Bringing Home Super Season Is Most Important

Times NFL writer T.J. Simers poses--and answers--the burning questions for this week’s games:

Question: Besides San Diego, whom can we eliminate as potential Super Bowl champions?

Answer: Anyone who has lost a game at home so far. The last three Super Bowl champions were undefeated at home--Denver going 10-0 at Mile High Stadium in 1998 and 9-0 in 1997. Green Bay went 10-0 in 1996.

The only remaining teams unbeaten at home: Dallas, Green Bay, Kansas City, St. Louis and Tennessee.

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Q: Is winning at home really that important?

A: The four teams that played for the conference championships a year ago--the Falcons, Vikings, Broncos and Jets--were a combined 31-1 at home. Go back to 1997 and the four finalists--Green Bay, San Francisco, Denver and Pittsburgh--were a combined 31-1 at home.

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Q: What about the Broncos’ chances of repeating?

A: Not good. Denver is 2-5, and already a longshot to qualify for the postseason as a wild card because of the races in the AFC Central and East. The Central has a bunch of weak teams that should allow Jacksonville, Tennessee and Pittsburgh to pad their records with the Jaguars favored to win the division. The East looks loaded with the likes of the Dolphins, Patriots, Bills and Colts.

Denver probably is going to have to win the AFC West title to qualify--not that outlandish when you consider that the Chargers, Chiefs and Seahawks are all tied for first at 4-2 and none of them look all that impressive.

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Q: Speaking of Super Bowls, how is former MVP Desmond Howard doing since returning to Green Bay?

A: Terrible. He was benched as the Packers’ kick returner a week ago in favor of De’Mond Parker. Howard returned five kicks (punts and kickoffs) for touchdowns in a previous tour of duty for the Packers, averaging 16.2 yards on punt returns and 23.8 on kickoffs. The former Heisman Trophy winner has gone nowhere returning kickoffs this year--his longest return covering 22 yards. Parker returned his only chance last week 36 yards, while Basil Mitchell also got a chance, going 29 yards.

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Q: How is he doing as a punt returner?

A: Terrible. His longest return is 13 yards; 30 teams have longer punt returns than that. This is not good, because it’s now accepted that Howard, 29, can’t play wide receiver, and if he’s going nowhere returning kicks and punts, he’s going to have a difficult time staying employed.