Atlanta Falcons take Tampa Bay Bucs 27-21: Neither team scored in the 4th Q, although they tried. When last 
week’s hero for the Bucs, RB LaGarette Blout couldn’t make it in from the one yard line with three minutes left then it was over. Matty “Ice” remained unbeatable at home. Michael Turner ran for 107 yards and two TDS and the Falcons intercepted Josh Freeman twice.
San Diego Chargers beat Houston Texans 29-23: The Chargers are on pace to pull their yearly act of coming back from the dead to contend. Their win over the Texans, on the road brought them to 4-5. Philip Rivers threw to subs, and still wound up with 295 yards and 4 TDs. He has thrown for the second-most yards passing through a team’s first nine NFL games. Arian Foster was the highlight reel for Houston, with two TDs on 127 yards. It is his fourth multiple score game of the season.
Minnesota Vikings top Arizona Cardinals 27-24 in OT: Grey and 41 years old, Brett Favre had the most prolific day of his career, throwing for 446 yards. In the process he threw two TDs, none more important than the one to TE Shiancoe to tie in up with 27 seconds left in regulation. The Cards were up 14 points after a Jay Feely FG, made it 24-10 early in the 4th Q. Without much of a running game, the Vikes D shut Arizona down, sacking QB Derek Anderson six times, equaling their season total in one game.
New Orleans Saints crush Carolina Panthers 34-3: Ugly game for Carolina as their running game ended up on the sideline, after RB Jonathan Stewart joined DeAngleo Williams on the bench after an injury. Add that to QB Matt Moore exiting with an injury of his own and you’d have thought they would have invoked the mercy rule. Brees had a stellar day with 253 yards passing with two TDS and one INT but TE Jeremy Shockey ended up in the hospital after catching a TD in the early going.
Cleveland Browns upset New England Patriots 34-14: You’re not reading this wrong. A newly svelte Browns coach Mangini was able to run out to meet Bill Belichick after the game and smile while shaking hands so briefly, if you blinked you’d have missed it. The Browns D plus uncharacteristic mistakes by the Pats including turnovers made this game look lopsided. The New England D, showed all its flaws as they allowed RB Peyton Hillis run wild for 184 yards and two TDs on 29 rushes.
Green Bay Packers take down the Dallas Cowboys 45-7: Whatever you thought of Dallas coach Wade Phillips’ 
efforts to keep his job had to fly out the window on Sunday night. Lazy tackling, inept QB play, lack of running yardage, mistakes and more, marked the Cowboys’ demolition in Green Bay. Aaron Rodgers threw for three TDs on 289 yards and FB John Kuhn beat the heck out of the Dallas Defensive front. Dez Bryant caught the only TD of the night for the Cowboys. The death watch is on in Dallas.
Chicago Bears over the Buffalo Bills 22-19: The Canadian Bowl was won by the visiting team. The Bills fell short again, but this time they didn’t make it as close as the score indicates. Ryan Fitzpatrick got picked as they were driving, up 19-14. Six plays later Cutler threw his second TD of the day. Bills fall to 0-8, but you can’t say they don’t try. The Bears climb to 5-3.
Baltimore Ravens beat Miami Dolphins 26-10: QB Joe Flacco went 20-27 resulting in two TDs, no INTs and 266 yards, the Ravens D held Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams to 60 yards on the ground, sacked QB Chad Henne twice and intercepted him three times. It was a statement game for Ray Lewis and company. Even Miami’s kicker had an off day, missing one of two FG attempts, after scoring 10 in the previous two games.
New York Jets top the Detroit Lions 23-20 in OT: Rex Ryan exulted at game’s end about his guys coming back from 10 points down in the 4th Q. After last week’s shut out at the hands of the Packers, I guess it counts as a big deal. Sanchez had his usual up and down day but found Santonio Holmes when it counted, for a 52-yard catch to set up the winning 30 yard FG by Nick Folk in OT. Matt Stafford reinjured the bum shoulder and set tongues wagging about his durability.
New York Giants destroy Seattle Seahawks 41-7: The Giants steamrolled a sad looking Seahawks team with Charlie Whitehurst at QB. Eli Manning threw for 290 yards and three TDs, while Ahmad Bradshaw saw the end zone twice. The Giants gained 487 yards on offense and Seattle’s performance made you wonder how the team is even at .500 for the season.
Philadelphia Eagles beat Indianapolis Colts 26-24: Mike Vick returned to QB, threw for one TD and ran for another, but the Eagles had to settle for four FGs the rest of the time they were in the red zone. Peyton Manning’s last second INT ended the Colts’ attempt at winning with subs at almost every important position. Edgerrin James’ son, Javarris punched it in twice for TDs. Manning had two INTs and one TD as the Colts fall to 5-3 at the halfway point in the season.
Oakland Raiders trip up Kansas City Chiefs 23-20 in OT: Janikowski’s 41 yard FG tied it at the end of regulation and won it on a 33 yarder, but it looked bleak for a while. Jason Campbell set up both of Janikowski’s scores with long passes at the right time to rookie Jacoby Ford. The youngster also returned a kick for a TD to open the second half. The Chiefs won the toss but couldn’t make a first down. KC’s running game was held to under 100 yards and Matt Cassel was sacked three times on the day.
Used with permission of the author.
Paula Duffy is a national sports columnist for Examiner.com and the Huffington Post and regularly comments on sports/legal matters for radio affiliates of ESPN and Fox Sports. She founded the sports information site, Incidental Contact, is the author of a line of audio books designed for sports novices and in her spare time practices law in Los Angeles.
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