It is another topsy-turvy week in the final season of the 20th century. We have one team in the NFL to clinch the their division in week 13 of this season. The almighty St. Louis Rams, with a 7-0 record in their division and a 34-21 victory over the Panthers, are the division champions in the NFC West. Everyone is wondering how good this team really is. If we look at their division, we see that they are the only team with a winning record. The Panthers are second with a 5-7 record. Nine out of their ten victories were over teams with a losing record. Their two losses were to Detroit (8-4 leader in the NFC Central), and the Tennessee Titans (9-3). This is the first Division title for the Rams since 1985 and the first playoff berth since 1989. Congratulations to the Rams. They are winners in the NFC weakest division. This Division has the famous one-season wonders the Atlanta Falcons, remember? Will they be able to compete with playoff caliber teams? Only time will tell.

The Detroit Lions (8-4) maintained their lead in the NFC Central with a 33-17 victory over the Washington Redskins. Recently released Packer Desmond "MVP" Howard ran back a 68-yard punt return for a TD. This is the Lion's first victory over the Redskins since 1965 in Tiger's Stadium. They now will share the central lead with the Tampa Bay Bucs led by rookie QB Shaun King. King led the Bucs 24-17 over the Vikings in his first NFL start.
The Green Bay Packers, tied for second place with the Vikings moved within a game for the NFC Central lead with a 35-19 victory over the Chicago Bears. Rookie tailback De'Mond Parker replaced injured Dorsey Levens and rushed for 113 yards in 19 carries with 2 TDs. This is the first time a Packer rookie has rushed for a 100 yards in a game since the now Chicago Bear Edgar Bennett did it in 1992. The windy cold weather was especially hard on the kickers. The Packer punter, Louis Agiular kicked a 15-yard punt in the first period into the wind. In the second quarter, Chicago punter Todd SauerBrun dropped his punt attempt allowing Keith McKenzie to ramble 45 yards for a Packer TD. Brett Favre became the second NFL QB to pass for 3000 yards in 8 consecutive seasons behind Dan Marino who leads the league with 9. Favre also increased his NFL record 121 consecutive starts by a QB.

The Colts look like the team to beat in the AFC East. Sophomore QB Peyton Manning held his own against veteran Dan Marino in the Indianapolis 37-24 victory. The Colts now have a 2 game cushion. Buffalo and Miami are tied for second at 8-4. New England is hanging on to a possible wild card berth even with the sloppy play of QB Drew Bledsoe. They beat the Cowboys Sunday night 13-6.
The next few games will separate the men from the mice with many head to head match-ups leading into the playoffs.