Monday, November 10, 2008

The NFL Blog: Week 8 and 9 Reviews

Due to technical difficulties I haven’t been able to give you my usual weekly review of the NFL the last two weeks. So here’s a big, belated double-issue of my long winded ramblings concerning Weeks 8 and 9 of the NFL season.

Week 8 Review

Giants Win Black and Blue Battle in Pittsburgh

The marquee matchup of week 8 of the NFL was the late afternoon game between the New York Giants and the Pittsburgh Steelers at Hines Field in Pittsburgh. The largest crowd ever to see a regular season game at Hines Field came out to see this battle of 5-1 teams. The visiting Giants were 3-point underdogs but their ability to play well and win on the road in hostile environments was by now well known. The Giants had had injury concerns during the preseason but had not been slowed by them so far. Narcissistic wideout Plaxico Burress was to be held out of the 1st quarter as punishment for a violation of team rules but for the most part the Giants came into this game at close to full strength. That was far from the case for the Steelers. Pittsburgh had been dealing with crippling injuries all year and they looked like the walking wounded going into week 8. They would be without their starting left tackle and starting left guard, without star running back Willie Parker, and without corner back Bryant McFadden. Adding to the injury problems, starting WR Santonio Holmes was suspended for the game due to being charged with possession of marijuana earlier in the week. Many other players throughout the roster that were active were banged up as well. During the game the Steelers would lose starting safety Ryan Clark but it would be an injury to long snapper Greg Warren that would prove to be the most costly of all.

This game was expected to be a hard hitting, defensive battle and it did not disappoint in that regard. In fact, the game was extremely physical, and it was basically controlled by the two outstanding defenses. The Steelers had the upper hand for most of the game, as their defense managed to keep the Giants out of the end zone despite being put in tough positions on numerous occasions. The Giants defense picked off Big Ben Roethlisberger 4 times and sacked him 5 times but the Steeler offense benefited from a couple of big plays turned in by guys filling in for the injured starters. It looked like the Steelers would be able to ride their defense to a win until a bizarre play late in the game turned the whole thing around.

The Steelers scored on their very first drive as Mewelde Moore—filling in for the injured Willie Parker—busted free for a 32 yard TD run to put Pittsburgh up 7-0 less than 4 minutes into the game. After going 3 and out on their first possession, the Giants drove into Steeler territory on their 2nd drive and had a 1st and goal at the 9, but the Pittsburgh defense bowed up and forced New York to settle for a 26 yard field goal. On Pittsburgh’s next possession, Big Ben was picked off in Steeler territory at the 42. The Giants moved the ball inside the red zone again and early in the 2nd quarter New York got a 1st and goal at the 2. Eli Manning threw incomplete on 1st down and then an offsides penalty moved the ball to the 1. On 2nd down Brandon Jacobs was stuffed for no gain. On 3rd and 1 Jacobs went up the middle into the line, kept struggling, and eventually broke the plain for a touchdown. But the Steelers challenged and the call was reversed, with Jacobs being ruled down at the 1. It was now 4th down and the Giants decided to go for it. Jacobs got the ball again but again he was met by a stiff resistance and did not make it. The Giants challenged but this time the call was upheld and the Steelers took over on downs at their own 1 yard line. They couldn’t get past their own 5 and had to punt from their own end zone. The Giants returned the short punt all the way to the Pittsburgh 19. Once again the Steeler defense stepped up, holding New York to 2 yards on 3 plays, and the Giants settled for a 35 yard field goal to get within a point. The Steeler defenders quickly found themselves having to protect a very short field again, as Big Ben was picked off on Pittsburgh’s next possession. This time the Giants started at the Pittsburgh 29. New York drove inside the Steelers 10 but once again the Pittsburgh defense was up to the task. The Giants were again forced to settle for a 25 yard field goal that gave New York their first lead of the game, 9-7, and they would take that lead into halftime.

After both teams went 3 and out on their first possessions of the 2nd half, the Steelers took over at their 35. Big Ben dropped back on 1st down and threw a bomb down the left side to reserve wide receiver Nate Washington. Washington made the catch and beat the Giant secondary for a 65 yard touchdown that gave Pittsburgh a 14-9 lead with 10 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. The Steeler defense held the Giants for 3 and out again, and Pittsburgh got the ball right back, and then Roethlisberger and Washington nearly put the game away. On 1st and 10 from the 47 Big Ben went deep down the left side for Washington again and he made the catch and beat the Giant secondary again for a 53 yard TD. That would have put the Giants 12 points down with less than 4 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, needing to score 2 touchdowns against the top defense in the NFL. But the play was nullified by a holding penalty. Instead of a touchdown, the Steelers now had a 1st and 20 and they were eventually forced to punt. But the Pittsburgh defense continued to stifle New York offensively and as the 4th quarter began the Steelers were inside Giant territory again still leading by 5. The Giant defense eventually stopped Pittsburgh 5 yards short of the first down on 3rd and 13 bringing up a 4th and 5 from the 34. Rather than try a long field goal, the Steelers elected to go for it and Big Ben was intercepted again at the 25 and the Giants took over at the 32. This time New York’s offense was able to move the ball and they got all the way down inside the Pittsburgh 10 again, getting a 1st and goal at the 4. Remarkably, the Steeler defense hardened again to force yet another field goal, this one from 24 yards. That cut the score to 14-12 with 8:18 remaining in the game.

Pittsburgh began their next drive at their own 30 but the Giant defense had a dominant series, forcing an incompletion on 1st down, throwing Moore for a 4 yard loss on 2nd down, and then sacking Big Ben for an 8 yard loss on 3rd down to force the Steelers into a punting situation. The problem for Pittsburgh was that their long snapper, Greg Warren, had blown out his knee, and thus LB James Harrison was asked to try and fill in as an emergency long snapper. With the ball at the 18 yard line of Pittsburgh, the Steelers were going to be punting from just outside of their own end zone, and this would obviously make the snap even more important. New York knew the long snapper was out and they brought pressure. Harrison’s snap was relatively good in terms of going straight back towards punter Mitch Berger, but unfortunately it was 2 feet over his head. The Steelers avoided complete disaster when the ball went out of the back of the end zone for a safety instead of the Giants recovering it for a touchdown. Still, the game was now tied and the Giants would be getting the ball back and everything was going to be put on a Steeler defense that had already had to expend a ton of energy. The Giants started their next possession at their own 47 and they moved deep into Pittsburgh territory again. The big play was a 25 yard strike from Eli Manning to Steve Smith that got the ball down to the 25. The Giants got a 1st and goal at the 9, Derrick Ward took the ball to the 2, and then Manning threw to Kevin Boss for a 2 yard TD on 2nd and goal to give the Giants the lead with just over 3 minutes left in the game. Now that they had the lead, the Giant defense wouldn’t surrender it. The Steelers went 3 and out on their next possession and had to punt. The Pittsburgh defense forced a 3 and out as well and the Steelers got the ball back at their own 10 with still 1:48 to go. But New York’s defense would allow nothing. The Steelers had to go for it on 4th and 15 from their own 5 and Big Ben’s long pass was intercepted at midfield as the Giants hung on for a hard fought 21-14 win.

Battered Boys Manage to Come Away with a Much Needed Win over Bucs

A game most people weren’t interested in watching was the Dallas-Tampa Bay contest at Texas Stadium, although everybody was very interested in what the outcome would be. The Cowboys—the preseason favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl—were reeling after getting off to a 3-0 start, having lost 3 of their last 4 games, including a blowout loss to St. Louis the week before. They were going to be without star QB Tony Romo for at least 2 more games, and at 4-3 with a road game against the Giants coming up in week 9, this was just about a must win game for the Cowboys. It didn’t figure to be easy. Led by their always tough defense, the Bucs were 5-2 going into the game. And Dallas was going to have to face the fast Tampa defense with the ancient and immobile Brad Johnson under center. But they needed to try and find a way to win because if they lost and had to go to New York at .500 with Romo still out there was a very good chance they would be 4-5 going into their bye week with a road trip to Washington coming up. That would be a very tough hole to dig themselves out of. At the start of the season the talk was whether the Cowboys would finally be able to win in the playoffs. Amazingly, there was now doubt whether the Cowboys would even make the playoffs.

The game basically turned out as expected, with the Bucs defense dominating the Cowboy offense, which could do almost nothing with Johnson running the show. But the Dallas defense came up big for the Boys, holding Tampa out of the end zone despite often having to defend a short field. They came up with big plays on a number of key occasions and once Dallas took the lead late in the 2nd quarter the defense made it stand up.

The Cowboys went 3 and out on their opening possession and the Bucs got a 20 yard punt return and began their first drive in Dallas territory at the 47. The Bucs moved to the 18 and had a 3rd and 1 but Dallas’ defense stopped Earnest Graham and Tampa had to settle for a 36 yard field goal. Dallas went 3 and out again on each of their next 2 possessions and Tampa began their 3rd drive at the 48. They moved into Dallas territory and had a 1st down at the 18 but again it was there that the Cowboys defense stiffened. Tampa had to settle for another 36 yard field goal to make the score 6-0. Dallas began their 4th drive at their own 29 and they picked up their first 1st down of the game on the final play of the 1st quarter. Finally they were able to move the ball on this possession, going 51 yards and kicking a 38 yard field goal to cut the score to 6-3. The Bucs then went on a time consuming drive that took them down to the Dallas 25 where they had a 3rd down and 3. That’s when the Cowboy defense came up with a big play, sacking Jeff Garcia for an 8 yard loss. The Bucs were forced to settle for another field goal try but this one was no chip shot, and Matt Bryant missed the 51 yard attempt wide right. Not only had the Bucs come away with no points, they had also given the Cowboys great field position at their 41 with 2:23 until halftime. Tampa Bay appeared to have killed the Cowboys’ drive, stopping Marion Barber 12 yards shy of the first down on 3rd and 13 at the 48 yard line. But Ronde Barber drew a personal foul penalty and the Cowboys were awarded a 1st down at the Tampa 33 with 40 seconds left in the half. The Bucs drew 3 more penalties on the drive to help the Cowboys get a 1st and goal at the 2 with 6 seconds on the clock. The Boys went for 1 more play, and Johnson threw a 2 yard TD pass to Roy Williams with 4 tics on the clock to put the Cowboys up 10-6.

The Bucs fumbled the 2nd half kickoff and Dallas recovered at the Tampa 33 but the offense was stymied and had to punt. Dallas began its next drive at the 48 and managed to get in position for Nick Folk to boot a 45 yard field goal that increased their lead to 13-6. The Bucs responded with a drive into Dallas territory and they got a 1st down at the 21. But once again the Cowboy defense got tough and the Bucs had to kick another field goal, closing the gap to 13-9 with just 34 seconds remaining in the 3rd. That turned out to be the final scoring play of the day. Tampa had great field position to start their next drive at the 43 but the Dallas defense held for a 3 and out. The Bucs got the ball back at their 42 but the Cowboys defense forced 3 and out again. The Bucs began their final drive at their own 26 with 4:15 on the clock and this time they were able to move the ball. The Bucs crossed midfield and got a 1st down at the Dallas 23 with 34 seconds to play. With just 19 seconds remaining, the Bucs had a 4th and 3 at the 18, and once again it was at the 18 that their drive would end, as Garcia fired incomplete to turn the ball over on downs, as the Cowboys held on for an ugly but crucial 13-9 win.

Titans Take Strangle Hold in AFC North, Remain Unbeaten with Win over Indy on MNF

The other big game in week 8 was the matchup between the Colts and the Titans in Nashville on Monday night. This was a big game for both teams. The Titans were the only remaining unbeaten team in the NFL at 6-0 and looking to further validate themselves as a championship contender with a win over the 5-time defending AFC South champion Colts. The Colts needed to win the game for a very practical reason: a loss would drop them below .500 at 3-4 and put them 4 games back in the division.

The Colts didn’t give the Titans control of the division without fighting for it. They played Tennessee tough for most of the game, holding the Titans out of the end zone in the first half. The Colts offense hadn’t looked right much of the year coming into the game but they were good enough on Monday night to put Tennessee 8 points down in the 3rd quarter. Eventually, however, the Tennessee rushing attack began to wear the Indy defense down. In the final 25 minutes of the game the Titans defense and the Colts offense squared off in a number of big moments and on almost every single occasion it was the Titan defense that made the play. When it was over it was clear who was king of the hill for now in the AFC South.

An excellent kick return by Chris Carr gave the Titans great field position to start the game and they managed to drive 40 yards for a 34 yard field goal and an early lead. It was actually a great punt by Hunter Smith that got things going in the right direction for the Colts. Smith pinned the Titans at their own 9 on their next possession, and after a 3 and out, Titans punter Craig Hentrich got off a poor kick and Indy took over at the Tennessee 37. 4 plays later, Manning found Dallas Clark in the end zone for a 10 yard TD pass to put the Colts up 7-3. The Titans responded with a field goal on their next possession early in the 2nd, and then intercepted Manning in inside Indy territory on the ensuing Colts drive. But the Indy defense forced a field goal try and this time Rob Bironas missed wide left from 43 yards out to keep it a 1 point game. The score remained 7-6 in favor of the Colts for the rest of the half.

The Colts got the ball first in the 3rd quarter and marched into Tennessee territory. When Manning hooked up with Clark for another TD completion, this one for 19 yards to put Indy up 14-6, it looked like the Colts weren’t ready to give up control of the division just yet. Perhaps this still was their division. But it was at this point that the Titans offense answered with a dominant drive that turned the game around. The Titans began at their 20 and marched 80 yards in 14 plays for a score, converting 3rd downs into 1st downs four times during the drive, with Lendale White going in from 1 yard out on 3rd and goal for the touchdown. Shunning conventional wisdom, Coach Jeff Fisher had his team go for the 2-PT conversion now, and Kerry Collins threw to Ahmad Hall to get the conversion and tie the game at 14 with 3:21 to play in the 3rd quarter. Indy got a great return on the ensuing kickoff and began their drive at their 40 yard line, but the Titan defense forced a 4th and 1 from the 49. The Colts decided to go for it and the Tennessee defense stuffed Dominic Rhodes for no gain to take control of the ball at midfield. Tennessee advanced to the 30 and Bironas kicked a 48 yard field goal to give the Titans a 17-14 lead just 15 seconds into the 4th quarter. The Colts moved into Tennessee territory on their next drive and got a first down at the Titans 42. On 3rd and 2 from the 34, Manning threw deep down the left side for an open Reggie Wayne but he wasn’t quite able to pull it in. The Colts didn’t want to try a 51 yard field goal so they went for it on 4th and 2 and Manning’s short pass for Marvin Harrison was broken up. Instead of scoring a touchdown to take the lead, the Colts ended up not even tying it up. The Titans then took up nearly 7 minutes while marching 66 yards for a TD, with White scoring again from 1 yard out to put Tennessee up 24-14 with 4:37 to go. The Titans intercepted Manning again on the next Indy possession and then scored on a 16 yard TD by Chris Johnson to put the game away. The Colts scored a meaningless touchdown with just over a minute to go but the Titans ended up winning it by the final score of 31-21 to go to 7-0, knocking the Colts under .500 at 3-4 and taking a commanding lead in the AFC South.

Bengals Routed, Lions Fall Short, Both Teams Remain Winless

At the end of week 8 there were still 2 winless teams in the National Football League. The Bengals fell down 14-3 to the Houston Texans on the road and the Texans went on to blowout Cincinnati, 35-6, sending the Bengals to 0-8 on the season. The Texans outgained Cinci by 131 yards (384-253) and won the turnover battle 3-0. The Detroit Lions gave the Redskins a solid fight in Washington, leading for much of the game, but eventually they found themselves on the losing end of the stick. The Lions took a 7-3 lead with 13 seconds remaining in the 1st quarter and they increased the lead to 10-3 early in the 2nd. They led 10-6 at the half and they were still ahead 10-9 until the Redskins scored on a 50 yard bomb from Jason Campbell to Santana Moss to take a 16-10 lead with 4:42 to go in the 3rd. An 80 yard touchdown pass from Campbell to Moss made it 22-10 early in the 4th but the Lions didn’t give up, scoring on a 17 yard TD pass from Dan Orlovsky to Calvin Johnson to cut the lead to 22-17 with 6:39 remaining in the game. Washington hit a field goal to make it an 8 point game with 1:56 to go but the Lions weren’t out of it until Orlovsky’s pass fell incomplete on 4th and 3 at the 45 to turn the ball over on downs with 39 seconds on the clock. The Skins ran the clock out to hand Detroit a 25-17 defeat, sending the Lions to 0-7 on the year.

Other Week 8 Notes

The games in week 8 were mostly very competitive. Of the 14 games, 9 were decided by single digits, 8 by 8 points or less, and 4 by 5 points or less. San Diego and New Orleans played in London in week 8 for the Disappointment Bowl. Both teams entered the game at 3-4 but they did manage to put on an entertaining show for the Brits. Phillip Rivers threw for 341 yards and 3 touchdowns and LaDainian Tomlinson ran for 105 yards but it was the Saints who prevailed, 37-32, behind 339 yards and 3 TD passes by Drew Brees. The Jets nearly lost at home to the Chiefs in week 8 when Brett Favre was intercepted 3 times, including a pick taking 91 yards for a TD to give the Chiefs a 24-21 lead with 7:48 remaining in the 4th. But Favre led the Jets on a scoring drive late in the game, throwing a touchdown pass to Laverneous Coles with 1 minute left to put New York back on top and they went on to win, 28-24. Arizona led the Panthers 17-3 early in the 3rd quarter on the road in week 8 but Jake Delhomme led his team on a late comeback to win the game 27-23 and move to 6-2 on the year. The only real upset of week 8 was Cleveland’s surprising win over the Jaguars in Jacksonville. The Browns came into the game as 7 point underdogs but they led for most of the game and never trailed, eventually winning 23-17, making both teams 3-4.

Week 9 Review

Big Blue Dominates Romo-less Cowboys

The biggest game on week 9’s Sunday afternoon slate was the Cowboys-Giants matchup in New York. The beaten and battered Cowboys came into the game 5-3 following their win over Tampa the week before, while the Giants were 6-1 and coming off a big win in Pittsburgh. The Cowboys were still without their star QB Tony Romo and would once again turn to 17 year vet Brad Johnson. The Cowboys were picked by most to go to the Super Bowl this year but a loss in this game would put them in a tough position as far as the playoff chase was concerned. While a win for Dallas would have put them back in the hunt for the NFC East title, a loss would mean they would basically have to start concentrating on trying for a wild card spot.

With the Cowboys missing several key players this was really not a fare fight. But for what its worth, the Giants put an ultra-physical beat down on Big D. They led 21-7 at the half, took a 28-7 lead to the 4th, and went on to win 35-14. New York held the feeble Dallas offense to 183 yards and the Giant offense gained 23 first downs and rushed for 200 yards. The Cowboys tried Brooks Bollinger at QB in the 2nd half and he was no better than Johnson, throwing a pick on his very first pass attempt. The Cowboys would have a bye in week 10 and hope to get Romo back the week after. But at this moment, Dallas is simply not in the same league as the New York Football Giants.

Colts Edge Brady-less Pats in Compromised Battle of Decade’s Two Great Franchises

During this decade, one of the best rivalries and most likely the very best rivalry has been the one between the Indianapolis Colts and the New England Patriots. Their week 9 meeting was a matchup that everybody immediately looked at and circled as soon as the schedules came out months ago. But when the two teams actually met up on Sunday night there was a decidedly different storyline than anyone could have expected. New England’s season was changed immeasurably when Tom Brady was lost for the season in the 1st quarter of their season opener. With Matt Cassel at quarterback in Brady’s stead the Pat’s had put together a highly respectable 5-2 record. On the other side, Peyton Manning had undergone offseason knee surgery and he and the Colts had just not looked liked themselves so far in 2008. They came into the game under .500 at 3-4 and in desperate need of a win.

Though some of the shine was gone from this matchup, you could still feel the passion and intensity, and it ended up being a good game. The Patriots game plan was to run the ball and control the clock and they were able to do that successfully for much of the game. The Colts led 7-0 after 1 but the Pats had the deficit cut to 7-6 by halftime. Midway through the 3rd quarter, the Patriots took the lead with a 6 yard TD run by Ben Jarvis Green Ellis, but they missed the 2-PT conversion to keep the score 12-7. The Colts responded with a touchdown drive of their own and they got the 2-PT conversion to make the score 15-12 with 3:12 to go in the 3rd. The Pats tied it up on a field goal with 11:33 to go but Indy retook the lead a few minutes later on a 52 yard field goal by former New England kicker Adam Vinatieri. The Patriots were on their way to answering that score when a personal foul penalty on tight end David Thomas turned a 3rd and 1 into a 3rd and 16. The Pats got just 1 yard on the next play but they had no timeouts left and had to go for it on 4th and 15. Cassel was intercepted and the Colts went on to win it, 18-15.

Steelers Make Themselves at Home in Nation’s Capital on Election Eve

The Monday Night Football matchup in week 9 was an excellent one. The 5-2 Pittsburgh Steelers came into Washington to play the 6-2 Redskins on the night before the presidential election. The Skins had won 6 of 7 since a loss on opening night while the Steelers were dealing with a slew of injuries and coming off a loss to the Giants in week 8. But on this night the Steeler defense controlled the game and made Washington’s offense look almost as bad as it had way back in week 1.

Early on Pittsburgh’s defense saved the team after their coach and quarterback put them in trouble twice. The Steelers tried an onsides kick to open the game and the Redskins recovered at the Pittsburgh 36. But the Steeler defense forced a 3 and out and Washington had to settle for a field goal. On the Steelers’ first possession, Ben Roethlisberger was intercepted at his own 30 yard line, but again the Steeler defense held for a 3 and out, and Washington settled for another field goal to make the score 6-0. The two offenses continued to struggle until the Steelers finally got on the board with a FG with 8:09 on the clock in the 2nd quarter. With a little over 2 minutes remaining in the first half, Washington lined up for a punt on 4th and 1 from their own 36 and the Steelers blocked it and gave the offense the ball at the 13 yard line. The Steelers got a 1st and goal at the 1 and Big Ben took the ball in on a sneak for the first touchdown of the night. The Steelers led 10-6 at halftime but Big Ben was unable to come back out for the second half due to re-injuring his shoulder. But with Byron Leftwich in at QB, the Steelers scored on their first possession of the 2nd half. Willie Parker scored on a 1 yard run to make it 17-6. Later in the 3rd the Skins drove into Steeler territory but Jason Campbell was intercepted at the 23. Early in the 4th quarter Leftwich hit Santonio Holmes on a 5 yard TD pass to put the game away. On their final 3 possessions, the Redskins were stopped on downs by the Steeler defense at the Pittsburgh 1, the Pittsburgh 12, and the Pittsburgh 17, as the Steelers came away with a very impressive 23-6 win at Fedex Field.

Packers put Scare into Tennessee but Titans Prevail in OT to Remain Unbeaten

The Tennessee Titans came about as close to losing in week 9 as they had all year long. Against the Packers at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, the Titans led 16-10 with just over 4 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter, but the Packers kicked 2 field goals to tie the game with 5:35 to go. Tennessee went down and got in position for a game winning field goal try, but Rob Bironas missed wide left and the game went to OT tied at 16. The coin toss was huge because the Packer defense was exhausted. The Titans won the coin flip. Kerry Collins threw to Chris Johnson for 16 yards and a first down on 3rd and 6 from the Tennessee 26. Then after Johnson ran for another first down inside Packer territory, Lendale White picked up 7 yards on the ground on 3rd and 4 from the 38. Tennessee reached the 23 and decided to kick on 3rd down. This time it was from 41 yards and Bironas kicked it through to give the Titans a 19-16 overtime win. With the victory the Titans completed the first half of their season perfect at 8-0.

Bengals Stun Slumping Jags for First Win of the Season

The Cincinnati Bengals entered week 9 with an 0-8 mark following an embarrassing 35-6 loss to Houston in week 8. The Benglas had at least been competitive in most of their games prior to the debacle against the Texans, but after their performance against Houston people began to question whether it was possible they might finish the year 0-16. But it only took a week for the Bengals to put that notion to rest. Cincinnati jumped out to a big lead against the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars and hung on at the end for a 21-19 win, their first victory of the season. For the second straight week the Jaguars lost as 7 point favorites, dropping to 3-5 on the year after going 11-5 last season. With Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback, the Bengals took the lead late in the 1st quarter on an 84 yard drive for a touchdown, and then drove 88 yards for a TD early in the 2nd to go up 14-0. The Jags got on the board with a FG before halftime, but early in the 3rd, Cincinnati intercepted David Garrard inside Jacksonville territory and went in for another score to go up 21-3. Later in the 3rd Fitzpatrick was picked off at midfield but Jacksonville couldn’t do anything with the field position and punted. Early in the 4th, Jacksonville finally drove deep into Cincinnati territory and had a first and goal at the 3, but the Bengals defense forced a field goal that made it 21-6 with 13:27 to go in the game. The Bengals still looked to be in great shape but disaster struck on the ensuing kickoff, as the Jags forced a fumble and took it to the end zone for a TD that made the score 21-13 with just 10 seconds coming off the clock. Jacksonville couldn’t get any closer until they were able to put together a late drive. Maurice Jones Drew scored on a 1 yard run with 1:21 remaining to bring the Jags within a 2-PT conversion of tying the score. But Garrard’s pass on the 2-PT attempt was broken up and the Bengals still lead 21-19. Jacksonville’s last shot was an onsides kick but the Bengals recovered. The Jags got the ball back at their own 4 yard line with 11 seconds left but they were unable to pull off the biggest miracle in NFL history, and the Bengals won it, 21-19, for their first win of the season.

Lions Blow Lead over Chicago, Remain Winless on the Season

Week 9 in the NFL began with 2 teams still seeking their first win of the season and there were very nearly no winless teams left at the end. But once again the Detroit Lions proved to be in class by themselves when it comes to disappointment and failure. The Lions entered week 9 with an 0-7 record and they were not expected to win Sunday on the road against the Bears. Early on it looked like business as usual, with the Lions falling down 10-0 barley 10 minutes into the game. Even when Detroit scored a touchdown to get on the board early in the second quarter they still looked like amateurs, as the extra point was blocked to leave it a 10-6 game. But Chicago fumbled the ensuing kickoff at the 17 and Detroit scored on the very next play to take 13-10 lead. Later in the 2nd, Dan Orlovsky fired his second TD pass of the game to put the Lions up 20-10 in front of stunned Soldier Field crowd. The Bears responded with a field goal but the Lions answered back with a field goal of their own to make a 10 point game again. Then with less than a minute remaining in the half, Bears quarterback Kyle Orton was sacked and taken off the field with an ankle injury. He would not return and the Lions took a 23-13 lead into halftime. Chicago cut the lead to 23-20 with a TD midway through the 3rd but Detroit still lead by 3 heading to the 4th quarter. When former starting QB Rex Grossman was intercepted at the Chicago 36 with 11:35 to play, the Lions had a chance to put the game away. But the Bears defense forced a 3 and out. A few minutes later, the Bears scored on a 1 yard QB sneak by Grossman to take the lead, 27-23, with 5:36 to go. The missed extra point now came back to bite as the Lions would not be able to tie the game with a field goal. With the clock ticking under 2 and a half minutes to go, Orlovsky threw to Michael Gaines for what would have been a first down inside Chicago territory but Gaines fumbled and the Bears recovered at the 44. Detroit got the ball back once more and had 1st down at the Bears 32 with 12 seconds on the clock but they never got any closer and the Bears held on for a 27-23 win. Detroit fell to 0-8 on the season, and with the Bengals winning at Jacksonville, the Lions ended the week as the only remaining winless team in the NFL.

Chiefs Blow Huge Lead Against Bucs, Fall in Overtime to Drop to 1-7 on the Season

The Chiefs nearly pulled off a major upset in week 9 against the Tampa Bay Bucs, jumping out to a 24-3 lead at home as 9.5 point underdogs. But then the Chiefs began playing like a 1-6 team. After kicking a field goal with 2:17 to play in the 2nd quarter, it looked like the Chiefs would take a 21 point lead into halftime, but they allowed a 96 yard return for a touchdown on the ensuing kickoff. The Chiefs got good field position on their next drive and that may have ended up hurting them because they tried to get some more points instead of just running out the clock. Tampa got the ball back at their 20 with 1:08 to play and the Chiefs appeared to have stopped the Bucs when Jeff Garcia threw incomplete on 3rd and 11 from the 19. But Tampa was called for roughing the passer and the Bucs had a first down at the 34 with 41 seconds left. They drove down and kicked a field goal to cut the lead down to 24-13 going to halftime. Despite the major letdowns late in the 2nd quarter, the Chiefs shutout the Bucs in the 3rd quarter and still led by 11 going to the 4th. When a long Tampa drive ended on a fumble recovery at the KC 10 yard line early in the 4th, it looked like the Chiefs had it in the bag. But on the very next play, KC fumbled and Tampa recovered at the 3 yard line. The Bucs scored on the next play to make it 24-19. They went for 2 and missed to leave it a 5 point game. Kansas City responded with a long drive inside the TB 10 yard line. The Chiefs had a 3rd and 1 at the 4 but a pass by Tyler Thigpen was broken up and they settled for a field goal to make it 27-19 with 7:38 to go. The Bucs were within a TD and a 2-PT conversion of tying it up and they drove deep into KC territory on their next possession and had a 1st and goal at the 7. But on the next play, Earnest Graham fumbled into the end zone and the Chiefs recovered for a touchback. On 3rd and 4 from their own 26, the Chiefs appeared to clinch the win when Tony Gonzalez caught a ball for 20 yards and a 1st down at the 46. The Bucs were out of timeouts and only 2:21 remained on the clock but Gonzalez was called for offensive pass interference. The Chiefs then came up 7 yards short on 3rd and 14 and the two-minute warning hit with KC facing a punting situation at their own 23. The Bucs returned the punt 14 yards to the 50 with 1:50 on the clock. A few moments later, Garcia hit Antonio Bryant on a 24 yard TD pass to make it a 2 point game with 25 seconds on the clock. Garcia threw for the 2-PT conversion to tie it up at 27. The game went to overtime and the Bucs won the coin flip. They moved 58 yards in 9 plays and then kicked a 34 yard field goal to finish off a remarkable comeback win, 30-27, in overtime. A loss for Tampa would have dropped them to 5-4 going into their bye week. Instead they got to 6-3, and with things as tight as they are in the NFC South, there’s a very good chance that Tampa’s win over KC will be the thing that ends up getting them in the playoffs.

Other Notes

Most of the games in week 9 were fairly competitive. 8 of the 14 games were decided by single digits, 6 were decided by 7 points or less, and 5 games were decided by 4 points or less. The Jets and Dolphins came up with surprising wins on the road in week 9 to create a log jam in the AFC East. The Jets won as 5 point underdogs, 26-17, over the Bills in Buffalo. Miami went into Denver as 4 point dogs and beat the Broncos by the same score, 26-17. At the end of the week, the Jets, Bills, and Patriots were all tied in 1st place in the AFC East at 5-3, with the Dolphins 1 game back at 4-4.

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