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| Authored by Andrew Perna - 12th October, 2005 - 11:46 pm
 Week five of the NFL saw some familiar and some strange sights. The Patriots beat the Falcons on a fourth quarter drive by Tom Brady that led to the game-winning field goal by Adam Vinatieri. The Indianapolis Colts defeated the 49ers 28-3, and became the NFL?s last remaining undefeated team (5-0). The Texans were blitzed by the Titans in a 34-20 loss, and are now the NFL?s last remaining winless team.
On the other hand, the Packers earned their first win of the season scoring 52 points in a rout over the Saints. The Seattle Seahawks took control of the NFC West division with a win over the St. Louis Rams in a 37-31 shootout. The Cowboys, who had lost 9 of their last 10 games against the Eagles, crushed Philadelphia 33-10. Washington, Tampa Bay, and Cincinnati were all handed their first loss of the season ? by a combined total of 9 points.
Those were just some of the many highs and lows from week five in the NFL. Here is the complete list of the five highest and lowest points from this weekend.
The Highest of Highs
Green Bay Packers
The Packers won their first game of the season with a 52-3 rout of the New Orleans Saints. Brett Favre threw for 215 yards and three touchdowns, and reserve Green Bay running back Najeh Davenport ran for 54 yards and two touchdowns, but left in the first half with a broken ankle, and is now out for the season. The Packers (1-4) are still in contention in the weak NFC North division ? Detroit is in first place with a 2-2 record. Meanwhile, the Saints didn?t only lose a game to the Packers on Sunday but they also lost Deuce McAllister for the year with a torn ACL.
Dallas Cowboys
The NFC East division is the antithesis of the NFC North. Following the Cowboys 33-10 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles the entire NFC North division has 3 wins to their credit. The Cowboys handed the Eagles an early first half deficit, but unlike last week against the Kansas City Chiefs, the Eagles were unable to mount a comeback. Dallas quarterback Drew Bledsoe hooked up with wide-out Terry Glenn for two first quarter touchdowns, and finished the day with 289 yards. The Eagles offense struggled throughout the entire game with their only touchdown coming on defense. Donovan McNabb was sacked four times, and the Eagles were held to 129 total yards of offense. The Cowboys (3-2) will face the Giants (3-1) next week, while the Eagles head into a bye week of uncertainty.
Tom Brady & Adam Vinatieri
The Patriots went up against the Vick-less Falcons on Sunday afternoon. The defending champions opened up a 28-13 lead in the third quarter, and it looked as though the Falcons were extremely overmatched. Then late in the fourth quarter, after two Matt Schaub touchdowns passes, the game was tied at 28 a piece. With ice water in his veins New England quarterback Tom Brady took the game in his hands, and led the Pats on yet another game winning fourth quarter drive. Brady led the Patriots into Falcon territory, and set up a game-winning kick for Adam Vinatieri. Vinatieri nailed a 29-yard field goal, the 19th game-winning kick of his career.
Denver Broncos
The season began poorly for the Denver Broncos. In week one of the season they were trounced 34-10 by the offensively challenged Miami Dolphins. Now, after five games the Broncos are 4-1 and are in first place in the AFC West division. Since week one the Broncos have beaten the Chargers (2-3), Chiefs (2-2), Jaguars (3-2), and Redskins (3-1). The Broncos have done so despite mediocre offense and defense, and a struggling quarterback in Jake Plummer. Plummer is averaging 175.8 yards per game threw the air and has thrown only 5 touchdowns in the Broncos five games. The Broncos schedule doesn?t get any easier either. They face New England, the New York Giants, and the Eagles in the next three weeks.
Air Show in Arizona
The Carolina Panthers and the Arizona Cardinals put on an air show on Sunday afternoon. Cardinal quarterback Josh McCown threw for 394 yards and two touchdowns, while Panther quarterback Jake Delhomme threw for 243 yards and two scores in the Panthers 24-20 victory. Arizona wide receivers Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald combined for almost 294 receiving yards, and two scores. Carolina star receiver Steve Smith caught 8 passes for 119 yards, and two touchdowns. Sunday marked the second week in a row that McCown threw for nearly 400 yards. Last week he replaced the injured Kurt Warner, and threw for 385 yards in a victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
The Lowest of Lows
Houston?s Offensive Line
The Texan?s offensive line can take most of the blame for their 0-4 record. Houston has the NFL?s lowest ranked offense in terms of total yards, points scored and passing yards. It makes it hard to win football games when you can?t score points and move the football, but it makes it even harder to win when your quarterback is having trouble being effective. David Carr has thrown only three touchdowns against four interceptions, and has fumbled four times so far this season. All of the blame can?t be placed on Carr himself. He has been sacked 27 times this season; an average of nearly 7 sacks per game. If Carr can?t stay on his feet, then he can?t pass the ball. If he can?t pass the ball, then the Texans can?t score points. If the Texans can?t score points, then they can?t win football games.
Alex Smith
The 49ers rookie quarterback got his first start of the season against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday and struggled miserably. Smith passed for just 74 yards on 23 attempts, and threw four interceptions against the ever-improving Colt defense on his way to a 28-3 defeat. Smith also rushed twice for 3 yards, and lost one fumble. At the end of the day the rookie was sacked five times to go along with his five turnovers. The 49ers are heading into a bye week in week six, and it remains to be seen whether Smith will get another start over veteran quarterback Tim Rattay.
Baltimore Ravens
In recent years the Ravens prided themselves on their tough defense, and won games by scoring a minimal amount of points. This season the Ravens switched to the 46 defensive formation, and the Baltimore defense has struggled. The Ravens defense is holding their opponents to only 262 yards per game, second in the NFL, but they are giving up over 20 points per game. The dismal Raven offense can?t put up over 20 points a game on a weekly basis. In their four games this season they are averaging just over 10 points a game.
On Sunday the Ravens lost 35-17 to the struggling Detroit Lions. The Lions scored 35 points on only 266 total yards of offense, which shows the problem with the Raven defense this year. Baltimore has Cleveland and Chicago next on their schedule. Both games are must wins if the Ravens want to remain in contention in the very competitive AFC North.
Undefeated Teams
Entering this weekend there were four undefeated teams ? Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Washington, and Tampa Bay. After week five only one team remains. The Colts easily improved to 5-0, but the Bengals, Redskins, and Buccaneers stumbled on their way to their first losses of the season. Indianapolis plays St. Louis and Houston, before traveling to New England in week nine. There is a good chance that the Colts will roll into New England 7-0, but the Patriots have dominated the Colts in recent years. However, if the Indianapolis defense sustains their current level of play the Colts could hand the Patriots their first three-loss season since 2002.
Running Backs
Week five in the NFL saw the fall of many of the NFL?s elite running backs. The Saints lost Deuce McAllister for the season with a torn ACL, and the Packers lost back-up running Najeh Davenport for the year with a broken ankle in the same game. Dallas running back Julius Jones left the Cowboy?s game against the Eagles in the second quarter with an undisclosed ankle injury, while Jet?s back-up Derrick Blaylock broke his foot against Tampa Bay this Sunday.
Chicago?s Thomas Jones left the Bears 20-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns with a bruised knee, but vowed he would not miss any time. The Lion?s Kevin Jones left Detroit?s 35-17 win over the Ravens with a mild concussion after he scored two touchdowns. Even Super Bowl champion Corey Dillon was injured in week five when he left New England?s game with an undisclosed injury. It was a bad week to be a running back in the NFL, but then again it is the leagues most bruising position.
Andrew Perna may be reached at pacerperspective@yahoo.com. |
