NFL Week 4 Results
Not too many surprises in week 4. One Manning shined, the other limped off the field. The Patriots brought the Ravens back to Earth while Brett Favre endeared himself to the Vikings fanbase. How did your team do this week? Read on.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13, Washington Redskins 16 (Predicted: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 14, Washington Redskins 27)
It certainly wasn’t pretty, but Washington rallied in the second half to shutout the Bucs in the first month of the season. One wonders how long Jim Zorn will be kept by Dan Snyder after this win, but honestly the Redskins have little excuse to be 2-2. They get to face the Panthers coming off their bye week next, and the way the offense is (dis)functioning Washington won’t even be able to win despite the inevitable help from Jake Delhomme.
Baltimore Ravens 21, New England Patriots 27 (Predicted: Baltimore Ravens 27, New England Patriots 24)
Apparently Brandon Meriweather has a bright future as an NFL referee. Every single play he was involved in was followed by him waving for an incomplete pass. The Ravens put up a lackluster performance, the highlight being John Harbaugh being called for a personal foul against one of the side judges. Way to stay classy, Baltimore.
Detroit Lions 24, Chicago Bears 48 (Predicted: Detroit Lions 13, Chicago Bears 30)
Detroit kept it close in the first half, going into halftime with the score tied 21-21. The Bears defense adjusted nicely and shutout the Lions in the second half, taking the lead on the opening kickoff. Late touchdowns by Matt Forte and Garrett Wolfe sealed the game as the Lions return to their losing ways.
Tennessee Titans 17, Jacksonville Jaguars 37 (Predicted: Tennessee Titans 17, Jacksonville Jaguars 15)
Oops. Yeah, the Titans aren’t looking so great this year after all. They’re looking like great candidates to bottom out the 2009-2010 Expectations Power Rankings at the end of the season, as their 13-3 performance last year never seemed so far away. Quarterback play is miserable, their pass defense is nonexistent, and the running game has not been effective when it counts. Props to Jacksonville for showing up… beating the Titans hardly takes anything more these days.
Oakland Raiders 6, Houston Texans 29 (Predicted: Oakland Raiders 10, Houston Texans 34)
Note to fantasy players: Get whatever defense is going against the Raiders (until Jamarcus Russell gets benched).
Cincinnati Bengals 23, Cleveland Browns 20 (Predicted: Cincinnati Bengals 28, Cleveland Browns 6)
The excitement surrounding the Bengals seems to have been taken down a notch after needing overtime to beat the winless Browns. The good news for Eric Mangini: Derek Anderson threw a touchdown.
Seattle Seahawks 17, Indianapolis Colts 34 (Predicted: Seattle Seahawks 10, Indianapolis Colts 35)
Indianapolis dominated the Seahawks as expected. Actually scratch that… Peyton Manning dominated the Seahawks. Manning continues to pick defenses apart through the air as the Colts continue to rely on the pass at the expense of the running game, which managed 79 yards on 21 carries. The Colts have all the momentum heading into next week’s Sunday night matchup against the 0-4 Titans.
New York Giants 27, Kansas City Chiefs 16 (Predicted: New York Giants 33, Kansas City Chiefs 17)
Did anyone else laugh when they showed the replay of Eli Manning’s heel injury? I know it’s mean, but a couple of years ago one wouldn’t have even thought that he was hurt- it would have just been another “Eli” throw. Nothing much to see here… Chiefs get killed, Steve Smith continues to be better than the other Steve Smith, Giants win.
Buffalo Bills 10, Miami Dolphins 38 (Predicted: Buffalo Bills 20, Miami Dolphins 10)
Chad Henne looks like he learned enough from Chad Pennington to emulate his high-completion, low YPA style and relied on a strong running attack to beat the hapless Bills in Miami. Trent Edwards had one of his worst outings as a starter, throwing 3 picks to one interception. Buffalo was never really in this one, and it looks like another long season for Western New York.
New York Jets 10, New Orleans Saints 24 (Predicted: New York Jets 20, New Orleans Saints 23)
Mark Sanchez and the Jets finally fell back to Earth against a much-improved Saints defense. Apparently Sean Payton’s pay cut was worth every penny, as the defense came up big with two touchdowns on an interception return by Darren Sharper and a fumble recovery in the end zone by Remi Ayodele. The Saints are dangerous.
St. Louis Rams 0, San Francisco 49ers 35 (Predicted: St. Louis Rams 16, San Francisco 49ers 20)
Usually when a team hires a new coach it’s expected that the move was made to make the team better, so what happened with Steve Spagnuolo? The Rams have been shutout twice in four games and face the Vikings, Jaguars, Colts, and Lions before their bye. Two of those games look winnable, but not if the offense can’t score anything. Sources say that Michael Crabtree wants to reopen talks with the 49ers, http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4534306 I wonder if that’s because they’re winning or because he had a change of heart? Hmmmm….
Dallas Cowboys 10, Denver Broncos 17 (Predicted: Dallas Cowboys 21, Denver Broncos 23)
The Broncos made a fairly strong statement (or if you’re a pessimist, so did the Cowboys) beating Dallas in a close game at home. Denver certainly isn’t flashy and they’ve been playing their cards close to the chest, but it’s working. The defense continued its stellar performance against Tony Romo and company and have all the makings of an early playoff contender. We’ll see how they do next week at home against New England.
San Diego Chargers 28, Pittsburgh Steelers 38 (Predicted: San Diego Chargers 27, Pittsburgh Steelers 34)
Once again San Diego reminds us why they’ll never make it to the Super Bowl without homefield advantage. I’m still not sure why people made such a big deal out of Willie Parker’s absence and LaDainian Tomlinson’s presence, because neither of them matter anymore. Rashard Mendenhall reminded the Steelers why they drafted him in the first round as Pittsburgh’s offense got back on track. San Diego got off to a slow start and made things interesting in the fourth quarter, but in the end it wasn’t enough.
Green Bay Packers 23, Minnesota Vikings 30 (Predicted: Green Bay Packers 28, Minnesota Vikings 31)
It’s getting to the point where Aaron Rodgers should just try wearing a red practice jersey to games… maybe that will stop opposing defenders from hitting him once or twice a game, bringing his sack total down to just 4 or 5. Seriously, why was Alan Barbre left trying to deal with Jared Allen alone the entire game? It seemed like every single drive the Packers tried to get going saw Rodgers getting slammed by multiple defenders. That being said, the Packers still put up a decent showing against a tough opponent. Brett Favre and the Vikings put on a show for the home crowd and threw 3 touchdown passes to lift the Vikings past the Packers.
11-3 this week for a season tally of 43-19.
