TAMPA, Fla., Dec. 7 (UPI) -- Michael Vick gets a rematch with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Drew Bledsoe returns to New England and Dick Vermeil faces the team he led to a Super Bowl title three years ago in Week 14 of the NFL.
Two teams - the Philadelphia Eagles (9-3) and San Francisco 49ers (8-4) - can clinch division titles Sunday and two others - the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (9-3) and Atlanta Falcons (8-3-1) - can seal playoff berths.
The Green Bay Packers (9-3) are the only team to clinch a division title, capturing the weak NFC North with a win over the Chicago Bears last week.
The Bucs, Falcons and New Orleans Saints (8-4) are battling for the NFC South title, although it appears that all three will likely earn postseason berths.
The last time Vick and the Falcons lost was more than two months ago against the Buccaneers at the Georgia Dome. First place is on the line Sunday when the division rivals meet in Florida.
Vick may be the NFL's fastest quarterback, but his fancy footwork didn't exactly mesmerize the league's top defense as the Buccaneers recorded a knockout of Vick in the first half en route to a 20-6 victory in the first meeting on Oct, 6.
Vick completed just 4-of-12 passes for 37 yards and ran once for one yard before leaving with a sprained right shoulder.
Tampa Bay coach Jon Gruden has made it known the Bucs are coming after Vick again.
"It's no secret that we've got to get to the quarterback and congest the running lanes in the process," said Gruden. "If Michael Vick does find the crease and put the ball down and runs, we've got to rally. At the same time, we respect everything we see from the guy. He is one dangerous runner."
Vick leads all quarterbacks with 648 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. He rushed for 173 yards - the most ever by a quarterback since the AFL merger in 1970 - on just 10 carries in the Falcons' 30-24 overtime win at Minnesota last week. Vick capped the performance with a 46-yard touchdown run in overtime.
The Falcons have not lost since that meeting with the Bucs, going 7
1.
Both the Bucs and Falcons can clinch a playoff berth with a win Sunday, coupled with a loss by the New York Giants (6-6) at Washington.
The Saints visit the Baltimore Ravens (6-6) on Sunday. New Orleans beat Tampa Bay for the second time this season last week, but has lost twice to Atlanta.
New Orleans' remaining schedule is very favorable with games against Minnesota, Cincinnati and Carolina -three teams with a combined record of 8-28.
Quarterback Drew Bledsoe hopes he doesn't have to play second fiddle to Tom Brady again when the Buffalo Bills (6-6) visit the New England Patriots (7-5) Sunday in a pivotal AFC East matchup.
The top overall pick by the Patriots in 1993, Bledsoe lost his starting job to Brady last season after suffering a chest injury in Week Two. Bledsoe played the role of backup as Brady led the Patriots to their first NFL championship and captured Super Bowl Most Valuable Player honors.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick had no choice but to trade Bledsoe after Brady's heroics, but dealing him within the division to Buffalo was somewhat surprising. Bills general manager Tom Donahoe sent New England a 2003 first-round pick for Bledsoe, a price no other team was willing to pay.
After the trade, Bledsoe took out a full-page ad in the Boston Globe, thanking fans in New England for their support over the years, so he is expected to receive a warm reception on Sunday.
The fans are also happy that Bledsoe lost his first encounter with his old team last month, again getting outshined by Brady in a 38-7 defeat.
Brady completed 23-of-27 passes for 310 yards and matched a career high with four touchdown passes, including a pair to running back Antowain Smith.
Bledsoe threw for 302 yards but engineered just one scoring drive, hitting Peerless Price for a one-yard touchdown with 10 seconds left in the first half. However, the Patriots exposed Bledsoe's lack of mobility, sacking him four times.
The St. Louis Rams (5-7) probably didn't think they would ever have to face former coach Dick Vermeil. But on Sunday, the Rams meet the coach who led them to
their only Super Bowl title when they travel to Arrowhead Stadium for a matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs (6-6).
Shortly after leading the Rams to a win over Tennessee in Super Bowl XXXIV in January 2000, Vermeil announced his retirement from coaching. He went 22-26 in three seasons with St. Louis.
It was no secret that when Vermeil retired, the Rams did not want to lose offensive coordinator Mike Martz, eventually naming him to take over as new coach.
Vermeil will get to show Martz an offensive machine of his own Led by running back Priest Holmes, former Rams quarterback Trent Green and tight end Tony Gonzalez, the Chiefs are the league's highest-scoring team with 370 points, which is 135 more than the Rams.
Holmes has 22 total touchdowns, putting him within four of matching St. Louis running back Marshall Faulk's single-season record, set in 2000. Holmes leads the NFL in rushing with 1,322 yards, four more than San Diego's LaDainian Tomlinson.
On Sunday, the Rams will be without two-time NFL MVP Kurt Warner, who is expected to miss at least two games with a broken right hand.
Martz said that third-stringer Jamie Martin will get the start, with Marc Bulger, who is 5-0 as a starter, serving as backup. Bulger has been hampered by a sprained right index finger.
Quarterback Peyton Manning returns to Tennessee this weekend. First place is on the line Sunday when Manning and the Indianapolis Colts (8-4) meet the Tennessee Titans (7-5) in an AFC South rematch.
A state hero after shattering all of the passing records at the University of Tennessee, Manning is shooting for the second division title of his five-year NFL career. A win Sunday would give the Colts a two-game lead over Tennessee with just four remaining.
However, a win by the Titans puts them in the driver's seat since they would own the tiebreaker by virtue of sweeping the season series.
When Manning led the Colts to the AFC East title with a 13-3 record in 1999, it was the Titans - led by coach Jeff Fisher, quarterback Steve McNair and running back Eddie George - who beat him in the divisional playoff en route to Super Bowl XXXIV.
In the first meeting between the new division rivals last month at Indianapolis, the Titans blanked Manning and the Colts for three quarters and posted a 23-15 victory.
Since that loss to the Titans on Nov. 3, Indianapolis has won four straight and is tied with Oakland for the best record in the conference.
First place is on the line in the AFC West when the smashmouth style of the San Diego Chargers (8-4) clashes with the aerial assault of the Oakland Raiders (8-4) on Sunday.
The Chargers are built around LaDainian Tomlinson, who is the NFL's second-leading rusher with 1,318 yards, and a defense led by perennial Pro Bowl linebacker Junior Seau, hard-hitting safety Rodney Harrison and pass-rushing end Marcellus Wiley.
Rich Gannon runs the West Coast offense to perfection for the Raiders, passing for 3,877 yards and 23 touchdowns, with the help of veteran receivers Jerry Rice and Tim Brown.
Tomlinson got the last laugh with a 19-yard touchdown run 3:38 into overtime in the Chargers' 27-21 win at Oakland on Oct. 20. The second-year back from Texas Christian truly played the role of workhorse, carrying the ball 39 times.
It was the first of three overtime wins for San Diego, which also defeated San Francisco on Nov. 17 and the Denver Broncos last week.
Tomlinson steamrolled the Broncos for a franchise-best 220 yards and three touchdowns on 37 carries in a 30-27 victory.
It seems the Raiders have lived through a tale of three seasons. They started the year with four wins, followed with four losses, and followed that with a four-game winning streak. But the schedule in the final quarter is very tough for the Raiders, who follow this with a game at Miami before returning home for games against division rivals Denver and Kansas City.
The Denver Broncos (7-5), a game out of first in the AFC West, will visit the New York Jets (6-6) on Sunday.
The Jets are tied with Buffalo in the AFC East, one game behind the Miami Dolphina (7-5) and New England. The Dolphins will host the Chicago Bears (3-9) on Monday night.
Philadelphia (9-3) has a three-game lead over the New York Giants in the NFC East and can clinch a second straight division title with a win Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks (4-8), coupled with a Giants' loss at Washington.
The 49ers can also move closer to their 14th NFC West title since 1980 when they visit the Dallas Cowboys (5-7) on Sunday. San Francisco has the most division titles over the last two decades, five more than Dallas and Pittsburgh. A win Sunday at Dallas coupled with a Rams' loss at Kansas City would clinch the NFC West again for the Niners.
The Packers, the first team to clinch a division title this season, hosts the Minnesota Vikings (3-9) on Sunday night.
The Pittsburgh Steelers (7-4-1) have a 1 1/2-game lead over the Cleveland Browns (6-6) and Baltimore in the AFC North. The Steelers will host the Houston Texans (3-9) and the Browns visit the Jacksonville Jaguars (5-7).
In other games, the Arizona Cardinals (4-8), losers of six straight, host the Detroit Lions (3-9) and the Carolina Panthers (4-8) meet the Cincinnati Bengals (1-11).
