Another big weekend of NFL action saw a couple teams save their seasons and a couple take another step towards the draft. We’ll go no-huddle and get right to it!
-Titans 29, Giants 10 – The story all week in the NY area is how the Giants self-destructed a week after Brandon Jacobs decided to shot-put his helmet into the Indianapolis crowd. Eli Manning may have outgained Vince Young, but he made a ridiculous left-handed pick when the Giants were driving for points in the 1st quarter. Add to that 11 penalties, and you have the makings of a lost season in the inaugural year for the New Meadowlands Stadium. Give credit to the Titans as well: they played more disciplined when it mattered and didn’t turn the ball over. The Giants right now look sloppy and not ready for a good run this year.
-Jets 31, Dolphins 23 – Who would’ve thought that these two strong defenses would allow the offenses to destroy the over for this game? Mark Sanchez took another step forward in his progression, and Chad Henne was the first to blink, with a 4th quarter pick that sealed the game for the Jets. Proving they are apparently immune to negativity, the winning TD was on a 67-yard catch-and-run by Braylon Edwards, who added more fuel to the talking heads’ fire in NY by dancing afterwards. Simply put, the Jets let their quarterback play, and now they’re taking off.
-Bears 20, Packers 17 – Another game where the loser did themselves in. A lost fumble in the 4th along with 18 (!) penalties erased a great game by Aaron Rodgers (34 of 45, 316, 1 TD, 1 INT, 1 rushing TD) and dropped the Packers a game behind the Bears. In a game where neither team could run the ball – Jay Cutler was the leading rusher in the game with 37 yard – the Bears made the plays that mattered the most. Now, they have to keep the momentum going with a road trip to the New Meadowlands next week in a matchup the Giants will need desperately.
-Falcons 27, Saints 24 – Garrett Hartley better get his resume together. He’s going to be in need of a job sooner rather than later, even with the NFC Championship heroics from last year. Atlanta continued to show that the Saints are playing rather uninspired football, as they ran for over 200 yards, held the Saints to 43 rushing yards and forced 3 turnovers. A major step forward for a young team looking to make the climb to the playoffs, and a tough loss for the Saints, who need to step up and play better football starting next week at Carolina.
-Chiefs 31, 49ers 10 – Speaking of playing better football… Would someone like to let the Niners know that this might have been their season on the line here? The Chiefs absolutely embarrassed San Fran in seemingly every facet of the game, and get to prepare to continue their unbeaten start after the bye in Indianapolis. The 49ers, meanwhile, travel to Atlanta to face the Falcons in a game that they need even more than this one if they want to have any hope of winning the division like their offseason promise held. They might want to start by playing better on the offensive line, as they were held to under 50 yards rushing for the second time in 3 games, and on defense, which was gashed for over 200 yards rushing.
Now we’re going to quick hit thoughts on the rest of the weekend in the NFL:
-Steelers 38, Bucs 13 – That noise you heard was one bandwagon emptying onto another. The Steelers are looking like top contenders, Big Ben or no Big Ben.
-Patriots 38, Bills 30 – Who saw this one coming? The Bills nearly completing a huge comeback against the Pats, in a shootout???? The Pats better get their defense straightened out and fast.
-Vikings 24, Detroit 10/Cowboys 27, Texans 13 – A little bit of nice symmetry for two preseason Super Bowl contenders saving their seasons with 14 point wins.
-Bengals 20, Panthers 7 – A ho-hum win for the Bengals, who would’ve loved to see Carson Palmer play like he was back at USC again.
-Rams 30, Redskins 16 – Wow. A 30-spot to a rookie quarterback in his 3rd start. The Redskins are a mess.
-Ravens 24, Browns 17 – This game should not have been this close, but Joe Flacco had a very-much-needed good game for the Ravens. Anquan Boldin is looking like the big acquisition of the offseason so far.
-Seahawks 27, Chargers 20 – And there goes San Diego down the tubes. Couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy than Philip Rivers.
-Cardinals 24, Raiders 23 – Sign that the NFC West is the worst division in sports: When you lose one week to the Raiders, and the “best” team in the division only wins by one.
-Colts 27, Broncos 13 – Peyton Manning can have me and John as his wideouts, and he’d throw for 300 yards and 3 TD’s.
-Eagles 28, Jaguars 3 – Michael Vick continues to impress, albeit against a second-straight bad team. With the Redskins and 49ers on the schedule next, he probably won’t be tested until the Falcons come to Philly in Week 6.
Top Three Match-ups in Week 4
-Ravens at Steelers – Last week for the Steelers before Big Ben comes back, but even if they finish 3-1 in those four games, it’s a huge start for them. Baltimore can’t afford another loss to a division foe.
-Patriots at Dolphins – Expect the Dolphins’ D to bounce back from a poor performance against the Jets. I’m giving a slight edge to the Dolphins, since their offense showed some life against a Jets D that slowed the Pats’ offense in week 2.
-Bears at Giants – I don’t think anyone had the Bears, Steelers and Chiefs as the last remaining unbeaten teams heading into Week 4. Expect the Giants to bounce back from a poor game and give the Bears their first loss of the year.
I’ll be back next Tuesday with Week 4’s best and a preview for Week 5. See ya then!
~ David
Also keep an eye on the Jets match-up as a win over Buffalo puts them in a very strong position within the division (3-0). The AFC East plays the NFC North this year which makes it a tough schedule for any East team to pull away with.
ReplyDelete~ John