Carolina Panthers 17, Atlanta Falcons 31
Neither one of these teams have booked trips to the Super Bowl, but it was a make or break game for the Falcons, and they delivered with a win. Still, it’s a long, hard road for the Falcons to get back to the top of the extremely competitive NFC South. They’ll need better performances in the future if they want to beat the other teams in their division.
The Panthers are getting better every week. Cam Newton is all the rage, but you don’t want to crush him under the weight of high expectations. I don’t think anyone thought he’d get them into the playoffs this season, but next season, everything will be on him. This week, he simply couldn’t make enough plays to win the game. They gave up too many plays to the Falcons to overcome.
Indianapolis Colts 17, Cincinnati Bengals 27
Bad teams find way to lose games, and that statement is directed squarely at the Indianapolis Colts. I’m not really sure what Pierre Garcon was doing with the football flailing about right before it was jarred lose, and I don’t care. It was a stupid, careless play that destroyed any hope the Colts had of pulling out the win. The fumble was taken back for a touchdown, and that was that.
The Bengals, on the other hand, played well enough to win, but they were in the process of losing a big lead to a far inferior opponent. They’re now 4-2, and they look like a good team, but there’s no shortage of issues for them to work on as they move forward.
San Francisco 49ers 22, Detroit Lions 19
The San Francisco traveled a long ways to play the Detroit Lions. They went into Motor City, and they shut the Lions down. The 49ers were able to dominate the Lions’ defensive line with their own offensive line, and that was ultimately the difference in the game.
The Lions’ story book beginning to their season is finally over. They simply didn’t do enough on the defensive side of the ball, and they settled for field goals on drives that would have normally resulted in touchdowns. A missed long field goal kept this game from potentially going into over time.
St. Louis Rams 3, Green Bay Packers 24
Of all the games that you could call “the lock of the week,” this one was by far the most obvious. The Rams are one of the worst teams in the NFL, if not the worst, and they haven’t been able to anything right all season long. In fact, I’m a little surprised the final score was only 24-3. I expected it to be a far greater difference. If I’m a Rams fan, that’s what I’m focusing on this week.
If I’m a Packers fan, I’m concerned about the defense. First of all, they gave up tons of yards. I know that the only stat that matters at the end of the day is the score, but giving up over 400 yards of offense to the Rams is unacceptable. I’m sure that will be there focus this coming week.
Buffalo Bills 24, New York Giants 27
The Bills are still a good team, but they aren’t elite. That’s what I’m taking away from one of the better match-ups of the weekend. While the Bills were able to move the ball well, interceptions really killed there chances of pulling out a win.
The Giants got a much needed win. They’re now 4-2, with the division lead. Eli Manning had a solid day, completely about two-thirds of his passes, and more importantly, he didn’t turn the ball over. The Giants have shown that they can bounce back from upsetting losses, and that’s a quality you have to like as we move closer to November and the thick of the season.
Jacksonville Jaguars 13, Pittsburgh Steelers 17
This is a game I watched very closely, and I didn’t like what I saw from the Steelers. They’re a better team than the Jaguars, and they showed it the first three possessions of the game. After that, their offense looked awful. Luckily for them, the Jaguars had an equally anemic offensive unit. The Steelers keep themselves in the thick of the AFC North with the win, but they have a lot to work on.
The Jaguars desperately needed a win, and they couldn’t quite pull off the comeback. Still, there’s a lot to like about the Jaguars’ performance, especially on defense. After surrendering 17 quick points, they didn’t allow anything easy, and they kept their team in the game. The performance should ensure that Del Rio and company keep their jobs for at least another week.
Philadelphia Eagles 20, Washington Redskins 13
Oh Rex Grossman. Have we seen the last of him? I doubt it. He had a characteristically terrible game, but they’re still a solid 3-2, and they’ve played well most of the season. In fact, they couldn’t have played much worse in the first three quarters of the game, and they were still in the game late. They just need to move on from this game.
The Eagles finally got that big “W” they’ve been hunting for. They needed it too. Vick was good, not great, with a touchdown and an interception, but their real savior was their defense. It had been terrible in nearly every way until this game. They stuffed Washington’s running game, and they were able to catch nearly as many of Grossman’s passes as Washington’s receivers did.
