After spending the better part of the afternoon sitting in a rainy 40 degree stadium, the loss has hit home. Literally, the loss has hit home for the Broncos after six consecutive wins at Invesco. Who cares if Jay Cutler says that he has a stronger arm than John Elway. It was the Jags QB, David Garrard who ruled the turf on Sunday. Cutler was lucky to hold onto the ball. He had one fumble and an interception. His passing game was understandably lacking in certain respects. Eddie Royal and Tony Scheffler were missing due to injury and receiver Brandon Stokley left the game early due to a blow to the head. Therefore, Cutler threw to Brandon Marshall every single time. He was trying to force things into Marshall, and the Jags were onto him. No wonder, the offense couldn’t get it going.

People are going to argue about the blown calls late in the game, but the Broncos should have never put themselves in the position to have a referee make or break the game for them. Like the Broncos, the Jaguars turned the ball over a couple of times, only their defense was able to recover, and their offense got back on track. The Broncos missed tackles and missed a few chances to get sacks for major lost yardage. Where was that defense that we saw in the Tampa Bay game?

Now, with another loss under their belt, they need to compose themselves, have a good week at practice, and head to Foxborough with some confidence… and healthy players. 

1. Washington over Seattle: the Redskins defense has stepped it up dramatically since the shooting death of teammate, Sean Taylor. The offense has also been on the prowl with QB, Todd Collins and RB, Clinton Portis, leading the way. With Seattle losing their last 2 of 3 regular season games, and the Skins pulling out a big win over Dallas, things point to the Redskins moving on to the next round.

2. Pittsburgh over Jacksonville: with the Jaguars being the only team to win at Heinz Field this season, and Steelers’ star back, Willie Parker, out for the season with a broken leg, it looks like Jacksonville should be able to get the win. However, the Steelers know how to get to the SuperBowl despite being the underdog. Who would have ever guessed that they would’ve won the SuperBowl two years ago?

3. New York Giants over Tampa Bay: it’s a good thing that the Giants are playing an away game. With road wins against Detroit, Chicago, and Philadelphia, the Giants are probably excited to play in Tampa. After a thrilling game last week in which the Giants were almost able to prevent New England’s perfect season, they have confidence on their side. They should pick up the victory unless Jeff Garcia spoils their post-season run once again.

4. San Diego over Tennessee: arguably the most interesting match-up of the weekend. Vince Young is a game time decision and the Titans want to get back at the Chargers for the overtime victory in Nashville. Look for tomorrow’s game to be just as physical as their first meeting in which four players were fined for a total of $32,500. San Diego has too much momentum on their side to give their season up to Tennessee.