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| Thursday, October 12 Sweeps week? By Russell S. Baxter Special to ESPN.com |
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Not surprisingly, every NFL coach will tell you that winning his division is priority No. 1, and beating the teams in your division is the key to that goal. Last week, the Ravens posted their first-ever sweep of the Jaguars, and there are three more divisional rematches this week (Falcons-Rams, Jets-Patriots and Vikings-Bears). St. Louis, New York and Minnesota all hope to duplicate what Baltimore managed last Sunday because when it comes to deciding playoff positions, head-to-head competition remains the first tiebreaker. But last year, we saw a dramatic reversal of fortunes when it came to teams defeating an opponent twice during the season. In recent seasons, it had been easier to sweep a team rather than both clubs taking a game apiece. However, that was barely the case in 1999, when sweeps (33) happened only once more than splits (32) in the 65 divisional two-game sets.
*Giants were 1-0-1 vs. Redskins in 1997 Of course, last year saw the end of many longtime divisional winning streaks, most notably the Rams snapping a 17-game against the 49ers. And when the Ravens beat the Jaguars, 39-36, back in Week 2 at Baltimore, they ended an 8-game losing streak against Tom Coughlin's club.
Maybe the Rams, Jets and Vikings have more to worry about than they think this weekend. However, in the case of Mike Martz's team, perhaps not. Russell S. Baxter is the chief NFL researcher for ESPN and a senior reporter for ESPN the Magazine.
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