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WEEK 5 NFL GAME REVIEWS
Tenessee Titans 13 Baltimore Ravens 10
The 4‐0 Titans rolled into Baltimore, expecting to meet a stiff, top notch defence. That’s just
what Kerry Collins got on the first drive of the game – he was picked by Justin Bannan. The first
half was a mess of more interceptions, Chris McAllister picked off Collins and Then David
Thornton picked off Joe Flacco, quickly followed by Michael Griffin. The end result was only
two field goals – Matt Stover from 28yds out in the first quarter, and Rob Bironas from 35yds
out in the second. Stover did have a chance to put the Ravens up at halftime, but it was no
good. The second half opened up with the first TD of the game, Laron McLain ran it in from
1yd out to give Baltimore the lead. After a Kerry Collins interception was nullified by a penalty,
Rob Bironas brought the Titans back, he hit a field goal from 26yds out. The game was over
when Kerry Collins hit his first TD of the game to TE Alge Crumpler to give the Titans a 3 point
lead. The Ravens tried to put something together, but Nick Harper ended the comeback,
picking off Flacco. The Titans remain unbeaten and win 13‐10.
Game Notes....
o New Dimension – The Titans are now 5‐0 for the first time EVER!
o Rush Ravens...No! – The Ravens have now managed 23 straight games without allowing more than 100yds rushing – that’s the
longest active streak in the NFL.
Kansas City Chiefs 0 Carolina Panthers 34
Kansas have struggled recently...run, pass, kick...you name it...they can’t stop it! And when
the current NFC South leaders were their hosts, they were in for a long day! DeAngelo
Williams opened up the scoring, a 10yd run capped off a solid drive. Delhomme then
opened up the cannon in the second quarter, he Hit DeAngelo Williams deep from 25yds
out to give them a 2 score lead. If you couldn’t tell...DeAngelo Williams was on fire – he
managed to burn the Chiefs again – 32yds from scrimmage, he managed to embarrass the
Chiefs tackling coach. The Panthers went into halftime 21‐0 up. The Second half started off
a bit shaky for both teams – Julius Peppers stripped Damon Huard, Jake Delhomme was
picked by Jarrad Page in the end zone, Jon Beason picked Huard, but then John Kasay
resumed the show with a 32yd field goal – extending the Panthers lead. After Huard was
intercepted for the second time, Delhomme played out the attention the Chiefs paid to
Steve Smith by hitting Mushin Muhammad, who took it 47yds for another TD. Kasay
finished off the scoring for the panthers with a 43yd field goal and the Chiefs just couldn’t
get anything from the day at all – It turned out to be a shutout – 34‐0 Panthers.
Game Notes....
o Officially the best – Chiefs TE Tony Gonzalez broke the NFL record for most receiving yards for a TE. He currently holds the record for
most receptions, yards and Touchdowns in a career.
o DeAngelo Done – DeAngelo Williams had a great game for the Panthers – He ran for a career high 123yds and 2 rushing TD’s, and
added a 25yd TD catch to his day.
Chicago Bears 34 Detroit Lions 7
The Bears have found hope behind a strong running game...Something that they haven’t
had for a few years. The Lions have...well let’s not get into that! It was a quiet start to the
game; the only score of the first quarter was a 37yd Robbie Gould field goal. Matt Forte
has been great all season and when he caught a 9yd TD pass from Kyle Orton, he proved
something else – he can definitely be a receiving threat! We all know that Devin Hester
can be a receiving threat; he caught a TD from Kyle Orton – 12yds out to put the Bears up
17‐0 at the half. Matt Forte got his first rushing TD of the game – 1yds out gave the Bears
a 24 point lead. Jon Kitna was subbed out for Dan Orlovsky who quickly got to work...the
wrong way! He hit Charles Tillman in the Bear’s backfield – he ran it back to the house for
a 26yd defensive TD. The Lions didn’t want to suffer the kind of embarrassment the
Panthers dealt out to the Chiefs...Kevin Smith ran in from 12yds out to get them on the
board and avoid the shutout. Robbie Gould ended the game – a 45yd field goal ended the
game. 34‐7 the Bears win and advance to 3‐2, the Lions drop to 0‐4!
Game Notes....
o Hester Charm? – The Bears are now 10‐2 in games where Devin Hester has a TD.
o Orton Top – Kyle Orton had a career best 334yds and two TD game, he’s hit 7 TD’s in his last 3 games.
Atlanta Falcons 27 Greenbay Packers 24
The Falcons are a real surprise this season, 2‐2 on what was meant to be a rebuilding season.
The Packers have had a lot of media pressure and have held up well. This was going to be a
very evenly matched game. Matt Ryan has a knack for scoring on the first drive and he did it
again – a 1yd TD to Justin Peelle. Jason Elam then put the Falcons up by 10 points; he added 3
from 42yds out. It took until the second quarter for Aaron Rodgers to realise the inexperience
of the Falcons DB’s, but when he did he hit Donald Driver in the end zone from 44yds out for a
spectacular catch. Matt Ryan answered Rodgers though, No huddle he hit Roddy White for a
22yds TD to retain the Falcon’s 10 point lead going into halftime. After a quiet third quarter,
which included a 50yd Mason Crosby field goal, the pack intercepted Matt Ryan and set up
Rodgers deep for Greg Jennings from 25yds out to tie the game. Elam gave the Falcon’s their
lead back thanks to a 41yd field goal, then Michael “Burner” Turner’s run game paid off – he
ran in from 2yds out. Rodgers wouldn’t let the game go; he hit Donald Lee from 4yds out to
bring the game within 3 points. The Pack just couldn’t get the ball back and the Falcons were
able to run out the clock. The Falcons win 27‐24 and go on to a 3‐2 record.
Game Notes....
o Hot Rod! – Roddy White had a stunning day; he led the NFL in receiving yards this weekend with 132yds and 1TD.
o Penalties Kill – The Falcons had only 2 penalties for 15yds, whereas the Pack committed 9 for 97yds.
Indianapolis Colts 31 Houston Texans 27
Peyton Manning is great at 4th quarter comebacks and he sure as hell proved it here today!
The Colts started off promisingly, Adam Vinatieri hit a 47yd field goal and Joseph Addai ran
in from 1yd out to put the Colts up 10 points. The Texans were the team who turned it on in
the second quarter; Steve Slaton turned the left corner for a 1yd TD, Kris Brown then hit a
37yd field goal, Sage Rosenfels got his first passing TD of the game – he hit Andre Johnson
from 5yds out. The half ended with a Peyton Manning interception, and the Texans up 17‐
10. The third quarter was low scoring; the only score in fact, was a 43yd Kris Brown field
goal. The Texans were up by 10 points at the end of the third. The Texans kicked off the
fourth quarter with a 1yd Steve Slaton ran around the left end. The Colts were down 17
points and needed to rally.....and rally they did! First, Peyton Manning hit Toni Santini from
7yds out, Gary Brackett returned a Sage Rosenfels fumble 68yds to the house on a
spectacular play – and then the Colts got the clincher on a classic Manning to Reggie Wayne
TD from 5yds out – the Texans had one last shot, but it was over when Melvin Bullit
intercepted Rosenfels and the Colts make a stunning 21 point run in 4 minutes and steal the
game from under the nose of the Texans.
Game Notes....
o Welcome Home – This game was the Texans first game at home, after having a game suspended due to Hurricane Ike.
o Andre Catch – Andre Johnson had a stunning game receiving for the Texans, he had 9 receptions for 131yds and 1TD.
San Diego Chargers 10 Miami Dolphins 17
If I had said to you this time last year...”The Dolphins will beat the Patriots and the
Chargers” you would have laughed in my lying face, this is a new year though and a new
Dolphins team. A field goal exchange was the major action in the first quarter; Nate
Kaeding gave the Chargers the early lead, but Dan Carpenter struck back on the next drive
from 47yds out. Chad Pennington got the Dolphins rolling in the second quarter, he hit
Greg Camarillo for a 17yd TD. Remember how the Dolphins beat the Patriots? Well they
pulled it out again – Ronnie Brown took the direct snap from centre and ran around the
right end for the 5yd TD. The Dolphins up 2TD’s at the half. Phillip Rivers gave some hope
back to the Chargers late in the third when he hit Chris Chambers from 17yds out to cut
the deficit to 7 points. The Fourth quarter turned out scoreless and the Dolphins edge the
Chargers 17‐10 to go to 2‐2.
Game Notes....
o Wildcat Win – This was the second game in which the Dolphins used their new “Wildcat” formation. They snapped the ball to Ronnie
Brown 11 times and this led to a TD.
o Ladanian Who? – The Dolphins defence completely shut down the Chargers star back. He had 12 carries for 35yds with a long of
11yds.
Seattle Seahawks 6 New York Giants 44
The champs are rolling...undefeated and returning home – it looked like a promising day for the
Giants. It couldn’t have started any better for them; Eli Manning went deep to Dominick Hixon
for a 32yd TD to give them the early lead. Orlando Mare got the Hawks on the board from
30yds out, but it was Brandon Jacobs who lit up Giants Stadium when he took the lead to 11
points, thanks to a 3yd TD run from scrimmage. John Carney started the second quarter with a
29yd field goal, quickly followed by a long drive which was capped off by a 1yd Brandon Jacobs
TD. The game was starting to get a little bit one sided and the half ended with a field goal
exchange – Carney from 33yds out and Mare from 29yds. Giants were up 27‐6 at the half. Sadly
the Hawks score would increase no more and the Giants kept on scoring. Eli Manning went
deep to Sinorice Moss from 23yds out, Carney hit another field goal – 35yds out and finally
David Carr came on in place of Eli Manning and hit Sinorice Moss from 5yds out to end the
game. The Giants dominate the Seahawks 44‐6
Game Notes....
o Rumblin’, Stumblin’, NOT fumblin’ – Brandon Jacobs had a stunning day on the ground, he had 2 rushing TD’s and carried 15 times
for 136yds.
o Shell Shocked – The Giants had 342yds of offense during the first half, the most any team has had this season.
Washington Redskins 23 Philadelphia Eagles 17
Game of the week...as picked by the NFL.com fans. Would it live up to the hype? Brian
Westbrook would have you believe so when he ran 9yds up the middle to give the Eagles
the lead. It didn’t take long before the next score; DeShaun Jackson weaved his way
through the Redskins special teams for a 68yd punt return – electrifying the crowd in
Philly. The Skins started to answer back in the second quarter; Shaun Suisham hit a 41yd
field goal, then a 48yd attempt and THEN a 50yd attempt – 3 field goals for Suisham. 14‐9
Eagles at halftime. The Skins took the lead thanks to the only score of the third quarter,
Campbell passed to Antwan Randle El who threw the ball himself – connecting with TE
Chris Cooley from 18yds out for the TD. Clinton Portis rounded off the run game for the
Redskins, with a 4yd TD run up the middle and it was left to David Akers to kick the last
points the Eagles could muster – Redskins win 23‐17 and the Skins are proving to be a force
to be reckoned with!
Game Notes....
o Lead Drive Portis –Clinton Portis was this week’s rushing leader, he had 29 carries for 145yds and 1TD.
o Possession is 9/10 of the law – Jason Campbell has still not thrown an interception all season, and the Skins have only turned the ball
over once!
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13 Denver Broncos 16
The Florida sunshine travelled with Tampa to Invesco Field where they would meet Jay
Cutler and his monster offense. Great Offense...Vs....Great Defense.....We got a game! It
was the defence’s who were holding throughout the first quarter, the best either team
could manage was a 33yd Matt Bryant field goal to give the Bucs the lead. Matt Prater
evened the game up at the start of the second quarter, he hit his attempt from 55yds out.
Prater and Bryant then had another exchange to end the half – Prater nailed his from
41yds out and Bryant from 33yds out. After a touchdown‐less first half, the game was tied
at 6 apiece. It took until midway through the third for the TD drought to replenish, Jay
Cutler found Brandon Stokely from 10yds out for the lead. Prater hit his fourth field goal of
the day to put the Broncos 10 points ahead, but Jeff Garcia’s 7yd TD to Ike Hilliard set the
Bucs up for an upset...unfortunately they couldn’t stop the Broncos run game and they
ended up running out the clock. Broncos edge the Bucs and go 4‐1.
Game Notes....
o Mistake Free Football – It’s not just Cutler who’s performing amazingly well, his offensive line gave him enough time to complete
23/34 passes, avoid throwing an interception and did not allow him to get sacked all day. They are the underlying reason the Broncos
are flying.
Buffalo Bills 17 Arizona Cardinals 41
The Bills are unbeaten...the Cardinals have shown signs of greatness, sometime great,
sometimes awful – Which Cardinals came out to play in Phoenix Stadium? Well it started off
with a 2yd TD from Kurt Warner to Larry Fitzgerald, and then Tim Hightower ran 17yds for a
TD...good start! J.P. Losman had other idea though, he torched the Cardinals DB’s when he hit
little star Lee Evans for an 87yd bomb. Edgerrin James added 7 points for the Cards from 1yd
out, but J.P. Losman matched the Cards point for point – he ran up the middle for the TD
himself – 2yds out. The half ended with a 47yd Neil Rackers field goal to give the Cards a 24‐14
lead going into the locker room. Ryan Lindell kicked off the third...literally...with a 48yd field
goal, but Kurt Warner just loves Larry...he hit Fitzgerald from 2yds out for his 2nd TD. Rackers
added 3 for the Cards from 38yds out and then Tim Hightower put the icing on the Cardinal
Cake...2yd TD run to give the Cards 44 points and the Bills are finally defeated.
Game Notes....
o Flawless? – Kurt Warner?...Flawless?...Well yes it’s true – 33 of 42 passes for 250yds...2TD’s...0 Picks...Only two punts.
o Longevity –You can really tire a defence out when you keep them on the field. The Bills defence were on the field for 35 minutes and
the Cardinals put together scoring drives with 14, 13 and 12 plays in – tiring out the defence!
Cincinnati Bengals 22 Dallas Cowboys 31
Great matchup of two great teams...well one great team and one disappointment. Carson
Palmer was certainly disappointed when he threw his first pass of the game to Greg Ellis...of
the Cowboys. This set up a 30yd Nick Folk field goal. Felix Jones is a rookie, but he certainly
didn’t look like one when he sliced through the Bengals defence from 22yds out for the TD.
Romo hit Jason Witten from 4yds out to extend the lead and the best the Bengals could
manage in the half were two Shane Graham field goals – from 31 and 41yds out. Carson
Palmer finally got his throwing arm on after halftime – when he hit T.J. Houshmandzadeh
from 18yds out, he brought the Bengals within 4 points. The fourth quarter was TD packed –
after a 40yd Shane Graham field goal – Romo connected with T.O. Terrell Owens from 57yds
out on the post pattern. Palmer connected with Houshmandzadeh for a second time to close
the gap to 2 points, but Romo put the game out of reach with his final TD of the day – hitting
Patrick Crayton in the end zone from 15yds out – Cowboys win 31‐22.
Game Notes....
o Perry Worry– The rookie for the Bengals has already lost 5 fumbles this season already!
New England Patriots 30 San Francisco 49’ers 21
What has happened to the Patriots? Well they’re 3‐1 and rolling on without Brady...Maybe
he’s not quite as essential as he seemed? After an early interception exchange, it was J.T.
O’Sullivan who got on the board first – he struck HB Frank Gore from 16yds out for the TD.
Cassell proved he can do just what Brady does – he hit Randy Moss from 66yds out for the
classic New England TD bomb. J.T. hit Isaac Bruce from 6yds out to put the niners up 14‐7 at
the end of the first quarter. The Pats answered back in the second though, Steve Gostkowski
hit a 35yd field goal, followed by a Kevin Faulk rush from 2yds out for the lead. It was 17‐14
Pats at the half. After halftime Kevin Faulk picked up where he left off – another 2yd TD run
extended the Pats lead. Gostkowski opened up the fourth quarter with a 40yd field goal, but
J.T. had an answer...It was a 5yd TD pass to Isaac Bruce. Gostkowski nailed the final three
points and it was over when J.T. threw a pick in the dying minutes, allowing the Pats to run out
the clock for a 30‐21 lead. The Pats are so different from last year – games with them in are
now close!
Game Notes....
o All‐Stars– Did you know that the Patriots have now won a game in every city except Washington!
o Ball Control – The 49’ers could only manage to convert 1 third down, this meant the Pats offense spent more time on the field. The
Pats ran 80 plays; the 49’ers managed only 48.
Pittsburgh Steelers 26 Jacksonville Jaguars 21
The battle of the classic image...”toughness, defence winning games and driving the ball hard”
but it was far from a classic image when Rashean Mathis intercepted Ben Roethlisberger, and
took it 72yds to the house for an early Jacksonville lead. Roethlisberger made up for his early
mistakes when he hit Heath Miller in the end zone from 1yd out for the TD. Jacksonville then
got their offense rolling; Maurice Jones‐Drew went up the middle from a yard out to give the
Jags the lead again. Jeff Reed nailed a 38yd field goal to start the second quarter off, then
Roethlisberger rubbed salt into the wound when he went deep to Nate Washington from
48yds out. Jeff Reed finished the half with another field goal – putting the Steelers up 20‐14.
After a scoreless third quarter, David Garrard threw his TD of the week, hitting Marcedes
Lewis from 24yds out to put the Jags only 1 point behind. The Steelers managed to put the
game out of reach when Roethlisberger hit his “go‐to‐guy” Hines Ward for the 8yd TD – They
went for two points and failed. The Jags couldn’t put together a drive and the Steelers win the
battle of the classic image...in a very un‐classic way!
Game Notes....
o Hines Quality Beans– Hines Ward has now surpassed over 9,000 receiving yards for his career.
o Penalties – Jags had 8 penalties totalling 89yds, the Steelers were even worse, with 10 penalties for 129yds!
Minnesota Vikings 30 New Orleans Saints 27
Monday Night football again and boy was this a game! Dew Brees opened up the scoring early –
he hit Devery Henderson from 17yds out, and all was looking rosy! When Martine Gramatica
came on to kick a field goal, he didn’t expect Pat Williams to get a paw up to block it, and tip it
right to Antoine Winfield who would run it 59yds for the TD – all of a sudden the Viking were
back in it. Gramatica pulled some dignity back when he hit a 35yd field goal – but even then he
was eclipsed by Ryan Longwell’s 53yd shot. It was 10 all after 1 quarter. The Vikings broke out
some ingenuity in the second quarter, Chester Taylor throwing a 4yd TD pass to Visanthe
Shiancoe. A Drew Brees interception then set up a 33yd Ryan Longwell field goal, Minnesota up
20‐10 at the half. The Saints were the only team who could score in the third quarter, it was an
electric Reggie Bush punt return, he took it 71yds to the house but, more importantly, sparking
the Saints offense ready for the fourth quarter. Gramatica kicked off the fourth quarter with a
53yd field goal and then...he did it again...Kluwe punted to Reggie Bush again and he took it to
the house from 64yds out for a second punt return TD. Gus Frerotte managed to get his offense
online when the pressure was on – he hit deep threat Bernard Berrian from 33yds out for the game tying TD. It came down to a
Martine Gramatica field goal from 46yds out – it was no good, wide left – that gave the Vikings the ball back – Frerotte drove the
ball down to the New Orleans 12yd line and that set up Ryan Longwell from 30yds out...It was online – GOOD! And the Vikings
edge the Saints thanks to a poor kicking game from the Saints. Doesn’t this show you how important special teams can be!?
Game Notes....
o Hold On! – The Saints completely dominated the stats in every way possible...apart from one...Turnovers! The Vikings did not cough
up the ball once...The Saints turned it over 4 times, 2 of which were TD’s
o 48 Times a charm – Antoine Winfield’s blocked field goal for a TD was the first time a Viking has managed that in 48 years!
o Bush Hush! – Reggie Bush tied the NFL record for punt returns in a game with 2...he could so measily have had 3, but he slipped over
at a crucial time!