Mark Sanchez's five turnovers helped take down the Jets on Sunday. (Getty Images)
Isn't that what we expect from the NFL as we head to Thanksgiving weekend?
Well, we don't have it this season.
This past weekend reinforced the notion that this is a year for the good and the bad, the pretty and the ugly.
Think about this for a second: Four of the eight division races are essentially over. A fifth would have been if the Cincinnati Bengals had not stuck their fingers down their throats in losing to the Oakland Raiders.
Can we really have half the races over with six weeks to go?
The Indianapolis Colts (AFC South), Minnesota Vikings (NFC North), New Orleans Saints (NFC South) and Arizona Cardinals (NFC West) would all have to have bigger falls than Chris Brown after he hit Rihanna not to win their divisions.
And that's not counting the New England Patriots, who have a two-game lead in the AFC East. The NFC East, AFC North and the AFC West are the only three divisions where the two top teams are separated by one game -- some parity.
The Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers both lost Sunday, all but making the Bengals the AFC North champs if they had not blown a late lead to the Oakland Raiders. The Bengals lead the Steelers by two games (one in the loss column with a tiebreaker owing to their head-to-head victories) with six to go.
The Bengals are also 5-0 in the division, with sweeps of both the Steelers and the Ravens, who still have to play each other twice, starting next Sunday.
That's the thing about the division runaway teams. They've owned their own. The six teams with leads of two games -- counting the Bengals -- are a combined 21-2 against teams from their own division. That's called dominating.
The Steelers lost a game they had no business losing to the Chiefs on Sunday. They dominated the game, yet lost 27-24 in overtime. That's a stinging loss for the defending Super Bowl champs.
That earned them a D in our CBSSports.com Weekly Grades. Why so harsh? They lost a game they needed in the worst way to a team they were favored to beat by 10 points in a game they dominated.
We want holiday intrigue. We want December games that matter. We want parity.
Dolphins: Ricky Williams had a big day with Ronnie Brown out. The defense also came up big in important situations. But the best thing is that Chad Henne is getting better. This was a nice victory.
B-
2.33
C
Panthers: Jake Delhomme isn't very good. And neither are the Panthers. If you can't pass, it doesn't matter how well you run it. The defense didn't do a good job of tackling Williams.
Saints: This one was won by the defense. They had three picks and helped set up the offense all day. The offense wasn't as explosive, but ran well in the second half with the lead, which is a good thing for later on this season.
C
3.23
F
Buccaneers: After their first score, the offense went bad. Josh Freeman played like a rookie. He was indecisive. The defense played a decent game, but was put in a lot of bad spots and wore down.
Giants: Eli Manning had a monster game with 384 yards and three touchdowns. He also led them to the game-winning points in overtime with some big throws. The defense remains a trouble spot, especially against the pass.
C
2.54
C-
Falcons: They are a lot like the Giants in that they can score but have defensive issues. Matt Ryan got it cranked up in the fourth quarter to rally the Falcons from down 14. But they never got the ball in overtime. That's tough to take.
Vikings: Brett Favre was sensational, missing just three passes and throwing four touchdown passes. Wow. The defense did the rest, shutting down the Seahawks offense all day long. Seattle couldn't run at all.
B
3.08
F
Seahawks: That was horrible. They couldn't stop the Vikings and didn't get anything going until they were way behind. When the other team pulls the starting quarterback at the start of the fourth quarter, you know it's bad.
Chiefs: You have to give them big props for coming back after falling behind by 10. They had a kickoff return for a score (Jamaal Charles) and a 94-yard interception return by Andy Studebaker set up another score. They were outplayed, but found a way. The Chris Chambers play in overtime was huge.
B
1.84
D
Steelers: They outplayed the Chiefs and lost, which will make this one sting. They have had trouble covering kicks all season. The interception was the big play, turning things around in a big way.
Jaguars: It wasn't pretty, that's for sure. The offense couldn't get much going until the game-winning drive in the fourth quarter. The defense gave up some big plays, including a long touchdown pass to Terrell Owens, but still only gave up 15 points.
B+
2.11
C-
Bills: They moved the football on offense, and had the 98-yard touchdown pass to Terrell Owens. The defense, which is banged up, hung tough for most of the game but let down late. They fought in Perry Fewell's first game.
Packers: Aaron Rodgers had a big game throwing it, getting 344 yards and two touchdowns. Ryan Grant ran it well with 129 yards, but the defense folded in the second half and let the 49ers make a game of it. They have to put teams away in that situation.
A
2.64
C-
49ers: They battled back after falling way behind to make it interesting. The defense has had pass issues all season long and that showed here. Alex Smith played well in rallying the 49ers but it was too late.
Lions: Still want Matt Stafford to sit down? He had an enormous day with five touchdown passes, including the game-winner in the final seconds. He threw for 422 yards. The Lions defense was pathetic. But in the end, it didn't matter. Cleveland's was worse.
C-
1.88
C-
Browns: Brady Quinn showed he might be the quarterback of the future with four touchdown passes, three in the first quarter. The pass defense cost them this game. They were lit up.
Cowboys: They did little until the winning drive. Tony Romo wasn't very good until that final drive. The defense played well, limiting the Redskins to six points even though Washington moved the ball. They should feel fortunate to take this one.
C
2.94
D
Redskins: hey outplayed the Cowboys, and lost. That hurts. Jason Campbell had a better day than Romo, but didn't win. The defense played great, except for the winning drive. This was their game.
Colts: The defense came up big with a late interception by Gary Brackett. They held the Ravens to five field goals, which was the difference. The offense wasn't great, but it moved the ball. It blew some scoring chances. A tough, playoff-like win.
B
3.06
C+
Ravens: You must score touchdowns to beat a team like the Colts. They left points on the field. The defense played well enough to win. The offense didn't. Joe Flacco's interception late was a horrible play.
Cardinals: The Cardinals ran it at will with Tim Hightower and Chris Wells. They also got two touchdown passes from Kurt Warner. The defense played well in the first half, but let up some in the second.
B
2.47
C
Rams: It took them a while to get it going, but they played better in the second half. Steven Jackson had another big day. He's a star on a bad team.
Raiders: They found a way, thanks to the Bengals giving them four turnovers. The last one set up the game-winning field goal. The defense only allowed 17 points. The offense drove to a touchdown late to tie it.
D
1.22
C-
Bengals: This was a disaster. They blew a game they shouldn't have lost. Turnovers, especially the fumble on the kickoff late by Andre Caldwell, were the difference. They did run the ball with Bernard Scott but they paid for keeping a team around.
Patriots: Tom Brady and Wes Welker carved up the Jets defense and the New England defense picked off Mark Sanchez four times. They did give up a blocked punt for a score that gave the Jets some life.
B-
3.04
C-
Jets: Sanchez was terrible. You can't win turning it over like that. And what happened to that defense? This is a team going in the wrong direction.
Chargers: Philip Rivers was efficient and the defense was dominating. The Broncos couldn't get anything going on offense. LaDainian Tomlinson is starting to look like the old L.T.
B+
2.79
D
Broncos: Chris Simms couldn't do anything when he was in there and neither could Kyle Orton. The Chargers were suffocating on defense. The Denver defense isn't playing as well as it did early in the season.
Eagles: Donovan McNabb was picked once, but played well other than that. LeSean McCoy ran it for 99 yards. The defense did a nice job except for a couple of big plays. The stop after the fumble late was huge.
C-
2.83
C-
Bears: Jay Cutler was off again. He missed some open receivers. The running game had a couple of plays, but not enough. The defense played well enough to win the game.
Titans: Vince Young was steady and made a lot of big plays with his legs. Chris Johnson was his explosive self. The defense did a nice job against that Houston passing game. It was an impressive road victory.
1.93
C-
Texans: They didn't get the big plays in the passing game and they didn't run it that well. The run defense had issues as well. Kris Brown has to make that kick to tie it.
Well, Pete, I think you gave us apretty good report card this time. Why do the Lions play on Thanksgiving day anymore? They have to have their head examined for playing Matthew Stafford...why? Here's your franchise QB, and let's see how he likes being a punching bag for the Packers.
If the Cowboys would stop making mistakes, they could have put 40 on the Raiders. As it w
...(more)
Come on Prisco, you're giving Indy an A for that win? Did you miss the first half when they were horrible on D and not that great on offense? A team should not get an A unless they play a complete game OR blow out a team enough in the first half that it doesn't matter if they ease up in the 2nd with the 2nd stringers.
I also noticed in that power rankings video you have kept Indy #1 w
...(more)
You are being way too kind when saying that the Bears arent playing good football. The are absoutely stinking up the joint. As a die hard Bears fan that has tried to keep looking at the stupid glass as half full I have finally had enough of this wreck of a team. I would love to say its injuries or something like that as to why the Bears are so god awfull but its not. When y
...(more)
The Ravens at home on a Sunday night playing a divisional game against a team without starting QB Ben Roethlisberger, Guard Chris Keamouteau, safety Troy Polamalu, and DE Aaron Smith...the most 4 important people for the Steelers, and the Ravens playing against Dennis Dixon only win in OT because of the kid's interception in his first start ever. I say the Ravens should be getting a C-.
I'm a Packer fan, but to say they deserve an A for this game is more then just a stretch. The Special Teams play was bad once again coughing the ball up on the opening drive, missing a 43 yard field goal, and giving up 2 34 yard returns. The offense had trouble scoring TD's in the red zone and also gave up a Safety. The penalties problem continued, the Atari Bigby block in the ba
...(more)
Let me start by saying, this isn't directed at ALL Steelers fans, just the ignorant ones who can't type a post or have a conversation without mentioning 6 Super Bowl wins, and when I say "Steelers fans" I'm referring to these ignorant ones...
The Steelers don't have more championships than other other franchise. In fact, they're not even in the top 3. The current leaders are t
...(more)
Why is it that the Cowboys can play a team like the Eagles and beat them but the media either calls it a weak league and but when we lost earlier in the season to the Giants they were on their way back to the Superbowl. I know the Cowboys are the team people love to hate but my goodness what happened to us being just plain Good. I'm not saying we are Superbowl material yet but we are making some s
...(more)
This is a plea to Prisco to start grading teams OBJECTIVELY rather than based on expectations. Please explain to me how the Chiefs earn an A while the Steelers earn a D, when the game went into overtime? Just because a team that normally plays poorly manages to win a squeaker against a good team, they get an A? You gotta be kidding me. Did you watch the game??? The Chiefs were dominat
Prisco probably should have said that playoff races are usually a bunch of good teams chasing each other for a few coveted spots, usually while playing a decent level of football. The problem is that even the mediocre 6-4 clubs continually play up and down each week, there are only a few teams that play consistently well almost each week and the rest are basically struggling to put together any ki
...(more)
"Steelers: They outplayed the Chiefs and lost, which will make this one sting. They have had trouble covering kicks all season. The interception was the big play, turning things around in a big way."
They got a D and the Chiefs got an A??? They got outplayed and got an A? Strange grades indeed.
I am so sorry Pete to douse water on your platonic love affair with Peyton ....but no team ever deserves an "A" when they fall behind 17-0 against an opponent they own...and your "special boy" Peyton throws 2 picks(again!!)
Even your "binky buddy" Manning said they did not play a complete game....... they get an "A" for playing a 1/2 gam
...(more)
(POLL)
I am not a Colts fan, but how can a team that is PERFECT on the season only have a 3.15? Isn't a PERFECT record equivalent to a 4.0? if not, why the heck not? What else is supposed to happen in this league other than win ALL of your games?
Prisco - I usually love your writing despite what everyone else on here has to say about it. However, your argument does not make mathematical sense. For example, you mentioned that the Bengals would have virtually locked up the AFC North if they had beat the Raiders. They would have a two game lead plus tie breaker with 6 games to go.
The problem with that thinking is that it assumes
...(more)
How can you say that? Because you read the stats and saw the yardage that McNabb put up? Or did you actually watch the game?
The Chargers offense was scoring at will and the defense held Philly to a field goal on, what?... 3 redzone situations - one being 1st and goal at the 1 yard line. So the Chargers went to playing prevent D most of the game. T
...(more)
