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Broncos turn into turkeys to embellish Ali's Thanksgiving feastIt wasn't enough that Ali devoured turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, a roll and French Silk pie during a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner at home. She also enjoyed a shopping trip to Gurnee Mills and a miraculous comeback by her Chicago Bears in Week 12 that turned the Denver Broncos into turkeys, enabling Ali to feast in the Sunday Football Picks and stretch her first-place lead to two games. Trevor was ready to jump back into a first-place tie when his Broncos recovered a Rex Grossman fumble in Bears territory while leading 34-20 midway through the fourth quarter at Soldier Field. But that's when the game began to unravel for the Broncos, who blew a number of opportunities to win. The Bears blocked a punt and scored a touchdown to pull within 34-27 with 5 minutes left. After stopping Denver's offense, the Bears got the ball back. Grossman's incomplete pass on fourth down with 2½ minutes left appeared to seal the Broncos' victory, but a penalty on Denver kept the Bears' drive alive. The Bears faced another fourth down with 32 seconds remaining and the ball on the Broncos' 3-yard line. Grossman threw a pass wide of his receiver, but Bernard Berrian's remarkable lunging catch on the right edge of the end zone forced overtime. Chicago won the coin toss and drove down the field, kicking a 39-yard field goal to shock Trevor and his Broncos 37-34. It marked the seventh consecutive week that Trevor failed to beat the Teenage Bird. "Ali, I beg you for mercy!" Trevor exclaimed in an e-mail after the game. At least his sense of humor remains intact. Hats off to Trevor for being the only Picks member to successfully predict an upset in Week 12. His struggling Bengals demolished the favored Titans 35-6 in Cincinnati. A brilliant prediction, indeed. Ali (103-56) and Trevor (101-58) continue to stand head-and-shoulders above the rest of the Picks field. Defending Picks champion Mark is the next closest competitor with a 95-64 record. There are five weeks left in the season. Although everyone in the Picks knew the invincible Patriots would improve to 11-0 because they were favored by a record-tying 24 points against the Eagles, it was anything but easy for Tom Brady and Co. Philadelphia, playing with its backup quarterback, somehow took a 28-24 lead into the fourth quarter. But a Patriots touchdown halfway through the final period let them escape with a 31-28 victory. They are aiming to become the first team in NFL history to go 16-0. The only undefeated record in the Super Bowl age belongs to the 1972 Miami Dolphins who were 14-0. |