Last Place Update

December 13, 2011 – Welcome to this week’s Last Place Update.  Once again, the 0-13 Indianapolis Colts maintain their two game lead as Kings of the Cellar.  They were easy pickings for the Baltimore Ravens, losing 24-10.  Their magic number is now two.  Two more losses guarantee the Colts the first pick in the 2012 draft.

This week’s first honorable mention goes to the 2-11 St. Louis Rams.  They went into Seattle and laid an egg, losing 30-13.  This is their fourth straight loss with no relief in sight.  Their last three games are against teams with a winning record.

The second honorable mention goes to the 4-9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who can’t seem to win, even when they’re supposed to.  This is a game they should have won, but instead were blown out 41-14.  You can’t have seven turnovers and win.  Just ask the 1977 Denver Broncos.  They had eight turnovers while losing to the Dallas Cowboys 27-10 in Super Bowl XII.

Next Loss

Indy hosts the Tennessee Titans, fresh off their loss to the New Orleans Saints.  The Colts lost at Tennessee 27-10, but the Titans have not beaten a team with a winning record since Week 2, when they beat the Baltimore Ravens 26-13.  This could be an upset special, if only Indy could defend the run.  The last time Indy lost a season series against Tennessee was in 2002.  Titans should win an easy one and win the season series.

The Rams host the Cincinnati Bengals.  Cincy leads the series 6-5.  The Rams lost their last meeting in 2007, the first time they lost to the Bengals since 1993.  St. Louis has a shot at an upset special, but this could be a toss-up.  The Rams will make a game of it, but the Bengals will hand the Rams their 13^th loss.

The 2-11 Minnesota Vikings take on the New Orleans Saints at home.  Last week, Jared Allen said on a local TV show that the two cities he hated to play in most were Detroit and New Orleans.  He even said New Orleans was like a third world country.  As the saying goes, never give an opposing team an additional incentive to beat you.  The Saints are not the Lions.  Although the Vikings made a game of it, Minnesota still lost to an undisciplined Detroit team.  In addition, this is not the same Vikings team who almost went to the Super Bowl in 2009.  Adrian Peterson is Minnesota’s best chance for a win, but his efforts won’t be enough.  The Vikings won’t avenge their 2009 NFC Championship loss against New Orleans.  Instead, the Saints will easily hand Minnesota its 13^th loss.

Here are a few historical scores on this day for teams facing each other this week: December 13,

1959 – New York Giants 24 – Washington 10

1980 – Washington 16 – New York Giants 13

1997 – New York Giants 30 – Washington 10