Brandon Jacobs rumbled for 73 yards and 2 TDs Sunday.
AP

A weekly NFL breakdown that heads in the opposite direction of your average pro football analysis.

1. Brandon Jacobs is the best running back in the NFL. The Giants immediately set the tone for a game when Jacobs comes out there and knocks the defense onto its back heels like Walter Payton or Earl Campbell used to do. So what if he can't contribute on third-and-long? Isn't the point to avoid third-and-longs? Adrian Peterson is close, but he seems to get stuffed on too many key short-yardage runs.

2. If the Titans were smart, they would have fallen to the Jaguars on Sunday. They're setting up a potentially embarrassing loss to the winless Lions on Thanksgiving. I'm mostly kidding, but don't expect the Titans to go down in NFL history. The other shoe is going to fall on this team at some point.

3. The AFC East is the most overrated division in the NFL. All the teams are feasting on schedules loaded with terrible AFC West and NFC West teams. That's like Grizzly bears fishing in a river where the salmon are spawning. (C'mon people, you can't understand the NFL without watching the Nature Channel).

4. The Dolphins barely scrape by against the Seahawks and Raiders in Miami and are somehow in the thick of the playoff race? If the 'Fins take advantage of their weak schedule and sneak into the postseason, they'll get smacked in the wild card round.

5. A coin flip completely changed the course of the NFL discussion this week and perhaps for the rest of the season. If the Patriots got the ball first in overtime on Thursday, they would have beaten the Jets and we'd be debating a different set of issues. Could Matt Cassel take the Patriots to the Super Bowl? What does New England do next year with Cassel? What happens to the Jets if they don't make the playoffs? Would Brett Favre return? What about Eric Mangini? Now the Jets have a safe path to the playoffs and the Patriots are licking a lot of serious wounds on both sides of the ball.

6. Does any one of the Panthers' eight wins this year particularly impress anyone? Their schedule gets tougher and the Bucs aren't far behind in the NFC South.

7. If you're the Eagles, tying the Bengals is like kissing your sister if your sister is really unattractive. Trust me, this is personal area of expertise. (Kissing ugly girls that is, not kissing my sister).

8. Chad Johnson is to blame for his low numbers this season, not the Carson Palmer injury. T.J. Houshmandzadeh has been doing just fine with Ryan Fitzpatrick under center. Johnson doesn't fight to make the play like Houshmandzadeh does and Ocho Cinco hasn't prove he's worth the huge contract he cares so much about. Cincy fans should concentrate on driving Johnson out of town, not their coach and general manager. That being said, Johnson will likely have a Randy Moss career resuscitation on his next team.

9. Matt Ryan now has something in common with Michael Vick. Falcons receivers' inability to catch cost him a win.

10. The Colts, Steelers and Patriots have represented the AFC in the last five Super Bowls. Don't be surprised if one of those teams is back in the big game this February.