Jared W. Smith

So the Chargers just capped a comeback from 17 down to beat the Broncos 35-24 in Denver, claiming sole possession of first place in the AFC West. LT had four touchdowns, and it was the first time an NFL team had come back from 17 down to win in two straight games. Very impressive. I would feel a lot better about this game had Igor Olshansky not lost his damn mind and thrown a left and right hook on Tom Nalen on the Broncos’ last drive of the game. This helped move the Broncos up to the 50 yard line and put them in serious striking distance. Then, Drayton Florence incurred a defensive delay of game penalty by not letting Rod Smith get up. So, here we are: 1st and 5 for the Broncos with 20 something seconds left. I’m sitting in my chair IMming profanities to Ale and Chris, clearly dismayed over the situation. Then, like a flash of light from $deity, Shaun Phillips chases down Jake Plummer, gets the sack, and Plummer coughs it up. The Broncos, in yet another epic moment of scatterbrained lunacy, recover the fumble in-bounds. Had the ball gone out of bounds, they would’ve been back far, sure, but had another shot. Instead, the clock runs out, and the Chargers win. Whew. Congrats once again to LaDainian Tomlinson. He’ll obliterate the touchdown record and a lot more this year, I think. What a great player and — most importantly — a great guy. Rest assured the Tomlinson jersey is making an appearance on the CofC campus tomorrow.

This was a great win for San Diego, especially considering the Colts lost for the first time this year to Tony Romo and the Cowboys, bringing the Chargers within a game of the #1 seed in the AFC…not baaaad. (Speaking of Romo, have you seen Drew Bledsoe’s Blog? TOO hilarious!)

The Panthers defense pulled out a perfecto today, blanking the St. Louis Rams’ vaunted offense 15-0. Carolina’s offense was wildly inconsistent as per usual. DeShaun Foster left the game with an injury (it was only a matter of time). DeAngelo Williams ran for 114 yards and is making a serious case to be the featured back in Carolina. Steve Smith had a touchdown. Ho, hum. Haha. I can’t say enough about this defense, though, giving Marc Bulger one hell of a day. The Rams are done, especially without Orlando Pace. With New Orleans being torched by the Bengals today and the Falcons losing their fourth straight, the Panthers suddenly find themselves with a slight advantage in the NFC South (they have the head-to-head advantage over New Orleans having beaten the Saints earlier this year).

This was a terrible weekend for injuries (and Ale’s fantasy teams) as Donovan McNabb tore his right ACL, ending his season, and Brett Favre has a nerve problem in his elbow, which could threaten his consecutive starts streak. LaMont Jordan’s also done for the Raiders as he tore his MCL as well.

More great blogs tomorrow, including a fantastic Word 2007 feature and praise for more oldschool Ryan Farish.

The Carolina Panthers, once again, managed to only put together one half of complete football. The difference in tonight’s game over the last couple weeks is that they played the last 30 minutes to perfection. After a first half of blown opportunities, mediocre defense, excessive penalties, and zero offense outside of a field goal, the Panthers made one hell of a halftime adjustment and saved their season by defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24-10 to move up to 5-4. Steve Smith had a night very becoming of him, 149 yards and a touchdown. Julius Peppers had three sacks, leading the defense. The most impressive part of this game, though, was how the Panthers began mixing Brad Hoover into the offense. Coming into tonight, he had three carries all year; he had four tonight, including his first touchdown. Mixing him into the offense opened a new dimension for a running game that had barely gotten anything going to that point, and helped to really open up the rest of the offense. I hope they continue to make Hoover the X-factor of sorts in future games and, to borrow a phrase from Panther Keyshawn Johnson, give him the damn ball more. He’s always been a competent runner; Carolina fans will never forget that Monday night game in 2000 where he got the start in place of an injured Tshimanga Biakabutuka and proceeded to run for 114 yards and a touchdown.

The above being said, the Panthers have to play better than they did tonight — i.e. put together 60 minutes of high-quality football — in order to garner any serious consideration as a contender for the NFC South title (or even a wild card spot). They’re still not at the level they should be, but tonight was a good start toward that. Let’s hope they can keep this momentum going and put together a solid run — it really doesn’t get much easier from here for them, and if they want anything resembling a decent seeding in the playoffs, they almost have to run the table at this point.

Good news for Panthers fans: Steve Smith practiced yesterday for the first time in forever. He’s still questionable for the Tampa game, but that would be a serious, serious boost getting him back on the field.