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| Authored by Andrew Perna - 19th October, 2005 - 9:51 pm
 Week 6 in the NFL saw the return of Dolphin running back Ricky Williams, and the continued success of the Cincinnati Bengals. We also saw the defending champion New England Patriots loss to the surging Denver Broncos for their third defeat of the season, which is the most losses the team has suffered in a season since 2002.
Without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and receiver Hines Ward, the Steelers fell to the Jaguars in overtime. The Cowboys outlasted the Giants in overtime on Sunday in what became a very sloppy game, and Dallas ended the day in first place of the NFC East division. On Monday night the Colts came from behind to defeat the Rams to improve to 6-0, while on Sunday night the Texans continued struggles kept them winless.
Here is the complete list of the highs and lows from week six in the NFL.
The Highest of Highs
LaDainian Tomlinson
Tomlinson led the Chargers to a 27-14 victory over the Oakland Raiders, and scored a rushing touchdown in an NFL-record 18th straight game. LaDainian was a jack-of-all-trades on Sunday scoring three touchdowns ? a 7-yard run, a 35-yard reception from Drew Brees, and a 4-yard pass to tight end Justin Peelle. He had 179 total yards ? 140 rushing and 39 receiving. Tomlinson?s 7-yard touchdown run was his tenth of the season, and made him the first player in NFL history to have at least 10 rushing touchdowns in each of his first five seasons.
Cincinnati Sensations
The Bengals extended their AFC North lead with a 31-23 victory over the Tennessee Titans. Cincinnati, who has the NFL?s third ranked offense and defense, needed a fourth quarter comeback to knock off the Titans (2-4). The Bengals, who haven?t had a winning season since 1990, improved to 5-1 on Sunday. They have been led by the young trio of Carson Palmer (1,573 passing yards, 13 TD?s), Rudi Johnson (544 rushing yards, 2 TD?s), and Chad Johnson (561 receiving yards, 5 TD?s).
The Cincinnati defense has also grabbed an NFL-leading 12 interceptions. The Bengals, who are 3-1 on the road this season, won three road games during all of the 2004 season.
Priest and the Chiefs
Priest Holmes led Kansas City to their first win since week two against the Raiders. The Chiefs handed the Redskins their second loss in as many weeks with a 28-21 victory. Holmes ran for only 18 yards, but had 100 receiving yards to go along with touchdowns on the ground and through the air. Kansas City won despite allowing Washington 398 yards on offense. The Chiefs forced three Redskin turnovers to counteract quarterback Mark Brunell?s 331 yards and three touchdowns.
Buffalo Bills
The Bills improved to 2-0 with Kelly Holcomb as their starting quarterback with a 27-17 win over the New York Jets. In two starts Holcomb has thrown three touchdown passes, while J.P. Losman threw one touchdown in four starts. Buffalo (3-3) moved into a tie with the Patriots (3-3) for the AFC East lead. Running back Willis McGahee powered the Bills to victory with 143 yards and a touchdown. He has 604 yards on the ground for the season to pace the Bills offense, which ranks 31st in pass offense ahead of only the winless Houston Texans.
Indianapolis Colts
After the first quarter the Colts were trailing the Rams 17-0, and it looked as though they were headed to their first loss of the season. Three quarters and forty-five points later the Colts had a 45-28 victory, and a 6-0 record. Edgerrin James ran for 143 yards and three touchdowns, while Manning and Harrison connected for an NFL record 86th time. Despite giving up their highest point total of the season in the 45-28 win, the Colts grabbed three interceptions, one sack, and one fumble recovery. The victory creates a match-up between the undefeated and the winless when the Colts visit Houston this week.
The Lowest of Lows
Pittsburgh Steelers
With both Ben Roethlisberger and Hines Ward on the sidelines with injuries the Steelers fell to the Jaguars 23-17 in overtime. Pittsburgh (3-2) is now further behind the AFC North leading Bengals (5-1). With Roethlisberger inactive Steeler coach Bill Cowher started back-up Tommy Maddox. He was intercepted three times on Sunday, with one interception coming in overtime which was returned by Jacksonville cornerback Rashean Mathis for a 41-yard game-winning touchdown.
Dysfunction in Dallas
The Cowboy-Giant game on Sunday afternoon was low scoring when you consider the Giants have the NFL?s highest-rated offense. The Cowboys 16-13 victory put them alone atop the NFC East. Considering the low scores one might give credit to the defenses, however the blame should be placed on offensive sloppiness. Both Drew Bledsoe and Eli Manning threw an inception, and each team fumbled three times. Dallas won on a 45-yard field goal by Jose Cortez in overtime.
Ricky?s Return
Miami running back Ricky Williams returned to the gridiron for the first time since 2003 ? following his 2004 hiatus and his four week suspension for violating the NFL?s substance abuse policy. Williams had just 8 yards on 5 carries in the Dolphins 27-13 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Ricky added 22 yards receiving on 6 catches, while sharing time in the backfield with rookie Ronnie Brown. Ricky and the Dolphins head to Kansas City in week seven.
Panther?s Pain
Yes, Carolina beat the Detroit Lions 21-20 on a game-winning touchdown catch by Ricky Proehl with 32 seconds left in the fourth quarter, but the Panthers injury woes continued. They lost quarterback Jake Delhomme after he was hit by Detroit safety Kenoy Kennedy late in the fourth quarter. Carolina was already without running back DeShaun Foster, cornerback Chris Gamble, full back Brad Hoover, and defensive tackle Kris Jenkins. The Panthers also lost linebacker Dan Morgan and defensive end Julius Peppers during their victory against the Lions, although Peppers returned to play with a cast on his injured hand.
Calvin Pace and his Window
You would think that it would be pretty difficult to make my weekly highs and lows list when your team is in on a bye week, but not for Arizona defensive end Calvin Pace. Pace is now out for the season after falling through a window in his apartment this weekend. Pace recorded a career-high 4 ? sacks last season for the Cardinals. He was Arizona?s 18th overall selection in 2003. |
