- Colts triumphs in the latest installment of “Rivalry of the Decade.” It seemed all over as Tom Brady hit Randy Moss for a touchdown to put the Patriots 31-14 up with the second play of the fourth quarter. Maybe New England's D thought so too, because they went AWOL on two Colts possessions, allowing them to first march 79 yards on 5 plays in 2 minutes, then 48 yards on a 6 plays, plus a 30 yard pass interference penalty, in 1:49.
His defense's implosion was so evident to Pats coach Bill Belichick that he decided ride Tom Brady and go for it on 4th and 2 with just over 2 minutes to go, from his own 29! I'm certainly not a fan of conservative play-calling at the end of games, but I tend to come down the side of NBC's analysts who universally trashed Belichick's decision as one of the worst of his career.
When Kevin Faulk came up short on the play, Peyton Manning and the Colts only had to go 30 yards for the win, and left the Patriots with no time.
That eventful fourth quarter may have huge on impact on both franchises' seasons. Indeed for much of the game, the Colts looked second-best to the Patriots. Uncharacteristically Manning threw a couple of really bad picks, while the Colts D got gashed on a number of big plays by Randy Moss. But they came through the game still undefeated and will get a big mental boost from their comeback.
For the Patriots, the faces of Belichick and Brady at the end of the game told the whole story: it was a soul crushing loss. Not only that, but you have to wonder about the possible repercussions of the lack of confidence shown by Belichick showed in his young defense at the end of the game.
- Bengals come out on top of the Steelers in defensive battle. Pittsburgh's D has been one of the most dominant in the NFL for a while, but Cincinnati matched it stop for stop on Sunday. The Bengals front seven harried Ben Roethlisberger all day, sacking him four times and forcing him into a number of inaccurate throws, while the secondary produced the stiffling coverage that has been its trademark all year.
Neither team gave up an offensive touchdown in what turned into the battle of the kickers and special teams at Heinz Field. In the end, Bernard Scott 96-yard kickoff return and kicker Shayne Graham's four field goals were enough for the Bengals.
Anyone who's been watching the NFL this season has known for a while that this Bengals team was different from previous years, but coming to Pittsburgh and beating the defending Superbowl champs for the second time this year should prove to everyone just how good this team is.
-Matthew Stafford has a good day. The number one pick of last year's draft has had his performances criticized here and everywhere else this season, but even though he didn't get the win on Sunday, the Georgia product flashed his potential against the Vikings.
After he threw five interceptions against the Seahawks last week, Detroit fans must have been fearing the worst (oh wait, that already happened last season) as he faced off with the Vikings tremendous pass rush.
I'm sure Jim Schwartz took his quarterback aside after the Seattle game and told him that his main focus this week was to cut out the mistakes from his game. Stafford responded. He managed the game well, consistently moved around in the pocket to get away from pressure, and most importantly had only his second NFL start without throwing an interception.
Lesson learned for Stafford: without any crucial mistakes, his Lions stayed in the game against a far more talented Vikings team until the fourth quarter.
Stafford's rookie learning curve was always going to be steep on a sub-par team, as his performances this year have shown, but the kid clearly has the potential to be a very good starting quarterback in this league.
-Vince Young and Chris Johnson might be the hottest combo in the NFL right. Those two have pretty much single-handedly dragged the Titans out of the mire of their 0-6 start. Young completed 17 of 25 passes for 210 yards and a touchdown, while Johnson rushed for 132 yards and caught 9 balls, more than the rest of the Titans combined, for another 100.
The Titans have won three in a row, but we'll get a better sense of whether their comeback is for real in the next few weeks, as they take on the Texans, the Colts and the Cardinals.
-It just hit Josh McDaniels that being a head coach in the NFL isn't as easy as it seemed three weeks ago. When this happens to you, you know your team is in a slump.
-The Cardinals offense is just as explosive as it was last year. Perhaps even more so with the addition of rookie running back Chris Wells. “Beanie” rushed for 85 yards and 2 touchdowns and played confidently, even drawing a penalty flag for pushing a defender after some jawing back and forth. They may be frustratingly inconsistent this season, but the Cards are a bucket of fun to watch.
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