In a strange season that has seen multiple-game swings in most of the weeks where there have been swings in the contest for the Surfy Trophy, Week 11 might go down as the defining moment in the Gehlke Bros. Football season.
For most of Thursday night it appeared that the Broncos had nothing for the Jets and were on their way to a loss that would have given Sean a 5-game advantage over the Senior Bro. Then Tim Tebow worked some of his magic and Denver eked out a 17-13 victory at home that tightened the brotherly standings at a pivotal point in the season. Glenn entertained thoughts that he might be on the verge of erasing a growing deficit.
Such thoughts were themselves erased Sunday, however, when the Junior Bro went 4-0 in the remaining split games, netting another three games to mount a 7-game lead in the contest with just six weeks remaining. He did it with seeming ease as the football gods saw fit not to create any major upsets in the final bye-shortened week. Miami thrashed Buffalo, 35-8; Cleveland outlasted Jacksonville in a 14-10 snoozer; Oakland averted a late threat to defeat Minnesota, 27-21; and Tennessee fizzled in Atlanta, 23-17.
It may be premature for Sean to start dusting off his mantel, but the week's decisive win puts him a lot closer to regaining the championship that has eluded him the past two years.
Despite the Junior Bro's success, Chaos reigned in Week 11 -- Ben notched a 12-2 record to move within two games of the overall lead. Sean was second at 11-3, and Glenn finished last at 8-6. Mutually correct predictions included Baltimore, Dallas, Detroit, Green Bay, San Francisco, Chicago and New England. The one victor that caught us all off guard was Philadelphia.
GOBBLE THIS UP: Yup, there's a Thanksgiving feast for football lovers (and haters) on Thursday. We'll have our early Week 12 picks then.
