The Lions lose on the road to the 0-8 Bills, Dallas gets a shot of adrenaline with a new head coach Jason Garrett and 
“The Sanchize” and his Jets squeak out another OT win.
Indianapolis Colts 23 Cincinnati Bengals 17: The Bengals wide receiver divas take turns having tough weeks. This Sunday was TO’s turn to seem disinterested and clueless while Ochocinco tried like heck to redeem himself. Despite holding Peyton Manning to 0 TDs and 185 yards through the air, the Bengals found ways to lose. The Indy D took Carson Palmer to the house for one TD, forced 5 turnovers and stopped the Bengals twice in the final three minutes. It’s over in Cincy.
New York Jets 26 Cleveland Browns 20 in OT: The Jets have made history with two OT wins on successive weeks on the road. Ok, it’s an obscure record but how about Rex Ryan beating twin Rob in the “Lap Band Bowl”? Mark Sanchez and Santonio Holmes connected for the winning TD in OT, after Sanchize ran in for one and found Jerricho Cotchery for another. Peyton Hillis had a modest day for him with 1 TD and 82 yards on the ground.
Chicago Bears 27 Minnesota Vikings 13: Percy Harvin got over his migraines and was the top WR for the Vikes on Sunday with one TD and 64 yards receiving, 53 coming on one play. Brett Favre was picked three times; Adrian Peterson was limited to 51 yards on the ground and no TDs. The Bears shut down Minnesota after a FG at 8:14 of the 3rd Q and that was all she wrote for the Vikings. They fall to 3-6 and Favre was giving a post-game press conference about his legacy. Oy!
Miami Dolphins 29 Tennessee Titans 17: The Dolphins won at home which was a novelty for them, despite losing both Chads who play QB. Pennington, named as starter lasted two plays and reinjured his repaired shoulder and Henne looks like he is gone for the season with a knee injury. The Titans weren’t immune either. Their starter Kerry Collins left and brought back the slightly hobbling Vince Young. The Titans D, on a day they should have made mince meat out of the Dolphins, couldn’t get their act together. When Tyler Thigpen, Miami’s 3rd string QB threw a TD, you just had to shake your head.
Jacksonville Jaguars 31 Houston Texans 24: A Hail Mary, which the Jags claim they don’t practice, actually won a game with seconds on the clock in regulation. David Garrard’s heave was batted down by the Texans but right into the arms of Jags’ WR Mike Thomas. Garrard threw for another on 342 yards, Texans’ QB Matt Schaub also threw for two TDs on 314 yards through the air and Maurice Jones-Drew owns the Texans. He scored twice and ran for 100 yards.
Buffalo Bills 14 Detroit Lions 12: Buffalo played a ragged game but so did the Lions. The Bills will take it since they won their first game of 2010, thanks to Fred Jackson. He scored both of the teams TDs, one through the air and another on the ground while running for 133 yards. The Lions almost tied it up with seconds left on the clock but missed on a two point conversion when QB Shaun Hill threw the ball out of the endzone.
Tampa Bay Bucs 31 Carolina Panthers 16: Panthers QB, rookie Jimmy Clausen didn’t have a bad day. He was 16-29, without an INT but also without a TD. The Panthers running game was all on Mike Goodson, without the team’s regular backs on the sidelines with injuries. He came through with 100 yards; still not enough to beat a team that has better players who aren’t rookies. Josh Freeman tossed 2 TDs without a pick, LeGarrette Blount and Carnell Williams scored a TD each. The Bucs move to 6-3 in the NFC.
Denver Broncos 49 Kansas City Chiefs 29 KC QB Matt Cassel had one hell of a day with 469 yards passing and four TDs. Oops, still not enough without the running game the team has relied on. The Broncos limited Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones to 44 total yards on the ground without a TD. Kyle Orton went wild with his own 4 TD performance and that unknown rookie from FL, Tim Tebow scored twice; one on his first NFL TD pass and the other on his usual goal line push-in.
San Francisco 49ers 23 St. Louis Rams 20 in OT: The 49ers may have found their new QB and his name is Smith, Troy Smith. A great performance with 356 yards passing and 1 TD. The San Fran D held Steven Jackson to 81 yards on the ground and one TD. Sam Bradford again had a good but not spectacular day and didn’t turn the ball over. Joe Nedney, San Fran’s kicker contributed three FGs, one in OT and the 49ers pulled one out at home.
Seattle Seahawks 36 Arizona Cardinals 18: Both starting QBs had good days, with only one INT between them and both throwing for more than 300 yards, yet only one TD for each. It was Olindo Mare’s day with five successful FGs and the Seattle D contributed by holding AZ runners to 41 total yards on the ground.
New England Patriots 39 Pittsburgh Steelers 26: The Steelers were picked to pieces by Pats QB Tom Brady, throwing three TDs to a rookie tight end on a 30-43 passing performance totaling 350 yards. He added insult to injury by running in another. Big Ben was picked once and threw his own three TDs but the Pats D, pretty much a new squad held the mighty Steelers in check when necessary. The Heinz Field crowd uncharacteristically booed their players, particularly kicker Jeff Reed who missed one of two FGs.
Dallas Cowboys 33 NY Giants 20: The newly appointed interim coach Jason Garrett of the Cowboys had one heck of a grin at the end of the game. His team played like they cared, limited mistakes and took it to the Giants in the Meadowlands. Jon Kitna had a complete turnaround with three TDs and only one pick on 13-22 passing for 327 yards. Eli Manning threw two INTs, one for a pick-six of 101 yards. Dallas WR Dez Bryant caught three passes that totaled 104 yards and one TD and the Dallas D kept Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs out of the end zone.
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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