The Green Bay Packers climbed 1 spot to #4 in Dr. Z's Power Rankings after their thrilling win on Monday Night.

Dr. Z says:
"Boy, I just love to watch Brett Favre in one of those night games, whether it's Sunday or Monday. I learn all sorts of swell things about him. That the game is fun for him. That he's just a little kid at heart. "Impish," I heard at one point, or maybe it was "puckish." I don't like to brag ("Not much," says FR) but I believe I can supply a new fact. I ran the tape back and got a hang time on his winning pass, honest. It was 3.04, bad for a punt but pretty formidable for a heave."

Read the Week 9 Power Rankings

The Green Bay Packers (6-1) square off against the Kansas City Chiefs (4-3) this Sunday at noon, and they are hoping to improve to 7-1.

In my updated predictions I had Green Bay beating the Chiefs, and I haven't seen anything to change my mind. True, the Chiefs are on a 2 game win streak, but those two wins came against the Bengals and the Raiders, who are both 2-5, not exactly football powerhouses this year. They do have an excellent tight end in Tony Gonzales, and he will probably give the Packers some trouble. They are also coming off a bye week which will make it a tougher game, but the Packers have too much going for them.

Mainly their defense. I'm not sure how good the Packers defense is, or if they deserve all the hype they are getting, but they will be good enough this week. The Chiefs offense stinks. This year they are 28th in points, 27th in total yards, 17th in pass yards, and 28th in rush yards. I know Larry Johnson is coming back and he is healthy now, but his last two games were against terrible defenses so his recent numbers are probably stacked. Not so this week, the Packers front four are great against the run, and especially against the kind of power, between the tackles running Larry Johnson brings.

The Packers offense is also revving up. Ryan Grant is a rookie, and he will not be a cure all for the rushing game, but he looked pretty good last week. And that is really all the Packers need, is him to be pretty good so Favre, Driver, Jennings, Jones, and Koren can be great.

I predict the Packers win this one 17-3.

EDIT: I mistakenly said the Chiefs tight end was Antonio Gates, it is Tony Gonzales.

Coach McCarthy had his "day after" press conference earlier today and dropped a bomshell, DeShawn Wynn is placed on IR and is done for the year. I am not sure how much playing time he would have gotten anyway, but now he will get exactly 0 reps.

Koren Robenson is now on the roster, but it is not known if he will play or not, McCarthy calling it a game time decesion.

Rembember the running play where Brett when right and Wynn went left? McCarthy says that was Brett's mistake:

"He's supposed to hand the ball off the way the line and Ryan went. We had the initial play called. He changed it to the opposite side, which is a basic thing that we do, and he went back to the original play."

Read all of Coach McCarthy's press conference from 10/30/07

The transcript of Coaches Monday press conference is also up. He says the call to go deep in OT was his. When asked if that was the play called, he answered:

"That was the play call."

He also made a snap call to keep Grant as the starter, saying after the game:

"I think it's safe to say Ryan Grant will be the starter when we go to Kansas City."

Read all of Coach McCarthy's press conference from 10/29/30

I liked Wyn going into this game, but him getting hurt on the first play after his history or injuries and problems really throws a big question mark over his head.

After he got hurt last night against the Broncos Ryan Grant cam in and really impressed. He was running North and South, hitting holes hard, and driving people back.

I know the Broncos rushing defense is the worst in the league, and that the Packers line was finally opening some holes. Grant still looked good. Jackson always struck me as very tentative, Grant on the other had puts his head down and gets yards.

Hopefully he can do it again next week against Kansas City. If the Packers can get any kind of run game going they will be dangerous.

It wasn't DeShawn Wyn with over 100 yards but the Packers other rookie running back Ryan Grant. Grant went for 104 yards as the Packers improve to 6-1.

The defense fell apart on the last drive, although they only allowed 1 touchdown and 16 points the whole game.

The Packers winning play came on a 82 yard touchdown pass from Favre to Jennings on the first play in OT.

This game was closer than it had to be, but it was a great victory. Denver was favored by 3 and they were coming off an impressive victory against the Steelers.

I don't mean to be negative, but listen tomorrow for all the people knocking the Packers. "Denver gave the game away", "Which team wanted to lose more", "Denver shot themselves in the foot", "Denver was full of injuries". These are the same people who before the game were predicting a Denver victory, saying teams figured the Packers out and Favre couldn't throw the long ball. The Packers win with defense, and that makes for close games.

Right now the Packers are the best team in the NFC.

So, Monday night against the Broncos, what is the Packers first play from scrimmage, run or pass?

I say pass.

You want to think run, because Denver is weak against the run and because McCarthy would love to establish the run early, and get set for the rest of the season. Opening with 3 runs for a first down would be huge and would really set the tone of the game.

However, I think Denver will be ready for that. They know that if the Packers run successfully early they will have almost no chance in the game on Monday. I think they come out against the run, stack the box, and rely on their premier corners to shut down the Pack.

That is why McCarthy will come out throwing. He wants to test those dinged up corners early and often. If they can establish the pass early, it will open up the run. Wynn is healthy and starting, and I think he gets 100 yards by the end of the game, but has less than 50 at the half.

What do you say, run or pass? Place your votes in the comments and I will tally them up before the start of the game.

According to JSOnline, Koren Robinson might not be in football shape and might not play on Monday night for the Packers.

The coach said:
"He really struggled Wednesday and Thursday with some soreness," coach Mike McCarthy said Saturday. "He looked better out there today, but it was a cut-backed practice, too. I'll talk to him again in the morning and see where he is physically."

The full article is here.

This is the game to watch today. Games vs common opponents does not say as much in the NFL as some might think (If it did the Packers would be 50 point favorites on Monday based on their win over San Diego and San Diegos drubbing of Denver 41-3), but it will be interesteing to see how Washington matches up against New England.

Their performance might make it a little easier to judge how the Packers will fair against the AFC this year.

Update: Yea, I guess the Patriots are pretty good - they roll the Redskings 52-7. Ouch.

In my last post I talk about how big of a game this was, today I will go in depth as to why they will win.

First of all, according to the NFL Injury Report, Denver is hurt. You hate to rely on injuries to win, but if the team is hurt, you might as well take advantage. As we found out a few days ago Javon Walker is out, but Travis Henery has not practiced for the last three days and is listed as questionable. Champ Baily their starting corner is questionable, and Dre' Bly the other corner is listed as questionable, along with their backup safety Hamza Abdullah. I would guess all of these players will play, but their effectiveness will almost certainly be limited. While an injured Henery would be a blow to the Broncos, they are probably more concerned with their two starting CB's, especially facing the number 2 passing offense in the league. (The Packers are tied with Cincinnati with 273.7 yards per game)

Speaking of statistics, things look good for the Packers running game. The Broncos are ranked dead last in the NFL for rushing D, giving up 176 yards a game. Remember that opening rush Wynn had against the Bears? I would look for more of that on Monday night. The Broncos passing D is second in the league, but they are banged up in the secondary. They have a good pass rush, but our O line is pass blocking very well, and Favre is getting rid of the ball very quickly.

The Packers defense should continue to do what they do, keep teams out of the endzone. They are ranked 5th in the league for touchdowns allowed this year, only giving up 11, 2 on the ground and 9 in the air.

Home field advantage will help the Broncos, but that edge will probably be negated because the Packers are coming off the bye.  My previous prediction of 34-28 Packers might have been a bit conservative, they might hold the broncos to under 20, but I will stick with Packers 34 Broncos 28.

Thanks for sharing Tom Oates

Let me sum up this article so you don't have to read it

"Packers are 5-1 but not that good, can't run the ball, they are not as good as New England"

Sound familiar? I've read it daily this season.

That is why I call this weeks game so important. If the Pack goes 6-1 and beats a very good AFC team, maybe these guys will stop.

On the other hand, if people keep writing off the Packers they will continue to be surprised when the Pack punches them in the nose.

I think the Packers are a very good team this year, I think they are going to the playoffs this year, maybe even the Super Bowl.

I think the game next Monday night against the Broncos will go a long way to determining just how good they are. Their next game is a statment game, and I would not throw that term around as lightly as some.

The Broncos are a good team. They just beat a good Pitsburg team, and they played with Indionapolis into the third quarter. They are 3-3, but they play in the AFC, and nobody can argue that the NFC can stand up to the AFC right now. They have a hell of a running back in Travis Henry, 6th in the league in total yards. They are playing at home, on Monday night which gives any team an edge.

That said, the Packers can and should beat them. The biggest thing the Pack have going for them is they are coming off a bye. McCarthy is a good coach, he will prepare them and let them get healthy for this game. Green Bay should be able to score with their anemic offense, Denver has allowed an average of 35 points per game over their last 3 games. Finally, Javon Walker is out, and Green Bay should be able to focus on stopping the run.

The Packers are going to lose games this year. Winning this one should slow down the naysayers, but dropping this one will make me re-evaluate this season so far.

Prediction: Packers 34 Broncos 28

A big game coming up next Monday, and I'll have an in depth post on it a little later, but for now during the slow week I want to share a some of my best football links. The links go to the best online collection of their writing I could find.

Paul Zimmerman, aka Dr. Z. He is my absolute favorite football writer. He is a throwback, old school guy who knows football details and mechanics, and doesn't fall for guys flexing on the field.

Peter King. I think I saw him on a pre-game show the other day, so he is probably pretty well known now, but he is a good writer.

Bob McGinn, but you cannot read him online. Why mention him then? Because he is a good writer and so I can take a jab as jsonline that makes you pay to read him online.

Len Pasquarelli. I don't get over to ESPN.com much anymore, but Len is always measured and brings a lot of football knowledge to the table.

I'm a little late getting this out, but even though there was no game this weekend, McCarthy had his weekely press conference today, October 22nd.

He spent a lot of time fielding questions about Koren, and I am very excited he is coming back, and it sounds like he is in good shape:

Q. How did Koren look today?
A. Koren had a good practice. He's in good shape. He seems to have excellent recall. We only worked on first down today, run and play-action. So the volume of what we put in wasn't very high, but he had a good day.

And more good news, looks like Wells is on target to play Monday against Denver:

Q. Does it look good for Wells this week?
A. Hope so. We can do that Thursday I think is when we talk about the injuries.

You can read the whole thing here

There is no Packer game today, and the Pack did not practice all week.

It is likley to be slow news week, so this week I will try and introduce some of my favorite football sources on the internet, rolling them out 1 a day.

I missed this, but according to JSOnline, the vice-president of officiating Mike Pereira admitted they blew the Bubba Franks call in the game.

"The official that ruled tight end Bubba Franks out of bounds on a fourth-quarter reception in the end zone against the Washington Redskins on Sunday was "really wrong," according to Mike Pereira, the vice president of NFL officiating. With 10:06 left and the Packers leading, 17-14, quarterback Brett Favre threw a pass to the right corner of the end zone from the 8-yard line intended for Franks."

Read the whole thing.


On a lighter note The Brushback has a different take.

If you havn't checked out the new NFL.com site, you should. They recently re-designed it, and it is great. They have all kinds of stats on almost anything you want, and good articles as well.

The most recent one I found facinating was a breakdown of NFL stats by Ira Miller. One excerpt:

"» Team rankings in rushing and passing: "If people can run the ball on you, you're going to have better pass defense statistics (because they won't bother to throw)," Miami defensive coordinator Dom Capers said.

"If you throw for 500 yards of offense but you still (allow) 10 sacks, I don't know how you can sit there and rave about being, say, third in the league in offense," said Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy. "That can be skewed."

Read the whole thing at NFL.com

In news that is sure to break Packer fans hearts, Javon Walker needs surgery on his knee and will almost certainly miss Mondays game.

Seriously, you never want to see players go down, but Javon is going under the knife 10/19 to repair the same knee that was already operated on.

You never know in the NFL how long people will be out, but it would take a miracle to have him back by 10/29.

Source: ESPN

Rick Gosslin of the Dallas Morning News talks about the Cowboys and the Packers. The relevent part:

"I went to Green Bay thinking I was going to see the second-best team in the NFC play that day. I just wasn't sure who it was, the Packers or Redskins. Green Bay won, but I came away thinking the Redskins may be the better team. The Packers needed a 57-yard defensive fumble return to win 17-14. The Redskins are capable of playing great defense, and I think Jason Campell is getting better by the week. As a first-year starter, his learning curve could be rapid. He'll be a much better quarterback in December than he is in October. "

 

Read the whole article at The Dallas Morning News

Even though the Packers are 5-1, there is a lot of talk about the rush. "Where is the running game?", is the talk around titletown, and when your team ranks 32nd in rushing, well, it's to be expected. The Packers running game is not that good.

However, it is important to remember a few things about the running game, and cut the pack some slack.

1. The Packers have injuries. Their starting running back, who they traded Samkon Gado for, missed the first 5 games, and is still not 100%, and they are relying on two rookie running backs.

2. The O line is hurt. The starting center and right guard are out, and we are onto second and third string.

3. According to the NFL stats page, the Packers opponents ranked 2nd, 6th, 8th, 9th, 11th, and 26th for an average rank of 10th. Of 6 games, every team they played was in the top 10 rushing defense. That is going to make it hard to run the ball.

Koren Robinson has been reinstated and will return to the Packers. This is great news, Koren was huge for the few games he played with the Pack last year, returning kickoffs and as a receiver. I'm not sure if he will be 3rd or 4th, but having another receiving threat will be great. Here is Thompson's press release:

"The league has informed us that Koren Robinson has been reinstated, effective Thursday, October 18, 2007. We understand and appreciate the Commissioner's consideration in this matter.

It's been a year since we've seen Koren, so our first step is to have him return to Green Bay. The Packers will request a roster exemption, during which time we would see where Koren is at in terms of football shape.

We are aware how difficult this past year has been for Koren, but the Packers are grateful for the progress he's made, as evidenced by this reinstatement."

Everyone knows the Packers are 5-1, but there are still a lot of people grumbling about this team anyway. People are saying the Packers win ugly, they have no running game, they get lucky, they are not New England, etc.

Most of those things are true, but it is just as true that this is a good team One of the most eye opening things is to look at who the Green Bay beat. If we look at the ESPN Power Rankings, the USAToday rankings, and the Yahoo! rankings  it shows that Green Bay beat 3 of the top 10 teams in both polls. The Giants, The Redskins, and The Chargers are all top ten teams, and neither the Chargers nor the Giants have lost since playing the Pack.

In fact, according to the USAToday rankings, the Packers have the best record against top ten teams in the NFL.

This does not mean the Packers can beat New England, or that they are going to the Super Bowl, but it is food for thought for all the haters.

Coach McCarthy's Monday press conference is up. He wasn't as hard on the refs as I would have hoped, but coaches cant say too much or they get fined.

Q.On the TD to Jones that was called back, Tauscher was OK with Favre behind him, but Favre moved past him and the flag came out. Is that the right call there?
A. In my view, I thought Tauscher was fine, and once again it was a three-man rush. I disagree with the call, but that's football. Sometimes they go your way, sometimes they don't. And that goes back to the adversity question. You have to overcome those types of situations, whether it's the defense making a big play, a penalty that you think should have went the other way, that's all part of the game. And I was proud that our football team continued to battle and find a way to win that game.

He re-enforces the point I made yesterday, that even with all the setbacks they won the game, and that is something they can hang their hat on.

According to McCarthy the running back situation is still/back up in the air, that no deceisions have been made in that department.

Possible the worst news was that Franks might be out for up to 4 weeks with a knee. Of course these things are always touch and go, but that is the early prognosis.

You can read the trascript here.

A lot of people in Packerland are talking about how the Packers didn't look so good in the win, and how they eked it out. The national talking heads are saying Washington gave the game away and wish they could have it back, but I have said time and again that good teams win close games, and that is exactly what happened today.

The Redskins are a good team, they came into the game 3-1, and while The Redskins did shoot themselves in the foot plenty of times, the important thing is the Packers were there to take advantage of those opportunities. Remember, the Redskins D held the Lions to 3 points last week, and at the time the Lions had the #1 passing game in the NFL. Once you get down to it, the Packers did not play a bad game.

Obviously, the highlight of the game for the Packers was the defense. They held the Redskins to 14 points, and shut them out in the second half. They scored 7 points on a fumble returned by Woodson for a touchdown and forced 3 turnovers. Washington amassed 304 total yards, 30 yards below their season average and that would place them 24th in the league based on the season so far.

The offense struggled, but they got raped by the officials. The officials basically took 14 points off the board for the Packers. The touchdown to Jones that was called back by a holding penalty was a weak call at best. If Tauscher got a handful of jersey for a second, that is the most that happened. That happens on just about every play in the NFL. The call against Franks, calling him out of bounds was worse than that. He was clearly pushed out, and it bordered on incompetence not to call it that way.

At first glance it seems like the line did not play that well, but it is important to remember that two starters were down, the center and the right guard. Jason Moll, the fill in right guard is technically third string. Favre mostly had time to throw the ball and was only sacked twice.

The only real downsides to the game were A.J. Hawk and Favre's long ball. Favre threw deep 4 times during the game, and was short every time, twice missing a completely open receiver. While I am an A.J. fan, he did not play that well today. He blitzed at least two times from the left side, and did nothing. Both times he tried a fake to the inside followed by a move to the outside, trying to use his speed to his advantage, and both time ended up being a non-factor on the play.

The other time I was disappointed with Hawk was on the Redskins last real drive attempt, with about 7 min left to play. It was third and 6 on the Green Bay 37 when Cooley caught a pass in the flat. Rather than dropping him on contact, Hawk let Cooley fall forward for another 2 yards, making it a gain of 4 to bring up fourth and 2 from the 33. Cooley is a big guy, but this was a critical play of the game. Contrast it to the next play where Betts caught the pass in the flat and Barnett dropped him for no gain.

This was a good game, and with Dallas looking to lose to New England, it puts Green Bay back atop of the NFC.

Things change fast in the NFL.

Two weeks ago I was brushing off the Redskins, chalking up their two wins to weak teams. Now it looks like Washington is for real, and the Packers shine is diminished a bit.

That's fine, I still like the Pack. Look at the Redskins schedule so far. They squeaked out a win against the winless Dolphins at home, beat the Eagles by 8 in Philly, lost to the Giants at home, and beat up the Lions at home. The 'skins are 3-1 after 3 road games and they played 2 weak teams. (I still think the Lions are weak. They are on the rise, but weak. When the Fox announcers picked them to beat the Eagles I had a chuckle, and kept chuckling as that score went up, up, up to like 54-7 Eagles.)

The Redskins running game is not that hot, look at Portis (66-299) vs Wynn (36-165). And as snarky as I was in my predictions, the Redskins have third year player Jason Campel as their quarterback. He is a good player, and on the rise. But this week experience at quarterback will beat youth, especially with the Redskins receivers banged up, and our two shutdown corners on them.

Prediction: 34-20 Packers

This was a disappointing loss for everyone involved.

After DeShawn win broke off a 12 yard run to start the game, it looked like the Packers would dominate. And they did dominate every category except 1: turnover ratio. James Jones fumbled twice, Woodson fumbled on a punt return, and Favre threw an interception. (Favre had another int on the last play of the game, but that did not affect the outcome of the contest.)

Even with 4 turnovers, the Packers were still up and in a position to win the game going into the 4th quarter when the score was 20-20. The problem was momentum. The Packers were on their heels, and the Bears could smell blood. Remember, the Bears are not a good team, and Lovie Smith's goal is to beat the Packers twice every year. You could see this in the way the defense was tackling. In the first half they were stopping the Bears at the point of contact. In the 4th quarter they Bears were driving the Packers forward.

The Packers could have, and should have won this game, you just cant make that many mistakes and still win.

The Packers are 4-0 for the first time since '98, and with one more win will have the best start in team history.

The question on everyones lips is, "Where is the rush? What about the rush?"

I know where the running game is, right behind Brett Favre. Favre lines up under center, and the running back lines up behind him, ready to take the ball if Brett can't handle it. After the 4th and inches against San Diego, coach McCarthy said passing was the right call, saying(and I'm paraphrasing), "It was working all day, why would I switch from the run?" That has been the theme all year. Sure, running the ball is nice. Not fumbling the ball with under 2 minutes and the lead is nice too. When the pass doesn't work, when the opposing team can stop Brett Favre, they will switch to the run.

Also, any idea what the top 5 rated defenses in the NFL right now are?

1. Minnisota
2. Tennesee
3. New England
4. Baltamore
5. Phlidelphia

4-0 and we played against 2 of the top 5 rushing defenses already. San Diego is 12 and the Giants are 15.

Not bad.

Big Packers vs Bears game coming up this weekend. It's a Sunday night game, 7:15 kickoff, so please plan accordingly.

Everyone knows what the Packers/Bears rivalry is all about, and everyone knows what these two teams were last year, and how this year is shaping up for them.

The Bears are swooning, the Packers are rising. None of that matters too much for this weekends game, no matter the team, and no matter the record, these teams always get up to play each other. The Packers Bears record is 80-87-7 for all time, a testament to the close fought games over the series.

Rivalry aside, this week the Bears just don't have it. Last year when they went to the Super Bowl, the Bears did not have a good offense. It doesn't look any better this year, and the Packers defense is a whole lot better. The Bears defense is injured and in shambles. Look for the hot Packers offense to do some damage.

Prediction: Packers: 21-7.

Before the start of the season I predicted the Packers would go 9-7. Now, I can't change that prediction, pretend it didn't happen, or go back in time and erase it. But the Green Bay Packers are now 4-0, and it looks like they will get more than 9 wins this season.

So, based on the fast start, I will re-visit my pre-season prediction. I'll list each game of the season, and my original thoughts along with original predictions and updated predictions. I will use the format (Predicted record, updated)

Philadelphia Eagles W 16-13 (0-1, 1-0)
I originally had this game down as a loss. The Eagles looked good, McNabb was back, and historically Philadelphia has really beat up on the Pack. In the past 5 years or so anyway. The Packers won this one. Not pretty, but the important thing is they won, and set the tone for the season.

New York Giants W 35-13 (0-2, 2-0)
I thought they would lose this game as well. The Giants seemed like the were on the rise last year, and no one predicted their fall in defense. Then Manning was out, and everyone thought the Pack would win, then he was in, and everyone still thought they would win.

San Diego Chargers W 31-24 (0-3, 3-0)
No one thought they would beat the Chargers at the start of the season, but after the Pack looking good to start, and San Diego looking not so hot, a lot of people picked the Pack.

Minnesota Vikings W 23-16 (1-3, 4-0)
The Vikings usually give a good game against the Packers, but the Central looked suspect again this year, and I couldn't have the Packers start 0-4, so I thought this would be their first win.

Chicago Bears (2-3, 5-0)
Even though the Bears had home field clinched, Green Bay still put a hurt on them the last game of the season. Chicago coming to Green Bay look to turn in G.B's favor. It still does, especially since that Bears defense is not as tough as last year.

Washington Redskins (3-3, 6-0)
Washington didn't scare anyone last year, and they didn't scare anyone in the off or pre-season, and they still don't scare anyone. I don't even know who the quarterback is. Mark Brunell? Pre-Season I had the Pack winning this one, and I still do.

Denver Broncos (3-4, 7-0)
The Broncos look good. The Broncos running game looks real good. The Packers struggle against the Broncos, and in Denver this looks to be tough game, but coming off the bye week gives the Packers the edge.

Kansas City Chiefs (4-4, 8-0)
No one was or is sold on Larry Johnson, especially after holding out so long. So far, 4 games into the season he is not changing anyones mind.

Minnesota Vikings (5-4, 8-1)
Originally I had the Packers wining this one, but after playing tough all year, I think they drop one to Minnesota. It is at home, but they are not dominant at home anymore. They look past the Vikings to the Panthers and pay for it.

Carolina Panthers (6-4, 9-1)
I thought Carolina was going to be good this year, but I still had the Packers winning, mostly because it was at home and they match up well with Carolina. Now Carolina doesn't look so hot, and I still have the Packers winning.

Detroit Lions (7-4, 10-1)
A lot of people are on the Lions bus. I am not, was not at the start of the season, and I'm still not. The Packers win this game.

Dallas Cowboys (7-5, 10-2)
Memories of past seasons and playoffs haunt Favre. I didn't like this game from the outset, and I still don't. Good teams don't win every game, they don't even win all the "yardstick" games.

Oakland Raiders (8-5, 11-2)
On any given Sunday, the Raiders are a gimmie.

St. Louis Rams (8-6, 12-2)
I thought the Rams were going to be a lot better than they are. A lot of people did, and I had Green Bay losing. Now it looks like a lock for Green Bays 12th win.

Chicago Bears (8-7, 12-3)
At Soldier Field, the Bears get revenge. This is a rivalry that cooled for a while, but is coming back with a vengeance. At home, the  Bears handle the Pack.

Detroit Lions (9-7, 13-3)
Still not on the bus. Last game of the year, against the Lions, and they pack it in. Not even close. The Central is so weak I thought Green Bay would be 5-1, but now it looks like 4-2 because of a sneak attack by Minnesota.

13-3. Pretty far fetched, but so is 4-0. 13-3 ties them with Dallas, who gets home field because of head to head tie-breaker. Who wins when Green Bay comes to Dallas? I'll have to wait a few weeks to see that...