Week 2 Results
Panthers 35 Saints 27
The New Orleans Saints won the toss, took the ball, and drove down the field with ease and precision to take a 7-0 lead over the Carolina Panthers. If you are a Saints fan, that would have been a good time to turn off the television.
Cam Newton and the Panthers dominated the Saints defense with a mix of run, pass, and tricks to score 21 unasnwered points that started in the second quarter and lasted into the third quarter.
The Saints defense was awful again allowing 463 yards and 35 points to a Panthers team that was embarrassed by the Buccaneers last week in Tampa Bay.
Next week, the 0-2 Saints will host the Chiefs and the Panthers will host the Giants at Bank of America Stadium.
Colts 23 Vikings 20
The Indianapolis Colts gave the Minnesota Vikings a dose of their own medicine scoring a victory on the last play of the game with a 53 yard Adam Vinatieri field goal.
This is not the first time that Vinatieri has won a football game with a last second field goal, but it is the first NFL victory for first overall pick Andrew Luck.
Luck threw two touchdown passes and put the Colts into scoring position with only :30 seconds left on the clock after the Vikings had tied the game with a Christian Ponder touchdown pass.
Percy Harvin lead the Vikings with 12 catches for 104 yards and Donnie Avery lead the Colts with 9 catches for 111 yards.
Next week, the Vikings (1-1) will host the 49ers and the Colts (1-1) will host the Jaguars.
Texans 27 Jaguars 7
The Houston Texans did what good team do and went on the road in the division and dominated a weaker opponent. The Texans opened the scoring with 17 unanswered points and never gave the Jaguars a chance to get going.
In addition to losing the game, the Jaguars may have lost their start quarterback. Blaine Gabbert left the game with an injury and Chad Henne had to finish the game for the Jaguars.
Arian Foster rushed for over 100 yards and scored a touchdown and his running mate Ben Tate also rushed for a touchdown.
Next week, the Texans (2-0) will travel to Denver to play the Broncos and the Jaguars (0-2) will travel to Indianapolis to play the Colts.
Giants 41 Buccaneers 34
Eli Manning was booed off the field after a terrible first half performance that included three interceptions and left the Giants in a 24-13 hole against the visiting Buccaneers. The second half was a different story.
In the second half, Manning lead five scoring jobs in a wild back and fourth contest to lead the Giants to a 7 point victory. Manning finished the game with 31 completions for 510 yards passing and three touchdown passes.
The Giants and Buccaneers played a game that has fantasy players everywhere smiling from ear to ear. Victor Cruz had 11 catches for 179 yards and a touchdown. Hakeem Nicks had 10 catches for 199 yards and a touchdown. Vincent Jackson had 5 catches for 128 yards and a touchdown.
Next week, the Giants (1-1) will travel to Carolina for Thursday Night Football and the Buccaneers (1-1) will travel to Dallas to play the Cowboys.
Cardinals 20 Patriots 18
The Arizona Cardinals traveled to New England to play the Patriots and get destroyed. The Cardinals traveled to New England but didn’t lay down and take the beating everyone expected. Instead, the Cardinals took control of the game in the second half and held on to win despite a wild finish.
The Patriots faced an 11 point deficit with 14:00 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Stephen Gostkowski cut the lead to 8 nailing a field goal with just over six minutes remaining. Then Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski went to work and connected for a touchdown to bring the Patriots to within 2 with only 2:06 seconds on the clock. Brady tried to hit Gronk for the two point conversion but the ball fell incomplete.
The Cardinals gained a key first down that looked to seal the game but then Ryan Williams inexcusably fumbled the ball and the Patriots took over in scoring position with a chance to win the game with a field goal.
On the second play of the drive, Danny Woodhead scored a 30 yard touchdown that was called back due to a holding penalty by Gronkowski. The Patriots shook it off and drove the ball to the Cardinals 24 yard line. Gostkowski missed a 42 yard field goal that would have won the game when his kicked sailed about a mile left. The Cardinals escaped the crazy finnish with a 2 point victory.
Next week, the Patriots (1-1) will travel to Baltimore to play the Ravens on Sunday Night Football and the Cardinals (2-0) will host the Eagles.
Dolphins 35 Raiders 13
Ryan Tannehill got his first ever victory in the National Football League thanks to a career day by Reggie Bush. Bush rushed for 172 yards and scored two touchdowns to take the pressure off the young quarterback who passed and rushed for a touchdown for the first time in his young career.
The Raiders took a 10-7 lead into halftime but the Dolphins dominated the second half scoring 28 of their 35 points in the final thirty minutes of play.
Carson Palmer passed for 378 yards in defeat.
Next week, the Dolphins (1-1) will host the Jets and the Raiders (0-2) will host the Steelers.
Bengals 34 Browns 27
The Cincinnati Bengals rode the arm of second year quarterback Andy Dalton to victory over the pesky Browns who got bounce back performances form their two first round picks. The Bengals took an early lead, withstood a charge by the Browns, and then pulled away late to win the game 34-27.
Andy Dalton threw three touchdown passes including a 50 yard bomb to Andrew Hawkins in the fourth quarter to give the Bengals a 14 point lead.
Brandon Weeden passed for 322 yards and two touchdowns and avoided the interceptions that plagued him last week in his debut. Trent Richardson was also fantastic for the Browns in a losing effort. Richardson bounced back from his disappointing debut to rush 109 yards and a touchdown.
Next week, the Bengals (1-1) will travel to Washington to play the Redskins and the Browns (0-2) will host the Bills.
Eagles 24 Ravens 23
For the second straight week, the Philadelphia Eagles did everything they could to give the game to their opponent before getting it together and snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. The Eagles trailed the Baltimore Ravens by 10 points at halftime and then by 6 points with only four minutes remaining and rallied behind Michael Vick to win the game 24-23.
The Ravens seemed to pick up where they left off on Monday mixing Joe Flacco passes with Ray Rice runs to take the lead on the Eagles. The Eagles picked up where they left off last week turning the ball over seemingly every time they touched it. The Eagles have turned the ball over 9 times in their first two victories.
In the end, Michael Vick scored on a 1 yard scramble to give the Eagles a 1 point lead just after the two minute warning. The Ravens got the ball back with plenty of time to kick a game winning field goal but the Eagles defense stiffened and the Ravens turned the ball over on downs.
Next week, the Eagles (2-0) will travel to Arizona to face the Cardinals and the Ravens (1-1) will host the Patriots on Sunday Night Football.
Bills 35 Chiefs 17
The Buffalo Bills took a lot of heat all week for the leg that they laid in New York last week against the Jets. You could argue that no team in the league had more questions and faced more pressure in their home opener than the Bills did this week. The Bills answered all the questions and stepped up to the plated to score 35 of the first 38 points scored in their game against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs scored two late garbage time touchdowns, but the Bills dominated them all day winning, 35-17.
The Bills got another great performance from CJ Spiller who rushed for over 100 yards for the second time in two games and scored 2 touchdowns. Ryan Fitzpatrick bounced back from his disastrous performance in New York to throw two touchdowns and avoided throwing a single interception.
The Chiefs turned the ball over three time, gave up a long punt return for a touchdown, and got only 3 yards rushing from Jamaal Charles.
Next week, the Bills (1-1) will travel down the 90 to play the Browns in Cleveland and the Chiefs (0-2) will travel to New Orleans to play the Saints.
Seahawks 27 Cowboys 7
The Seattle Seahawks jumped to a 10-0 lead on the Dallas Cowboys and never looked back in a convincing 27-7 victory. The Seahawks fell just short last week failing to score a touchdown in the final minute, but this week they were in command of the game from beginging to end.
Marshawn Lynch was in beast mode all day rushing for over 100 yards and scoring a touchdown. Russell Wilson got his first victory in the National Football League by playing safe football. Wilson passed for only 151 yards but did have a touchdown pass and avoided any costly turnover.
The Cowboys started the game with Felix Jones fumbling the opening kickoff and their offense never seemed to get going. Miles Austin had the Cowboys only touchdown. Demarco Murray rushed for less than 50 yards and Tony Romo had only 251 yards passing and was intercepted.
Next week, the Seahawks (1-1) host the Packers on Monday Night Football and the Cowboys (1-1) will host the Buccaneers.
Chargers 38 Titans 10
The San Diego Chargers have been infamous under Norv Turner for playing poor football in the month of September. That isn’t going to happen this year. For the second straight week, the Chargers dominated their opponent this week disposing of the hapless Titans by 28 points.
The Chargers played without Ryan Matthews and Antonio Gates but got production from Jackie Battle and Malcolm Floyd to fill the void.
Jake Locker was poor for the Titans throwing for only 174 yards and forcing an interception. Chris Johnson was also invisible again this week rushing for only 17 yards on 8 carries.
Next week, the Chargers (2-0) will host the Falcons and the Titans (0-2) will host the Lions.
Josh Morgan might have to walk home from St. Louis. Morgan took the Redskins out of field goal range when the threw the ball at a defender after a catch that seemed to put the Redskins in position for a game winning field goal. Instead of attempting to tie the game with a 48 yard field goal, the Redskins were forced to try a 62 yard field goal. Billy Cundiff pulled the longer field goal right and left it short to give the Rams a 3 point victory over the Redskins.
The game featured a back and fourth battle between two of the NFL’s brightest young stars, Sam Bradford and Robert Griffin III. Bradford passed for 310 yards and three touchdowns to help the Rams end an eight game losing streak. Griffin was impressive again this week rushing for two touchdowns, throwing for over 200 yards, and connecting with Leonard Hankerson for a 68 yard touchdown pass.
Morgan wasn’t the only player who made a foolish play in the game. Rams running back Stephen Jackson was flagged in the second quarter for spiking the ball when he failed to score a touchdown on a short run. Jackson never touched the ball again and the second last pick in the draft, Daryl Richardson, took over and rushed for 83 yards in just about a half of play.
Next week, the Rams (1-1) will travel to Chicago to play the Bears and the Redskins (1-1) will host the Bengals.
Steelers 27 Jets 10
The Pittsburgh Steelers bounced back from a disappointing week 1 performance against Peyton Manning and the Broncos to defeat the New York Jets, 27-10. The Jets took a 10-6 lead in the middle of the second quarter but Ben Roethlisberger hooked up with Heath Miller for a touchdown just before the half to put the Steelers up by 3. The Steelers never looked back and dominated the second half outscoring the Jets 14-0.
Roethlisberger played well throwing for 275 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also avoided any interceptions and helped the Steelers avoid a single turnover.
The Jets got off to a fast start offensively but then stalled out in the second half. Mark Sanchez was only 10 for 27 for a meager 138 yards passing. He did have an early touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes but he couldn’t do anything in the second half to cut into the Steelers lead. Tim Tebow was not a factor in the game.
Next week, the Steelers (1-1) will travel to Oakland to play the Raiders and the Jets (1-1) will travel to Miami to play the Dolphins.
