The Falcons won this game by 14 to improve to 5-3, but what this score doesn’t tell you is that this contest was almost evenly matched. In fact, Washington out-gained Atlanta, 312-306.
The problem, as always for the Redskins, was dumb, careless mistakes. Here are some:
– On Atlanta’s first drive, the Redskins jumped offside on a 4th-and-1 in Falcons territory. Atlanta was awarded a first down and scored two plays later.
– On Atlanta’s second drive, Washington once again jumped offsides on a 4th-and-4.
– In total, the Redskins had 10 penalties.
– One of the Falcons’ touchdowns came off a pick-six. The interception wasn’t Jason Campbell’s fault; it bounced out of Fred Davis’ hands and into Tye Hill’s.
– LaRon Landry hit Matt Ryan late out of bounds in the second quarter. A fight ensured between DeAngelo Hall and several Falcons, including head coach Mike Smith. No one was ejected, though the announcers thought that Hall should have gotten the boot. Hall has gone on to state that one of the Atlanta assistant coaches took a shot at him. Perhaps Hall stole money from this coach, much like he did from Al Davis and Daniel Snyder.
– Landry screwed up again later, making an effortless tackle on Michael Turner’s 58-yard touchdown. Landry showed no heart after the Redskins scored two consecutive touchdowns to make it a one-score game.
Making matters worse for the Redskins, Clinton Portis suffered a concussion in the first quarter and was knocked out of the game after four carries for four yards. Ladell Betts stepped in and rushed for 70 yards and a touchdown on 15 attempts.
Jason Campbell was also knocked out of this game twice with two separate injuries, but came back afterward both times. Campbell finished 15-of-22 for 196 yards, one touchdown and a pick. He was sacked five times.
As you can imagine, Washington’s receiving corps put up mediocre numbers. Santana Moss led the team with five catches for 47 yards. Fred Davis disappointed with just two grabs for 26 yards.
Matt Ryan put together a great opening drive (3-of-4 for 24 yards, TD), but sputtered afterward. He finished 17-of-24 for 135 yards, one touchdown and a pick.
Ryan’s top target was Tony Gonzalez, who had five grabs for 41 yards and a touchdown. Roddy White caught only three balls for 27 yards.
The hero for the Falcons was Michael Turner, who rushed for 166 yards and two scores on just 18 carries. Turner put the game away with his 58-yard scamper, though the poor tackling by the inept Redskins helped.
I’ll give the Redskins credit for not giving up as a whole, but seeing these constant mistakes and a lack of effort from someone like Landry is really discouraging. One has to wonder why Jim Zorn wasn’t fired during the bye week. Perhaps Snyder was too busy scouting the next old veteran he’s going to overpay.
Cardinals 41, Bears 21
Two weeks ago, the Cardinals went on the road and beat the Giants. After that, they lost as massive favorites to the Panthers. Now, they once again traveled to a hostile environment and crushed the opposition. Good to see that Arizona solidified itself as the most schizophrenic team in the NFL.
Speaking of schizophrenic, one week after tossing five interceptions, Kurt Warner launched five touchdowns against Chicago’s skeleton-crew defense. Warner finished 22-of-32 for 261 yards.
Of course, things came pretty easy for Arizona’s offense. Bears defensive tackle Tommie Harris punched Deuce Lutui a few plays into the game when the Arizona lineman was on the ground. Harris was promptly ejected. From then on, Chicago couldn’t stop Arizona at all; the first time the Cardinals failed on third down was at the 7:50 mark of the third quarter.
Believe it or not, this game was so out of hand that Matt Leinart replaced Warner. Leinart’s only attempt was an interception. Warner replaced Leinart right after that.
With Anquan Boldin out, Larry Fitzgerald had a monstrous game, catching nine passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns. Steve Breaston chipped in with five grabs for 66 yards and a score.
The big thing for Arizona here is that the team was able to establish a great rushing attack. I know Harris was out, but the Cardinals often struggle to run the football against everyone. Tim Hightower and Chris Wells had similar numbers, combining for 18 carries and 149 rushing yards.
The Bears, meanwhile, couldn’t do anything on the ground, though they ever had the opportunity. The Cardinals jumped out to a huge lead, so Matt Forte received just five carries (three in the first half) and turned them into 33 yards. Luckily for his fantasy owners, Forte also caught six balls for 74 more yards.
Jay Cutler obviously did all of the work and played fairly well, going 29-of-47 for 369 yards, three touchdowns and a pick. Cutler’s offensive line once again let him down; he was sacked four times.
Cutler went to Earl Bennett most often, connecting with his former college teammate seven times for 93 yards (most of which came in junk time). Devin Hester had six legitimate catches for 94 yards. Greg Olsen, meanwhile, had all of Cutler’s touchdowns, finishing with five receptions for 71 yards.
Bengals 17, Ravens 7
It was a day of epic ineptness for the Ravens. Though they just lost by 10, Baltimore was dominated in every facet of this game. Here are some examples:
– The Bengals were 8-of-18 on third downs. The Ravens were just 1-of-10.
– Cincinnati out-gained Baltimore, 369-215.
– The Ravens lost the time-of-possession battle, 40:00-20:00.
– Baltimore lost the first-downs battle in the first half, 16-3.
– The Ravens’ secondary, which had problems tackling, was whistled for two crucial pass interferences. The offensive line, meanwhile, was often called for holding, which disrupted a few drives.
Speaking of ineptness, check out this play, thanks to NFL.com’s GameCenter:
C.Palmer pass to L.Coles to CIN 8 for -89 yards (L.Webb).
JaMarcus Russell was probably looking at that and said to himself, “Man, I wish I can do that. Do you think so?”
Speaking of Palmer, he went 20-of-33 for 224 yards and a touchdown to Andre Caldwell. Laveranues Coles (6 catches, 72 yards) and Chad Ochocinco (5-66) did all of the work. At one point, when a long reception of his was challenged, Ochocinco jokingly (I think) took out an actual dollar bill and showed it to the refs in an apparent attempt to influence them. It didn’t work.
Cedric Benson became only the second running back in NFL history to rush for more than 100 yards twice in one season against the Ravens. Jerome Bettis was the first. Benson had 117 yards and a score on 34 attempts.
The Ravens barely had the ball, and when they did, they constantly committed penalties. Joe Flacco consequently couldn’t get going, finishing 18-of-32 for 195 yards and two picks.
Derrick Mason once again struggled against the Bengals. He caught no passes in the first meeting, and was limited to just three grabs for 31 yards this time. He also dropped a key pass.
The only Baltimore offensive player of note was Ray Rice, who scored the lone touchdown. He had 48 rushing yards on 12 carries and 87 receiving yards on eight catches.
Colts 20, Texans 17
Poor Texans. They had never won in Indianapolis, but at 5-3, this was their best chance. They were leading in the fourth quarter, but surrendered a touchdown to Joseph Addai with seven minutes remaining. Houston eventually drove down to the Indianapolis 24 with just one second on the clock. Unfortunately, the kicker missed a 42-yard field goal, failing to send it into overtime. Good grief, Kris Brown.
The story in this game was the amount of dumb errors the Texans continuously made. They were repeatedly offsides in the first half, negating a Colts punt and a sack of Peyton Manning. Matt Schaub tossed a first-quarter interception into triple coverage. Ryan Moats lost a fumble on Indianapolis’ 1-yard line. And of course, there was the missed kick. Houston is now 0-8 at Indianapolis, but they could have easily won this game. The players shouldn’t hang their heads at all.
Aside from that bad pick, Schaub played pretty well, finishing 32-of-43 for 311 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions (the second pick wasn’t his fault).
Schaub found Andre Johnson 10 times. The athletic receiver turned those receptions into 103 yards.
Without Owen Daniels, Jacoby Jones and Kevin Walter both stepped up and posted respectable stats. Jones and Walter both had 67 yards on four and five receptions, respectively.
Gary Kubiak said he was starting Ryan Moats, and he kept his word. Moats had more carries (16) than Slaton (6). Moats also out-gained Slaton, 38-17, and each had a touchdown. As mentioned, Moats ironically cost Houston a fumble.
At halftime, Peyton Manning had some pretty amazing statistics. He was 26-of-40 for 242 yards, one touchdown and a pick. Once again, those were halftime numbers. He was on pace for 80 attempts and 484 yards at that point. Fortunately for Manning’s rotator cuff, he had just 10 attempts in the second half. He finished 34-of-50, 318 yards, one score and one pick.
Speaking of amazing numbers, Dallas Clark caught a career-high 14 balls for 119 yards. It’s almost unfair that a fantasy owner can use him as a tight end.
Reggie Wayne (8 catches, 64 yards), Pierre Garcon (5-60) and Joseph Addai (5-49, TD) were also a big part of the offense. Amusingly, Wayne tossed an interception on a trick play. Guess there won’t be a quarterback change in Indianapolis anytime soon.
With Donald Brown out, Addai had all but two of Indianapolis’ carries in this contest. He rushed for 63 yards and a score on 14 attempts.
Jaguars 23, Chiefs 20
It’s amazing that the Chiefs covered this game. I had them at +6.5, but I’ll admit that they had no business beating the number. In fact, at one point in the live in-games thread on the forum, I promised that I would call Matt Cassel the “Backdoor Bandit II” if he covered the spread at the very end. Sure enough, Backdoor Bandit II found Chris Chambers twice for touchdowns in the fourth quarter with the help of a recovered onsides kick.
Despite what the final score may say, this contest was a blowout dominated by the host. Jacksonville was 9-of-16 on third downs and out-gained Kansas City, 426-301. The Jaguars also won the time-of-possession battle by 16 minutes.
Jacksonville ran easily on the Chiefs. On most plays, the offensive line completely blew up Kansas City’s defensive front. It looked like professionals were trying to open up holes against Sun Belt college players. Maurice Jones-Drew rushed for 97 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries, while Rashad Jennings vultured away a score on a 28-yard scamper. It’s good to see that Jack Del Rio and Dirk Koetter actually remembered to run the ball this week.
The star for the Jaguars was Mike Sims-Walker, who rebounded off a poor week by catching six balls for 147 yards and a touchdown. David Garrard went 18-of-27 for 264 yards and that score.
The Backdoor Bandit II’s numbers look solid (23-of-39, 262 yards, 2 TDs), but a lot of that was junk yardage at the end when the Chiefs were down 24-6. Backdoor Bandit II took three sacks as well. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but remember that the Jaguars had just five sacks on the year coming into this contest.
As mentioned, Chambers caught both touchdowns. That was very fluky, as Chambers (3 catches, 70 yards) had only four targets, most of which were late in the game.
Dwayne Bowe and Lance Long led the squad with 74 yards each. Long shockingly had eight receptions, taking over as the slot receiver for the recently cut Bobby Engram.
Todd Haley is officially an idiot. With Larry Johnson out, Haley was forced to move the more-talented Jamaal Charles into the lineup. Last week, Haley said that Charles was finally “getting it.” Apparently not. Charles led the Chiefs with six carries, gaining 36 yards in the process. Haley, himself, obviously isn’t getting it yet, and it looks like he never will.
Patriots 27, Dolphins 17
So much for Joey Porter’s yapping. Porter spent the entire week talking trash about the Patriots, yet he didn’t do anything. I mean that literally – he didn’t even register a single tackle.
Before this game, Chris Berman and Tom Jackson predicted that the Dolphins would reveal a few new wrinkles out of the Wildcat to surprise the Patriots. They were right; Miami used Pat White more often with an option. White tossed an incomplete pass, but also rushed for 45 yards on six carries. Ronnie Brown, meanwhile, tossed a touchdown to Joey Haynos Crime.
Brown’s fantasy owners are lucky that he had that aerial touchdown. Otherwise, he had just 48 yards on 15 carries. Ricky Williams managed only 33 yards on seven attempts, but also scored.
Though he dropped a key pass, Ted Ginn Jr. somehow came up with a catch in this game – a 7-yard reception. The city of Miami will be preparing a parade for Ginn sometime this week in honor of this feat. However, Greg Camarillo (5 catches, 71 yards) and Davone Bess (6-56) were more productive.
Tom Brady took advantage of Miami’s dual rookie corners, going 25-of-37 for 332 yards, one touchdown and a pick. The interception was a very impressive one by Vontae Davis, who snagged the ball over Randy Moss.
Moss caught six balls for 147 yards and an impressive 71-yard touchdown where he used a stiff arm to get away from a defender. At this point, forum mod VBSiena commented, “Randy Moss says ‘f*** you dolpheeeen!'”
Moss nearly had a second score where he came up with an acrobatic one-handed grab. Unfortunately, he fell down at the 1-yard line. Wes Welker, meanwhile, had nine receptions for 84 yards.
Laurence Maroney put up solid numbers – 82 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries – but occasionally did too much dancing at the line of scrimmage for my taste.
Buccaneers 38, Packers 28
The Packers have only themselves to blame for this. They made a few crucial errors early in the game which allowed the Buccaneers to hang around and eventually claim their first victory of the year.
After establishing a 7-0 lead, Aaron Rodgers tossed an interception that set up the Buccaneers on the Packers’ 8-yard line. Tampa Bay’s next touchdown came off a blocked punt. Later, the Buccaneers had another short field because of an 83-yard kickoff return. That’s 21 points that never should have happened. The Packers actually out-gained Tampa Bay, 404-279.
Green Bay’s offensive front also had a say in the loss. Rodgers (17-35, 266 yards, 2 TDs, 3 INTs) went down a whopping six times. He held the ball for too long on occasion, but the bottom line is that his blockers can’t keep anyone out of the backfield.
Rodgers’ top three receivers all posted solid numbers. James Jones led the team with 103 receiving yards and a touchdown on four catches. Donald Driver also had four grabs for 71 yards and a score. Greg Jennings notched five receptions for 61 yards.
Ryan Grant rushed for 96 yards and a score on 21 carries. Ahman Green surprisingly looked great, gaining 45 yards on six attempts.
As for the team that actually won this game, Josh Freeman was 14-of-31 for 205 yards, three touchdowns and a pick. Freeman had a few questionable throws, but he did a good job eluding pressure and picking up first downs, especially in the second half. For a first NFL start, very impressive.
With Antonio Bryant out, Kellen Winslow Jr. led the team in both receptions (4) and yards (57). Winslow also scored a touchdown.
Cadillac Williams had a lot more carries (16) than Derrick Ward (4). Williams’ touches went for 56 yards. Ward helped with the passing attack, coming up with three grabs for 54 yards and a score.
This truly was a throwback day in Tampa. An old rivalry in the Bay of Pigs was revived. The Buccaneers wore their old creamsicle uniforms. And as mentioned, Green looked great, even ripping off a 26-yard scamper on one occasion. In this contest, Green became the Packers’ all-time leading rusher.
Saints 30, Panthers 20
I had the Panthers +13, but I also used the Saints as my survivor pick. When the Panthers jumped out to 14-0 and 17-3 leads, I pretty much thought that my survivor escapades were over. I know that New Orleans screwed me out of five units with its epic comeback against the Dolphins two weeks ago, but it just looked like Carolina was going to win.
So much for that. Drew Brees engineered a great comeback, finishing 24-of-35 for 330 yards, one touchdown and a pick. Robert Meachem, who had his coming-out party, caught the game-tying score in the third quarter. He finished with eight grabs for 98 yards.
Marques Colston surprisingly had only one catch, albeit for 45 yards. He unfortunately had a touchdown slip out of his hands. Brees’ top targets, aside from Meachem, were Devery Henderson (3 catches, 93 yards), Reggie Bush (7-37) and Pierre Thomas (5-31).
Speaking of Thomas, he looked great in the second half. He finished with only 13 carries for 50 yards and a touchdown, but he really sparked the Saints offense when they were down. Thomas received much more work than Mike Bell, who had just five rushes for 17 yards.
With Sedrick Ellis and Scott Fujita out, the Saints once again struggled to stop the run. DeAngelo Williams gashed New Orleans for 149 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries. Until Ellis returns to the lineup, this will continue to be a problem.
Just a mediocre game for Steve Smith; he caught four balls for 64 yards, most of which came on a 46-yard reception.
Though he fumbled twice, you have to credit Jake Delhomme for not tossing a pick. He was 17-of-30 for 201 yards. That said, John Fox didn’t show much confidence in Delhomme, as the Panthers often rushed the ball in third-and-medium and third-and-long situations. Delhomme will begin tossing picks again once Carolina falls behind early and Fox doesn’t have the luxury of being so conservative.
Seahawks 32, Lions 20
I’ll complain about my bad beats, so it’s only fair that I admit when I should have lost a game. The Seahawks had no business covering this spread. They were down 17-0 and up only five with less than a minute remaining in regulation. Thankfully, Matthew Stafford answered my prayers by tossing a pick-six. The interception was Stafford’s fifth of the game.
Of course, if the Seahawks didn’t cover this game, I would have complained about how their 17-0 deficit was a result of three turnovers. On his opening possession, Matt Hasselbeck tossed an ugly pick that set up Detroit’s first touchdown. On the next drive, Justin Griffith fumbled, leading to Detroit’s next end-zone visit. On Seattle’s third possession, they turned the ball over on downs, allowing Jason Hanson to kick a 41-yard field goal.
Though the Seahawks carelessly fell into a 17-0 hole, they did a great job of sticking with their game plan and not panicking. Hasselbeck didn’t toss another pick, finishing 39-of-51 for 329 yards and a touchdown. He easily shredded Detroit’s secondary, and for the first time in weeks, he didn’t have to worry about pressure because of the Lions’ horrible defense. Hasselbeck was sacked only once.
And by the way, congratulations to Hasselbeck, who became the all-time Seahawks leader in completions. Of course Dick Stockton was too senile at the time to talk about this; he probably thought Dave Krieg, the previous record-holder, was still under center.
Amazingly, six Seahawks had five receptions or more. Here’s the list: Nate Burleson (7 catches, 75 yards), T.J. Houshmandzadeh (6-34, TD), Julius Jones (6-78), John Carlson (6-42), Justin Forsett (5-45) and Griffith (5-33).
While Jones was effective in the passing attack, I expected more out of him on the ground. He rushed for just 36 yards and a touchdown on 16 attempts versus Detroit’s porous defense.
As mentioned, Stafford tossed five picks. Otherwise, he was 22-of-42 for 203 yards and two touchdowns. Stafford made some impressive throws and led the Lions to three scoring drives to start the game, but he also made a dumb errors later on. Remember though that he’s merely a rookie with no offensive line and was playing in a hostile Seattle environment. There’s no need to panic.
An encouraging development for the Lions was the emergence of Brandon Pettigrew, who caught seven balls for 70 yards and a touchdown. Calvin Johnson, who may have been bothered by his knee injury, made just two grabs for 27 yards. Megatron appeared frustrated on the sidelines.
Kevin Smith had just 15 touches in this contest, which won’t be enough when he’s 100 percent. Thirteen of those touches were carries, which Smith turned into 67 rushing yards. His two receptions went for only nine yards.
Chargers 21, Giants 20
Eli Manning may have his Super Bowl, but Philip Rivers is the winner when it really doesn’t count as much. Rivers is now 1-0 versus Manning in the Battle of the 2004 Quarterback Class. Next meeting: 2013. Can’t wait.
Rivers, who went 24-of-36 for 209 yards, three touchdowns and two picks, really impressed me on the final drive of the game. Armed with one timeout and 2:05 on the regulation clock, Rivers took the Chargers 80 yards in 1:46 for the winning score. Rivers never panicked, and he never had to use his timeout. He just remained calm and in control. His decisive 18-yard touchdown to Vincent Jackson was a thing of beauty.
Rivers finished the game 24-of-36 for 209 yards, three scores and two picks. Jackson, meanwhile, caught five balls for 58 yards and two touchdowns.
LaDainian Tomlinson once again disappointed his fantasy owners, rushing for just 22 yards on 12 carries. Tomlinson had absolutely no room to run, so even the LT of old couldn’t have done much more.
You can’t blame Eli Manning’s heel for this loss. Eli was 25-of-33 for 215 yards and two touchdowns. He looked like the Eli of old, converting some difficult third-down situations.
The real problem for the Giants was careless errors that they made. They were whistled for nine penalties for 104 yards. One of the penalties, a holding call on Chris Snee, ruined their chances of scoring on a 1st-and-goal at the Chargers 4-yard line, up late 17-14. New York had to settle for a field goal, allowing Rivers to engineer his game-winning drive.
Also an issue was pass protection. New York surrendered five sacks to a previously challenged San Diego defense.
At least the Giants were able to run the ball on San Diego. Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw combined for 106 yards on 25 carries. Jacobs had less attempts (11) than Bradshaw (14), but had more yardage (67-39). The reason for this was because Jacobs was out for a few series with a minor injury.
Steve Smith had been shut out in four games, but finally found the end zone again. Smith caught eight balls for 57 yards. Mario Manningham chipped in with six grabs for 52 yards. Hakeem Nicks had just three receptions for 39 yards.
Forum member Wraith went to this game and provided us with great write-up of it. Click here for more Giants-Chargers analysis.
Titans 34, 49ers 27
All Vince Young does is win football games. The Titans are now 20-11 with Young as the starter. If only they made the move earlier.
Young’s numbers don’t look impressive (12-19, 172 yards), but he hit Justin Gage on a long 49-yard bomb and used his scrambling ability to score a touchdown. He simply provides the Titans with an added dimension that Kerry Collins was incapable of bringing to the table.
Young’s presence in the backfield also continues to open things up for Chris Johnson. Playing a top-10 rush defense, Johnson gained 135 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries.
The downside to Young is that his receivers will post inconsistent numbers. Justin Gage did nothing last week, but caught four balls for 97 yards at San Francisco. Nate Washington had three grabs for 30 yards, while Kenny Britt failed to log a single reception. In fact, only four Titans caught a pass (Gage, Washington, Johnson and Bo Scaife).
Alex Smith, the other former No. 1 quarterback trying to redeem himself, started sharp, but tossed a couple of picks in the fourth quarter. Smith finished 29-of-45 for 286 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. He didn’t play well, but no one should discard his past two performances because of this mediocre one. Every quarterback has a bad game now and then.
Frank Gore dominated in this matchup, rushing for 83 yards and a score on just 15 carries. He also caught seven balls for 75 more yards.
Michael Crabtree saw a bunch of targets, but managed only three grabs for 30 yards. Smith’s two scores went to slot receiver Jason Hill.
Vernon Davis continues to evolve into one of the top tight ends in the league. He didn’t catch a touchdown, but he hauled in 10 receptions for 102 yards. One funny moment occurred at the end of the game, when Davis elected to stay inbounds down 14 points with about two minutes remaining. When Davis was tackled, a Titans defender shouted at Davis, “You gotta get out of bounds there.”
For thoughts on Cowboys-Eagles and Steelers-Broncos, check out my updated 2009 NFL Power Rankings, which will be posted Tuesday morning.
