The NFL Blog: Week 6 Review

There’s no such thing as a predictable week in the NFL

Week 6 of the NFL season was a wild ride, as things got turned upside down. Once again, it was all about things getting tighter, as the top and the bottom got even less discernible. Losses by the teams at the top and wins by the teams at the bottom have everyone even more bunched together after 6 weeks of play.

Going into week 6 there were 2 teams without a loss and 4 teams without a win. By week’s end, both of those numbers were cut in half. Only 1 team remains undefeated in the NFL (Tennessee Titans at 5-0) and they didn’t even play in week 6. There are only 2 teams left without a win and there probably should only be 1 team left without a win. 9 teams had less than 2 losses going into week 6. By the time week 6 was over, only 4 teams remained with 1 loss or less.


Any discussion of week 6 has to begin with the NFC East. All the talk during the week leading up to the slate of week 6 games was about how great the NFC East was. At the top of the division, the defending Super Bowl Champs--the New York Giants--were 1 of just 2 undefeated teams left in the NFL at 4-0. The East also contained the team picked by many to win the NFC this year, the Dallas Cowboys, who were 4-1. The only team to beat the Cowboys this season was also in the NFC East, and the Washington Redskins were the hottest team in the NFL at 4-1. The only team to beat Washington so far had been the Giants. The Philadelphia Eagles were bruised and battered at 2-3, but 2 of their losses had come within the division, and they were still thought to be one of the better teams in the NFC. Clearly, the NFC East was the top division in football.





But week 6 was a tough week for the NFC East. The top 3 teams lost, 2 of them lost to teams at the bottom of the standings, and the other team lost as much by way of injury as they did on the field. And the division probably should have gone winless in week 6.





After 6 weeks of play there is just 1 team still undefeated in the NFL. There was guaranteed to be at least 1 team still undefeated after week 6 because the 5-0 Tennessee Titans had a bye. But it seemed like there was a very good chance that there would still be 2 undefeated teams left heading into week 7 because the 4-0 New York Giants were playing the 1-3 Cleveland Browns. The Giants had seen the two teams directly behind them in the standings go down on Sunday, and they came into the game on Monday night looking to pad their lead in the NFC East. They may not have been concentrating hard enough on the team they were playing, however, as they got outmanned and outplayed by the Cleveland Browns. The Giants fell from the ranks of the unbeaten and that’s why we start this review of week 6 at the end.






The Giants had been one of the more impressive teams in the NFL through 5 weeks of the season and they would be getting star WR Plaxico Burress back for this one. Going back to last year’s playoffs, the Giants had won 8 straight. This game was in Cleveland, but the Giants came into the game having won 11 straight road contests.




On the other hand, the Browns had been one of the more disappointing teams in the League thus far, as they had started the season 0-3, and their only win so far had been over the 0-5 Bengals. Many were starting to question why the Browns were slated to play in 5 standalone night games this season, including 3 times on Monday Night Football. They had won their last game and they were coming off of a bye, but with QB Derrick Anderson looking over his shoulder at Brady Quinn, and stud tight end Kellen Winslow out after spending much of the week sick in the hospital, nobody was giving the Browns a shot against the undefeated defending Super Bowl Champs. The Giants were 9 point favorites on the road.


The odds seemed stacked against the Browns but that didn’t do anything to lessen the excitement of the Dog Pound, as Cleveland played host to New York. The crowd was ready and so, it appeared, were the Browns. It was the Giants who seemed to be caught off guard by the competitiveness of the opposition.







A crazy week was capped off by a final stunner in the last game, as the Browns ambushed the Giants to the tune of a 35-14 blowout victory. Cleveland had been held to 10 points or less in 3 of 4 games this season, but they had 17 points in the first half against New York. The Giants had allowed just 49 points in 4 games, while the Browns had scored just 46 points in 4 games, but Cleveland would score 35 on this night. The Giants came into the game averaging over 32 points a game, while the Browns were allowing over 19 points a game, but the Cleveland defense would hold New York to just 14 on Monday night.



Despite being flagged for 8 procedure penalties (illegal shift, false start, delay of game) the Browns shredded the Giant defense for 454 yards of offense, converting on 9 of 13 3rd downs, and holding the vaunted New York pass rush without a sack. The much maligned Anderson had his best game in nearly a full calendar year, completing 18 of 29 passes for 310 yards, 2 TD, and 0 INT. On the other side of things, Eli Manning looked like the old Eli for the first time since the middle of last season, as Cleveland sacked him once and intercepted him 3 times, returning one for a game clinching TD.

Cleveland hurt itself with mistakes but things went the Browns’ way most of the night. The Browns had a first down at the New York 12 on the opening drive of the game but a false start penalty killed their momentum and they wound up settling for a 28 yard FG. Still, they took the lead, 3-0, on Phil Dawson’s kick to get some points on their opening possession. Then after the Giants reached Cleveland’s 31 on their first drive, Broodney Pool intercepted Manning at the 5 to protect the lead. Pool returned the pick to the Cleveland 29 and the Browns quickly marched to the New York 29. But then the Browns again hurt themselves with an unforced error, as an illegal shift turned a 2nd and 8 into a 2nd and 13. They wound up having to try a 51 yard field goal, and Dawson missed this one wide left.






That kept the Browns from increasing their lead and gave the Giants good field position at their 42, and on the final play of the first quarter, Manning hit Kevin Boss for a 24 yard gain. 5 plays later, Brandon Jacobs scored from 7 yards out to put the Giants on top, 7-3, early in the 2nd quarter. It now looked like the Giants were awake and like the Browns weren’t quite ready to win a game like this, and you figured the rest of the night would go as expected.




But the Browns got momentum going right back in their favor. On the first play from scrimmage on the ensuing drive, Anderson hit Braylon Edwards with a 70 yard bomb all the way to the 4 yard line of the Giants. The Browns came into the game as the only team left in the NFL without a gain of at least 30 yards on any play but this would be the 1st of 3 such plays in the game. Two plays later, Jamal Lewis scored on a 4 yard run to put the Browns back in front, 10-7.







The Giants moved back into Cleveland territory on their next drive but penalties helped the Browns force them to punt. Cleveland moved into New York territory, and on 3rd and 7 from the Giants 42, Anderson connected with Syndric Steptoe for a 20 yard completion and a first down. On the next play, Anderson hit Darnell Dinkins for a 22 yard TD and suddenly the Browns were up 17-7 on the defending Super Bowl champs.


The Browns nearly got to halftime with a 10 point lead but they hurt themselves with another penalty. The Giants marched deep into Cleveland territory to try and get a score right before halftime, but on 3rd and 10 from the 21 with 56 seconds left, Manning was hit, sacked, and he fumbled, and the Browns recovered. But Mike Adams was called for illegal contact, and instead of it being Cleveland ball, the Giants now had a 1st down at the 16. 3 plays later, Manning threw a 3 yard TD to Burress, and the Giants had the deficit cut to 3 going into halftime.











Again it looked like the Giants had things back under control, as they got the ball first in the second half down just 3 points. But on the first play from scrimmage in the 3rd quarter, Manning was picked off by Brandon McDonald at the Cleveland 33, and he returned it for 21 yards into New York territory. The Browns moved inside the 10 before settling for another short FG by Dawson to make it 20-14.





The Giants were still just a TD away from taking the lead, and they moved into Browns territory on their next drive, but on 3rd and 10 from the 48, Manning was sacked and the Giants punted. The Browns took over at their own 13 with 8:11 to play. Despite a few more penalties, Cleveland proceeded to go on a lengthy drive, milking the remainder of time off the clock in the 3rd quarter, and scoring on the first play of the 4th quarter, with Anderson throwing an 11 yard TD pass to Braylon Edwards. The 14 play, 87 yard drive for a TD gave the Browns a 13 point 4th quarter lead over the undefeated New York Giants.




The Giants had to start their next drive at their own 14 and they were now fighting the Browns and the clock, but they converted a pair of 3rd downs, and moved the ball deep into Cleveland territory. The Giants moved inside the 10 and they appeared to be on the verge of scoring to get back within 6 points of the Browns with over 8 minutes remaining, but on 2nd and 4 from the 9, Manning made his biggest mistake of the night and the Browns defense made its biggest play of the night to seal the win. Under pressure, Manning threw to the right off his back foot, and Eric Wright intercepted at the 4. Wright returned it up the left sideline, stayed in bounds while beating a tackle attempt by Manning, and with the crowd going berserk, did the Deion Sanders dance into the end zone for a back breaking 96 yard INT return for a TD. A 2-pt conversion made it a 21 point lead for the Browns with 8 minutes to play.



The Browns stopped the Giants once more, breaking up a Manning pass on 4th and 2 from the Cleveland 6. Cleveland took over with 4 minutes to go and the Browns went on to win it, 35-14. The win was the Browns’ second straight after an 0-3 start. Cleveland has a very tough schedule but for the moment the fans can feel pretty good about things. After looking hopeless just a few weeks ago, when a 28-10 loss to the Ravens in week 3 dropped them to 0-3, the Browns are now 2-3 and back in the hunt for a playoff spot. The Giants had a chance to go a game and a half up in the East over a banged up Dallas team and a Redskins team that they had already beaten once this year. Instead, the Giants are still just a half game ahead of their division rivals, having tasted defeat for the first time in a long while. The most disappointing part of New York’s loss had to be the performance of Eli Manning. Including the postseason, Manning had thrown just 2 interceptions in his last 8 games combined before being picked 3 times on Monday night. For the Browns, the most exciting thing about their first win on MNF since 1993 had to be the performance of Derek Anderson, whose job appears secure for the moment.









The Giants’ loss was the 3rd for an NFC East team in week 6. The last of the Sunday afternoon games to end was one of the more exciting games of the season. In that game, the Arizona Cardinals beat the Dallas Cowboys, 30-24, at home in OT. The Cowboys entered the game 4-1 and favored by 4.5. Despite being outplayed for most of the day, the Cowboys nearly rescued victory from the jaws of defeat in front of a crowd that featured tens of thousands of Dallas fans. In the end the Cardinals won to stay unbeaten at home, while the Cowboys lost for the first time on the road this season.




Arizona’s defense did a good job holding the Cowboys for most of the game. Tony Romo was under relentless pressure all day long, as the Cardinals sacked him 3 times, forced several fumbles, and hurried him on nearly every play. The Cards held the Cowboys to just 14 points until Dallas scored 10 points in the final 10 minutes of the game. It looked like the Cardinals had found a way to lose another one following a wild ending to regulation. But Arizona came off the deck in overtime to give a crazy game an unbelievable ending.






The game couldn’t have started off better for the Cards, as JJ Arrington returned the opening kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown to give the home team a 7-0 lead. The Arizona defense forced Dallas to punt on their first two possessions but a fumbled snap by Kurt Warner gave the Cowboys the ball at the Cardinals 25 midway through the 1st quarter. On the next play, however, Bertrand Berry sacked Romo and caused a fumble, and the Cardinals got the ball right back. Arizona punted but the Cards defense forced a 3 and out. On the first play of the next Cardinals possession, however, Warner tried to go deep down the left side and was picked off by Ken Hamlin at the Dallas 20 yard line.










The two defenses continued to control the game as the score stayed 7-0 well into the 2nd quarter. On 4th and 3 from the Cowboys’ 34, the Cardinals lined up to go for it with around 5 minutes left in the half, but a false start penalty caused them to punt. The Cowboys took over at their own 9, and on 2nd and 9 from the 10, the Cardinals got to Romo again just in front of the goal line, and once again Romo fumbled. This time Arizona recovered in the end zone to take a 13-0 lead late in the first half, but the Cowboys challenged the ruling on the play. The “tuck rule” reared its ugly head again and the call was reversed. Instead of a touchdown for the Cardinals, it was ruled an incomplete pass.



It looked for a while like this would be the turning point in the game. On the next play, the Cowboys converted a 3rd and 9, with Romo hooking up with Patrick Crayton on a 24 yard completion. A pair of penalties had the Cowboys facing a 2nd and 21 from their own 23 at the two-minute warning, but Marion Barber took a short pass for 19 yards, and then on 3rd and 2, Barber caught another dump off pass and got 3 yards for a first down. The Cowboys called a timeout with 1:10 left in the half, and on the next play, Romo found Crayton for a 55 yard TD strike to tie the game up at 7-7.



The momentum continued to swing Dallas’ way. On the ensuing kickoff, the Cowboys went with a squib kick and it turned to gold, as defensive end Calais Campbell ended up having to try and field the kick and he muffed it. The Cowboys recovered at Arizona’s 27 with 56 seconds left in the half. Suddenly, it looked like the Cowboys would take a 14-7 lead into halftime, just moments after it appeared they would trail 14-0 at the half. After an incompletion on first down, Terrell Owens caught his first pass of the game, a 9 yard reception that brought up a 3rd and 1. The Cowboys had 2 timeouts left, but instead of stopping the clock, they rushed to the line, and Romo went to Owens on a quick slant and T.O. couldn’t come up with it. That made it 4th down and the Cowboys decided to bring on the field goal team. Nick Folk lined up for a 37 yarder but it hit the left upright, and the Cardinals escaped with the score tied at halftime.



The Cowboys got the ball first in the second half and they started the 3rd quarter with a long, time consuming drive to take the lead. Miles Austin caught a 14 yard TD pass from Romo on a 3rd and 4 to cap a 12 play, 77 yard drive, and the Cowboys took their first lead of the game, 14-7. On the drive, the Cowboys converted a pair of 3rd downs, and Owens caught 3 balls for 27 yards, but Felix Jones strained a hamstring and was lost for the remainder of the game.








Folk’s bad day continued when he kicked the ball out of bounds on the ensuing kickoff, but after a couple of penalties the Cowboys defense had the Cardinals facing a 3rd and 17 from their own 33. Warner’s pass was tipped at the line of scrimmage, but Tim Hightower made the catch anyway, stayed on his feet, moved the ball up field and got just enough for the first down as he went out of bounds at midfield. This was yet another crucial play in the game. Two plays later on 3rd and 6, Warner found Steve Breaston over the middle for a 22 yard gain and a first down. The Cardinals moved the ball to the 5 and then Larry Fitzgerald made a great catch on a fade route on the right side of the end zone for what was ruled a touchdown, but the Cowboys challenged, and again an Arizona TD was taken off the board, as Fitzgerald was ruled out of bounds. The Cards converted on 3rd and 1 to get a 1st and goal at the 2, and then Fitzgerald caught another one in the end zone, and this time it stood up, as the Cardinals tied the score at 14 with 3:21 to go in the 3rd quarter.







There was a ton of time left in the game, but the Cardinals tried to catch the Cowboys off guard and went with an onsides kick on the ensuing kickoff. Dallas recovered it and they started their next drive in Arizona territory at the 46. The Cowboys got a first down at the 32 and looked to be on the verge of retaking the lead, but after two running plays were stuffed, Romo fumbled a shotgun snap on 3rd and 9. He recovered it to retain possession but the play lost 16 yards, and the Cowboys were now out of field goal position.




The Cowboys had wasted a golden opportunity but they were still in good shape after Mat McBriar’s punt forced the Cardinals to start at their own 11. An Arizona penalty backed the Cardinals up to their own 6 and made it 1st and 15, but on the last play of the 3rd quarter, Warner found Breaston for a 17 yard completion and a huge first down at the 23. On the first play of the 4th quarter, Fitzgerald made an unbelievable catch for a 39 yard gain to give the Cards a first down at the Dallas 38. 6 plays later, Warner hit Breaston for an 11 yard TD pass to put Arizona back in front, 21-14, with 10:44 to play.











The Cowboys went 3 and out on their next possession and the Cardinals drove for a field goal to go up 10 points with just 3:17 left in the game. It looked like the Cardinals had it won, but then this was the Cardinals, and the Cowboys have pulled off a number of late game comebacks over the last few years. The Cardinals defense was making Dallas use up clock as they moved down the field. A holding penalty had the Cowboys facing a 2nd and 20 from their own 25 with just 2:17 to play, and things seemed just about over. But an encroachment penalty on the Cardinals moved the ball up 5 yards, and then on 2nd and 15, Marion Barber changed the game. Barber took a short pass and went 70 yards for a TD to cut the lead to 24-21 with 2 minutes to go. All those Cowboy fans that had been silent for the last half hour were now making a lot of noise.







Suddenly, the Cowboys didn’t even have to try an onsides kick. A 15 yard penalty for celebration forced Dallas to kickoff from the 15 and Arizona got to start at their 43. Dallas used its last two timeouts while stuffing a pair of running plays and Warner was sacked on 3rd down. Arizona punted and after an 11 yard return by Adam “Pac Man” Jones, Dallas had the ball at their 32 with just 50 seconds to play, needing a field goal to send the game into OT.







The Arizona defense had allowed the Cowboys back into the game and now it was up to them to win the game. Things got a lot tougher for Dallas after a holding penalty on the first play pushed them back to the 22 and brought up 1st and 20. The Cowboys were faced with a 3rd and 16 from the 26 with only 32 tics left and Romo threw to TE Jason Witten but he was brought down after only 8 yards to bring up 4th and 8. However, the Cards hurt themselves again with an offsides penalty, and instead of 4th and 8, the Cowboys had 3rd and 11. Dallas had another play to work with and this time Romo found Patrick Crayton for a 30 completion to the 39. Dallas ran up and spiked the ball, stopping the clock with 4 seconds left, just enough time to attempt a 56 yard field goal. But it would take a long time for that attempt to be made. Arizona linebacker Travis LaBoy had been injured during the 30 yard completion from Romo to Crayton, and as the Cowboys were rushing to spike the ball, LaBoy was limping as fast as he could to keep up with them. When Romo spiked it, LaBoy was still way behind the line, thus the officials threw a flag for offsides. The refs reviewed the play and discussed things for a few minutes before finally figuring things out and moving the ball 5 yards closer. That would give Folk a much more makable kick of 52 yards. Dallas lined up for the kick and the Arizona defenders broke through the line and blocked Folk’s try but it turned out that Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt had called a timeout at the last moment to freeze Kolk. The Cowboys got another shot and Folk’s second kick was clean and it went just over the cross bar through the uprights good to send the game into overtime.





You just knew that Arizona had no shot to win in OT. Dallas had all the momentum in the world and their fans had now taken over the stadium. Things continued to go against Arizona, as the Cowboys won the coin flip and would get the ball first in OT, putting the Cardinals defense right back on the field. The Cowboys started at their own 22. The Cardinals defense would have to make a play in order to give their team a chance to win, and they had been unable to make that big play on either of the last two Dallas drives. But on the first play of overtime, the Cardinals got that big play from the defense. It had been Chike Okeafor’s offsides penalty that had helped the Cowboys on their way to a game tying FG on their last drive of the game, but Okeafor made up for it with a huge play in OT. On 1st down, Okeafor sacked Romo and jarred the ball loose. The ball bounced right back to Romo at the 15, but Dallas would now have a 2nd and 17. Romo’s hand was also badly injured on the play but he stayed in the game and threw incomplete on 2nd and 3rd down, and the Cowboys had to punt from just outside of their own end zone.



Now Kurt Warner would have a chance to win the game, and the Cardinals would likely have good field position, with a good kicker in Neil Rackers waiting for his chance on the sideline. But neither Warner nor Rackers would be needed. On Dallas’ punt attempt, Sean Morey broke through the line untouched and blocked Mat McBriar’s kick. Monty Beisel picked it up at the 3 and went into the end zone for a touchdown to win it, 30-24. McBriar lay on the field hurt and had to be carried off. It was the first time in the history of the NFL that a game ended on a blocked punt for a touchdown.










The Cardinals celebrated like they were headed to the Super Bowl, having saved themselves from what would have been a heartbreaking defeat. The Cowboys had to swallow defeat after such an incredible comeback. Dallas would have been much better off just losing in regulation. For one thing, a loss in regulation would have been easier to get over than a loss in OT after a 10 point miracle comeback to tie the game.






More importantly, the Cowboys suffered two serious injuries in the OT. Tony Romo’s broken pinky figures to keep him out of action for a few weeks and the Cowboys will be without one of the better punters in the game for at least 2 months, after McBriar broke several bones in his right foot on the final play of the game.







The Cowboys were the 2nd NFC East team to fall on Sunday. Earlier in the day, the Washington Redskins had suffered a stunning defeat to start the NFC East off on its bad week. In the most improbable development of week 6, the red hot Redskins lost at home to the previously winless St. Louis Rams, 19-17. Washington came into week 6 as the hottest team in the NFL, having won 4 straight since a loss on opening night, winning on the road against division foes Dallas and Philadelphia in the two previous weeks to get to 4-1 on the year. Meanwhile, if there was one team that everyone was counting on to lose in week 6 it was St. Louis. The Rams had been blown out in each of their first 4 games and they had fired head coach Scott Linehan during their bye week. The Rams had allowed at least 31 points in each of their 4 games and had not yet scored more than 14 points in any game. The Rams had lost 8 straight and allowed at least 30 points in 5 straight games going back to last season. They had lost each game this year by at least 17 points and nothing Jim Haslett did in his first game as head coach figured to change things much on the road against the Redskins. But this is the NFL and there is no such thing as a sure thing.




The Rams went into this game as 12 point underdogs on the road and early on things went absolutely according to plan. Washington got the ball first and the Rams appeared to have stopped the Skins for a 3 and out on the opening drive when Clinton Portis was stuffed for no gain on a 3rd and 1 from the 36. But the Rams were flagged for having 12 men on the field, giving Washington a first down. The Rams kept the Skins from scoring on the drive but Washington punted and pinned St. Louis at the 3. On 2nd and 9 from the 4, Steven Jackson fumbled and the Redskins recovered at the 3. Portis scored on 1st and goal, and just like that the Rams were down 7-0.




It looked like the Skins would roll to the easy victory everyone expected but St. Louis’ defense kept the Rams in the game and a 51 yard field goal by Josh Brown got the Rams on the board with 4:01 to play in the opening quarter. On the ensuing Redskins possession, Washington quickly moved the ball into St. Louis territory. On 1st and 10 from the 39, Jason Campbell threw complete to Chris Cooley for an 11 yard gain that would have given the Skins another first down inside the 30, but Cooley fumbled and the Rams recovered at the 28. It was the first turnover of the season for the Redskins. The 1st quarter ended with the Rams still in the game, down just 7-3.




That was a sign of things to come for Washington. The Redskins got the ball back and moved right back into St. Louis territory. On 3rd and 5 from the Rams 34 a shotgun snap got away from Campbell. Chris Long recovered for the Rams at the 49 yard line. Once again the Redskins defense picked up the offense and kept St. Louis from capitalizing on the turnover. The Skins still led 7-3 when they took over the ball with 2:02 left in the half at their own 33 following a St. Louis punt, looking to go in for a late score right before the half. The Skins marched down the field and had a 1st down at the Rams 16 yard line with 26 seconds and one timeout left when a fluky play changed the game. Campbell’s pass for James Thrash was tipped at the line by Adam Carriker. The ball was batted 6 yards into the Redskins backfield and ended up in the arms of guard Pete Kendall. Instead of knocking the ball down, the 12th year man out of BC did exactly what most offensive lineman do in similar situations: he caught the ball and tried to advance it forward. But Pisa Tinoisamoa hit him immediately and stripped him of the ball. The ball bounced right to Oshiomogho Atogwe and he rumbled all the way home for a show stopping 75 yard fumble recovery for a TD. Instead of the Skins going in for a TD to take a 14-3 lead into halftime or at least kicking a FG to take a 10-3 lead into halftime, the Rams would now lead 10-7 at the half.



This was clearly the play of the game. The Rams got the ball first in the second half and kept things going in their direction. Dante Hall returned the second half kickoff 32 yards to the 42 and the Rams quickly moved into Washington territory. It didn’t look like the Rams would get any points out of the possession, however, as the Skins defense forced the Rams into a 3rd and 17 from the 49. But on 3rd down, Jackson took a pass from Marc Bulger for 13 yards, and on 4th and 4 from the 36, Bulger hit Torry Holt over the middle for 7 yards and a first down at the 29. The Rams wound up getting a field goal out of the drive to increase their lead to 13-7. Later in the quarter with the Skins backed up near their own end zone, a shanked punt by Durant Brooks went just 26 yards and gave St. Louis the ball at the 33. The Skins defense hung tough again but the Rams added another FG to go up 16-7 and they took a 9 point lead into the 4th quarter.





The Skins now looked to be in some pretty serious trouble but they weren’t done yet. They drove for a FG to get back within 6 points with still over 10 and a half minutes to play. The defense forced a punt and the Skins took over again at their 27 with 8:18 to play. Washington drove into St. Louis territory but they faced a 3rd and 14 from the Rams 31 with just over 4 and a half minutes left on the clock. On 3rd down, Campbell hit Antwaan Randle El for 29 yards and a 1st and goal at the 2. Portis scored on the next play and the Skins kicked the extra point to go on top 17-16 with 3:47 to play.





It now looked like the Skins would end up winning after all and the Rams would remain winless as expected. Washington’s defense had basically held the Rams offense all game and they only had to do it one more time to secure the win. But St. Louis needed only a FG to win. On 3rd and 2 from the St. Louis 32 yard line, Bulger completed a pass to Donnie Avery for 12 yards and a 1st down at the 44 as the clock hit the two-minute warning. Two plays later, the Rams faced a 3rd and 13 from their own 41 with the clock ticking under 1:15 to play in the game. Bulger dropped back and threw deep down the right sidelines for Avery, who made the catch at the 16 yard line for a 43 yard completion. The play was reviewed but it held up and the Rams were now in range for a game winning field goal to pull off a stunning upset and get their first victory of the season. The Skins took their second timeout with just 39 seconds left. The Rams decided not to even mess around and Bulger kneeled the ball on 1st down for a 1 yard loss and the Skins used their last timeout to stop the clock with 35 seconds left. It looked like the Skins would be able to run the clock all the way down before giving Josh Brown a chance to kick a 35 yard field goal to win it.



But just when it looked like the Skins were dead, the Rams reached out to save them. St. Louis guard Richie Incognito, who had been involved in a number of scuffles during the game and had goaded the Redskins into committing a personal foul, nearly cost his team the win with an incredible lack of self control. He simply couldn’t keep from jawing at the officials until he was flagged with unsportsmanlike conduct and the Rams were backed up 15 yards from the 17 to the 32. Now the Rams would have to try and get some yards on 2nd down but Jackson was stopped for a 1 yard gain, brining up 3rd and 25 from the 31. The Rams decided to run the clock all the way down to 2 seconds and call a timeout, leaving it all in the hands of Brown. Brown should have had just a 35 yarder to win but he would now have to hit from 49 yards out to win it. Brown saved Incognito and the Rams by burying the kick to win it, 19-17, completing about as surprising an upset as you will see in the NFL regular season. Despite just 8 first downs and being outgained 368-200, the Rams had their first victory of the season.






Actually, we nearly had 3 different teams get their first win of the season in the same afternoon. At the same time that the winless Rams were trying to pull off the upset in Washington, the 0-4 Texans were taking it down to the wire against the Dolphins in Houston, while the 0-4 Lions were giving the Vikings all they could handle in Minnesota. Only one of the two winless teams would get off the schnide.


The Houston Texans were thought to be the best of the winless teams and they were thought to have by far the best chance of winning in week 6. The Texans were 0-4, but their 4 losses had come against 2007 playoff teams (Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Jacksonville, and Indianapolis); 3 of their 4 losses had come on the road (at Pittsburgh, at Tennessee, and at Jacksonville); and they had lost their last two games by a total of 7 points, losing once in overtime (at Jacksonville) and once after blowing a 10 point lead in the 4th quarter (vs. Indianapolis). The Dolphins came into the game 2-2 but they had won their last 2 games and done so in impressive fashion, shocking the Patriots on the road in week 3, 38-13, and shutting down the Chargers to win 17-10 at home in week 5. Still, the Texans were thought to have a good chance of winning in week 6. In fact, they were 3 point favorites in their home contest against the Dolphins.



It would be anything but easy. Houston QB Matt Schaub was picked off on the first two Texans drives of the game. Then the Dolphins victimized the Texans from their “Wildcat” formation just as they had done to the Patriots and Chargers in their previous two games. On 2nd and 8 from the Dolphin 48 yard line, Ronnie Brown lined up in the shotgun and took the direct snap and then handed off to Ricky Williams. Williams pitched the ball to QB Chad Pennington and he launched it deep to a wide open Patrick Cobbs for a 53 yard TD strike to put the Dolphins up 7-0.



The Texans answered with a drive for a FG but early in the 2nd quarter Pennington and Cobbs struck again. On 2nd and 10 from the Miami 20, Pennington threw a screen pass to the left complete to Cobbs and Cobbs did the rest, busting it 80 yards for a TD to make the score 14-3 in favor of the Dolphins. The Texans were struggling but their special teams would get them back in the game. On the ensuing kickoff, Andre Davis came through with a 50 yard return to the Dolphins 42. Houston ended up getting a 33 yard field goal from Kris Brown out of it to cut the score to 14-6. The Texans defense held the Dolphins for a 3 and out on their next drive, and Jacoby Jones returned the punt 70 yards for a score to bring Houston within a point, down just 14-13 with 5:24 left in the half.



The score remained 14-13 into halftime and the Texans kept things going in the right direction at the start of the 3rd quarter, stopping the Dolphins on their opening drive. The Texans then drove 78 yards in just 5 plays and took their first lead of the game on a 12 yard TD pass from Schaub to Andre Johnson. With 17 unanswered points, the Texans now had a 20-14 lead, but the Dolphins responded immediately, driving 73 yards in just 6 plays, with Ricky Williams scoring from 7 yards out to put the Dolphins back on top by a point, 21-20.






The Texans’ offense was now moving the ball quite well against the Miami defense and Houston marched right back down the field and looked poised to go in for a score to take back the lead. On 1st down from the 24, Schaub hit Johnson with a pass for another first down and more inside the 10, but Will Allen came up and drilled Johnson at the 7 and the receiver fumbled into the end zone where the Dolphins recovered for a touchback.





The 4th quarter began with the Dolphins still leading 21-20. The defenses then controlled the game for a while until the Texans marched into Miami territory with less than 10 minutes to go in the game. The Texans drove from their own 20 to the Miami 24. On 3rd and 9, Schaub’s pass was nearly intercepted by Allen but it fell incomplete and Brown hit a 41 yard field goal to give the Texans a 23-21 lead with 6:04 left on the clock.






Moments later, the Texans appeared to be on the verge of putting the game away but they found a way to keep the opposition alive again. On 3rd and 5 from the Dolphin 36 yard line with 3:18 remaining, Pennington’s pass was intercepted by Eugene Wilson at the 46 and he returned it to the Dolphins 27, but Wilson fumbled and Justin Smiley recovered to give the ball back to Miami. 3 plays later, the Dolphins were all the way down to the Houston 12 yard line as the two-minute warning hit. 2 plays later, Brown went in from 6 yards out to put the Dolphins on top 28-23 with 1:45 to play.



The Texans began their next drive at their own 24 with a minute and 40 seconds to play, needing a touchdown to avoid a 5th straight defeat to start the year. Things looked bleak when Schaub was sacked on the first play of the drive, bringing up 2nd and 18 from the 16 as the clock ticked under a minute and 20 seconds. But on the next play, Schaub threw deep down the left side and hooked up with Davis for 20 yards and a first down at the 36. The Texans took a timeout with 1:09 remaining. They had one timeout left. Schaub threw incomplete on the next two plays and then on 3rd and 10 Schaub’s pass to Johnson was intercepted by Andre Goodman. That would have ended it, but replays showed that Goodman had not picked the ball off and the call was reversed. The Texans had another life but they were now facing a 4th and 10 from their own 36 with just 52 seconds to play. On 4th down, Schaub dropped back and threw a ball up to his best player. Johnson was well covered on the play by Yeremiah Bell but Johnson made an acrobatic catch and came down with it for a 23 yard reception and a first down at the Miami 41. The Texans ran up and spiked the ball with 29 tics left on the clock. They still had a long way to go but that distance was quickly shortened on the very next play, as Schaub threw deep down the right side for Kevin Walter, who made the catch and got out of bounds at the 11 after a 30 yard gain. On the next play, Schaub threw to Johnson and he took it down to the 3 yard line before going down. The Texans called their final timeout with 16 seconds left. It was 2nd and 2 and the Texans could get a first down without scoring but with only 16 seconds left and no timeouts, they probably needed to go for the end zone. Schaub threw into the end zone on the next two plays but both passes fell incomplete. It was now 4th and 2 from the 3 with 7 seconds left. This was probably going to be the Texans’ final play. On 4th down, Schaub lined up in the shotgun and took the snap but he immediately ran up the middle and scored from 3 yards out to put the Texans up 29-28 with 3 seconds to play. The Texans mobbed Schaub while the fans that had booed the QB earlier in the game now showered him with cheers. The Dolphins got one play from their own 41 to try and pull off a miracle but the Texans stopped them and hung on to win 29-28 for their first victory of the season.






The Detroit Lions were also battling for their first win of the year at around the same time against the Vikings in Minnesota but things didn’t end as well for them. If the Rams were the team that was given the least chance of winning on Sunday, the 0-4 Lions were a close second. Detroit had allowed at least 31 points in each of their 4 games and had lost each game by at least 17 points. The Vikings came into the game 2-3, having won their last game on the road against the Saints on Monday Night Football. The Lions had lost 9 of their last 10 against the Vikings and had lost 10 straight at the Metrodome. They were 10 point underdogs on the road.

Despite these long odds, the Lions nearly matched the Rams with a stunning upset of their own, and the Vikings needed a lot of help from the officials to avoid falling to what had looked like a hopeless Detroit team coming in.

The Lions outplayed Minnesota behind backup QB Dan Orlovsky. In the first start of his career, Orlovsky threw for 150 yards and a TD, but it was a major blunder by him early in the 1st quarter that ended up being one of the biggest plays of the game, perhaps the biggest play. The two offenses struggled for most of the opening period until the Vikings finally put together a long drive in the closing minutes. On 3rd and 1 from the 11, Adrian Peterson ran up the middle for a first down inside the 7 but he fumbled the football and the Lions recovered at the 1. Detroit took over with the game still scoreless but they were just a yard out from their own end zone facing a stout rushing defense with an inexperienced QB at the helm. After Orlovsky threw two incompletions to bring up 3rd and 10 from the 1, the Lions called a timeout to talk things over. Whatever was said, it is fairly certain that the strategy for 3rd down was not for Orlovsky to take the snap and run out of the back of the end zone. But that’s exactly what happened. The Vikings brought pressure and Orlovsky forgot where he was and as he rolled back and to his right he moved right out of the back of his end zone untouched for a safety.





Like the Rams, the Lions had fallen behind on a play that would have been comical if it wasn’t so sad, but just like St. Louis, Detroit would stay in the game. The two offenses traded punts throughout the 2nd quarter until the Lions finally got on the board with a FG to take a 3-2 lead with 1:56 to go in the half. They maintained that lead into halftime. The Lions got the ball first in the second half and their upset bid immediately became more serious, as they drove 72 yards for a TD, with Orlovsky hitting Calvin Johnson for a 12 yard TD pass to give Detroit a 10-2 lead. On the ensuing Minnesota possession, Leigh Bodden picked off Gus Frerotte to give the Lions the ball back at their 47 yard line. The Lions moved the ball to the 44 of the Vikings but on 3rd and 1, Jerome Felton was stopped short for no gain and the Lions decided to punt rather than go for it on 4th down. The punt was downed at the 14 but on the first play of the Vikings drive, Frerotte hit Bernard Berrian for an 86 yard TD pass to bring Minnesota within a point, now down just 10-9.





The two offenses then went back to doing nothing and the score remained 10-9 Lions into the 4th quarter. Early in the final period, the Vikings were driving inside Detroit territory when Peterson fumbled again and Bodden recovered at the Lions 38. The Lions defense had preserved the lead and the offense looked to catch the Vikings on their heels. Orlovsky threw deep down the middle of the field on the next play and hit Johnson for a long gain. Darren Sharper and Ben Leber combined to take Johnson down hard at the 30 after a 32 yard gain and the ball popped out. Leber picked up the ball and brought it back to the 40. The Lions challenged the play and replays showed that Johnson hit the ground before the ball popped out but the officials said there wasn’t enough evidence to overturn the original ruling of a fumble.




The Vikings took over and quickly moved deep into Detroit territory. Minnesota got a 1st down just outside the Lions 10 yard line and then Chester Taylor ran the ball down to the 2 but a crushing holding penalty moved the ball back to the 20. The Vikings ended up settling for a 37 yard field goal attempt and Ryan Longwell’s kick was blocked. The Lions still had a 1 point lead with just over 10 minutes to play.



Detroit took over and drove the ball inside Viking territory but the drive stalled at the 46 and the Lions punted. Detroit’s defense forced a 3 and out and the Lions got the ball right back. But Detroit couldn’t do anything either and they punted it back to Minnesota. The Vikings took over at their own 20, down 10-9, with 4:41 left on the clock. The Vikings got a couple of 1st downs, moving the ball to the 42 as the clock ticked under 3 minutes. Then on 1st down, Peterson was hit and dropped for a 5 yard loss. Then a false start penalty backed Minnesota up 5 more yards and left them with a 2nd and 20 at their own 32 with 2:22 to go. Of all the big plays in the game, the next play would be the biggest, and the most controversial. Frerotte dropped back to pass and threw deep down the right sideline for the speedy Aundrae Allison. The ball was a tad under thrown and Bodden was able to stay with Allison and break up the pass for an incompletion. Suddenly flags flew and Bodden was called for interference. It was an absolutely brutal call. Instead of 3rd down and 20 from their own 32, the Vikings had a first down at the Detroit 26 after a 42 yard penalty.



The Lions tried to hang on and they held the Vikings out of the end zone but Minnesota moved the ball inside the ten and took the clock all the way down to 12 seconds. Longwell kicked a 26 yard field goal through the uprights to put the Vikings on top 12-10 with just 9 seconds to go. The Lions got one play to try for a miracle but the Vikings stopped them to survive. In the end, Orvlosky’s safety that cost the Lions 2 points was enough to keep them winless for another week.






There was one other crazy game that took place during a wild early session on Sunday that contained a number of tight games that went down to the wire. The other great game was the battle between the Bears and Falcons at the Georgia Dome. In a week of fabulous finishes, this game had the most remarkable finish of all. Both teams went into the game 3-2, but the Bears were 1 point favorites on the road over the surprising Falcons. Led by rookie QB Matt Ryan, Atlanta was in control nearly all day, but they couldn’t put the game away. The Bears came from behind late and appeared to have stolen the game from the Falcons with a last second TD. However, the Falcons pulled off a miracle to steal the game right back, in a finish that will not soon be forgotten in Atlanta or Chicago.


The Falcons absolutely dominated the first half but they were unable to finish off any of a number of long drives with touchdowns, and they led just 9-3 at halftime. The Falcons drove into Chicago territory again early in the 3rd quarter but had to settle for another FG. The Bears offense then finally got going and Chicago drove 82 yards for a TD to cut the Falcons’ lead to 12-10. The Falcons drove into Chicago territory again and early in the 4th quarter they finally got in the end zone on a 3 yard TD pass from Ryan to Roddy White to increase the lead to 19-10. But the Bears responded with another long drive. The Chicago offense was really starting to move the ball now and the Bears drove all the way inside the Atlanta five yard line. The Falcons stopped the Bears at the 1 and on 3rd down the Atlanta defense kept Chicago out of the end zone. The Bears needed two scores to win but they decided to go for it on 4th and inches and the Falcons stopped a leaping Matt Forte short of the goal line to turn Chicago away with no points. The Falcons still led by 9 with 7:59 to play but they took over at their own 1. The Bears defense forced a 3 and out and Chicago took over at their own 46. This time when the drive stalled at the 14 the Bears took the FG to cut the score to 19-13 with 4 minutes to play.




The Falcons needed to respond and it really looked like they needed points, as the Bears offense was having a lot of success moving the football. On the ensuing kickoff, Jerious Norwood looked to have taken care of everything by himself, returning the kick up the left side 85 yards to the Chicago 17. The Falcons played it conservatively and ran on 3 straight downs. That forced the Bears to call their first two timeouts and the Falcons called a timeout with 2:50 to play and brought Jason Elam on for a 33 yard field goal try. Elam was 4 for 4 on the day and a 5th field goal here would just about put the game away. But wouldn’t you know it, Elam missed badly, wide left, and the Bears were still very much alive. The Bears had to have a touchdown and they would have to go 77 yards in 2 minutes and 43 seconds with just 1 timeout, but if you had watched the second half of the game, you knew that the Falcons were actually the team in a bad situation. The Bears got a first down and the 2-minute warning hit with Chicago facing a 2nd and 10 from the 37. On the next play, the Falcons were hit with a pass interference call that gave the Bears a first down at the 43. On 3rd and 7 from the 46, Kyle Orton hit Forte over the middle for 10 yards and a first down. Orton completed passes for 10 yards and 17 yards on the next two plays and the Bears had a first down at the 17 as they called their final timeout with 28 seconds left. The Falcons forced incompletions on the next two plays to give their fans hope, but on 3rd down, Rashied Davis got by the Atlanta secondary, and Orton found him wide open in the left corner of the end zone for a TD pass to tie the game with 11 seconds to play. The play held up under replay review and Robbie Gould kicked the extra point up and through to put the Bears on top, 20-19, with just 11 seconds to go.


The Falcons had gone to the well one too many times and the Bears had made the Falcons pay for Elam’s miss. To the delight of the thousands of Bears fans in attendance, it looked like Chicago had completed an improbable comeback and pulled out a win in the last minute to break Atlanta’s heart. But the game wasn’t quite over yet. With Norwood having returned 4 kickoffs for 178 yards on the day, the Bears decided to go with a squib kick to keep the ball away from him. This might have been good strategy, but Gould’s execution was poor, as he kicked the ball softly, and Harry Douglas fielded it at the 34 and got 10 yards before going down at the 44, leaving the Falcons with 6 seconds. The Bears were still in great shape and the Falcons should have needed a Hail Mary to beat them. But the Bears somehow allowed Michael Jenkins to run a deep out and Matt Ryan threw a perfect strike and Jenkins caught it and got both feet in bounds before going out at the Chicago 30 with 1 second left on the clock. The officials looked at the play under review but the 26 yard reception stood. Incredibly, Jason Elam would now have a chance to redeem himself with a 47 yard field goal attempt to win the game. Elam’s boot was up and good, his 5th of the day, and the Falcons stormed the field to mob the kicker as if they had just won the Super Bowl. Unbelievably, the Falcons had won a game they trailed with only 11 seconds on the clock, stealing the game back from the Bears to win their 4th game of the season, equaling their win total from last year.






9 Minutes of Madness

As stated before, there were a bunch of tight games coming to dramatic conclusions at around the same time on Sunday afternoon. In fact, over a 9 minute span, 4 games were decided on last minute scores. The 9 minute stretch began and ended at the Georgia Dome. At 12 seconds past 4:00 PM EST, the Bears went ahead of the Falcons, 20-19, after Kyle Orton hit Rashied Davis on a 17 yard TD strike with 11 seconds to go in the game. A few minutes later at 1 second past 4:03 PM EST, Ryan Longwell’s 26 yard field goal sailed through the uprights to give the Vikings a 12-10 lead over the Lions with just 12 seconds to go in the game. About a minute later, at 8 seconds past 4:04 PM EST, Matt Schaub crossed the goal line from 3 yards out on 4th down to put the Texans ahead of Miami, 29-28, with just 3 seconds to go in the game. A little over 4 minutes later, at 24 seconds past 4:08 PM EST, Josh Brown’s 49 yard field goal went through the uprights to put the Rams on top of the Redskins, 19-17, with no time left on the clock. Less than a minute later, at 1 second past 4:09 PM EST, 8 minutes and 49 seconds after the Bears went ahead of the Falcons 20-19, Jason Elam’s 48 yard field goal went through the uprights to put the Falcons on top, 22-20, with no time left on the clock.




While there is only one team left without a loss in 2008, there are still 2 teams left without a win. As stated above, the Lions lost to the Vikings in week 6 to fall to 0-5. The Cincinnati Bengals are the League’s only 0-6 team after losing by 12 points to the Jets on the road in week 6, 26-14. The Lions and Bengals don’t play each other this year, meaning the dream of two winless teams is still alive. Cincinnati doesn’t seem like that bad of a team and they’ve been competitive in a few of their games. They have a pretty tough schedule ahead, beginning with a game against the Steelers at home this week. The Lions have a chance to win this week as they travel to Houston to play the Texans. The Bengals will be in Houston the following week and they’ll have a chance to win that game as well.



Last year there was an undefeated team in the regular season and the Patriots didn’t lose until the Super Bowl. This year after just 6 weeks there is only 1 team left without a loss. The Titans should win this week at Kansas City to get to 6-0. If they do that they will be undefeated going into a Monday night game at home against the Colts in week 8.