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Pride and Professionalism Matter
Last week in this space, I spoke of the Chargers, Falcons, and Redskins as teams likely to dial it in for the rest of the season. But a funny thing happened on the way to the stadium. They decided to play. Of the seven teams entering the week with two or fewer wins, six of them won their game on Sunday. Two of those teams played each other resulting in the only overtime game of the week and the only loss of the "sad lot" seven. The only last place team in their division with more than two wins, the Redskins, also won after going through four straight losses.

There's an old football cliché that starts "on any given Sunday" meaning any team can win regardless of expectations. Or as Chris Berman likes to say "that's why they play the games." But when all of the teams at the bottom of the standings win on the same day, some of them following a week of constant media reports and rumors about coaches necks on the block and upcoming major changes in the organization, it becomes a testament to the pride that pro football players have in their job, and in the effort they exert each week sacrificing their bodies simply because it's what they are paid to do.

Nevertheless, these teams needed help. The Chargers made a switch at quarterback to 40-year old Doug Flutie, who brought the playmaking ability to finally turn the Chargers offense into the point making machine the coaches thought it would be when they signed David Boston and Lorenzo Neal as free agents last March. The Falcons needed four turnovers to get Dan Reeves his 200th career win. The Jaguars needed an injury to Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison to take just enough away from the Colts offense to turn red zone visits into field goal attempts rather than touchdowns. The Redskins can't defend the blitz, so the Seahawks did them a favor by not calling any. And the Lions, Steelers, and Jets were blessed by the schedule makers by giving them teams just as bad as they were.

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