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The Ravens got minimal help yesterday from the rest of the contending teams in the AFC, as the Colts were the only team in the top group in the conference to fall.
Indy dropped a heartbreaker to the Pats in New England, with Tom Brady barely outdueling Peyton Manning in another classic game between those two teams and quarterbacks.
Manning threw for 396 yards and four touchdowns . . .and lost. His three interceptions nearly matched his season total coming into the game.
Personally, I feel for Manning a little bit. That might not earn me too many friends in this area, but Peyton is playing with undrafted free agents and random third-stringers at nearly every single skill position, and he somehow is still able to post ridiculous numbers and keep his team in games against top competition.
Imagine if Indy was healthy. Yikes.
The most exciting thing to come out of yesterday's Steelers-Raiders game was Oakland defensive tackle Richard Seymour landing a haymaker to the jaw of Ben Roethlisberger, which resulted in Seymour getting tossed from the contest.
Ravens fans must have delighted in seeing Roethlisberger flop to the turf, although they probably didn't enjoy the 35-3 beatdown that Pittsburgh put on the Raiders.
Roethlisberger's Steelers join the Ravens at 7-3, but Baltimore remains atop the AFC North because of the head-to-head tiebreaker.
The Jets continue to teeter on the line between lucky and good, as they needed a dramatic last-minute touchdown drive to earn a comeback win over the Texans at the new Meadowlands Stadium.
I know Houston's pass defense is atrocious, but how they let Jets wide receiver Braylon Edwards catch this bomb and then get out of bounds to stop the clock is just beyond me.
As Tony Dungy said last night on NBC's Football Night in America, the Houston defensive backs have to be playing outside technique there, forcing Edwards to stay in bounds if he's able to make a catch. If Edwards doesn't get to the sideline there, the Jets would have only had 16 seconds to run upfield and spike the ball, which would have been nearly impossible with their offensive linemen 50 yards behind the new line of scrimmage.
But wow, what an impressive couple of throws by Mark Sanchez to Edwards and then to Santonio Holmes on the next play to give the Jets the win. This kid is something, and you have to think that him being in all these late-game situations and finding a way to win will pay off for the Jets down the road.
The Jets and Pats' wins leave them atop the AFC at 8-2, with the Ravens and Steelers a game back at 7-3.
Jacksonville (who shockingly is leading the AFC South after 10 games), the Colts and the AFC West-leading Chiefs are all at 6-4.
