In case you haven’t heard, there’s a new semi-professional football league called the FXFL. To give you a feel for how this league is, Jordan Jefferson and Tahj Boyd are starting quarterbacks. I laughed too. Go Omaha Mammoths!…anyways, here’s some good football:
San Diego Chargers 21 at Denver Broncos 35: The Broncos defense managed to keep this game pretty close, but the bottom line is Peyton Manning looked fantastic and Philip Rivers looked like a whiny kid. He complained about everything, mainly towards his offensive coordinator for running the ball too much when it was not working at all in the first half. Manning had another three touchdowns, all to Emmanuel Sanders. Rivers had two interceptions, but to be fair one of them was not his fault. Antonio Gates and Keenan Allen also had huge games.
Detroit Lions 22 at Atlanta Falcons 21: I’ve never seen poor clock management work out in a team’s favor until now. Matt Prater missed from 43 yards, but it was blown dead by Delay of Game. He then nailed it from 48. Poor Falcons. They can’t catch a break on the road, at home, or in a different country. Matt Ryan was good in the first half, but he left his talent in the locker room. Falcons fans can expect some changes soon, most likely at the head coach position the way the season has gone so far.
Minnesota Vikings 19 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13: This was a very boring game. Teddy Bridgewater is clearly all hype, and the Atlanta game was a complete fluke. However, Anthony Barr made his first major impact which was pretty awesome to watch. Barr stripped Austin Seferian-Jenkins in overtime and then returned it for the game-winning touchdown. Bridgewater did look good at the end of the game however: his game-tying drive was very well done with a lot of short passes to Greg Jennings to get into field-goal range. The Bucs continue to be bad.
Chicago Bears 23 at New England Patriots 51: This was basically the Bears versus Rob Gronkowski. With 149 and three touchdowns he opened up the field for everyone else and made Tom Brady look good for once this season. Jay Cutler was trash again this week picking up most of his yardage in garbage time. This game basically doesn’t matter however, because everyone is looking forward to next week’s matchup between the Broncos and Patriots.
St. Louis Rams 7 at Kansas City Chiefs 34: Austin Davis drove the team down the field, and the Rams took a quick 7-0 lead. After that, three offensive lineman got injured, and it was all downhill from there. Davis finished with only 160 yards, the one touchdown, and an interception. The special teams that helped them upset the Seahawks cost them the game this week. Knile Davis’s 99 yard kickoff return touchdown was pretty much the nail in the coffin for the Rams this week.
Seattle Seahawks 13 at Carolina Panthers 9: Neither team played overly good defense, but both quarterbacks looked really bad. Cam Newton had a horrible second half, and until the final drive Russell Wilson looked as horrible as he usually does on the road. Wilson finished with only 199 yards, one touchdown, an interception, and several off-target passes. Wilson was missing wide open receivers. Both of these teams will need to get it together on offense if they want to win their respective divisions again this season.
Buffalo Bills 43 at New York Jets 23: The Jets couldn’t beat the Bills, so Rex Ryan can kiss his head coaching career goodbye. Maybe he’ll get another chance someday. Geno Smith had three interceptions in the first quarter, so Jets fans got to see a lot of their brand new starting quarterback, Michael Vick. Vick wasn’t much better. In fact, he was only a little better because he ran the ball more. The Jets were supposed to be a run first offense based around Chris Ivory, but that seems to have fallen through. A lot of Jets coaches can start packing their belongings.
Miami Dolphins 27 at Jacksonville Jaguars 13: The Jaguars dominated this game. That’s right. The defense held Miami to 56 yards in the first half and didn’t give up a first down until four minutes before halftime. The Jags offense however had two pick-sixes and the special teams allowed a punt to be blocked. They lost in typical Jags fashion. Blake Bortles didn’t even look like a college quarterback never mind a start in the NFL. Three total turnovers including the two picks that were returned. Just sad.
Houston Texans 30 at Tennessee Titans 16: Arian Foster and J.J. Watt are pretty much the only reason the Texans have won a game this season. Watt is still unstoppable, making for a horrible first career start for Zach Mettenberger, and Foster absolutely tore apart the Titans already weak defense. Mettenberger finished with 299 yards, but most of that was from the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach. Maybe he’ll be able to do better after a bye week without Watt strip-sacking him. Foster’s 151 yards was the real game-sealer for the Texans on offense.
Baltimore Ravens 24 at Cincinnati Bengals 27: Even with A.J. Green out, Andy Dalton managed to do pretty good. He finished with 266 yards, but most of his mistakes (an interception and a lost fumble) came in the fourth quarter giving Bengals fans a sequence of heart attacks. Dalton did put together a game winning drive however. Dalton also wasn’t the worst quarterback on the field for once: Joe Flacco wins that honor after only 195 yards and two interceptions.
Philadelphia Eagles 20 at Arizona Cardinals 24: This was a great game if you like a lot of offense and a lot of penalties. With a combined 921 yards of total offense and over 20 penalties there was never a dull moment. The Eagles definitely blew this game from a coaching stand point. Nick Foles attempted 62 passes, whereas LeSean McCoy only got 21 carries. Not a winning combination for the Eagles clearly. Carson Palmer wasn’t fantastic, but a win is a win. The Cardinals certainly proved they are one of the best teams in the league with this victory.
Indianapolis Colts 34 at Pittsburgh Steelers 51: Wow. How ‘bout them Steelers? Ben Roethlisberger was unstoppable. 40-of-49, 522 yards, and six touchdowns. Andrew Luck had some pretty big numbers to, but not Big Ben big. Luck finished with 400 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown. Roethlisberger’s incredible performance is 100 percent the reason for the Steelers sizable victory.
Oakland Raiders 13 at Cleveland Browns 23: If the Raiders couldn’t beat the Browns they may actually go 0-16. Even the Jaguars beat the Browns. The Raiders looked all-around horrible. They tried incorporating Matt Schaub in the offense for varies trick plays all of which failed miserably. The Browns on the other hand couldn’t get the running game going, and as a result struggled to really get anything going offensively. They finished with only 39 total rushing yards. If the Browns want to make a series attempt at a Wild Card they’ll need to start playing like it.
Green Bay Packers 23 at New Orleans Saints 44: Everyone expect a shootout, but we got a blowout. The Saints remember who they were at home, and they showed the Packers that they’re still a legitimate team. Aaron Rodgers seemed to tweak his hamstring, and it certainly gave the Saints defense some confidence. This was the Saints best defensive game of the season. Unfortunately, the Saints will have to hope the Panthers continue to tank if they want to win the division at 8-8 (8-0 at home, 0-8 on the road).
Washington Redskins 20 at Dallas Cowboys 17: So how ‘bout them Cowboys? They blew it. Tony Romo looked horrible before and after he hurt his back. In fact, he got outplayed by Colt McCoy of all people. McCoy had 299 yards and an interception, but he seemed to have a great grasp on controlling the flow of the game. Don’t be surprised if McCoy gets to start over Robert Griffin III by the end of the season.