It was a tale of two different halves for the Houston Texans this week. They had more turnovers then first downs in the first half of their game against the Titans. The Texans scored 29 fourth quarter points and took a one point lead with a minute to go, but it wasn’t enough as Rob Bironas kicked an NFL-record eight field goals, including the game-winner as time expired to lead Tennessee 38-36.
Houston struggled to run the ball once again this week, posting just 36 yards. They now have just 298 rushing yards in their last five contests for an average of 59.6 per game.
The Buffalo Bills found a way to win this week after squandering a lead on MNF two weeks ago. The Bills took the cash but settled for four field goals from Rian Lindell despite five drives inside the Ravens 25 yard line.
Despite outgaining the Detroit Lions 422-278, the Buccaneers lost 23-16. Two key Jeff Garcia fumbles (one at the goal line) cost the Bucs the game.
Since scoring 56 points against Detroit a few weeks ago the Philadelphia Eagles have not scored more then 16 points in their last three games. In their loss to the Bears, their first three trips to the red zone ended in field goals. Coming into this contest against the Bears, the Eagles had scored only five touchdowns on 19 red zone possessions.
In his return to the starting lineup, St. Louis quarterback Marc Bulger threw no touchdowns, and three interceptions as the Rams dropped Sunday’s game to Seattle, 33-6. Bulger also lost a pair of fumbles, took seven sacks and banged up his knee as the Rams fell to 0-7 straight up on the season.
Byron Leftwich made his first start of the season for the Atlanta Falcons and played well completing 15-of-23 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown before leaving with what head coach Bobby Petrino called a high ankle sprain. Joey Harrington came on in relief going 12-of-18 for 128 yards in the loss.
The Cowboys trailed 14-7 at halftime against Minnesota, despite outgaining Minnesota 250-76, 43-18 in plays and 16-5 in first downs.
The New York Giants’ defense stepped up in a huge way again, sacking quarterback Trent Dilfer six times and forcing a fumble that was returned by Osi Umenyiora for a game-icing touchdown Umenyiora had seven sacks heading into this contest. After giving up 80 points in their first two games, the Giants’ defense has surrendered 53 in its last five, not counting 16 points on special teams and offensive mistakes. The Giants have also recorded 25 sacks during their impressive five-game winning streak.
Tom Brady threw a team-record six touchdown passes and started off the game 11 for 11 passes for 220 yards and four scores as the Patriots beat the Dolphins 49-28. New England continued their dominance over the entire NFL and bookmakers extending their record to 7-0 straight up and 7-0 against the spread this year.
After having a tough start to the season and perhaps feeling the pressure of Priest Holmes being activated from the injury list, Larry Johnson put up his second straight 100-yard game, racking up 112 yards on 24 carries vs. Oakland. The Chiefs have beaten the Raiders nine straight times, but eight of those wins have been by seven points or fewer.
The New York Jets continue to shoot themselves in the foot dropping their fourth straight game 38-31. New York had a horrible second half that included two costly pass interference penalties, a personal foul for punching a downed runner, a botched snap and Johnathan Joseph’s interception return for a touchdown that put the Bengals up 38-23 with less then a minute left. The Jets are off to their worst start in eight years.
After tearing up the Chicago Bears’ defense for 224 rushing yards on 20 carries last weekend, Adrian Peterson was held to just 63 yards in Dallas after getting the ball only 12 times. Head coach Brad Childress did his best to slow down the NFL’s leading rusher giving him the ball only eight times after the opening drive. The Vikings have dropped three out of their last four games.
Marion Barber and Julius Jones combined for 124 rushing yards in the Cowboys’ 24-14 victory over Minnesota. Dallas became the first team this season to rush for over 100 yards against the stout front of the Vikings.
The bye week couldn’t have come at a better time for Seahawks’ QB Matt Hasselbeck as he was drilled by Claude Wroten’s helmet and after throwing an interception. Hasselbeck grabbed his side in pain with both hands after the hit and a lot of his passes hit the turf as a result as he went 3-of-11 for 39 yards before throwing a touchdown to Nate Burleson.
Despite two torn ligaments in his non-throwing arm, Kurt Warner started for the Arizona Cardinals and threw the ball 41 times for an impressive 282 yards. The Cardinals outgained the Washington Redskins 364-160 total yards yet lost the game 21-19.
Quarterback Brian Griese got it done for the Chicago Bears driving them 97 yards for the winning touchdown pass in a 19-16 win over the Eagles despite the audio in his helmet cutting out.
