Rick McGlothlin, Drafttek.com Senior Writer

Drew Brees just made sure the voters best not leave his name off of any MVP ballots just yet. 5 touchdowns and not a single pick, and he was still upset missing on all FIVE of his incompletions. The Saints are now 11-0 and clearly are a team that is going to make some noise come playoff time. Even though the game was built up as the underdog Saints battling the powerful and veteran Patriots, I think many saw just who had the more powerful team. New Orleans had their two starting CB’s out and two aging vets in the lineup who weren’t playing the past year. Simply amazing, and the defense was on a mission all night long.

Meantime, there were classic finishes in a wild Sunday of NFL football followed the rather mundane offerings of the Thanksgiving schedule offered up by the league. 5 games decided by a touchdown or less, including an overtime thriller in Baltimore, a go-ahead TD by Atlanta with just seconds remaining, and the rally from 17-points down by the Colts against Houston (two years in a row) for a “W” lead the highlights from Week 12.
Now that the MNF game is in the books,  the playoff picture is getting a bit more clear. And the margin of error for Wild Card wannabes a lot smaller than it was just a week ago. Consider that at the conclusion of Sunday’s games, there are a potential of 7 teams vying for one wild card spot in the AFC, while the NFC has primarily four teams trying to grab the final wild card slot there.

1. (1) New Orleans (11-0) Thoroughly dismantled New England in each and every facet of the game. Only the Sedrick Ellis fumble on his run-after-fumble-recovery-attempt may have kept the carnage from being more widely strewn. It could’ve been Saints 31-10 if he hadn’t tried to keep running it, but he did, and the Pats drove down the field to close the gap to 24-17. That’s as close as it would get as the Saints kept firing passes and mixing in the run to grind the clock and add touchdowns in the redzone. A Minnesota-New Orleans NFC final is now looking more and more possible, and one can only imagine what that matchup would be like in either stadium.

2.(2) Indianapolis (11-0) – Indy came in with the #3 offense in total yards and #1 defense in points allowed and both looked to be in jeopardy early. Facing the Texans without Dwight Freeney on defense looked like it was going to spell doom for the Colts early on. Silly us….don’t we realize yet that NO lead is big enough to overcome for this team? Down 17-0 I’m willing to wager that that most of America figured, “Well, the Texans finally are going to get over the Indy hump.” Of course, half of those folks forgot about last year’s comeback against Houston, trailing 17 points in that game. Only there were FOUR minutes left. Sunday the Colts had the whole 2nd half and hung a mere 35 unanswered points on the stunned Texans from the 2nd quarter to the end of the game. The victory gives Indy 20 consecutives wins in the regular season (spanning two seasons now) and they’re the only team in history to come from behind 5 consecutive times to win in the final quarter.

3.(3) Minnesota (10-1) – The Vikings have the 3rd best rushing defense in the entire NFL and didn’t really need it Sunday as they completely manhandled Chicago from start to finish. It was a classic butt-kicking that reinforces the notion that Brett Favre has become the engine driving this ballclub to the playoffs. This team now has pizazz. Chemistry. Togetherness. Fun. But most of all this team has a collective group of talented players who are hungry to taste playoff victory and Brett Favre is dishing out some early samplings of what could be if they stay focused.

4.(5) Cincinnati (8-3) – I guess Larry Johnson does have some gas left in the tank. Filling in for the injured Cedric Benson, Johnson chalked up over 100 yards on the Browns to help lift the Bengals to a closer-than-expected 16-7 win. The Browns came in as the 2nd best team in the NFL against the rush allowing an average of just 84 yards per game. They allowed Cleveland a measley 58. What’s more, the defense was 3rd best defensively in points allowed, 6th in interceptions , 9th in sacks – but their achilles heel is passing defense, giving up over 226 yards per game. They padded all those stats, allowing the Browns 116 yards passing but no TD’s. Next up is Detroit – so Benson can probably afford to rest up another week and let LJ have a few more carries.

5.(4) New England (7-4) – The Pats were exposed on MNF by a solid coaching staff and relentless, ferocious defense and the most potent offensive weaponry in the league. Certainly New England held their own early on, but Tom Brady was pressured enough to be forced into errant passes and interceptions that helped swing the game to New Orleans. But it was the leaking sieve of the Patriot defense that really doomed the Pats on this night.

6.(6) San Diego (8-3) – Six straight wins for the charging Chargers, who are currently one of the hottest teams in the NFL. Against KC, it seemed as if Antonio Gates was everywhere collecting passes and scoring on two of them. LT got in the action by punching in two scores of his own, while Philip Rivers had another stellar performance leading the #10 passing offense to a rout of the Chief. I’m still a bit concerned about the #29 rushing offense, but like Indy, they utilized the pass as their running game at times. The defense continues improving, though it’s 21st against the run and 10th against the pass BUT an impressive 6th in sacks.

7. (10) Dallas (8-3) – Cowboys finally get something clicking on offense against a team that has surprised a few teams this season. No surprises in Dallas for this Thanksgiving day thumping. The Cowboys are now the 4th best offense in total yardage while and are hanging at #7 defensively against the rush. Perhaps the first test of their infamous “December decline” comes next week when they travel East to play the Giants. If they can’t whip the stumbling Giants, it could re-ignite the talk (and pressure) that the Cowboys aren’t able to close anything out come December.

8.(7) Pittsburgh (6-5) – I was watching the pre-game interview on NBC with Hines Ward regarding Big Ben sitting out the game to guard against the possibility of further hampering the injury to his head. It was bewildering to me to hear Ward suggest that if it were him, he’d be out on the field because it’s a big game. He also added that the locker room was about 50/50 in agreement with him on the subject. Love Hines Ward and how he plays, but that either came out a lot differently than he meant it to, or he caught a case of the bonehead. At any rate, #1 rushing defense in the league couldn’t keep Ray Rice and La’Ron McClain completely under wraps and Rice made them pay. Big round of applause however to Dixon for a solid job filling in for Big Ben, and might I add, having watched him play many times as a collegian, it didn’t really surprise me at all. Bet he wishes he had that last pass back though.

9.(11) Philadelphia (7-4) – Best in the league at quick scoring, the Eagles put a quick 10 up on Washington in the first half after falling behind early 7-0. At that point they looked primed to blow the Redskins out. But the Skins hung tough even though Philly scored touchdowns after two critical Redskin turnovers to complete the comeback and edge Washington for the win. Will be interesting to see how the concussion on DeSean Jackson plays out as the Eagles head ’round the corner for the stretch run.

10.(9) Denver (7-4) – Rebounding from a miserable four game skid, the Broncos finally moved the ball and put it in the endzone. The fact that they did it so easily might have more to say for the Giants D than the Denver O, but they’ll take the win and the newfound momentum. Elvis Dumervil continues to have an amazing season, now leading the league with 14 sacks – two against the Giants along with a forced fumble – while the Bronco D re-discovered itself and clamps down as the league’s 6th best in total yardage allowed.

11.(14) Baltimore (6-5) – Have lost close games to five top rated teams in the NFL this season and though they have an “aging” defense, they’re still in the top ten in total yards allowed. In overtime, the Ravens kept their playoff aspirations alive by knocking off Pittsburgh in a dramatic overtime victory that might be the spark needed to re-energize a team that was the victim of close loss after close loss. They’ll have their hands full again next week when the travel to Green Bay to tussle with the Packers at Lambeau.

12.(15) Green Bay (7-4) – Donald Driver has a huge game, as does Aaron Rodgers, but the Packers were thankful for 4 Stafford INT’s. The Packers continue to be solid on defense, currently ranked #2 overall in total yards allowed. Rodgers is now the #2 QB in the NFL in total passing yardage, right behind Peyton Manning, and is currently tied for the most TD’s thrown (22) with Drew Brees. Let’s keep in mind that this “W” was against a banged up, rebuilding Detroit team. Thus, a jump up the ladder isn’t in the cards this week. Perhaps if they can handle Baltimore next week.

13.(9) Arizona (7-4) – When Kurt Warner decided he might not be as well as he first thought following his head injury last week, he told the team to let Leinart run the show against the Titans. Ooops. While that may not cost them much ultimately, it does add another “L” on the record and may push them away from home sooner during the playoffs. I still can’t understand why a guy like Leinart, so used to the pro style passing game at USC, cannot take advantage of the huge weapons he has on offense. Boldin and Fitzgerald had a total of NINE catches between them and ZERO touchdowns. He spread it around nicely to seven other receivers, but I think I’d take one or two of those and send one to Q or Fitz.

14.(13) New York Giants (6-5) – The walls came crumbling down in Denver as the #4 NFL defense (in total yards) couldn’t stop anything. The offensive line, meantime, allowed the Broncos to swarm over Eli Manning and shut down the running game. It certainly didn’t look anywhere near the #8 total offense in the NFL. Playoffs are still possible, but not without a rather long win streak over the final few weeks.

15.(14) Houston (5-6) – Matt Schaub and the Texans played a nearly flawless first half against Indianapolis, en route to a 20-7 lead at the intermission. After they came back out for the 2nd half, it was deja vu all over again. You could’ve heard a Bob McNair wine glass hit the floor in the owner’s suite when Clint Sessions picked off Matt Schaub and returned for the go-ahead TD for Indy in the 4th quarter. A short time later, the silence was especially deafening when #3 backup Chad Simpson chugged through the Texan defense on 3rd and 5 for the kill shot that effectively put Houston out of its misery. Last Monday night they were thinking it was the time to turn the corner. One week later, they’re laying all over the pavement in a bloody mess wondering what the hell just hit them. Again.

16.(22) Tennessee (5-6) – Five in a row for the Titans under Vince Young, and this was certainly a fine, fine performance for VY. Drove the team 99 yards for the winning score to keep the team hopes of a playoff spot alive while amassing a career 350+ passing yards. An incredible throw to Kenny Britt for the winning score, and give credit to rookie Kenny Britt for redeeming himself for the fumble he made after a big gain on another Tennessee drive. Now we get to see how the Titans can do on the road against division champion Indy.

17.(19) San Francisco (5-6) – Alex Smith was allowed to take to the air for the majority of the plays against Jacksonville and he made the most of it, throwing for over 230 yards and 2 touchdowns. The 49er defense allowed 300+ in passing, but kept MJD and the Jag rushing attack in check for the majority of the game, keeping Jacksonville from scoring a single TD.

18.(16) Atlanta (6-5) – Matt Ryan goes out, Michael Turner goes out and that figured to be the end of story for Atlanta, right? Wrong. Enter Chris Redman, who helped engineer some Falcon scores – including a wild go-ahead score with 26-seconds remaing to help Atlanta keep an eye on a wildcard playoff spot by knocking off Tampa Bay, 20-17. It will be a tough task with the Eagles visiting next week.

19.(13) Jacksonville (6-5) – Had a chance to improve their playoff chances with a win, especially with Houston losing to Indy. Down 17-3 in the first half, the Jags never rallied, and in fact, didn’t score at all in the 2nd half as they ended up with no scores in 4 attempts in the redzone. Next up is Houston.

20.(19) Miami (5-6) – Just a few days after leading his team to a big win, and after having a huge day earlier in his career vs Buffalo, Ricky Williams tried to duplicate the same type of effort against the Bills. He rushed for over 110 yards and a TD, but his ill-advised option pass in the endzone was picked and cost the Dolphins at least a FG in a tight ballgame. The crippling mistake came when Chad Henne was picked off late in the 4th, leading to a Bills TD that pretty much put the game out of reach at 24-14, perhaps knocking Miami out of a playoff spot.

21.(22) N.Y. Jets (5-6) – Very slim playoff hopes remain alive thanks to a tremendous defensive duo in the secondary, as Revis and Rhodes made the game a living hell for Delhomme. Jones and Green churned out enough on the ground to keep the chains and clock moving, and Sanchez utilized the short passing game effectively, throwing just a single pick.

22.(23) Chicago (4-7) – Now both Lovie Smith and Jay Cutler will be feeling the fiery wrath of disillusioned and disgruntled Bear fans after flailing away for 4 quarters against the Minnesota Vikings, and coming away with 10 lousy points. Sure the defense is all banged up and the offensive line isn’t quite what is desired – but every team has troubles. But not 567 offensive yards for your opponent and 170 for you type of troubles. It certainly makes the thought of those two #1 draft picks given away for Cutler look awfully painful. And dumb.

23.(27) Buffalo (4-7) – This team continues to confuse all of us, everywhere. 24 points in the final quarter? Haven’t seen TO that happy in a long, long time at a post-game presser. Perry Fewell replacing Dick Jauron has done the trick. Weren’t we saying this all year about Jauron? All last year too?

24.(21) Carolina (4-7) – If anyone had told you that Stephen Smith would be held to just one catch and five total yards receiving, I’m sure it would’ve given you quite the chuckle. Certainly Darrelle Revis didn’t think it unrealistic and did just that, as the Panthers were stuck in idle on offense all day long. Jake Delhomme had another monster day, throwing a mere 4 picks, including one returned for a TD. I’m under the sneaking suspicion that a QB might be in the draft plans for the Panthers. Just a hunch.

25.(26) Seattle (4-7) – Whipped up on the Rams. Whoopee.

26.(25) Kansas City (3-8) – Two steps forward, one giant step backwards. That was an ugly, ugly game against San Diego.

27.(26) Oakland (3-8) – It’s hard to comprehend how well the Raiders have played in many of their games while still ranking near the bottom in total offense and total defense. But they resembled their rankings in the game vs Dallas.

28.(25) Washington (3-8) – The Skins played well enough to win but couldn’t pull off the upset. Bet they didn’t expect Philly to run it as much as they did either. Not a bad game for Jason Campbell but the lack of a running game was a critical problem.

29.(28) Detroit (2-9) – The Lions loss and Pettigrew’s injury surely made the holiday turkey a little tough to swallow around Detroit.

30.(29) St. Louis ( 1-10) – I thought this might be one the Rams stole from a stumbling Seahawk ballclub. Obviously thought wrong.

31.(31) Tampa Bay (1-10) – Played extremely well and are definitely making strides under new coach Raheem Morris.

32.(32) Cleveland (1-10) – The worst news wasn’t so much the loss, but rather the loss of Shaun Rogers.