Buffalo Bills

Now well into the home stretch of the regular season, the Buffalo Bills are 7-5, and in 2nd place in the AFC East after the New England Patriots. This weekend, the Bills will take on Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos at Mile High Stadium.

While running back C.J. Spiller is still rehabbing his collarbone injury, rookie wide receiver Sammy Watkins has returned to play. Since the Bills’ bye week in week 9, Watkins has accumulated 105 receiving yards although he has not scored any touchdowns. The expectations for the rookie are high as he has been instrumental in some of the Bills’ earlier wins this season. It was reported that Watkins said he must get back into the groove and get back to fundamentals. Spiller returned to practice earlier this week but remains on the Injured Reserve list and is not expected to play until week 16.

In regard to their division rivals of the AFC East, the Bills have had mixed results. Buffalo beat the Miami Dolphins in week 2 but lost to them in week 11. The Bills destroyed the Jets in late October and repeated the same results against them just shy of a month later. The team lost to the Patriots in October and will close out regular season play in week 17 on the road against them once more.

Buffalo managed to edge out the Detroit Lions and the Minnesota Vikings in 2 close games earlier this season, but struggled against the San Diego Chargers and Houston Texans. They also lost a close game to the Kansas City Chiefs.

While many sports analysts and critics doubt their contention, the playoffs are not out of sight for the Bills yet. If they are able to win their remaining games and depending on what happens with the Patriots’ remaining games, as well as what results in other divisions, they may be eligible for a wildcard spot.

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers are 7-4 this season after beating the Tennessee Titans 27-24 in Monday Night Football this past week.

Pittsburgh, not unlike other teams this season has been plagued with some tough injuries. Rookie linebacker Ryan Shazier has missed 6 games as a result of multiple injuries. Cornerback Ike Taylor is recovering from a broken arm injury that occurred in September. Taylor is awaiting clearance from team doctors to return to play. Safety Troy Polamalu hopes to return for the Steelers’ next game after suffering a knee injury in week 9 against the Baltimore Ravens. The team was victorious in score, winning 43-23 but the victory came at the cost of some of their strongest defenders.

Besides a 3 week winning stretch in late October into early November, the Steelers appear to have little consistency this season, alternating between wins and losses on a weekly basis. The Steelers are currently in 2nd place in their division, the AFC North after the 1st place Cincinnati Bengals. This is not a runaway lead by the Bengals, however, the division is definitely up for grabs. If the Steelers can gain consistency with their victories and avoid additional injuries, they may be able to claim 1st place.

Most recently, following their Monday night game, the Steelers released running back LeGarrette Blount on Tuesday, after he reportedly left the field before the end of Monday’s game. It has also been reported by some sources that the Steelers had already decided to go in this direction, relying more heavily on RB Le’Veon Bell. Since Blount’s release from the Steelers, he has already signed a 2 year deal with the New England Patriots. The deal is said to rely heavily on incentives. The Steelers have also signed RB Josh Harris from their practice squad.

Following their victory over the Titans, the Steelers will enjoy a bye week before facing off against the Saints at home on November 30. 

Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals are 9-1 this season and will face the Seattle Seahawks on the road this Sunday. Despite their obvious positive record, the Cards are heading into Seattle as the underdogs this weekend. In response to this mindset, Arizona head coach Bruce Arians noted he was not surprised by this Seattle favoritism, noting many teams are not favored to win when playing at Century Link Field, a notoriously loud stadium that has provided the home team an advantage, contributing to visiting opponents’ false start penalties, time and time again.

The Cards began their season at home, beating the San Diego Chargers 18-17. They continued to remain victorious the following 2 weeks and after returning from an early season bye week, suffered their only loss in early October against the Denver Broncos on the road, falling 41-20. Since then, they have managed to stay victorious beating teams from coast-to-coast. Arizona is 1st in the NFC West division, which includes the Seahawks, the San Francisco 49ers, who the Cards beat 23-14 in week 3, and the St. Louis Rams who the team beat 31-14 in week 10. Arizona will finish their regular season play this year with 3 division rivalry games.

While they have been playing great throughout the season, the Cardinals did suffer another loss, that of their quarterback Carson Palmer who tore his ACL during the team’s faceoff with the Rams. This is Carson’s 2nd career ACL injury although the timetable for return is more optimistic this time around based on the severity of the injury. Fortunately for the Cards, Drew Stanton has been able to step in at quarterback and the team also has impressive wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald and cornerback Antonio Cromartie.

After this Sunday, the Seahawks and Cardinals will face off again in week 16 in Phoenix. Last season the Cardinals upset the Super Bowl championship team 17-10 in the final regular season game. This was Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson’s first loss at home and also ended the Seahawks’ home winning streak of 14-games. The Cardinals know it won’t come easily, but they will try for a similar victorious outcome with each of these 2 games against the Seahawks.

San Francisco Giants

It’s not unreasonable that late in 2014, when you ask someone what they think of when they hear “San Francisco Giants”, that they respond with something along the lines of “winning” or “champions” or “3 in 5.” The Giants have won 3 of the last 5 World Series. Talented, skilled, hungry and determined are just a few words that could sum up the attitude and performance of this ball club.

Most recently, the Giants defeated the Kansas City Royals in 7 games to claim their 3rd World Series title in the past half-decade. Pitcher Madison Bumgarner delivered a stellar performance, leading him to be named the series MVP, allowing just 1 run to be delivered in his 21 innings of play throughout the series.

In 2012, the Giants swept the Detroit Tigers in 4 games. The Giants had home field advantage and began the series in San Francisco, then were able to wrap things up less than a week later at Comerica Park. The Giants started the series off strong, winning game 1 8-3. The victories continued with scores of: 2-0, 2-0 and 4-3 in each of the following games.

In 2010, the Giants defeated the Texas Rangers in 5 games. This was the Rangers’ 1st World Series appearance in the team’s 50 year history. Pitcher Tim Lincecum was instrumental in the Giants’ victory, which was their 1st series victory since 1954, when the team defeated the Cleveland Indians.

San Francisco celebrated its most recent victory with a downtown parade and will now focus on roster changes and free agency. Most notably, third baseman Pablo Sandoval’s status of return as a Giant will have the greatest impact on how the team shapes its roster for 2014-2015. It was reported that Sandoval previously rejected a 3-year, $40 million dollar deal from the Giants and is seeking at least a 6-year deal.

General manager Bruce Bochy’s leadership and expertise are considered to be among the factors which have led the Giants to their recent successes. Bochy was named a finalist for National League Manager of the Year. He has previously won the award in 1996 when he was with the San Diego Padres.

Los Angeles Kings

The Los Angeles Kings are 8-4-3 this season so far, most recently beating the Vancouver Canucks last Saturday night, 5-1 at home. The Kings got off to a strong start, scoring 3 of their goals in the 1st period. Another goal was scored during the 2nd period and a final goal was scored by the Kings during the 3rd. Vancouver scored its only goal of the game during the 3rd period. Scoring 3 goals in 1 period is impressive enough, but even more impressive, the Kings were able pull off this victory with only 5 defensemen playing in the game, which helped to give them an edge early on. Tyler Toffoli scored a goal and had 2 assists, Alex Martinez had a career high 3 assists, and goalie Jonathan Quick had 18 saves.

Because of their shortage of defensemen, the Kings will sign Jamie McBain who has been playing for the team’s AHL affiliate, the Manchester Monarchs. Robyn Regher has been suffering from an injury and Slava Voynov is currently suspended from play due to off-ice issues, although he skated with assistant coach John Stevens on Monday and is allowed to work out with the coaches. He has missed 9 games so far and a decision on whether he will be charged for domestic violence is expected by December 1.

The Kings are familiar with the taste of success, having won 2 Stanley Cups in the past 3 years. In 2012, the Kings defeated the New Jersey Devils in 6 games to claim hockey’s most coveted title. They did it again last year, defeating the New York Rangers in 5 games.

The Kings will next face the Anaheim Ducks, their closest opponent, in Orange County on Wednesday night before hosting 4 home games over the next week. While it’s early on in the season, every game counts and the Kings will need to stay healthy and focused in order to repeat their appearance in the finals.

Washington Wizards

The Washington Wizards have started the 2014-2015 NBA season with a strong 5-2 record. In their most recent game, the Wizards defeated the Indiana Pacers 97-90. The Wizards have only lost to the Miami Heat and the Toronto Raptors so far, however they have claimed victory against the Orlando Magic, the Milwaukee Bucks, the New York Knicks and the Pacers, twice. In their first game against the Pacers, the Wizards pulled off a 96-94 OT victory. They will face Indiana again two more times late in the regular season.

The Capital City’s NBA franchise announced in late October that they have hired Wale, a D.C. native rapper and loyal Wizards fan as their creative liaison for this season. Some of Wale’s songs will be used for team introductions and videos throughout the season and he will collaborate with the organization in regard to team merchandise and social media efforts.

The Wizards have also adopted a new alternate jersey for this season, which they will wear for Wednesday road games in addition to some specifically selected matchups. This alternate style features navy as the primary color with “Washington” on the front, as well as red colorblocking at the top. 

In late October, the Wizards waived guards John Lucas and Xavier Silias as well as forward Damion James to remain with a 15-man roster. With veteran forward Paul Pierce and guard John Wall leading the way, the Wizards have gotten off to a solid start and will look to maintain this momentum throughout the season. Head coach Randy Wittman said after the Wizards’ practice on Monday, the team must focus on what needs to be done and take it one game at a time.

The Wizards head into a 4 home game stint: first facing the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, November 12. They will wrap up this week with a second home game against the Magic Saturday night, followed by two games next week against the Dallas Mavericks and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Detroit Lions

Almost halfway through the season, the Detroit Lions are boasting a 6-2 record for 2014, only having been defeated by the Carolina Panthers in week 2 and the Buffalo Bills in week 5.

Most recently, the Lions beat the Atlanta Falcons in a 22-21 win in London’s Wembley Stadium last Sunday. The Falcons were bringing it, big time throughout the first half of the game, leading 21-0 at halftime. The second half of the game took a complete 180° turn as the Falcons seemed to disappear and the Lions began to roar. The Lions scored 10 points in the 3rd quarter and 12 in the 4th. A 48-yard field goal by kicker Matt Prater on the last play of the game allowed the Lions to edge out the Falcons with a final score of 22-21. Quarterback Matthew Stafford threw for 325 yards and 2 touchdowns. Stafford also broke a franchise record in this game, having thrown 120 TDs. Previously Bobby Layne held this record for the Lions with 118 TDs. This victory for Detroit came without WR Calvin Johnson, RB Reggie Bush and TEs Eric Ebron and Brandon Pettigrew who were all out with injuries.

Calvin Johnson aka: Megatron has been out for the Lions last 3 games although they’ve managed to win despite their star player’s absence. Megatron shared on Tuesday that he expects to return to playing when his team faces off against the Miami Dolphins on November 9th.

The Lions are on bye week this week but will resume play against Miami at home at Ford Field next Sunday. After facing Miami, Detroit will face the Arizona Cardinals who are currently 6-1, as well as the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers before closing out the regular season with division games against the Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers. The Lions have beaten the Vikings and Packers once already this season. Thanks to their 6-2 record, the Lions are currently 1st in the NFC North division.