It took until the twelfth week of the 2008 NFL season to see the final undefeated team go down, and that's exactly what happened Sunday in Nashville, Tennessee after the New York Jets romped the Titans 34-13 in the morning's best game. The first loss of year leaves the Titans still atop the AFC South at 10-1 while the win for the Jets, their fifth straight, gives them a one game advantage over the New England Patriots in the AFC East. 

The first half of any football docket sorts or the contenders and pretenders, but now we are starting to get a glimpse of the true powerhouse teams in football, as a handful of clubs are separating themselves from the rest of the league. With five weeks still to play, there are still many teams that are conceivably still in the hunt, but the next couple of weeks will cut down the divisional races to probably two teams apiece, except for the AFC East where the Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills are both still hanging around at 6-5.

The top contest of the afternoon came from Glendale, Arizona where the New York Football Giants returned to the venue where they snatched last year's Super Bowl and beat the Arizona Cardinals 37-29. That makes six wins in a row for the Giants who are the class of the NFC and the alpha dog of the NFC East at 10-1, and the loss dropped the Cardinals to 7-4 but they are still left with ample breathing room in the weak NFC West.

The teams we expect to see in the playoffs -- the Titans, Jets, Steelers, Giants, Bucs, Cardinals, to name three from each conference -- will be playing football in January and we know anything can happen in a one-and-done playoff format. It takes one big day from a quarterback or one inspiring performance form the defense to propel a club to the next round. With that said, after Week 12 in the NFL, there are two teams that look the best, look the toughest, and appear to have the most depth. And those teams are the Giants and Jets.

At 10-1, we can't ignore what the Titans have accomplished and the road to the AFC title game still probably runs through Nashville. But the Jets exposed Tennessee on Sunday on both sides of the football. The Titan's defensive line, led by high-motor Albert Haynesworth, may be the most physical in football, and the Jets punched that line in the mouth with a two-headed running attack. Thomas Jones was the enforcer for New York, carrying the ball 27 times for 96 yards and softening up the defense. Leon Washington continues to show how explosive he is, rushing 8 times for 82 yards and scoring on two fourth quarter runs (61 and 4 yards, respectively) to put the game out of reach.

Brett Favre took a methodical approach to pick apart the Titan's defense, completing 25 of 32 passes for 224 yards, and two touchdowns, while also committing one pick. The Jets were able to run the football so effectively in the second half because they opened up the game with a passing attack that was heavy on short throws, primarily quick slants over the middle of the field. Rookie tight end Dustin Keller has become a big-time weapon for Favre, especially when the Jets get into the red zone. As ESPN's Trent Dilfer referred to, "this short passing attack put air into the defense and allowed [the Jets] to run the ball later."

Tennessee is going to continue to find themselves in 20-14 type games because of their inability to muster any type of explosive offense. At the outset of the season, the Lendale White-Chris Johnson tandem appeared to be a force and I thought that such a dynamic running game would help alleviate the pressure on Kerry Collins. But since then, the running game has deteriorated and head coach Jeff Fischer seems to have simply moved away from it. We saw the Chicago Bears completely shut down the Titan's running game in Week 10 during a road game for the Titan's, and now we saw the Jets do the same thing on Sunday in Tennessee, partly because the Titans only ran the ball 11 times. 

Collins is a sound quarterback, a veteran who can lead an offense and won't beat himself. But Collins isn't going to light up any defense like Kurt Warner and Arizona will. I find myself questioning Collins when the Titans are trailing by 6 with 2:30 to play and they need to drive 80 yards for a score. Can they get that done? I'm not so sure. And without a running presence, it seems all the more daunting. Just like the Jets needed their quick passing game to allow them to run the ball in the second half, the Titans need White-Johnson to hammer the defense so Collins can go to work later.

The reason I like the Jets in the AFC is because, while they may not be the best at any phase of the game, the are a balanced football team and they do everything well. The Jets rank 16th in the NFL in passing, averaging 226.1 yards per game. We can expect that they will play better than their ranking from here on out because, remember, they didn't open up the passing attack until about Week 5 or 6 when Favre finally had the new system down. And with Favre at the helm, do any of us question whether he can throw the ball effectively or lead a scoring drive? I don't think so.

The Jets rank 8th in the NFL in rushing at 131.2 yards per game. Jones is still the premier back in the New York offense, but after Jones bruises the defense, we are seeing the big-play ability of Leon Washington. His break-way speed -- see that 61-yard TD run on Sunday -- brings another look to this offense.

The defense has been a surprising strength for the Jets this season, as they are the third best team at stopping the run, allowing only 78 yards a game on the ground this season. The one area where the Jets may run into trouble is through the air as they rank near the bottom in the NFL in defending the pass, but in a cold, windy playoff atmosphere, how much will that really come into play? That remains to be seen.

The Giants, on the other hand, are easy to explain. They are hands down the best team in the NFC and there is a strong argument that they are the best team in all of football. I say they are. They are the toughest team and are so balanced that it is hard to construct a formidable game plan any one way. They outplayed the Arizona Cardinals without Brandon Jacobs and Plaxico Burress. They have a trio of running backs in Jacobs, Derrick Ward, and Ahmad Bradshaw that all share the touches and have earned the Giants the title of Best Rushing Team in the NFL, averaging 164.9 yards per game and a staggering average of 5.1 yards per carry.

The Giants only average 211.3 yards per game in the air, but I think that says more about the strength of their running game rather than their inability to throw the football. Eli Manning has grown into a top-5 quarterback -- maybe he's right behind Peyton and Tom Brady? -- and when Burress is on the field and motivated, he may be the most dangerous wide out in football with his combination of length and speed. 

On defense the Giants rank 6th against the rush and 8th against the pass (5th overall) and they are a group that loves to play low-scoring, methodical games. They want to grind the game out and see who can be the most physical. The most impressive thing about this team, though, is how they are utterly unfazed by playing on the road. The Giants are 4-1 on the road and, although one of those wins came at St.Louis while the loss came at Cleveland in Week 6, they have won at Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and yesterday at Arizona. And the game at Philly was during a time when the Eagles were still intact and playing better football.

Sure, the playoff picture cannot be this clear before Thanksgiving, but many signs point to an all New York Super Bowl come February. Nobody doubts the Giants will be there. The Jets, while probably not more deserving yet than the Titans, made a statement on the road on Sunday and will start to gain respect should they continue to keep up their level of play. 

What I like about both of these teams is that they are made for playing football in late December and January, at home or on the road. Both teams can run the football and both teams possess quarterbacks that aren't afraid to take a late-game drive into their hands and let the ball fly. Tough defenses and tough teams overcome the elements and win in the post season, and the Giants and Jets are two teams that arrive on Sunday to hit their opponent in the mouth. Tom Coughlin and Eric Mangini should feel confident about where their teams are thus far.


by: Teddy Mitrosilis