Week 7 Recap
Bears 13 Lions 7
The Chicago Bears defense dominated the Detroit Lions defense from start to finish on Monday night and the offense did just enough to lead the Bears to a 13-7 victory.
Jay Cutler hooked up with Brandon Marshall for a first quarter touchdown and Robbie Gould kicked two field goals to give the Bears just enough to beat the Lions.
The Bears defense was dominate again on Monday sacking Matt Stafford three times, intercepting him once, and forcing two fumbles. The Bears limited Calvin Johnson to only three catches and held the Lions scoreless until the final minute of the game.
Jay Cutler and Matt Stafford both got banged up during the game making it a tough night to be a quarterback. Cutler briefly left the game to have his ribs checked but was able to finish the game.
Next week, the Bears (5-1) are home to play the Panthers, and the Lions (2-4) will be home to play the Seahawks.
Steelers 24 Bengals 17
The Pittsburgh Steelers came into their game tonight against the Cincinnati Bengals beat up, 2-3, and in danger of falling further behind the Bengals and Baltimore Ravens in the AFC North Standings. 5 minutes into the second quarter the Steelers were trailing the Bengals 14-3 and didn’t appear to have enough healthy players to compete with the Bengals.
Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the Steelers took over the game. First they kicked a field goal, then they intercepted an Andy Dalton pass, and just before halftime Ben Roethlisberger connected with Heath Miller for a touchdown and two-point conversion to tie the game at 14.
In the second half, the Steelers defense held the Bengals to only a field goal and Chris Rainey scored an 11 yard touchdown. The Steelers rushed for 167 yards and overcame some keep drops by Mike Wallace to win the game, 24-17.
Despite the Bengals great start, they have now lost nine straight games to the Steelers and Ravens and have lost 3 consecutive games since starting the season 3-1.
Dalton threw for only 105 yards and his first half interception changed the game.
Next week, the Steelers (3-3) will be home to play the Redskins, and the Bengals (3-4) are on a bye.
Raiders 26 Jaguars 23 (OT)
The Jacksonville Jaguars took a 17-6 lead into halftime. The Oakland Raiders erased that lead in the second half and then won the game in overtime with a Sebastian Janikowski field goal.
The loss is one that could sting the Jaguars for several weeks. Jaguars superstar Maurice Jones-Drew was carted off the field with an ankle injury and starting quarterback Blaine Gabbert also left the game with an injury.
Carson Palmer lead the Raiders comeback with 298 yards passing for one touchdown and a rushing touchdown.
Rashad Jennings played well for the Jaguars in the absence of Maurice Jones-Drew. Jennings gained 102 yards from scrimmage and had a rushing touchdown.
In overtime, Jaguars wide receiver Cecil Shorts fumbled and the ball was recovered by Raiders cornerback Joselio Hanson. The Raiders ran only one play in overtime to center the ball and then Janikowski kicked the game winning field goal.
Next week, the Raiders (2-5) will travel to Kansas City to play the Chiefs, and the Jaguars (1-5) will travel to Green Bay to play the Packers.
Patriots 29 Jets 26 (OT)
Stephen Gostkowski missed a field goal that would have give the Patriots a win against the Arizona Cardinals on September 16. Just over a month later, Gostkowski nailed a 43 yard field goal to force overtime and then hit a 48 yard field goal to give the Patriots the lead.
Under new NFL rules, Gostkowski’s field goal didn’t guarantee a Patriots victory. The Jets got the ball back with a chance to match the Patriots or defeat them with a touchdown. Instead, the Patriots celebrated victory when Rob Ninkovich and Jermaine Cunningham sacked Mark Sanchez forcing a fumble and Nincovich recovered the ball to end the game.
Tom Brady threw for 259 yards and had two touchdown passes to Rob Gronkowski. The second touchdown by Gronkowski gave the Patriots a 10 point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
For the second week in a row, the Patriots failed to hold on to a fourth quarter lead. The Jets scored 13 points in the games last five minutes to take a brief 26-23 lead with only 1:37 left in the game. Then Brady lead the Patriots down the field for Gostkowski’s game tying field goal.
Sanchez played well for the Jets passing for over 300 yards and a touchdown. Unfortunately, his fumble in overtime ended the Jets upset bid.
Next week, the Patriots (4-3) will travel to London, England to play the Rams, and the Jets (3-4) will be home for another AFC East game against the Dolphins.
Drew Brees erased an early 14-0 deficit by throwing 4 touchdown passes in the first half to lead the Saints to a 35-28 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Brees passed for 377 yards and a touchdown pass to 4 different Saints receivers. Lance Moore had 9 catches for 121 yards and Marques Colston continued his hot play grabbing 7 catches for 73 yards and a touchdown.
Jonathan Vilma played his first game of the season for the Saints playing mostly in nickel situations. Vilma didn’t record a tackle but did make with score sheet with a pass defended that he almost intercepted.
The Buccaneers got off to a fast start scoring 14 points in the first 5 minutes of the game and took another 14 point lead just 1:42 seconds into the second quarter. From there, the offense stalled scoring just one more time late in the fourth quarter.
Josh Freeman passed for a career high 420 yards and had 3 touchdown passes. Freeman appeared lead the Buccaneers to within an extra-point of tying the game on it’s last play when he connected with Mike Williams in the back of the end zone. The play was called back because Williams stepped out of the back of the end zone and was the first player to touch the ball.
Next week, the Saints (2-4) travel to Denver to play the Broncos on Sunday Night Football, and the Buccaneers (2-4) will travel to Minnesota to play the Vikings on Thursday Night Football.
Texans 43 Ravens 13
It was billed as a battle between the best two teams in the AFC. It was billed as a battle of the two best running backs in the AFC. It was billed as a battle between two teams who have lost their middle line backer to a season ending injury. Regardless of the story line, in the end, the Houston Texans blew out the Baltimore Ravens, 43-13 to take control of the AFC.
The Texans got huge production from their star players. Arian Forster gained 103 yards from scrimmage and scored two touchdowns. Andre Johnson had 9 catches for 86 yards and Matt Schaub passed for over 250 yards and two touchdowns.
The Ravens appeared to be a team in disarray playing their first game without Ray Lewis. Joe Flacco was intercepted twice and Ray Rice rushed for only 42 yards. Terrell Suggs did record a sack in his first game since being activated from the PUP list.
Next week, the Texans (6-1) and the Ravens (5-2) are both on a bye.
Cowboys 19 Panthers 14
Dan Bailey kicked two field goals in the last 3:25 of the fourth quarter to lead the Dallas Cowboys to a 19-14 victory over the Carolina Panthers.
The Cowboys coaching staff took heat all week for poorly managing the clock last week in a loss to the Ravens. This week, the Cowboys players took the clock out of the game leading for all but 8:57 of the 60:00 played on Sunday.
Tony Romo passed for 227 yards and had a beautiful touchdown pass to Miles Austin in the back corner of the end zone. Felix Jones had 74 yards from scrimmage filling in for DeMarco Murray and Jason Witten had 6 catches for 44 yards.
Cam Newton had 233 yards passing and a touchdown pass, but he also had a costly interception.
Next week, the Cowboys (3-3) are home to play the Giants and the Panthers (1-5) will travel to Chicago to play the Bears.
Vikings 21 Cardinals 14
Adrian Peterson has his best game of the season scoring his first touchdown since opening day and rushing for 153 yards to lead the Minnesota Vikings to a victory over the Arizona Cardinals, 21-14.
Peterson set the tone early with a 27 yard rushed and averaged almost 7 yards a carry. Percy Harvin had four catches, 47 yards from scrimmage, and a touchdown.
The Cardinals got 102 yards rushing from LaRod Stephens-Howlings and Andre Roberts caught a touchdown pass from John Skelton late in the fourth quarter.
Next week, the Vikings (5-2) are home to play the Buccaneers on Thursday Night Football, and the Cardinals (4-3) are home to play the 49ers on Monday Night Football.
Colts 17 Browns 13
In a game that featured two quarterbacks drafted in the first round of last April’s draft, Andre Luck did just enough to edge Brandon Weeden as the Indianapolis Colts defeated the Cleveland Browns, 17-13.
Andrew Luck passed for only 186 yards, but he used his legs to rush for two touchdowns. Victor Ballard gained 101 yards from scrimmage and Reggie Wayne caught 6 more passes for 73 yards.
Weeden played well for the Browns. Wedded has 264 yards passing and two touchdown passes including a 33 yard touchdown to Josh Gordon who has scored in three consecutive games.
Next week, the Colts (3-3) travel to Tennessee to play the Titans and the Browns (1-6) are home to play the Chargers.
Titans 35 Bills 34
Chris Johnson had his best game in two seasons and Matt Hasselbeck lead his second consecutive come from behind victory to lead the Tennessee Titans over the Buffalo Bills, 35-34.
Hasselbeck passed for 205 yards passing and found Nate Washington in the end zone with just over a minute remaining in the game to put the Titans ahead for good. Chris Johnson rushed for 195 yards including a 83 touchdown run in the first quarter.
Ryan Fitzpatrick hooked up with Stevie Johnson for a touchdown late in the third quarter to give the Bills a lead, but their defense couldn’t keep the Titans out of the end zone late in the game.
It was a costly loss for the Bills who with a win could have guaranteed themselves at least a tie for first place in the AFC East.
Next week, the Titans (3-4) are home to play the Colts and the Bills (3-4) are on a bye.
Giants 27 Redskins 23
RG!!! Robert Griffin III did it again. Down by 4 late in the fourth quarter, Griffin found Santana Moss in the end zone to give the Redskins a three point lead with just over a minute remaining. Griffin did it last week against the Vikings and now he has done it against a division rival.
Wait a second. Rip up that hollywood script. On the Giants first play from scrimmage after the Moss touchdown, Eli Manning hooked up with Victor Cruz for a 77 yard touchdown reception to give the Giants a 4 point lead with 1:23 left in the fourth quarter.
Griffin would get another chance to lead his team to victory. On the Redskins third play from scrimmage after the Cruz touchdown, Santana Moss fumbled the ball and the Giants recovered to seal the wild victory.
Next week, the Giants (5-2) will travel to Dallas to play the Cowboys, and the Redskins (3-4) will travel to Pittsburgh to play the Steelers.
Packers 30 Rams 20
The Green Bay packers outscored the St. Louis Rams 20-7 in the second half to bust open a close game and secure a road victory, 30-13.
Aaron Rodgers passed for 342 yards and three touchdowns. Rodgers has thrown 9 touchdown passes in the last two Packers victories. Jordy Nelson also continued his hot play catching 8 passes for 122 yards and a touchdown.
Sam Bradford struggled for the Rams. Bradford threw for just over 250 yards passing and had a costly interception. Bradford did throw a late touchdown pass to Austin Pettis.
Next week, the Packers (4-3) are home to play the Jaguars and the Rams (3-5) are home to play the Patriots.
49ers 13 Seahawks 6
The San Francisco 49ers defense made up for their poor performance against the New York Giants last week by dominating the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday Night Football. Frank Gore rushed for 151 yards and caught 5 passes for 51 yards to pace the 49ers offense.
The Seahawks defense did there best to give the offense a chance but the offense only managed two field goals.
Delanie Walker scored the games only touchdown when he caught a 12 yard pass from Alex Smith to give the 49ers a 10-6 lead in the third quarter. The 49ers never trailed again.
The victory improves the 49ers to 5-2 with a 1 game lead over the Seahawks and the head to head tiebreaker.
Next week, the 49ers (5-2) travel to Arizona to play the Cardinals on Monday Night Football and the Seahawks (4-3) travel to Detroit to play the Lions.
