NFL Whip Around: What we're watching in Week 16
IRVING, Texas – Perhaps this is the year the Dallas Cowboys finally shake their December curse.
The Cowboys have already won their first two games this month – road games at Chicago and Philadelphia, to move back into first place in the NFC East and onto the verge of clinching a playoff spot for the first time since 2009.
The fact that the Cowboys already won those first two December games – especially after a blowout loss on Thanksgiving to the Eagles – has Dallas players confident this season will end differently than recent Decembers. The Cowboys are 8-11 in December games since 2010 – including a 1-3 record last year that killed their playoff dreams.
"This is the toughest group I've been around. I'm talking about mentally tough, physically tough. And we can do better. It's not like, 'Ah, we made it,'" defensive end Jeremy Mincey, who played in the Super Bowl for the Denver Broncos last year, told USA TODAY Sports. "If anything, we're going to play better in December, because we know how hard we worked. We didn't make it this far to turn around, like 'Oh, 10 games!' No, that's not good enough. You know what I mean? That's not good enough. That's our mentality. It's never good enough until you win a championship."
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Dallas could earn that elusive playoff spot on Sunday with a win against the Indianapolis Colts, a team that has already clinched the AFC South, paired with an Eagles loss to Washington.
Doing so would be validation for plenty of Cowboys, but perhaps none more so than quarterback Tony Romo, who had a career record of 13-18 in December games before this season. In the first two December games this season, he's completed 75% of his passes, thrown six touchdowns and has no interceptions in road wins at Chicago and Philadelphia.
"I think you knew going into Chicago that if you didn't win that game, it was going to be very difficult to have any chance at getting in. we've been at it for two weeks, we feel like we've been in the playoffs the entire month of December, so we're just going to keep that attitude and keep going," Romo said. "We just think of it as one game at a time, playing for everything each week. And we've done it two weeks in a row, we've got a third one to go do, and after that one, we'll start over again."
Now on to the NFL Whip Around, your game-day guide to Sunday's best storylines
The South could be won
Need to know: The ugly-but-interesting NFC South race could end on Sunday should the following two things happen: The New Orleans Saints beat the Atlanta Falcons at home at the Superdome, and the Carolina Panthers lose at home to Johnny Manziel and the Cleveland Browns. Of course, with the way the NFC South has gone this year, with four underperforming, inconsistent teams, it will almost be fitting if chaos reigns for one more week.
What to expect: In a normal year, the Saints would be a shoe-in to beat the Falcons at home. But these Saints have been hardly scary at home after losing their last four games at the Superdome. The Panthers though might be a bigger roadblock for the Saints clinching the division title this week. Carolina gets the boost of the return of quarterback Cam Newton, who missed last week's game after injuring his back in a car accident, and the benefit of playing a Cleveland Browns team in the midst of a tailspin.
Will the Cardinals offense show up?
Need to know: The Arizona Cardinals have already clinched a playoff spot, but the Cardinals would inspire much more confidence as a postseason contender should they be able to muster even something resembling an offense on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks. This is a huge test, of course, with quarterback Ryan Lindley, who was thrust into the starting lineup because of a knee injury last week to Drew Stanton. The Cardinals have scored only one touchdown in the last eight quarters, and scored just a field goal in their first game against Seattle, and that came with Stanton at quarterback.
What to expect: The Seattle defense has already had a big week, with contract extensions for defensive end Cliff Avril and linebacker K.J. Wright to further fortify a defense that in recent weeks looks a lot like the group that won the Super Bowl last year. The Seahawks are allowing less than seven points per game over the past four weeks – and that includes keeping the San Francisco 49ers in single digits twice, and holding Philadelphia to just 14 points. That's really bad news for Lindley and the Cardinals, who could lose their control of the NFC West if they fall to Seattle.
Rex's last stand?
Need to know: If this is the final home game of Rex Ryan's tenure as coach of the New York Jets, at least it is coming against his longtime rivals, Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots – with the Jets in the role of trying to spoil some of the Patriots' plans. The Jets have only beaten the Patriots one time in the last eight regular-season games, but crazy things tend to happen in this series that in recent years has given us the "Buttfumble" and even an entertaining Thursday night game earlier this season, when the Patriots held on to beat the Jets 27-25 in October.
What to expect: Though Jets' players would surely love to give Ryan one last win at MetLife Stadium, it will take more than desire to beat the Patriots, who have already clinched the AFC East and can clinch the No. 1 seed in the AFC with a win and a Denver loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. The talent gap between the Patriots and Jets is just too wide right now – especially at crucial positions like quarterback and cornerback, with Darrelle Revis playing another game against his former team.
Game-time decision: Dallas Cowboys running back DeMarco Murray, the NFL's rushing leader, will get to make the call on Sunday as to if he's able to play against the Indianapolis Colts just six days after undergoing surgery on Monday to repair a broken bone in his left hand. The questions for Murray will be how much pain he can play through, how much – if at all – he can grip the ball with his left hand, and how effective he can be if he has to use just his right arm. It would be surprising if Murray tells Dallas coaches anything other than he thinks he can play. So it will be up to Jason Garrett and his staff of assistants and doctors to decide if they believe him.
Fantasy play: Let's say that your fantasy team wasn't doomed last week because of Aaron Rodgers' two-interception, 185-yard day in a loss to the Buffalo Bills. Have faith that Rodgers will rebound to championship form this week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are giving up an average of 250 passing yards per game and have allowed 26 passing touchdowns – tied for the sixth-most in the NFL.
For entertainment purposes only: It's a rough weekend to be the home team. This weekend features eight games with the road teams as favorites, including Buffalo (at Oakland), Detroit (at Chicago against quarterback Jimmy Clausen), Philadelphia at Washington, Seattle (at Arizona) and Denver (at Cincinnati on Monday night).