Quick takes on the afternoon games around the NFL…
New York 31 – Arizona 27
The Good: The Cardinals have been waiting for this game from Beanie Wells since the day they drafted him out of Ohio State. All they needed was their much-maligned offensive line to gel, and to get him into the backfield against the injury-depleted Giants. With better than 125 yards and 3 TDs on the ground, Wells dominated this game and the Cardinals took control in the second half. It seems like it’s been a long time since the Cardinals had swagger. They showed some today at home against the Giants, but the much maligned Eli Manning showed some of his own in a thrilling (or heartbreaking) comeback win.
The Bad: The Giants’ rushing duo got bottled up against a not-highly-regarded Arizona defense. Credit the disruption of Calais Campbell, who had another monster game with six tackles and a forced fumble from the 3-4 DE position. Campbell is thriving under new D-coordinator Ray Horton’s Steelers scheme. But that secondary on the other hand… oof.
Green Bay 49 – Denver 23
The Good: Green Bay continues to show that they take no opponent lightly, and take no lead for granted. They threw the ball downfield early, middle and late, and kept the pedal down against a game-but-overmatched Denver team. Aaron Rodgers was outstanding with a 400-yard 4-TD day that lit up fantasy scoreboards like a pinball table.
The Bad: John Fox’s defensive imprint has yet to take hold, with very little pass pressure from anyone except blitzing rookie linebacker Von Miller. The good news for Carolina is that Miller looks like the real deal. The bad news is that they need contributions from ten other guys, too.
San Diego 26 – Miami 16
The Good: San Diego showed that a balanced offense doesn’t have to be a stagnant offense. Philip Rivers threw 31 passes and the Chargers ran the ball 28 times (though six of those were scrambles by the QB that started out as dropbacks). Rivers finished with 300 yards and a score, and both Ryan Mathews (139 total yards) and Greg Tolbert (68 total yards, 1 TD) were heavily involved in the gameplan.
The Bad: Arguably, Miami is better than their 0-4 record would suggest. But not much. The Tony Sparano era is growing stale, as the team is suffering badly from the inevitable Bill Parcells hangover. His job is on the line, and a big housecleaning could be coming.
Atlanta 30 – Seattle 28
The Good: Matt Ryan to Julio Jones is officially a thing. The Falcons’ first round pick destroyed the Seattle secondary to the tune of 11 catches for 127 yards. And Michael Turner rediscovered his scoring groove with 2 TDs on the day. But to credit the other side, Tarvaris Jackson and the Seattle offense looks worlds better with Sidney Rice in the lineup. The two former Vikings have obvious chemistry and trust, and suddenly these Hawks look like dangerous oponents.
The Bad: No matter the chemistry between those two Seahawks, there’s no way Atlanta should have let Seattle back into this game with no run game to speak of. If you’re up by a bunch and the opponent is forced to throw on every down, that should be a dream for your defense. Instead it was almost a nightmare. Atlanta escaped with one.
New England 31 – Oakland 19
The Good: New England never let Oakland be a serious threat to make my Upset pick come true. After losing in spectacular fashion last week to Buffalo, the Patriots showed that a strong offense can be the best defense. Building a 31-13 lead made the Raiders’ biggest threat, Darren McFadden, into a non-factor late in the game.
The Bad: The Pats’ secondary continues to get lit up by everyone, as Jason Campbell had a 344-yard passing day and even lowly Darrius Heyward-Bey had a 100-yard receiving day. However, they did keep Oakland out of the end zone often enough to keep the scoreboard handily in their favor.
