The NFL season is closing in on the halfway point and thankfully that brings an end to Favre’s revenge on the Packers. With both Packers / Vikings games behind us let’s take a look at the big stories from another weekend featuring more blowouts than close games.
Dallas QB Tony Romo has gone 3 straight games without an INT
Dallas Cowboys 38
Tony Romo’s 3rd straight game without an interception and the Cowboys are on a 3 game winning streak. In he three Cowboys losses the team is -10 in the turnover battle, in their 5 wins +10. Romo completed passes to ten different receivers on Sunday and appears to be settling into an offense where he doesn’t have to worry about one receiver demanding the ball and all of the attention.
Denver Broncos 7
Baltimore Ravens 30
Baltimore’s offense continues it’s hot start by putting up 30 on what had been the leagues best defense through the first six games of the season. The Ravens took on their fourth straight division leading opponent on Sunday and knowing they had lost the previous three — New England, Cincinnati and Minnesota — this was a critical game and a huge win. For Denver the remaining schedule has four winnable games, Oakland, Washington and two against the Kansas City Chiefs which should be enough for the Broncos to win the division.
Houston Texans 31
Buffalo Bills 10
The Texans are now 5-3 but have only played two teams with a winning record, Arizona and Cincinnati. The second half of the schedule includes the New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins and two dates against the Indianapolis Colts. Nine wins is not going to get you into the playoffs in the AFC so the Texans will have to pull off a big win against one of those three teams. Buffalo falls to 3-5 as they Bills only muster 204 yards. Of course it’s not TO’s fault, it’s the quarterback, right?
Ted Ginn Jr. returns 2 kickoffs for TDs in Miami's win at New York
New York Jets 25
The Dolphins win at New York was not a big surprise as they are clearly better than their record. However, the Dolphins only managed to gain 104 yards offensively and needed two kickoff returns for TDs from Ted Ginn Jr. to survive the Jets. Miami has made it through the toughest part of their schedule against teams whose combined win-loss record is 32-18. The Fish appear primed to make a playoff push against a remaining schedule whose combined win-loss record is 30-35. For the Jets, Mark Sanchez was solid against the Dolphins completing 20 out of 35 for 265 yards and 2 TDs and no interceptions but this loss is hard to explain. At the end of the year this is likely to be the game the Jets point to as the reason why they missed the playoffs.
Side note: Would someone please inform the Jets the novelty of the throwback uniform is lost when you wear it every friggin week!
Cleveland Browns 6
Chicago Bears 30
As expected, the Chicago Bears beat up on the lowly Browns. Jay Cutler directed the offense to two offensive TDs but did not throw a TD pass for the first time this season. Good news for Brady Quinn admirers, Quinn replaced a struggling Derek Anderson late in the fourth quarter but the Browns have now lost 13 of its last 14 games. The remaining schedule for the Bears gets considerably tougher with Arizona, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Minnesota up next.
Brett Favre celebrates a triumphant return to Green Bay
Detroit 10
Enough said.
Minnesota 38
Green Bay 26
Brett Favre was booed loudly in his return to Green Bay, but, like he did in Minnesota earlier this year, he leaves the field with his arms raised in victory against his former team. Hopefully now the Favre versus Green Bay stories will come to an end and we can focus on how well this Vikings team is playing. A NFC North Division championship seems like a certainty, unless the Bears are able to knock them off twice in the second half of the season, a really unlikely scenario.
Indianapolis Colts 18
San Francisco 14
The Colts get a TD pass from running back Joseph Addai on a half-back option in the fourth to beat the 49′ers. The Colts other quarterback, Payton Manning, gets sacked three times and fails to throw a TD pass but the Colts defense shut out the 49′ers in the second half. 49′ers quarterback Alex Smith, a gay favorite, played well in his first start in nearly two years, going 19-32 for 198 yards and 1 TD. If the 49′ers can get healthy on the offensive line, a favorable schedule could keep them in the playoff race till the end.
Oakland Raiders 16
San Diego Chargers 24
The good news for the Chargers is that they’ve won two in a row and they’re known as a team that goes on long winning streaks. The bad news for the Chargers is that they are also known for losing streaks and their next three games are at the NY Giants, who were just embarrased, home for the Eagles and at Denver. The Raiders showed some signs of life and have some nice young talent but are rudderless with JaMarcus Russell at the helm.
Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young celebrates (AP Photo/Wade Payne)
Tennessee Titans 30
Jeff Fisher was forced to start Vince Young at quarterback by owner Bud Adams and Young responded well completing 15 of 18 passes for 125 yards and 1 TD. However, the most important number for Young was 0 turnovers, which is something that has plagued his less than stellar NFL career. There’s no chance in hell of the Titans of making the post season, so consider the rest of the season as Vince Young’s opportunity to convince the Titans not to draft a quarterback in next year’s draft.
Carolina Panthers 34
Arizona Cardinals 21
Although it probably will not impact whether the Cardinals make the post season, this was a really bad loss for Arizona. Carolina racked up 270 yards on the ground against the NFLs top rush defense. Before he could throw an interception, Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme left the game with a chest injury. And in a strange reversal of fortunes it was Cardinal’s quarterback Kurt Warner who threw five interceptions. To their credit, the Panthers took advantage of the Cardinal miscues but Arizona should just write this one off as a game they gave away and move on.
New York Giants 17
Philadelphia Eagles 40
The Giants, who have now lost three in a row, are looking up at both Philadelphia and Dallas in the NFC East and have a brutal schedule down the stretch. Eli Manning was awful, going 20-39 for 222 yards with 1 TD and 2 INTs, finishing the day with a 55.7 rating. Donovan McNabb once again proved why Rush Limbaugh is a big fat idiot, completing 17 of 23 passes for 240 yards and 3 TDs. The Eagles got 82 yards on 11 carries from rookie running back LeSean McCoy and another 75 yards on 8 carries from fullback Leonard Weaver, who had been used primarily as a run blocker and outlet receiver this season.
Atlanta Falcons
New Orleans Saints
To be considered an elite team in the NFC, the Falcons need to beat a quality opponent, and they got another chance tonight against New Orleans. The emergence of Pierre Thomas has taken some of the pressure off of Drew Brees and the Saints must win to stay ahead of the Vikings in the race for home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
1. New Orleans – the Saints take over the top spot from the Colts based on their total domination of the Patriots.
6. Arizona – losing on the road in the last seconds to a hungry Titans team is not that bad especially with Kurt Warner sitting out. Although Matt Leinart looks better, he doesn’t give the Cardinals the best chance to win.
14. Tennessee Titans – Vince Young and Chris Johnson are carrying the Titans.
20. New York Giants – I’ve never seen a team with this much talent play dead.
