Week Eight in Review
By: Matt Harmon
Thursday Night Game:
Carolina Panthers- 31 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers- 13
Reviewing the Game:
Sunday Games:
San Francisco 49ers- 42 vs. Jacksonville Jaguars- 10
Reviewing the Game:
Dallas Cowboys- 30 at Detroit Lions- 31
Reviewing the Game:
New York Giants- 15 at Philadelphia Eagles- 7
Reviewing the Game:
Cleveland Browns- 17 at Kansas City Chiefs- 23
Reviewing the Game:
Buffalo Bills- 17 at New Orleans Saints- 35
Reviewing the Game:
Miami Dolphins- 17 at New England Patriots- 42
Reviewing the Game:
New York Jets-9 at Cincinnati Bengals- 49
Reviewing the Game:
Pittsburgh Steelers- 18 at Oakland Raiders- 21
Reviewing the Game
Washington Redskins- 21 at Denver Broncos- 45
Reviewing the Game:
Atlanta Falcons- 13 at Arizona Cardinals- 27
Reviewing the Game:
Green Bay Packers- 44 at Minnesota Vikings- 31
Reviewing the Game:
Monday Night Game:
Seattle Seahawks- 14 at St. Louis Rams- 9
Reviewing the Game:
Thursday Night Game:
Carolina Panthers- 31 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers- 13
Reviewing the Game:
- Everything went just as planned; the Panthers continued to roll and the Bucs just rolled over. Cam Newton led several impressive touchdown drives for the Panthers, and showed just how much he has grown as a player. Several times Cam made smart decisions in this contest where in the past two seasons he would have tried to do too much or made a costly mistake. Newton is maturing as a passer and overall football player, and more importantly, this team is getting better around him. Ted Ginn played a nice game with Steve Smith locked down by Darrelle Revis and Mike Tolbert continues to play a big role for this offense. The Buccaneers had some positive things happen in this game. Mike Glennon looked very poised and played well against a very good Panthers defense, and Revis did erase Smith when the coaches actually played man coverage, but none of that was enough to win the game. The effort is almost certainly fading away from this Bucs team; they are just too talented to be beaten this badly at home by a division rival. By the end of the game the few fans that were left at the stadium were in full on revolt, casting boos down, wearing HAZMAT suits, and sporting “Fire Schiano” signs. With the team ready to quit on its coach, it is hard to see him lasting through this disastrous season.
- McCoy had his moments in this game, but his supporting cast let him down far too often. McCoy would often burst through the middle of the Panthers line of scrimmage, but either Newton or the running backs would simply redirect themselves to another spot in the backfield and would find plenty of room to work with. Defensive tackle Akeem Spence and defensive end DaQuan Bowers have predictably been disappointments and are not carrying their weight on this defensive line, which would put them right in line with the rest of this team.
Sunday Games:
San Francisco 49ers- 42 vs. Jacksonville Jaguars- 10
Reviewing the Game:
- Not much to see here; the team that was clearly more talented throttled the worst team in football. The 49ers punished the Jaguars on the ground, as Colin Kaepernick, Frank Gore, and Kendall Hunter all had productive days running the football. The Jaguars did not do much better than usual, but it should be noted Maurice Jones-Drew had by far his most productive day of this lost season. Was he showcasing his skills for another team?
- Cecil Shorts paced the Jags, as usual, in receiving with seven catches for 74 yards. Shorts was in fact more equipped to beat the Niners quarterback than his more physical counterpart; Justin Blackmon did not make much of an impact on this game.
Dallas Cowboys- 30 at Detroit Lions- 31
Reviewing the Game:
- It started a little slow, but this was the game of the day between two pretty evenly matched teams with a ton of firepower. Calvin Johnson completely stole the show with a monstrous performing racking up 329 receiving yards. Johnson showed everyone he is still clearly the best receiver in the NFL after a week of Dez Bryant challenging him. The Cowboys should have had this game in the bag, but in typical Cowboy fashion, they epically choked the game away by letting Matthew Stafford drive the Lions down the field and score the game-winning touchdown. Stafford delivered a number of perfect throws and then plunged into the end zone on a sweet fake spike play. For the Cowboys, yea you choked away a game you should have won, but at least this time the media cannot blame it on Tony Romo, right?
- Jason Fox, despite being active, was actually not the starting right tackle in this game. Instead, undrafted rookie, LaAdrian Waddle, drew the start. Waddle was very impressive in the run game, blowing open big holes next to fellow rookie standout Larry Watford and was part of an offensive line that allowed only one sack on Stafford.
New York Giants- 15 at Philadelphia Eagles- 7
Reviewing the Game:
- The Giants got their second win in a row, but lets temper any high expectations for this team. They sit at 2-6 and have beat two downtrodden teams. The Eagles offense was completely bogged down yet again and has not scored a touchdown in either of their last two games. Michael Vick looked like a player whose body just is not up to the task of playing in the NFL any longer, and Matt Barkley is beyond not ready to play. It did not help that none of the Eagles pass catchers could get open. The Giants offense was pretty inept as well, as they came away with out a touchdown in this game; settling for five straight field goals. One thing to note, as the offense is declining, the Eagles defense is making strides.
- JPP was largely kept in check by his opponent Peters, but the Eagles clearly saw an uptick in his game, and assigned double teams to him most of the game. Those double teams helped free things up for his Giants teammates to have their best pass rushing game thus far.
Cleveland Browns- 17 at Kansas City Chiefs- 23
Reviewing the Game:
- Jason Campbell was by now means perfect, but he was a clear upgrade over Brandon Weeden and put together a competent performance against the leagues best defense. The Browns defense once again was a mild disappointment, and let the Chiefs find and hold the lead throughout. Alex Smith played his best game, and threw his first touchdown in four weeks. The Chiefs just keep on rolling and remain undefeated.
- Josh Gordon showed once again why the Browns cannot afford to let him go. Gordon took turns going against both Chiefs corners and piled up 132 yards receiving. Gordon made Sean Smith look particularly silly on his touchdown reception off of a flea flicker. Gordon is truly an emerging star.
Buffalo Bills- 17 at New Orleans Saints- 35
Reviewing the Game:
- The score does not really show it, but the Bills played the Saints very tough. The Saints were just undoubtedly the more talented team. Drew Brees carved up the Bills secondary despite being under pressure from their stout front seven, and the Saints defense gave Thad Lewis fits for most of the afternoon. The Bills just fell to an impossible foe.
- Sproles was totally kept in check by the Bills defense as his four catches of the day went for all of zero yards. It did not really matter much to Drew Brees who just spread the ball around to nine other pass catchers.
Miami Dolphins- 17 at New England Patriots- 42
Reviewing the Game:
- For most of this game it looked like the Dolphins were going to dethrone the Patriots as the best team in the AFC East after dominating them in the first half. The Dolphins completely imploded in the second half with Ryan Tannehill turning the ball over three times, Mike Wallace mailing it in, and their defense allowing New England to establish a strong ground game. This was an inexcusable loss for the Dolphins, who really could have staked a claim to being a legitimate threat in the AFC once again. The win will cover up another dismal performance by the declining Tom Brady, but it is clear he is not the same elite player we have known for many years. Bill Belichick needs to stop playing games with Stevan Ridley. Please play your best runner.
- The Dolphins finally featured Lamar Miller in the first half of this game, and he responded to the roles by carving up the Patriots defense. However, the Dolphins seemed to get away from him in the second half and consequently the game slipped away as well. Perhaps leaning on Miller and not asking Tannehill to do too much would be a wise route to take.
New York Jets-9 at Cincinnati Bengals- 49
Reviewing the Game:
- Yikes. The Jets seem to completely forget all their skills every other week, and on this down week, they were particularly dreadful. Geno Smith tossed two brutal interceptions before giving way to Matt Simms. The Bengals defense was swarming all day long, harassing Geno and completely bottling up both Bilal Powell and Chris Ivory. Truthfully, this game got out of hand too early for the Jets to compete, thanks to Andy Dalton.
- Andy Dalton was simply fantastic against a very good Jets defense. Dalton tossed up an eye popping five touchdowns passes, four of which went to the emerging Marvin Jones. Dalton carried the offense on his shoulders for most of the game, and got little to no help from his running game. It is still fair to have questions about him, but Andy Dalton has strung together several nice games for the first time in recent memory, and this win was all about him.
Pittsburgh Steelers- 18 at Oakland Raiders- 21
Reviewing the Game
- We should have known better seeing as the Steelers have shown an inability to get past the Raiders the last few times they have played. You just knew the Steelers were going to lose this game when Terrelle Pryor ripped off a 93-yard touchdown run on the first drive of the game. It seems the Steelers are the latest team in the "we forgot quarterbacks were allowed to run the football" club. The Steelers are not good enough anymore to overcome a substandard performance from Ben Roethlisberger, and that is what they received today. The Raiders were not particularly flashy, but on the back of Darren McFadden and a surprising defense, they outlasted the Steelers.
- Antonio Brown turned in another solid outing and added nine more catches to his eye-popping season total. It would have been nice to see him break a big play or two to assist his team in winning the game.
Washington Redskins- 21 at Denver Broncos- 45
Reviewing the Game:
- The Redskins made it interesting for a while, but ultimately fell to a much better team. The Redskins offense looked out of sync late in the game, and is clearly ill equipped to play catch up right now. RGIII continues to look disappointing, but he was hit on seemingly every play in this game. The Redskins should be completely embarrassed at their inability to protect their brittle franchise quarterback. Kirk Cousins relieved Griffin after he took a particularly hard hit when the game was out of hand and, despite a delusional faction of Redskins fans thinking he is somehow their savior, was a complete train wreck. Cousins is a fine backup but is an average player at best overall. Lets hope no general managers ever foolishly deal any high picks away for him. This was not the Broncos best day, especially on offense, but if you can come away scoring 45 points on you off days, you have to feel pretty good about yourself. It may be past time to worry about Peyton Manning outside in the cold elements.
- This duo did its part to help the team, especially Kerrigan. The Redskins put the requisite amount of pressure on Peyton Manning while he was sitting behind a depleted offensive line. The Pressure forced Manning into several mi, and he gave the Redskins three interceptions and a lost fumble. If the Redskins offense had held together in the second half, this game could have ended differently.
Atlanta Falcons- 13 at Arizona Cardinals- 27
Reviewing the Game:
- Matt Ryan was having a very good season, but he fell apart against the Cardinals to the tune of four interceptions. All of the interceptions seemed to be a result of poor decision-making, which is uncharacteristic of the cerebral Ryan. The Falcons could not run the ball a lick, and continued their plunge into the depths of despair. Carson Palmer threw his weekly interception, but was otherwise fine. Rookie running back Andre Ellington was predictably phenomenal taking fifteen carries for 154 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown. His presence clearly ignites the entire offense, and there is no reason for him not to get more looks going forward.
- Harry Douglas surprisingly put up another impressive stat line, and was really the only offensive player for the Falcons who bothered to show up in this game. Douglas has elevated his game with the absence of Julio Jones and Roddy White, and looks like he is here to stay.
Green Bay Packers- 44 at Minnesota Vikings- 31
Reviewing the Game:
- This one was not nearly as close as the final score would seem to indicate. Outside of the Cordarrelle Paterson 109-yard opening kickoff return for a touchdown, the Vikings did not have much of a prayer in keeping up with the Packers. Aarond Rodgers was simply masterful in this contest, and he delivered some of his patented ridiculous throws time and time again. When he is on, no one throws the football quite like Rodgers does. The Packers ground game was very effective with Eddie Lacy continuing to carry the load while James Starks provided a nice change of pace. The Vikings defense was once again completely hopeless. Their defense is getting so bad that it continues to prevent the Vikings from sticking to their game script; Adrian Peterson received only thirteen carries for the second straight week. Christian Ponder was an upgrade over what the ill-prepared Josh Freeman brought to the table last week, but he is still sorely lacking as a quarterback, and too often fails to find the open receiver. Ponder is without a doubt best suited as a backup. The wheels are completely falling off in Minnesota, and trade rumors are beginning to swirl about all of their best players.
- Jordy Nelson was the star of the show, but Jarrett Boykin made several plays in which he resembled a veteran receiver. The catch in which he got off the ground and reached out for the first down marker was a particularly impressive show of awareness. In the end, this night showed us once and for all, it is Aaron Rodgers who makes his receivers, and not the other way around.
Monday Night Game:
Seattle Seahawks- 14 at St. Louis Rams- 9
Reviewing the Game:
- This game was close and it was practically for one reason; the Seahawks offensive line stood absolutely no chance of stopping the Rams defensive ends. Chris Long and Robert Quinn both notched three sacks a piece, and Quinn in particular put on a dominant show. Russell Wilson stood no chance when the Rams contained him in the pocket as the defensive ends were often n the backfield in under two seconds. That is inexcusably bad. The Seahawks were completely dominated up front and could not sustain most of their offensive drives. If it were not for an 80-yard touchdown, that Golden Tate almost taunted his way out of bounds during, they may have lost this game. The Seahawks showed some serious offensive flaws in this game beyond their tackles; their receivers could not get off press man coverage. In the end, the Seahawks did what they had to do, beat an inferior team on the road. For the Rams, if they were playing a team with competent offensive tackles, this may have been a blow out. Kellen Clemens made some nice throws, but lets not pretend he was good in this game. Clemens threw two back breaking and ugly interceptions, and showed plenty of limitations. If it were not for impressive rookie running back Zac Stacy (aptly drawing comparisons to Frank Gore) running hard on this tough Seahawks defense, the Rams offense may not have moved all night. The Rams fought hard, but did not inspire much hope for the rest of their season.
- While the other team’s offensive tackles completely fell apart, the Rams Jake Long put together a very strong performance. Long started the season a little slowly, but he looks to be rounding into his former Pro Bowl form, and well worth the money St. Louis paid him. Kellen Clemens was able to have a pocket to throw from pretty much clean of backside pressure.
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