The highlight of the jaw-dropping 9-minute finals on ESPN was incredible. And in a 6-minute period, multiple field kickers sliced through goal posts to win the game! That was classic.
One of which was the surprising Atlanta Falcons with their kicker Jason Elam beating the Chicago Bears. The Falcons simply rose from the ashes of their Michael Vick and Bobby Petrino soap opera season a year ago and went back to basics. And his rookie QB Matt Ryan is showing a maturity beyond his years or should I say year. It is also important for me to point out about this game the game of Kyle Orton. I liked that he came out of Purdue, but I thought he had proven himself to be a backup at best in the NFL. Now, all of a sudden, he’s straightened out his trajectory on his passes and he’s learned how to pass the ball to a receiver in an opportune manner and he’s become a solid quarterback.
Minnesota Vikings Ryan Longwell became another hero by winning the game with a game-ending 26 yards. However, this was against the Division 1 Detroit Lions. The Vikings, a flavor of preseason week for many tipsters, are barely staying alive in the NFC North let alone keeping up with the NFC leaders.
The St. Louis Rams also got the win out of their butt by beating the Washington Redskins with a last-minute field goal. Not only was this a bit of a surprise, but it was a bad loss for the Redskins. After 2 impressive wins on the road against division rivals, the Redskins had a chance to cement themselves as a contender.
The Arizona Cardinals made quite a statement by beating the Cowboys. Maybe, just maybe, this will finally be the year they make the playoffs. They have had a history of playing Dallas up close, though.
As I have stated for the record that it usually takes the Browns 4-5 weeks of the season to play at their best. I was not surprised by their win at home against the New York Giants.
Tampa Bay really rose to the occasion by blindsideing the Carolina Panthers. If Gruden could settle on quarterbacks, they could build on last year’s playoff run.
Well, it looks like someone found the Indianapolis Colts. Going into the game allowing 188 rushing yards per game, I thought the Baltimore Ravens would work their way to a win at Indy. Someone forgot to tell the Colts to turn around. They are back?
This team has been going down this road for the last 3 years. Marvin Lewis lost this team in 2006. They suck and have no chance of improving anytime soon. On paper, this should have been unexpected, but if you’ve seen them, you were expecting this.
Big win for Philly, but they were the better team. The Eagles are too heavyweight and will run out of gas against elite teams as the season goes on. Top heavy means they have a few stars but are mixed in with below average role players. With a banged-up Westbrook, they have no chance of a deep run. Goal against the San Francisco 49ers Correll Buckhalter is a quality backup. That won’t be the case against better teams.
This was a huge win for San Diego considering they have been cornered. The New England Patriots’ defense has been on the decline for the past two years, but a Tom Brady-led offense kept them winning. Matt Cassell is not capable of commanding that type of production.
The Jacksonville Jaguars have bolted out the door, but have gradually smoothed things over. The loss to Pittsburgh hurt a little, but to their credit they put it in their memory bank and went out and beat Denver.
