-Not what anyone expected from the Redskins-Eagles afternoon game, but Donovan McNabb wins his comeback to Philly. It was supposed to be McNabb against rejuvenated Michael Vick, but it turned into McNabb against his former longtime understudy, Kevin Kolb, after Vick was knocked out of the game in the first quarter. It was supposed to be a shootout and an exciting game but there were only six points scored in a decidedly mediocre second half.
The fact that McNabb triumphed with a 60.2 quarterback rating and a completion rate under 50 percent tells its own story. The Eagles were plagued by mistakes on both sides of the ball: offensive and defensive penalties, blown coverages, a fumble, and god-awful tackling.
Washington wasn't much better, but did manage to score a pair of early touchdowns; a 12-yard rushing touchdown by Ryan Torain and a 31-yard TD reception by Chris Cooley. That was more than a Kevin Kolb-led Eagles offense could muster.
Kolb looked nervous, flustered, and like one of those dreaded “check-down” quarterback, unwilling to stretch the field by going deep. His numbers weren't awful – 22 of 35 for 201 yards a TD and INT – but they mask the fact that he didn't see or missed a number of open receivers down the field and 13 of those completions were passes to running backs. If Vick can't play next week, Kolb will have to be much better.
-Mike Singletary is in the hot seat. In two of their losses, San Francisco have been desperately unlucky, in the other two, they were just desperately bad. But ultimately, they're one of only four 0-4 teams in the NFL and that means their coach is in trouble.
The Niners have continued to struggle offensively this year: Alex Smith hasn't been much better this year (he threw two interceptions against Atlanta), the running game hasn't taken off either.
Providing Michael Vick is out next week, the Niners have three winnable games coming up: at home against Philly and the Raiders and away to the Panthers. But go 1-2 in that stretch, and I think Singletary's tenure will be over.
-The Bears offensive line is just plain awful. There's only one stat you need to know here: the Bears O-line gave up 9 sacks in the first half against New York. NINE. IN ONE HALF. That broke an NFL record. And there were countless other plays where Chicago quarterback Cutler was hurried and hit.
I hadn't seen a Bears game until Sunday evening, and my question is: how on earth did they manage to win 3 games with that line? Now I'm not a college elitist by any stretch, but when the five starters of your offensive line played at Tennessee Tech, Texas Tech, Washington, San Diego State and Tulsa, you might be in trouble.
After that brutal first half, Jay Cutler didn't come back out (can you blame him?) with concussion-like symptoms. The line played better in the second half, with a lot of help from Matt Forte chip blocks and a gameplan full of quick passes, but backup Todd Collins still got knocked out near the end.
Thinking more long-term, the Bears are going to have to figure out a way to protect the quarterback that cost a fortune to bring to Chi-town. His body can't take a whole season like that, and the Bears can't expect to win many more games, no matter how well their defense plays, without considerable O-line improvement.
-Here's a shortlist of some of the studs of the week:
a. Rams quarterback Sam Bradford: passed for 289 yards and a couple touchdowns as he won his second straight game. Unheard of in recent St. Louis history.
b. Bengals receiver Terrell Owens: a monstrous 222 yard and one TD receiving day for T.O. in a losing effort. He's fast becoming Carson Palmer's go-to guy.
c. Jets running back Ladanian Tomlinson: Lit up the Bills for 133 rushing yards and a couple scores. No one will ever say you're done when you average 7 yards a carry.
d. Chargers tight end Antonio Gates: Just doing what he does. Had 7 receptions for 144 yards and two touchdowns. In my opinion, there's not a better tight end in the game.
e. Jaguars kicker Josh Scobee: Hit a 59-yard game-winning field goal to beat divisional foe Indianapolis, the only time he was asked to kick an FG in the game.
-Here's a shortlist of some of the goats of the week:
a. Niners cornerback Nate Clements: Fumbled the football after making the interception that would have surely given San Francisco their first win of the season (second time I've seen Clements do that by the way). Hurting Niner fans (and I know a couple) won't forgive him for that for a long, long time.
b. Cardinals quarterback Derek Anderson: Threw two interceptions (including a pick six) on Arizona's first four possessions, and was benched after the second. Could be the last we see of him for a while.
c. Steelers kicker Jeff Reed: Went 0-2 on field goals in a three point game.
d. Titans running back Chris Johnson: Held to 53 rushing yards on 19 attempts, at an average of 2.8 yards per rush. He also lost a fumble in the first quarter.
-And here's a player who was a little of both: Titans rookie kick returner Marc Mariani:
The good: Returned a kickoff 98 yards for his first NFL touchdown in the third quarter.
The ugly: Fumbled/ dropped a kickoff with a minute and a half to go in the game. Stopped a potential game-tying or game-winning Tennessee drive before it started.
-Rookie of the Week: Carolina quarterback Jimmy Clausen is still searching for his NFL win, but some of the gutsy plays he made –including a 55 yard touchdown pass to Jonathan Stewart and a 16-yard completion to David Gettis on 4th down and 4 with under two minutes to play – will give Panthers fans hope that the future looks brighter than the present. On both plays, Clausen didn't force an early throw, read the pressure well and escaped the pocket before making the completion on the move. Good stuff from the rookie QB.
Play of the week: Pretty much the only thing to go right for San Francisco on Sunday. Tap those toes, rook.
Ridiculous Play of the Week: Ridiculous in a good way this week. Danny Amendola, I salute you.
Five Quick Hits:
1/ Joe Flacco sure loves those 20-yard throws to the sideline, doesn't he? Personally I think he just likes showing off his big arm.
2/ Running back Arian Foster is going to be the difference maker that takes the Houston Texans to the next level. The Texans were outgained 245-192 by the Raiders in the passing game, but Foster's 131 rushing yards wore Oakland out. He added 56 reception yards for good measure. His two scores gave Houston the W.
3/ Green Bay's Charles Woodson is getting back to defensive MVP form of last season. His line on Sunday: 11 solo tackles, 2 assisted tackles, 3 passes defended, and a 48-yard touchdown on an interception return. Not bad for a 34 year-old cornerback.
4/ Real mature, Chuck Cecil. The one-finger salute usually works when it comes to making officials change their minds...
5/ Think homefield advantage isn't a difference maker in the NFL? The Seattle have outscored opponents 58-26 at home in two wins. Away from Qwest Field? It's the Hawks who've been outscored 17-51 in two losses.
