Arizona Cardinals 24, NY Giants 14 - I woke up from my overnight job right around 1:45pm or so, and was waiting for a call from my brother, as we were planning to fit in a trip to the Jersey Shore before the warm weather is gone. He was going to pick up my son and meet me down here, and we would go from there.
So, it was later than expected, but no big deal. Decided to go ahead and eat something before leaving, and turned on the tv to see if the Giants could get their first win of the season.
They were down, 10-0, at home against the Cardinals. I had predicted the Cards to win, but was hoping to be wrong. Maybe the Giants could show a little something more than they had shown so far?
They did get a touchdown shortly after that to get back into the game and, in fact, took the lead at some point. But ultimately, they wound up making too many mistakes in the fourth quarter, including one really annoying turnover on special teams, just after the Cardinals had scored a field goal to increase their lead to eight points!
You can't win when you make stupid mistakes like that and so, of course, it is no surprise that the Giants did not win. The Cardinals thus became one of six teams to manage to preserve their undefeated record through to week two, raising their record to 2-0. The G-Men, in the meantime, remained winless at 0-2, the second straight season they dropped both of their first two games of the season. Also, it's the second straight season that the G-Men are the last team in the NFC East to win a game.
Arizona, in the meantime, got a break. Not only did they win to stay unbeaten, but they enjoyed the good fortune of watching the two powerhouse teams in their division both lose surprising games yesterday!
How about the other unbeaten teams that earned wins yesterday? Well, there were some surprises. But right now, probably none bigger than the Bills, who enjoyed a very satisfying day up in Buffalo:
Buffalo Bills 29, Miami Dolphins 10 - I kind of expected this. For whatever the reason, the Bills owned the Dolphins last season, sweeping them, and even managing to shut them out up in Buffalo last year. So, with both teams coming off big wins last week, something had to give, and it was, probably predictably, Miami. The Dolphins earned more first downs, had a slightly longer time of possession, and produced some solid yards offensively. But Buffalo had a balanced attack on offense, and their defense came up big, including two turnovers, and the Bills dominated. Worse yet for the Dolphins, Knowshon Moreno was injured, and it looked serious. No word yet if he'll be ready to play next week for Miami. Buffalo remains undefeated at 2-0, the Dolphins drop to 1-1.
Cincinnati Bengals 24, Atlanta Falcons 10 - The Bengals completely dominated this game, as their offense gained far more yards than the Falcons did, and the defense, while bending at times, got three turnovers off the Falcons, and tightened up when necessary to keep Atlanta's dangerous offense off the scoreboard most of the time. The Falcons only managed to get one touchdown all day, and that came midway through the fourth quarter, when they were trailing by three touchdowns! A tough defensive effort from Cincinnati, and a great `offensive effort, with Andy Dalton enjoying a very good day, and the Bengals rushing attack enjoying much success against Atlanta's suspect defense! Cincinnati improved to 2-0, while Atlanta suffered their first defeat to fall to 1-1 on the year.
Carolina Panthers 24, Detroit Lions 7 - Carolina remained undefeated by bending but not breaking against a dangerous Detroit offense that had looked balanced and strong in their opener against the Giants. The Lions actually had better offensive numbers than Carolina in almost every category, but were hurt by their inability to convert on scoring chances, as well as three turnovers. The Panthers had held Detroit scoreless in the first half, yet the Lions assumed the lead when Stafford completed a 1-yard td pass to fullback Jed Collins. But Carolina's defense held up the rest of the way, and their offense was able to start putting up points to make the strong Panther defensive effort stand up. Carolina improved to 2-0, while the Lions fell to 1-1.
Houston Texans 30, Oakland Raiders 14 - I predicted the Texans would improve this season and, indeed, they already cannot possibly have a worse season than they did last year, because they already matched their win total from last season. The thing is, I can't tell if Houston is that good or not, because they have beaten two of the worst teams in the league in Washington and Oakland. The Texans went on the road against the Raiders, but completely dominated in a game that was not even as close as the score would indicate. The key statistics that showed Houston's true dominance were the time of possession and turnovers, with the Raiders suffering four of them, to none for Oakland. The Texans kept the Raiders scoreless through the first three quarters, building a 27-0 lead in the process, and all but securing the win before the fourth quarter even start. Houston now owns a 2-0 record, while Oakland drops to 0-2.
Denver Broncos 24, Kansas City Chiefs 17 - Remember when Tony Gonzalez suggested that the Denver Broncos were a historically good team, resembling the 2007 New England Patriots, and he predicted that the Broncos would also go 16-0, but would actually manage to win the Super Bowl at season'e end? Well, Denver is still unbeaten, but they hardly look like the all-time team that Gonzalez believed they were. They won this game, and that is the important thing. But they looked rather vulnerable in so doing, as the Chiefs won the time of possession battle, and with Kansas City's offense outgaining Denver's vaunted offensively in almost every meaningful category, including both rushing and passing! But Peyton Manning had a monstrously efficient day, completing 21 of 26 passes for 242 yards and three touchdowns. Neither team had a turnover, but the clock management from both teams in the final two minutes, as I understand it, left a lot of people scratching their heads, with the Chiefs calling timeout on second down and in the red zone, with over a minute to play! The Broncos followed suit by not calling a timeout on the following play, while they have Manning, and still had all of their timeouts, leaving Kansas City with the possibility of running out the clock with the opportunity to get the tying score. Strange! In any case, Denver remains unbeaten at 2-0, while Kansas City remains winless at 0-2.
New England Patriots 30, Minnesota Vikings 7 - Through maybe half of the first quarter, you might have believed that something could be really, really wrong the New England, as the Vikings took a 7-0 lead, when Matt Cassel found Matt Asiata for the early lead. But the Vikings never scored again in this game, and the Patriots outscored them 30-0 the rest of the way, returning to their traditional winning ways. Minnesota's four turnovers certainly did not help, and the Vikings were playing without the services of Adrian Petersen, their suspended star running back. Both teams now stand with identical 1-1 records.
Cleveland Browns 26, New Orleans Saints 24 - Now, this was the result that really excited me the most this weekend. I have absolutely nothing against the Saints and, in fact, they are one of the teams that I have pretty much always liked. But seeing the Browns pull this one off, after the almost epic comeback win that turned into a heartbreaking loss at Pittsburgh last week. The Browns defense can play tough, but they had their work cut out for them against an New Orleans offense that could stretch them thin. Yet, the Browns pulled it off, bending but not breaking, and taking a sizable lead early. That proved to be a good thing, despite the Saints comeback, because Cleveland would need every point that they earned to get this win! The Browns looked like they were dominating the first half, holding a 16-3 lead, when the Saints got a much needed touchdown when Breed found Jimmy Graham in the end zone with just three seconds left before halftime. The game was a back and forth affair after that, but the Browns would return the favor of scoring with 3 seconds remaining, as placekicker Billy Cundiff split the uprights in the waning seconds of the game to give the Browns a 26-24 lead, which they held on to win. The Browns rose their record to 1-1, while New Orleans fell to a surprising 0-2 start.
San Diego Chargers 30, Seattle Seahawks 21 - The defending champions lost their first game of the season when they were surprised by the Chargers. After a standard first quarter that saw Seattle take a 7-3 lead, the Chargers went on a 13-0 run, scoring two field goals and a touchdown, and maintaining an incredibly strong time of possession advantage throughout the game, keeping the dangerous Seattle offense off the field. This allowed San Diego to make that lead stand, as they never relinquished it at any point for the rest of the game. The Chargers won the time of possession battle by holding onto the ball for an incredible 42:15! They were greatly assisted by converting 10 of 17 third down chances, Rivers led a very solid passing attack for the Chargers, completing 28 of 27 passes for 284 yards and three touchdowns. Wilson completed 17 of 25 for 202 yards and 2 touchdowns.in a losing effort for Seattle, while the Seahawks vaunted rushing attack remained largely grounded. Both teams now stand at 1-1 on the year.
Chicago Bears 28, San Francisco 49ers 20 - In another big upset, the Bears stunned the 49ers, and ruined their historic home opener at their new, ritzy stadium. The game seemed to be following the script up through the fourth quarter, with the Niners building a solid 13-0 lead in the first half, until Jay Cutler found Brandon Marshall in the end zone with 13 seconds left in the half to close the gap, which was a precursor of things to come. San Francisco still held a 20-7 lead into the fourth quarter, until really got hot in that final quarter, throwing three touchdown passes, including two to Brandon Marshall, to get the Bears to top the 49ers, 28-20. Cutler 23 of 34 for 176 yards and four touchdowns. Both teams have 1-1 records now.
Dallas Cowboys 26, Tennessee Titans 10 - Arguably another surprising upset, the Cowboys maintained control of the ball for over forty minutes, and converted on key opportunities, to down the Titans in Tennessee. The Cowboys shut out the Titans in the first half, and built a 16-0 lead in the process. Tennessee battled back in the third quarter, closing it to 16-10. But the 'Boys remained composed, and Romo was able to find Dez Bryant in the end zone with 2:03 left in the third quarter, to make it a two possession game again. Dan Bailey kicked his fourht field goal of the day midway through the fourth quarter to give Dallas a 16-point lead again, and they held on to win an impressive road game. DeMarco Murray ran for 167 yards and one touchdown on 29 carries for Dallas. Both teams have identical 1-1 records.
St. Louis Rams 19, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17 - Tampa Bay's start this season has been particularly bad now, as they had a key field goal attempt blocked, in what proved to be the difference in scoring between the two teams. The Rams and Bucs were more or less evenly matched throughout, but the Rams found a way to get it done. In the meantime, Tampa Bay has lost both of it's first games at home, and this has to be considered a winnable game that got away from them. The Rams improved to 1-1 on the year, while Tampa Bay dropped to 0-2.
Green Bay Packers 31, NY Jets 24 - The Jets rather shocked me by taking a commanding 21-3 lead early, and looking very much like they could possibly pull off a huge upset. If the Jets could pull off an improbable win at Lambeau Field, then this was the day to do it, with Green Bay riddled by injuries. But the Jets are, well, the Jets. And so, mistakes increasingly became a factor, as a key turnover came when Geno Smith passed near the end zone with the score at 21-9 fr New York, only to see Green Bay' cornerback Tramon Williams make an impressive pick. That proved key, as not much later, Rodgers found Randall Cobb in the end zone with 18 seconds left in the half to close the margin to 21-16. Rodgers proved too much for New York n the second half, throwing for two more touchdowns, while the Jets could only muster one field goal the rest of the way. It should be mentioned that the Jets did get a 36-yard touchdown pass from Geno Smith Jeremy Kerley called back because Jets offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg had called a timeout (even though only a head coach can actually call a timeout). So, a beautiful, tying touchdown was nullified, and the Jets did not have any more answers, and the Pack preserved their victory. Both teams are now 1-1.
Washington 41, Jacksonville Jaguars 10 - Washington looked like the dominant team of old, from back in the eighties and very early nineties! On a day when the Bills beat the Dolphins 29-10, like they had in the AFC Championship Game of the 1992-3, Washington completely dominated Jax by the same exact score as they did in the 1991-92 season, the last time Washington won a Super Bowl! The Jaguars just had no answers, not only to win, but to be even remotely competitive. Washington got four times the amount of first downs, controlled the ball for almost twice as long as Jax, passed for twice as many yards, and with rushing, held the Jaguars to a mere 25 total yards of rushing, while Washington pounded 191 yards rushing! You rarely see dominance so transparent and extreme in the NFL today! Washington raised their record to 1-1, while Jax dropped to 0-2, remaining winless. You can see why.
Baltimore Ravens 26, Pittsburgh Steelers 6 (Thursday Night Football) - The Ravens also dominated on Thursday Night, this one against a divisional opponent in the Steelers, knocking Pittsburgh from the ranks of the unbeaten with a thorough victory. Pittsburgh convincingly lost the time of possession battle, and committed three turnovers, while Baltimore did not give the ball up. Joe Flacco's performance had shades of his 2013 postseason performance, as he completed 21 of 29 passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns. Baltimore was also very effective rushing, despite the absence of Ray Rice for now obvious reasons. The Ravens raised their record to 1-1, while Pittsburgh dropped to 1-1.
Tomorrow night, I will review the Eagles and Colts game, and then provide my predictions for the upcoming weekend in the NFL.
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