chicago score, the defense stood the Bears up on the 4-yard line (featuring a beautiful pass breakup by Micah Hyde on third down) to force the Bears to kick the tying field goal instead of the possibly go-ahead touchdown. 

• Ha-Ha Clinton Dix grabbed two of the interceptions on Sunday, bringing his season total to five.

(Yes! Two Simpsons gifs in a row!)

• The offense also struggled. They scored a touchdown on the opening drive and managed a field goal on their last drive of the first half, but in between that, their possessions were punt, punt, downs, punt. And while Chicago was scoring touchdowns in the fourth, Green Bay went three-and-out on consecutive drives that allowed the Bears that opportunity to score. They had -3 yards in the third quarter! And they struggled again on third downs, converting a measly 3-of-10.

• Now that I’ve gotten my scolding out of the way, I can go back to being ecstatic about the win and glossing over all the flaws. Woo hoo! How ‘bout that Jordy Nelson, right? After the first two plays of the drive resulted in -1 yards, with the clock ticking and no timeouts, I wasn’t feeling too good about the Packers’ 3rd-and-11 with 31 seconds left. After all, the Packers hadn’t scored in a quarter and a half. But then -- who else but Jordy? -- Rodgers threw an absolute bomb to Nelson for a 60-yard gain, putting the Pack in comfortable field goal range. 

• (Remember when the big knock on Rodgers was that he wasn’t clutch in late-game situations?)

• Green Bay ran the clock down to :04 before clocking the ball. Mason Crosby lined up for the 32-yard field goal and made it -- but Chicago called a timeout first. Lolz, you don’t ice Mason Crosby. He came right back out and drilled the same kick for the win. I love it when kickers get some love.

VICTORY! #GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/Fn85OL0Wun

— Green Bay Packers (@packers) December 18, 2016

• Let’s talk about Ty Montgomery. The wide-receiver-turned-running-back rushed for 162 yards and looked good doing it. It’s very, very exciting for Green Bay fans to have something to be happy about in the running game! Lil Wayne -- a huge Packers fan -- also approved of Ty Montgomery’s game.

• With the victory, Green Bay tied the all-time series at 93-93-6, thus destroying the last, puny shred of pride Chicago Bears fans could clutch at when encountering Green Bay fans. They even suck at trash talking:

When you're talking about how you're more evolved than others,
try to keep your spelling mistakes to under three.

• Christine (still pronounced “Kristen”) Michael got his first touchdown as a Packer on a purty 42-yard run! Yay, Christine! Now you're really part of the team!

• Chicago backup quarterback Matt Barkley has played pretty well in Jay Cutler’s stead. Barkley very well may be a nice guy, too (though I doubt it -- he went to USC), but he has an eminently punchable face.

• Uh oh. The old Davante Adams appears to be rearing his head. Adams dropped not one, but two touchdowns! In both cases, the Packers had to settle for field goals on the drive. Don’t revert to your old self, Davante!

Aww, Tae, that's alright! ... just don't do that again.

• In case you hadn’t heard, it was pretty cold in Chicago.

• Can we stop acting like Rodger’s “I think we can run the table” comment was bold or at all noteworthy? And that means stop mentioning it in every freaking Packers article. Please? What else was he supposed to say? "I don't think we're good enough to make the playoffs"?? Geez, I haven’t seen the sports media this enamored of a meaningless quote since Rodgers said “R-E-L-A-X.” 

• Beating the Bears was a lot of fun, especially with such a thrilling ending. Still, it felt like something was missing. Can’t quite put my finger on it…

And with his return to Chicago next year unlikely, the Packers probably
won't get to destroy Jay twice a year anymore. *Sniff*

• I would 100% subscribe to this magazine.

• On the opposite end of the quarterback spectrum from ol' Jay, Aaron Rodgers could throw 72 straight interceptions and still have a higher career passer rating than Tom Brady.

• Tom Savage sounds like an 80s singer.

Doesn't look like one at all, though. 

• I feel like his looks should match his name more.

Better.

• Richard Sherman is absolutely right to complain about having to play Thursday night. It’s a legitimate complaint for any team, but especially for the Seahawks this week. They played the late afternoon game, which didn’t end until 7pm-ish. After doing post-game media and the like, they had to gather up all their stuff and fly 2,000 miles from Green Bay back to Seattle, not returning, as Sherman noted, until about 1:00am Monday morning. And they’re supposed to be able to recover, install a game plan, and be ready to play by Thursday night? “Poopfest,” indeed.

• One of the benefits to being Odell Beckham Jr. is that people are so used to you making ridiculous catches that they just assume that you can now catch footballs with your legs. Yes, this was ruled a catch.

• Jaguars fired head coach Gus Bradley almost immediately following Jacksonville’s loss in Houston. My first thought:

I was really, really concerned with this question.

• A lot of other were people concerned, too.

• I don’t want to rub salt into Gus’ open wound here, but Bill Belichick could go 0-16 for 41 consecutive seasons and still have a higher win percentage than Bradley.

• Everyone who like sports hates Skip Bayless, so we all got a good laugh when he was caught posing as a fan commenting on how great his own show is.

• Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was profiled in the Wall Street Journal this week, and the subject of how he always seems to be undermining his team came up. As far as stirring up quarterback controversy -- like when he hinted that he might pull MVP contender Dak Prescott for Tony Romo after the Cowboys lost to the Giants last week -- Jones admitted that when he does these things, it “probably is intentional.” Why on earth would someone do that to his team, his coaches, and his players, one might wonder. Said Jones, “That’s one of the things that makes sports interesting. I do feed that.” Never change, Jerry.

• New England tight end Martellus Bennett doesn’t add layers, no matter the weather. Probably as a ball-security thing, right? Or maybe to prove his toughness?

• The New Orleans Saints came thisclose to catching Cardinals running back Kerwynn Williams, but only got his shoe. That didn’t seem to slow him down.

He lost his shoe.
But it didn't matter.@kerwinning_ is GONE. 49-yard TD! #BeRedSeeRed https://t.co/I7VZ0DF1WG

— NFL (@NFL) December 18, 2016

• Detroit lost, Minnesota lost, Chicago lost -- and Tampa Bay came within a quarter of making it a perfect weekend, but unfortunately they couldn’t hang on against the Dallas Cowboys. 

• The Detroit Lions losing was huge. Now Green Bay's only a game behind Detroit with their season-ending rematch coming up in a couple of weeks. The Lions play the Cowboys next week, which means we all have to -- gulp -- cheer for the Cowboys and hard. It'll be awful, but these are the sacrifices true fans have to make.

• The Vikings are an absolute mess, but so are the Packers, so, again, the trap game must be avoided next week. It’s hard not to look ahead to Week 17, when everything will be decided, but we must handle Minnesota first.  We can do this!

That Was ... a Lot Easier Than I Expected

• I’ll be honest: I was pretty worried about the Green Bay Packers facing the Seattle Seahawks, especially after seeing the Seahawks dismantle the Carolina Panthers 40-7 last week. All my anxiety was in vain, however, because the Pack came out hot and never cooled off in their 38-10 victory over Seattle. Pete Carroll's stress-chewing must have been off the charts. 

• It sure helped that Russell Wilson had an off-day and threw five interceptions. Morgan Burnett, Quinten Rollins, and Micah Hyde grabbed a pick each, and Damarious Randall notched two. In the previous 12 games this season, Green Bay had a total of eight interceptions. I’m inclined to think Sunday was an anomaly, but well done nonetheless, DBs. Keep it up!

• Strong safety Burnett has played at inside linebacker for snaps here and there this year as a “change-up” look, but spent a good chunk of Sunday at linebacker to help put a lid on Seahawks’ tight end Jimmy Graham. The package seemed to work, as Graham was limited to one catch for 16 yards, and Burnett had yet another strong game.  

• Well, well, well, look who leads the NFL in receiving touchdowns? Maybe this will get my brothers to stop saying that Nelson’s no good since his injury.

• Speaking of Jordy, he and Rodgers scored their 57th touchdown on Sunday, tying Brett Favre and Antonio Freeman for the most touchdowns by a quarterback and receiver in Packers franchise history.

• The big downside to Sunday’s victory was the injuries. Aaron Rodgers, playing with a left hamstring injury, suffered a right calf injury which even further limited his mobility. Green Eyes left the game briefly with injuries to one, possibly both, ankles, but was able to return to the game. (Handsome and tough as nails! *dreamy sigh*) Ty Montgomery was in some serious pain as doctors looked at his shoulder on the sidelines, but he continued to play. Tight end Jared Cook left with a bizarre-looking chest injury when he came down hard on an incompletion (turns out it was a lung contusion -- ow), but is expected to be ready next week. Plus Clay Matthews is playing essentially with one arm. All of the above should be able to play next week, but the battered-and-bruised state of the team continues to be worrying. 

• Those damn, dirty Seahawks are truly a Pete Carroll team. The way you can tell? As soon as they’re down, they start taking cheap shots, some of which included a facemask on Nelson, punching TJ Lang below the belt, taking a shot at Richard Rodgers’ head, and going after Cobb while Green Bay was in victory formation (see below). Said Cobb: “They’re just cheap. Bunch of front-runners. That’s Seattle, for you. That’s what they do. It was all over the field.” Preach, Green Eyes.

• And here’s Richard Sherman going after Davante Adams away from the play.

• And here’s Adams owning Sherman on Jeff Janis’ touchdown later in the game. So there.

• Here’s a scary stat about the Green Bay running game: Eddie Lacy still leads the Pack in rushing yards for the season … and he hasn’t played in the last eight games. Our quarterback has the second-most rushing yards for the season. Yikes. 

• Aaron’s line for the game: 18-of-23 for 246 yards, three touchdowns, no turnovers, and a 150.8 (!) passer rating. 

• We’ve talked before about how Mason Crosby is a really good tackler. He’s saved Green Bay’s bacon on more more than one kickoff return, and did so again on Sunday. Then he helped the guy up, too, because he’s sweet like that.

• Aaron Rodgers was signing autographs for fans to garner donations for the Salvation Army and matching all donations and he bought pizza for all the fans standing in line. Aww, quite the Santa Claus.

• Larry McCarren is a former Packers offensive lineman (nicknamed “The Rock”) who is now best known as a beloved local Packers sportscaster. Look at his finger. 

• Next up for Green Bay is Bears Week II. Don’t sleep on the Bears! Don’t get me wrong, they still suck -- they are the Bears, after all -- but we cannot afford a trap game right now.

• I’m also pretty annoyed at the Bears right now after they got my hopes up on Sunday when they took the Detroit Lions down to the wire. Chicago had a good chance at the game, getting the ball back with three minutes left, down three, with all three timeouts plus the two-minute warning, and yet couldn’t make anything happen and ended up turning the ball over on downs. AND I don’t even get to see Jay Cutler getting sacked and intercepted anymore, so I have absolutely no use for the Bears these days.

• If the playoffs started today, the Seahawks would be the only NFC team that also made the playoffs last year. 

• Le’Veon Bell!! Holy cow! The Pittsburgh Steelers running back had 236 rushing yards against the Buffalo Bills. Throw in his receiving yards, and he finished the day with 298 all-purpose yards -- 23 more than the entire Bills’ offense.

• The Oakland Raiders came back down to earth a bit on Thursday night after a terrible night from MVP-contending quarterback Derek Carr resulted in a 21-13 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Oakland head coach Jack del Rio was in no mood to be comforted by Andy Reid after the game.

Reid & Del Rio postgame pic.twitter.com/LSu6W6L7nY

— Vikings Blogger (@firstandskol) December 9, 2016

• It’s been a rough season at the office for official Jeff Triplette and his crew. Here’s a “hands to the face” call he made … against Detroit Lions #60.

• So the Los Angeles Rams fired head coach Jeff Fisher one week after giving him a contract extension. Hmm, kind of have to wonder about that. Was a 4-8 record really worthy of a contract extension, but 4-9 so beyond the pale that they had to fire him? It seems like, I don’t know, maybe they should have just waited a week before making any contract decisions?

• This latest Rams loss was particularly hideous, though. They were down 42-0 -- in the third quarter!! The Atlanta Falcons scored six touchdowns in the Rams’ stadium on Sunday, which is one more than the Rams have scored there all year.

• Speaking of truly pitiful teams, the Cleveland Browns still have not won a game this season. Next week will be the one-year anniversary of their last victory.

• Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill left Sunday’s game with a knee injury that was originally feared to be an ACL tear. Fortunately, it’s a ACL and MCL sprain that won’t require surgery. (Whew!) Maybe the injury accounts for this atrocious passing attempt?

• I love watching teams expertly down punts and kicks just outside the goalline. It’s a totally underrated highlight, in my opinion. Here’s a video of Tampa Bay’s Ryan Smith downing the ball at about the one-inch line while keeping his tippy toes just outside the endzone and tossing the ball to a teammate behind him. I like the freeze-frame even better.

• What’s up with Drew Brees? Three interceptions and zero touchdowns two weeks in a row. 

• A grateful nation rejoices after the New York Giants stopped the Dallas’ Cowboys win streak on Sunday night. New York squeaked out a 10-7 win, despite having this man at quarterback.

• The Giants defense was all over the Cowboys, allowing quarterback Dak Prescott to complete just 46% of his passes, forcing two turnovers, and sacking him thrice. In true Dallas Cowboys fans’ fashion, there were even some whispers of “Tony Romo.” EVERYBODY PANIC!

• The Cowboys are still 10-2, but both their losses have now come at the hands of the Giants who are again, led by this man.

i regret making this, but you all deserve it pic.twitter.com/IqUL6AJ92P

— Matthew Henderson (@mhenderson95) December 12, 2016

• The 9-4 New York Giants will face the 9-4 Detroit Lions next week, which means I’ll have to cheer for the Giants for a second week. (Saying that triggers my gag reflex.) 

• I don’t really think anyone can fault the Denver Broncos for going after Tennessee Titans’ receiver Harry Douglas after Douglas intentionally put his helmet into the knee of Broncos’ cornerback Chris Harris Jr. Since it was on a running play, Douglas maintains that the hit was a legal cut block, but that doesn’t explain why he’s hitting someone’s knee when he’s across the field from where the action is. “I’m not a dirty player, no matter what anybody says,” Douglas said, which is the equivalent of “At least my mother loves me” in terms of having no argument on which to stand.

• The Philadelphia Eagles’ long snapper (who is also an amazing magician who placed third on America’s Got Talent) got injured, so tight end Brent Celek was called up. He was not good. And he later got injured in the game, so the Eagles had “no idea” who would be long-snapping (is that a verb?) the ball for the rest of the game. Tight end Trey Burton stepped up and had to be the emergency backup to the emergency backup long snapper. Burton successfully snapped the ball on a made field goal, so yay for him! (Also, major props to the punter, who’s also the holder, who managed to take the snap that ended up nearly behind his helmet and get it down for the kicker. He’s the real hero of this story, but the emergency-backup-to-the-emergency-backup plot line sounds better.)

• In an interview last week, Derek Carr was asked about Johnny Manziel. Carr said Manziel was "such a good dude" and hoped he got things turned around. He said he'd love to "be a friend" to Manziel, and now I've put all my hope for Manziel in Carr's hands. If anyone can save Johnny Football, it's Carr! (I hope.)

Aww! I'm actually really touched by this.

• Phil Simms was in peak form on Sunday.

• One of the fake “problems” that NFL sportswriters have invented over which to wring their hands is the Pro Bowl not being competitive. Every year, there are anguished columns written about how the game should be done away with. (The solution? Don’t watch it if you don’t want to watch it.) The game is still on for this year, but the NFL just announced a skills competition that will be a part of the festivities, which should make a lot of people happy. The competition will feature a precision passing contest, a “best hands” contest featuring the best passer and receiver on each team, and … a dodgeball competition! That actually sounds like it could be fun.

• Green Bay's at 7-6 and still has a good shot at the playoffs. They just need to win their last three games and for Detroit to drop at least one of their next two. Totally doable. I believe! Who's with me? Can I get a high five!? Anyone?