The last time that I can remember every team in the NFC East losing was way back in the early 1990's, I think. But indeed, every team in that division was beaten on this weekend. With the Giants, it took a 63-yard field goal - one of the longest field goals in NFL history - to beat them on literally the last play of the game. For Dallas, they got nosed out by Houston. For the defending champion Eagles, they found Minnesota exacting a measure of revenge for that NFC title game embarrassment. And Washington got beaten, and beaten badly, in New Orleans.
There were some other news stories, of course. The two unbeaten teams stayed unbeaten, as both the Chiefs and Rams won. KC knocked off the Jaguars, who are looking less and less like a Super Bowl contender, while the Rams outlasted the Seahawks in a slugfest. Buffalo managed to pull off another surprise, as did the Jets. And the Lions are really roaring, looking good in earning a convincing win against Green Bay.
There were some other news stories, of course. The two unbeaten teams stayed unbeaten, as both the Chiefs and Rams won. KC knocked off the Jaguars, who are looking less and less like a Super Bowl contender, while the Rams outlasted the Seahawks in a slugfest. Buffalo managed to pull off another surprise, as did the Jets. And the Lions are really roaring, looking good in earning a convincing win against Green Bay.
Let's take a closer look at the games that took place in week 5:
Carolina 33, N.Y. Giants 31 - The Giants always seem to struggle against the Panthers, especially down in Carolina. But they played quite well yesterday, managing to break the NFL's longest active streak of games failing to score 30 points or more. The offense looked solid, even explosive, again. And the defense was...well, giving up big plays when they should not, but they did not have a horrific game. Listen, they stopped the Panthers enough to put them in a position where it took one of the longest kicks in league history to win, but to Carolina's credit, it went through. The Panthers stay hot, and the G-Men continue to struggle this season. My prediction: Accurate, unfortunately
N.Y. Jets 34, Denver 16 - The Jets were probably overdue for a big win. The last time that they won, it was week one at Detroit, and they really, really piled up the points and left no doubts. Now, however, the Jets earned another convincing win, and against a quality team in the Broncos. Plus, this was a home win, which means that the home town fans got to celebrate their team's first home win of the season. In the strange AFC East, this means that Gang Green is now within a game of first place, behind the 3-2 Dolphins and Pats, and tied with the surprising Bills for last place at 2-3. An impressive win for the Jets! My prediction: Inaccurate
Detroit 31, Green Bay 23 - I thought that the Packers looked more vulnerable than usual this season, and this confirms that suspicion. After all, let's remember that it took a miracle comeback on opening day for them to win and look good doing it, although they were very close to losing. Otherwise, they have been doing a considerable amount of losing since to make up for it. Detroit was overdue for a decisive win, one that could restore faith in a season that was teetering on the edge. This was a defining win potentially for them, and a sign of things to come, I suspect, for the Packers this season. My pick: Accurate
Pittsburgh 41, Atlanta 17 - Both teams came in with surprisingly - even shockingly - poor records that were uncharacterstic for each. But that made the stakes very high, as neither team could really afford to lose. The Falcons, however, got blown out, and so they drop to 1-4, and have to be really scratching their heads for answers at this point. It almost boggled the imagination that they would look this bad so early on. As for the Steelers, they needed a statement win, and this was it, which makes them look right back into relevance again, especially with the Ravens losing at Cleveland. My pick: Accurate
Cincinnati 27, Miami 17 - When I first saw the score in this one, Miami had taken an early 14-0 lead. "Well, I guess that pick was wrong," I thought to myself. But little did I know that the Bengals would play some of their best football, and would fight all the way back to earn an improbable win. What a huge comeback, and with Baltimore's loss, the 4-1 Bengals now not only have sole possession of first place in the division for now, but they look potentially like one of the powerhouse teams in the AFC more generally. An impressive win, and another loss that seems to signal a potential turning point going the opposite direction for the Dolphins. My pick: Accurate
Buffalo 13, Tennessee 12 - The Bills managed to snap Tennessee's three game winning streak in what amounted to one of the biggest surprises this weekend. Neither quarterback had a really good game, and in fact, Josh Allen, QB for the winning Bills, only completed 10 of 19 passes for 82 yards, with no touchdowns and one interception. Not exactly an elite performance, right? Yet, Buffalo's defense stepped up an in a big way, and managed to pull off a second victory on the year. My pick: Inaccurate
Cleveland 12, Baltimore 9 (OT)- The Browns are obviously way better than they have been in a long, long time. With a hot young quarterback, and a team that has had some other early draft picks, you had to figure that they might start winning at some point. Not sure if they have really turned a corner, because it is still just too early to know for sure. But look at it this way: they have been in every game, and have now won two games, and tied one, after five games. They really, really, look so much better than they did either of the last two seasons, when they had a total of one win in those two entire seasons combined. What an improvement! As for the Ravens, what a disappointment, as they now fall behind the Bengals, and are looking a bit vulnerable. My prediction: Inaccurate
Kansas City 30, Jacksonville 14 - Well, I mentioned in thew preview that this could be a playoff preview, even an AFC title game preview, potentially. But for that to happen, the Jaguars had better pick up the pace. After a hot 2-0 start, the Jaguars have now lost two of their last three, and they were not even close this time. True, playing at Arrowhead is not easy, but they should have put up more of a fight. Their defense seemed a bit flustered, and their offense simply could not get anything going. As for KC, they stay red hot, remaining unbeaten at 5-0. Not sure what that suggests for the remainder of the season, but for now, they look like one of the two best teams in the league, and tops in the AFC. Let's see what happens next weekend in New England, though. That should be a really tough test, for both teams! My pick: Accurate
L.A. Rams 33, Seattle 31 - Wow, hat a game! Who knew that this game would be an offensive shootout, with Seattle traditionally being a defensive minded team, and not the type of squad that you associate with scoring a lot of points. But both offenses looked good in this one. It was tight, alright, but in the end, the Rams continued doing what they seem to do best thus far, and that is win. This was their first 5-0 start since the 2001 season, when they were still playing in St. Louis. And that also happened to be the last time that the Rams went to the Super Bowl. Not sure if that will happen again or not, although the Rams certainly are looking very impressive so far, and such a strong, undefeated start obviously cannot hurt them at this point in time. My pick: Accurate
Arizona 28, San Francisco 18 - Honestly, I just figured that the Cardinals were overdue for a win, being the last remaining winless team, and all. Plus, the 49ers are having some serious problems right now, with their star quarterback out for the season, most likely. And this confirmed both suspicions. Arizona might not be a great football team, but they are not likely as bad as that horrific start suggested. And they earned a tough, divisional road win in this one, as both teams are now tied for last place in this division, at 1-4. My pick" Accurate
Minnesota 23, Philadelphia 21 - Admittedly, I did not see this one coming. The Eagles were fighting for first place in the NFC East, or at least to keep pace with Washington if they won (which they did not). Minnesota, meanwhile, had one win since opening week, and had specifically lost two in a row and were looking vulnerable. But the Vikings looked solid yesterday, getting off to a strong start, scoring two touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 17-3 lead that they never relinquished. Philly made a game of it, and indeed, managed to get within a field goal with barley over one minute left. But Minnesota recovered the onside kick to preserve the win. Cousins had an impressive day, completing 30 of 37 passes for 301 yards and a touchdown. Meanwhile, Carson Wentz completed 24 of 35 passes for 311 yards, with two touchdowns, in a losing effort. My pick: Inaccurate
L.A. Chargers 26, Oakland 10 - The Chargers managed to pull off a convincing win to join the ranks of winning teams, on what wound up being a very good day for them. They win, and pass Denver to take sole possession of second place in the AFC West, by virtue of the Broncos dropping a third straight game. Derek Carr completed 24 of 33 passes for 268 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. For the Chargers, Philip Rivers had a stellar day, completing 22 of 27 passes for 339 yards and two touchdowns. My pick: Accurate
Sunday Night Football
Houston 19, Dallas 16 (OT) - I thought - mistakenly - that the Cowboys were well on their way to earning first place in the NFC East, at least tied with, I imagined, Philly (another game that I got wrong, admittedly). Dallas looked like they were ready to take over the game with a solid defensive stop to end the first half, coupled with a hot start in the second half. But the game kept being more of a stalemate than anything else, and it went into overtime, where the Texans managed to do just enough to win it, pulling them within a game of both Jax and Tennessee. The Cowboys, meanwhile, stay in the same position within the NFC East, because every team in the division lost. My pick: Inaccurate
Monday Night Football
New Orleans 43, Washington - The Saints are looking mighty impressive yet again this season. Washington, meanwhile, got off to a hot start, but looked vulnarable in getting blown out on this day. Drew Brees was simply on fire, and looked like he secured his place as one of the very best quarterbacks of all time by becoming the all-time passing leader. And, of course, the Saints made short work of an overwhelmed Washington team that was clearly in over it's head for this one . My pick: Accurate
No comments:
Post a Comment