[stkelly52]

Week 12
Atlanta 6-4 @ Pittsburgh 5-4-1
For some reason the Stealers are 6 point favorites. Sure we are on the road, but we have trouble accepting that we can be 6 point underdogs. The Stealers are led by a QB who should be considered one of the best in the league, but his stats do not match his red bars. After 8 seasons, he has become a slightly better than average QB.
Leland has another solid showing, averaging 5.7 yards per carry, but for the second week in a row, we choose to give him the ball less. Instead we went more to the air than I would like and 3 picks really hurt us. Nevertheless, we were still in the game right up until we could not convert a 4th and 10 from the 45 yard line in the final minute of regulation. We fall 24-21.

Career Milestone
Leland is well known for finding that way to fight his way into the end zone from one yard out. So it was fitting today that it was on a 1 yard dive over the pile that Leland became just the 2nd player in NFL history to score 100 career TDs. It took Leland less than 7 years to reach this milestone; the other player who did this took 11 years to achieve the same results.

Week 13
San Francisco 4-7 @ Atlanta 6-5
After losing two weeks in a row we know that we need to change our fortune. At 6-5 we are tied for the final playoff spot, and we can't afford to let this slip away from us. The 49ers are a team that we should be able to beat. They are particularly week against the run, so I am hoping that Nixon can continue to pick up good yardage.

For the third week in a row, Leland Nixon is able to average over 4 yards per carry. Once again, Leland does the majority of the work for us, as he was given the ball 43 times. He finished the game with 188 yards, 1 TD and the MVP award. His great play helped spark us for two fourth quarter TDs. This gave us the 20-10 victory.

3/4 season review
With just four games left, there is basically no hope that we can win the NFC South. The Saints are sitting at 10-2 and it is highly unlikely that we will be able to catch them. With a 7-5 record we are in good shape for holding the final wild card spot. We have a one game lead on Seattle, Arizona, Dallas and Chicago, and with a 7-3 record in the NFC, we hold the tiebreaker over all of them. We are currently 20th in the league in scoring, but our defense has been doing a great job and has made us the #3 team in points allowed.

As for Leland Nixon, thanks to great games in the last three weeks, he is back on track to reach his preseason goals. He has 1524 yards rushing (which is 200 yards more than anyone in the league), and he has a 4.03 yard average. Nixon has scored 9 TDs, which means that reaching the preseason goal of 15 is going to be very difficult, but it is possible. Now on the down side, Leland has 9 fumbles this year. That is as many as he had all season. If he fumbles 4 more times then it will match his career high in fumbles.