New England Patriots 31, Buffalo Bills 34
The Bills trailed the Patriots Early on, but as Chris Berman says, “No one circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills!”
Oddly enough, the Bills are tied for the division lead. Sure, it’s likely that the Jets will join them atop the division this afternoon, but we’re beginning to see that the Bills aren’t just a fluke. they’re the real thing, and Ryan Fitzpatrick is a rising star in the NFL.
If I’m a Patriots fan, I’m disappointed, but the loss shouldn’t put their fan base in a full-on rebellion. The Patriots, most notably Tom Brady, made too many errors that ultimately cost them the game. On the bright side, those errors can be cleaned up. The biggest change is that the Patriots will no longer be featured as the NFL’s #1 team in my power rankings.
Jacksonville Jaguars 10, Carolina Panthers 16
The battle of the rookie quarterbacks was a great game to watch from a competitive standpoint, but it was good for all the wrong reasons.
The Jaguars finally scored a touchdown at the end of the first half, but it didn’t matter in the end. The Jaguars also botched a review late in the game that cost them an extra shot at the end-zone. Altogether, this was another poor effort from the Jaguars.
The Panthers got their first win, but the win wasn’t really thanks to Cam Newton. He threw for just 158 yards, but they found some openings in their ground attack, and they were able to grind out a win. Still, neither of these teams are very good.
San Francisco 49ers 13, Cincinnati Bengals 8
This was another battle of bad teams. Andy Dalton was welcomed to the league by the 49ers to the tune of 2 interceptions. The Bengals have done a good job of competing considering that they were expected to be the worst team in the NFL. That goes as a credit to the coaches and players for overcoming those distractions. Still, you can teach talent.
The 49ers to a ride on the back of quarterback Alex Smith. He quietly had a nice day. He was 20 of 30 for 201 yards, no picks, and no touchdowns. In reality, that’s all they needed from him on the day, and he delivered nicely.
Miami Dolphins 16, Cleveland Browns 17
This was yet another game between poor teams, and it was also one of the most entertaining games of the day. It was a back and forth match-up that ended with the Browns on top, and the Dolphins are left to wonder about the future of their head coach.
The Browns have moved to 2-1, but they haven’t faced the most difficult part of their schedule. Still, Colt McCoy continues to develop as a starting quarterback, and the team is on the rise.
The Dolphin, however, are not on the rise. They’re in the position of having to blow up their season completely. They will have a new head coach next season, if not earlier, and they’ll probably have to re-work their roster in a big way. I’m guessing they’ll have a new head coach by the middle of the season, but I’d argue that they should go ahead and make the move.
Detroit Lions 26, Minnesota Vikings 23
The Lions played like the Lions usually play threw the first half of the game. Then, they played like the “new” Lions. The Vikings, did exactly what they’re getting a reputation for doing. Blowing leads.
With a 20-0 lead, I expected the Lions to make a game of the situation, but I also figured that the Vikings would be able to score enough to get the “W.” I was wrong.
The Lions are a good team. There’s no doubt about it. I predicted before the season that they’d make a run at a wild-card playoff birth, and I think that’s where they’ll end up, but it’s completely possible for them to win the division. There’s no reason they shouldn’t make a deep playoff run this season, but we’ll have to wait and see about that.
Houston Texans 33, New Orleans Saints 40
The story of this game was the Texans inability to get in the end-zone in the first half. That was also what ultimately cost them the game.
To the Saints’ credit, they had to fight all day to scrape out a win, and maybe I should have expected that. I’ve been thinking this entire off-season that the Saints aren’t getting better, but they did show that they’re still one of the best teams in the league.
The Texans showed us a little bit of that old let down that their fans are so accustomed to. They’ll have a tough time rebounding next week as they play the Pittsburgh Steelers. What happens in the next couple of weeks could determine where their season goes from here. After all, the Titans are also 2-1.
New York Giants 29, Philadelphia Eagles 16
Eli Manning is the man. There’s no doubt about it after he put up 4 touchdown passes in a game that was much closer than the score indicated.
The big news out of this game is that Michael Vick was knocked out of yet another game. The Eagles are also now 1-2, and they look like a lot of things, none of which include the term “dream team.”
The Giants on the other hand looked like a true-to-form playoff team. They let the Eagles back in the game in the second half, but they were able to slam the door on the Eagles late. This game should keep the New York media off Manning’s back for about a week.
Denver Broncos 14, Tennessee Titans 17
After dropping their season opener to the Jaguars, the Tennessee Titans are now 2-1, tied for the division lead. Much of their success, especially today, can be attributed to their quarterback, Matt Hasselbeck. Today, he threw for 311 yards and 2 touchdown. Possibly as important, he didn’t throw any interceptions.
The Broncos suffered another tough loss. They should have won the game. There’s no other way to look at it, but mistakes kept them from wrapping it up. Kyle Orton threw 2 costly interceptions, and that was likely the difference in the game. Still, they’re getting better, but it’s taking longer than their fans would like. Regardless of what the public says, it is NOT Tebow time in Denver.
