NFC South Week 13 Wrap Up

              NFC South Week 13 Wrap Up
By Rafael Garcia
Sr. Contributing Writer Football Reporters Online
Southeast Region
 
New Orleans 33 Washington 30
See, now this is why they play the game. There are going to be times in a season when you find yourself behind. There will be times when your backs are up against the wall for some reason or another. The Saints faced that problem Sunday against a determined Redskin team that has nothing to play for now but pride. To top that off the Saints gave Washington all they needed and more to win this game. The Saints scored once when Drew Brees was intercepted, then wide receiver Robert Meachem stripped the ball and got it back. If that wasn’t enough Meachem went untouched into the end zone. Oh and then there was 0-4 in the red zone, which is almost unheard of for this team. They had a total of 55 yards rushing to go with seven penalties for 102 yards. Then, when they had come back, Washington set up for the winning field goal to end the Saints perfect season. With 1:52 left Washington kicker Shaun Suisham got set for the go ahead score. Somehow some way the kick went wide right and there was life left for New Orleans. It took all of 33 seconds for them to tie the score and send the game into overtime. So at the 8:31 mark little known Garrett Hartley won it with an 18-yard filed goal. Mind you that he had not kicked for this team until this day and finished with four field goals. So goes this story of destiny where the Saints find themselves almost invincible. Still, they better learn to stop the other team because they are showing that they can be beaten. That they are prone to give up points like the 30 they gave up. They also allowed the Redskins almost 500 yards of offense. So they better tighten up on defense and keep the circus in town with that offense if they hope to win the BIG ONE. Without that a great year will be for naught.
 
Philadelphia 34 Atlanta 7
It was one of those days where someone was coming back home, so to speak. Michael Vick was back and he had a little fun with his old team. He was able to get into a game that was out of hand and had a rushing and passing touchdown. They were his first since 2006 and they meant more to him than we will ever know. The game was all Philly especially with QB Matt Ryan and RB Michael Turner out for the Falcons. Without them they had only 103 yards as team rushing and Chris Redman could not make a difference. The Falcons are now 6-6 and find themselves in a wild-card hole two games behind these Eagles. It looks more and more like the playoffs are out of their hands now. The story was of course Vick and how he was treated in a town where he was once king. He was booed at first but was cheered by those that remain faithful to him. He was humble about the experience and just wants to get back to where he once was in this league. It may take awhile but so long as he does his part someone will give him a chance. The game was not too exciting but the Eagles know they have a lot to play for. The Falcons will now look to next year because without Ryan and Turner that is all they have. They have too many teams to catch up to now so it’s back to the drawing board.
 
Carolina 16 Tampa Bay 6
These two teams have lived and died by their quarterback play this year. For the Panthers it has been the saga of Jake Delhomme and his troubles. For the Bucs it has been a sneak peak at what the future may hold in Josh Freeman. With Delhomme out it was up to Matt Moore to pick up the slack but with his inexperience it would not be. He was 14-20 for 161 yards with a pick and 66 of those yards came on one play. So lack of offense would be a nice term for the Panthers except for the running of Jonathan Stewart. H had a career-high 26 carries to go with 120 yards and a touchdown. The only thing missing was the interception show we usually get from Delhomme. Enter Freeman to the rescue. It was amazing to see the Bucs get inside the Panthers 30 over and over only to come up with six points. The main reason was the generosity of Freeman who threw five picks as Delhomme watched from the sidelines. I am guessing he was really relieved it was not him throwing all those picks. Freeman finished with good stats if you take away the picks. He was 23-44 for a career-high 326 yards but could not avoid the big mistakes. At 1-11 the only question left in Tampa is will head coach Raheem Morris be one and done. The scene in Carolina remains the same, as they appear to have the talent and lay egg after egg year after year. It would appear that this is the end of the line for coach John Fox and his staff as well. It also looks like they may have had their last win of the year as the schedule ends rough. They have to go to New England next and then host the Vikings. After, it’s a trip to the New York Giants and they close at home against the mighty Saints who may be looking at 16-0 at that point. So as they say in sports when your season is shot…………. Wait till next year.