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lChargers (9-3) at Cowboys (8-4)
Sunday, 4:15 p.m.
Line: Cowboys by 3
The Cowboys don’t want to hear about their 15-27 record in December over the past decade. They’ve been interrogated in news conferences and on talk radio. They’ve been criticized by everyone from their own stars of yesteryear — some of whom raised off-field distractions to an art form — to citizen bloggers who equate December toughness with reaching Christmas without changing wireless-mouse batteries. “We don’t care about December talk,” Tony Romo said last week, for once blameless after a typically sloppy late-season loss. “We’re not talking about two years ago; we’re not talking about last year,” linebacker Keith Brooking added during a contentious radio appearance.
The Cowboys vow to buck the trend this season, but winter slumps are often the result of summer corner-cutting. A half-hearted July weight session becomes a December pulled hamstring. A lazy special teams practice in preseason becomes a 79-yard punt return touchdown against the Giants. Players and coaches must develop discipline six months before they start talking about it, a timetable neither the Cowboys nor Chargers seem to understand. As disciplinarian commanding officers go, Wade Phillips and Norv Turner are Henry Blake and Colonel Klink, which is why trips to Las Vegas and Champagne toasts in November go unaddressed in Dallas and San Diego.
The Chargers are 14-0 in December games since 2006, but Turner teams of the past were notorious for starting their holiday shopping early. This game is as close as either team will get to the Super Bowl.
Broncos (8-4) at Colts (12-0)
Sunday, 1 p.m.
Line: Colts by 7
Another year, another dozen wins. The Colts’ consistency is shocking when you look closely at how they’ve survived this season. The All-Pro safety Bob Sanders has played only two games. The rookies Jacob Lacey and Jerraud Powers start at cornerback. The unknown receivers Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie have caught 90 passes. The Colts even had to change kickers. Despite all the injuries, the Colts are enjoying their usual December luxury of deciding when to rest their starters.
Those starters won’t rest this week — a win clinches home-field advantage for the playoffs — but a loss could benefit the Colts in the long run. The Colts’ nemesis is the Chargers, who beat them in the 2007 and 2008 playoffs and in the 2007 regular season. The Chargers have not won the A.F.C. West yet and are always one mistake from a minislump; the Broncos have the Raiders and Chiefs on their schedule (as well as the Eagles) and could retake the division with a hot streak.
So if the Colts win, they host the playoffs. If they lose, they could help the Broncos win the division, and force the Chargers to travel someplace like New England or Cincinnati for a first-round playoff game. No wonder Peyton Manning seems so relaxed.
Eagles (8-4) at Giants (7-5)
Sunday, 8:20 p.m.
Line: Giants by 1
Andy Reid’s tenure with the Eagles has been like a sturdy, unfulfilling marriage, so Philadelphia fans responded to news of Reid’s contract extension with a Robert James Waller heroine sigh and a brief fling with Allen Iverson. Philly fans don’t want dependable 10-win seasons and nail-biting victories against the Redskins and Bears. They want fireworks, and Reid’s Eagles never deliver.
A three-game winning streak has masked the Eagles’ persistent problems. Their offensive line is always an injury from disaster, and Reid treats the simple arithmetic of goal-line offense (One Leonard Weaver + One Handoff = Touchdown) like differential calculus. Problems aside, the Eagles crushed the Giants in Week 8, and both Brian Westbrook and DeSean Jackson could return from concussions on Sunday night. A sweep of the Giants won’t erase a decade of unrequited passion, but it will bring back a little of the old spark.
Bengals (9-3) at Vikings (10-2)
Sunday, 1 p.m.
Line: Vikings by 6 1/2