Week 12 Judgements: Cassel's play might pay off

1. The bidding just went up on Matt Cassel. Randy Moss was right when he said, "He's playing hellified ball." The question is: Whom does he play that ball for in 2009? Tune in next March when he becomes an unrestricted free agent.

2. New York, New York. It might be time to wonder what happens if the Giants and Jets have to host conference championship games in the same building.

3. Add Brett Favre to the MVP race and make him neck-and-neck with Kurt Warner.

4. The most impressive part of this Jets' run is consecutive road wins at Buffalo, New England and Tennessee. Take it from the Giants: If you can win big road games you can make it to the Super Bowl.

5. I know one guy who doesn't mind Plaxico Burress sitting out Sundays. Domenik Hixon, come on down. He started when Burress was suspended earlier this season and had 102 yards receiving in one half. Then he produced a team-high six catches and 180 yards on kickoff returns with Burress sidelined against Arizona. Just another reason to like Big Blue.

6. Guess the students paid attention in class, huh, Mike Holmgren and Andy Reid?

7. Trust me, that loss hurt Mike Shanahan. Not just because it was the Broncos' third straight defeat at home and prevented them from extending their AFC West lead; but because it was to the Raiders, a club Shanahan has owned and detested since he was fired by Al Davis.

8. Yeah, I have a problem with Philadelphia throwing on four consecutive third-and-1's the past two weeks ... when you're throwing like Donovan McNabb.

9. It's not a quarterback controversy in Philadelphia; it's a quarterback problem. Here's how I know: Donovan McNabb and Kevin Kolb's combined passer rating Sunday was 12.5.

10. This is the game that will tell me if Dallas has arrived: Dec. 7 at Pittsburgh. Win that one, and you're playoff worthy, Jerry Jones.

11. Phil Savage can stop sending e-mails to irate fans and start sending them to prospective coaching candidates. When you're 1-5 at home, it's time for Romeo Crennel to turn out the lights.

12. Now that he passed the audition with the Chiefs, maybe Buffalo should have Leodis McKelvin play wide receiver, too.

13. Because this is Thanksgiving week it's the perfect time to mention how grateful the people of Atlanta are that LaDainian Tomlinson plays in San Diego. It is L.T. who forced the Chargers to let free-agent Michael Turner walk, and it is Turner who has 13 touchdowns -- including four Sunday. Turner and Tomlinson meet each other next weekend in San Diego.

14. Tell me Buffalo isn't a different offense with Josh Reed in the lineup. His stats weren't sexy, but three of his five catches were for first downs -- including one for a touchdown. Of course, playing a defense that can't sack the quarterback always helps, but Reed is a perfect complement to deep threat Lee Evans, who finally hit 100 yards again.

15. There are two reasons you better start paying attention to Indianapolis: 1) Peyton Manning and 2) the Colts' schedule. Manning you know about; the schedule you might not. The Colts' next four games are against, in order, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit and Jacksonville. Their combined record is 9-34-1.

Just asking but ...

• Who's your Rookie Coach of the Year: Mike Smith, Jim Zorn, John Harbaugh or Tony Sparano?

• Where does Donovan McNabb play next year?

• Time to polish off those "Man-Genius" headlines again?

• Tampa Bay or Carolina in the NFC South?

• How do you dare to single-cover Randy Moss?

Five things I like

1. Sebastian Janikowski's leg. Did you see that kickoff from the 15? It went to the goal line, for crying out loud.

2. Adrian Peterson's response to his benching. He sat out the first two series because he was late for a team meeting Saturday and -- get this -- said he deserved the punishment. "I fully understand it and accept it," he said. Bravo, Adrian, bravo.

3. Leon Washington as the X-factor. The guy can hurt you in so many ways, a lot like the Chargers' Darren Sproles.

4. Eli Manning under fire. No Brandon Jacobs. No Plaxico Burress. No problem. Manning throws for three TDs to cool off Arizona.

5. Tom Moore's guts. Instead of trying a quarterback sneak on fourth-and-inches at the San Diego 48, the Colts' offensive coordinator has Peyton Manning throw a play-action pass. Result: A perfect 14-yard strike to Marvin Harrison. The first down led to the Colts' game-winning field goal.

Five things I don't

1. Those roughing-the-passer penalties on Thomas Howard in the Oakland-Denver game. Someone remind referee Jeff Triplette this isn't flag football. "At some point you have to say, 'Enough is enough,' " CBS analyst Randy Cross said."At some point you have to let them play."

2. That second-and-goal call by the Eagles at the Baltimore 1. All they had to do was run another quarterback sneak. Maybe two. Maybe three. I don't care. Just don't get cute. So they have Kevin Kolb try a play-action pass, and the ball is intercepted and returned 108 yards for a touchdown. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

3. The future of Chad Johnson/Ocho Cinco in Cincinnati. It's time to get rid of the guy not because it's what Chad wants but because it's what the Bengals need. Send out the clowns.

4. Baltimore's Ed Reed going brain-dead and trying to lateral on an interception inside the Philadelphia 10. Give me a break, Ed. This isn't rugby.

5. Philip Rivers' timing with flubs. His third-quarter fumble on a sure scoring drive made it five straight games with at least one critical turnover. It also produced an Indianapolis TD.

Significant numbers

3 -- Oakland touchdowns on 18 second-half plays
4 -- Straight Washington road wins
4 -- San Diego losses in the last 24 seconds of games
5 - Games in which Houston's Andre Johnson has 10 or more receptions
6 - Kansas City sacks this year
25 -- Miami yards on eight direct snaps to Ronnie Brown; the Fins had 119 and four TDs the first time they met New England
1-5 -- Jacksonville at home
17-1 -- New England following losses since 2003
54-9 -- Pittsburgh's point differential in the third quarter
1966 -- Last time a Buffalo quarterback ran for two touchdowns in one game.

Next weekend's three best games

Pittsburgh at New England ... Memo to Matt Cassel: Look out for James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley.
N.Y. Giants at Washington ... Much bigger for 'Skins than G-Men.
Chicago at Minnesota ... At last, some room in the NFC North.

My top five

1. N.Y. Giants
2. Tennessee
3. N.Y. Jets
4. Pittsburgh
5. Tampa Bay

My bottom five

1. Detroit
2. Kansas City
3. Cincinnati
4. St. Louis
5. Seattle