Baltimore 37 – St. Louis 7
This one was done early. The Ravens walked into St. Louis and beat the Rams up and down the field this afternoon.
The Good: Joe Flacco paired up with Torrey Smith for touchdowns on three occasions in the first half, and the smashmouth Ravens had a 27-0 lead at halftime. Smith, starting in place of injured Lee Evans, had the game of his life. It started with a 74-yard strike, then 41-yards and finally a 18-yard score to complete the first quarter. It was the best ever quarter of football for an NFL rookie.
Flacco was nearly perfect in this game, as he dissected the Rams secondary early in the game. He finished with 389 yards through the air, and another effortless three touchdown performance.
The Bad: The Rams failed to get anything going, and were thoroughly outmatched from the first play of the game. After starting the season as a potential sleeper, St. Louis has shown that they are not yet ready for primetime.
San Diego 20-KC 17
With Antonio Gates and Bob Sanders out for the Chargers, and many other key players banged up, they had to rely on a late miscue by Matt Cassell to secure the victory, 20-17.
The Good: Kansas City walked into San Diego as an enormous underdog, and left with an certain level of respect that few 0-3 teams in the league have.
Dexter McCluster showed flashes of brilliance for the Chiefs, as the elusive backer evaded numerous tackles and racked up a respectable 45 yards on 9 carries. However it wasn’t enough for KC, as their season in decline continues.
The Bad: The Chiefs had the ball with under two minutes to play and an opportunity to win. But Cassell, attempting a short screen pass, had his pass intercepted, and Kansas City was unable to convert on the opportunity, falling to 0-3.
Green Bay 27-Chicago 17
Jermichael Finley is back.
The Good: After missing a significant portion of last season with an injury, Finley had his first huge game of the season for the Packers. At 6-foot-5 and nearly 250 pounds, Finley is nearly impossible to cover, especially when he lines up on the outside against diminutive corners. Finley caught three touchdowns this afternoon, and supplanted himself back in the discussion amongst the elite tight-ends in the league.
The Bad:Jay Cutler struggled with his accuracy for the second straight week, as he continues to struggle to find a go-to downfield threat.
Matt Forte did about as little as he possibly could do to help out Cutler’s offense, as struggled to gain positive yards all game long. He caught a few passes out of the backfield, but Forte needs to run the ball effectively in order for the Bears offense to be effective.
Oakland 34-NYJ 24
How ’bout these Raiders? How ’bout that McFadden kid?
The Good: Oakland went stride for stride with the visiting New York Jets, but they were able to pull away when they needed it most to capture a huge home victory.
McFadden continues to serve the league notice that he is possibly best all around back in the entire league. He had an electric 70-yard run around the edge and down the sideline in the first half, as he finished with 171 yards on just 19 carries.
Jason Campbell continues to do just enough to win games for Oakland, and he was helped out by rookie wideout Denarius Moore for the second straight week. He came around on a end-around and ran in for a decisive second half touchdown.
The Bad: The running game continues to be an issue for the Jets, as neither Shonne Green, nor Ladanian Tomlinson were able to get much going, aside from a huge screen pass that LT ran away with in the first half.
Seattle 13-Arizona 10
Well this was a shootout.
The, um, Good: The Seahawks beat the Cardinals in the biggest snoozer of the afternoon, as no one did anything to impress.
Tarvaris Jackson ran in for a second half score that proved to be the game winning score. Sidney Rice was impressive for Seattle, and showed flashes of brilliance that we used to see when he was with the Vikings.
The Bad: Without Beanie Wells, the Cardinals struggled to get anything going on the ground. Kevin Kolb had a respectable day, but could not complete the late-game passes that he needed.
Tampa Bay 16-Atlanta 13
A good ol’ fashioned NFC South grudge match.
The Good: The Bucs held on to escape with a huge divisional victory. The battle was held in the trenches, rather than through the air as many predicted.
Josh Freeman did just enough to lead the Bucs to their second victory of the season. He went 22 for 32, and was aided by LaGarrette Blount and his 81 yards on the ground.
Matty Ice once again was able to find Roddy White and Julio Jones with regularity down the field, but few others came through for the Falcons.
The Bad: Mike Turner had just 20 yards rushing on the game, and the lack of running game allowed the Bucs to key on the aerial attack.
The Falcons, once thought to be a Super Bowl favourite, are now 1-2 on the season.
