NFL Week Three Recap!

Detroit 21 vs. Philadelphia 42



I love those throwback Eagles unis. Green means go to the rest of us, but gold-yellow and sky blue must mean it's time for Donovan McNabb, Brian Westbrook and Kevin Curtis to hit the touchdown dance floor. Brian Westbrook had 110 yards rushing and 111 more receiving, scoring three TDs along the way. He did however leave the game early with an abdominal sprain. McNabb was 21-26 for 381 yards and four touchdowns, silencing all those critics saying he's lost his previous skill. Kevin Curtis was the beneficiary of McNabb's pinpoint accuracy, catching 11 passes for 221 yards and three touchdowns. For the Lions, Roy Williams gained 204 yards with nine catches and a touchdown. John Kitna threw for 446 as his team was behind the whole game trying to catch up.

Sean Jackson - Burn

Arizona 23 vs. Baltimore 26

Let the quarterback contraversy begin! Does Kurt Warner have enough left in the tank to challenge Matt Leinart for the job this year? Should the Cardinal even let him? Probably not. Leinart is the QB of the future, but his play was abyssmal this Sunday. Warner came in and found his favorite target, Anquan Boldin, for two touchdowns and made it a competitive contest. McNair was replaced by Kyle Boller, due to injury, again as well. The two backup locked horns and made things pretty exciting at the end. Warner brought the Cardinals back from 17 down, but the Ravens had the ball at the end and Matt Stover hit a 46-yarder to win it for the Ravens.

Siberian - Belgian Beer & Catholic Girls

San Diego 24 vs. Green Bay 31

Brett Favre has the NFL's youngest team sitting pretty at 3-0. He now also holds the all-time career record for touchdown passes, surpassing Dan Marino. Favre threw for 369 yards and 3 TDs. Packers receiver Donald Driver caught six passes for 126 yards, one for a touchdown. Philip Rivers tried his best to keep up. He was 27-of-36 for 306 yards, three touchdowns and a pick. The losing is obviously getting to the Chargers. LaDainian Tomlinson and Philip Rivers were spatting on the sidelines late in the game. Tomlinson expressed total dismay in the post game press conference.

The 1900s - Everybody's Got A Collection

Indianapolis 30 vs. Houston 24

The Texans were the last team to beat the Colts, and they gave them a solid run for the money this time around. The problem with that first sentence is that Colts loss came in Week 16 after the Colts had already locked up their playoff spot and were protecting players heading into the post-season. Matt Schaub is still looking like a huge upgrade and the Houston defense keeps getting better. If Schaub had Andre Johnson or if Jacoby Jones didn't get injured, this could have gone the other way. The real concern for the Colts continues to be on kickoff and punt coverage. The Texans Jerome Mathis made the Colts look silly - taking one to the house on the opening kickoff. The Texans were decimated with injuries this game. Previously mentioned, Jacoby Jones seperated his shoulder, former Colt O-lineman Steve McKinney tore his ACL and most seriously DT Cedric Killings sustained a neck injury in a head-on collision. Word is though he is experiencing some weakness in his hands and arms, but has mobility in all his limbs. For the Colts, Joseph Addai ran for two touchdowns and Adam Vinatieri tacked on three field goals.

Les Savy Fav - The Equestrian

Minnesota 10 vs. Kansas City 13

Two rookies starred in this game. Vikings running back Adrian Peterson rushed for over 100 yards and a touchdown, and Chiefs wide receiver Dwayne Bowe caught five passes for 71 yards and a touchdown. D-Bo said after the game that "the D-Bo show has just begun". Peterson's counterpart, Larry Johnson, was stuffed again this game, rushing for only 42 yards. For the Vikings Kelly Holcomb started at QB in place of the injured Tarvaris Jackson. He was unable to muster any more offense than Jackson had the previous week. This game could have gone the other way though. In the first quarter, Vikings running back Mewelde Moore took a pitch from Holcomb, pulled up and heaved a pass to Visanthe Shiancoe in the end zone. Shiancoe may or may not have trapped the ball, depending on which fanbase you ask. I'm pretty sure is wasn't a catch, but it was damn close.

Foreign Born - In Your Dream

Buffalo 7 vs. New England 38

The Pats train keeps rolling along and crushing all in it's path. Randy Moss and Tom Brady are on a one-way trip to MVP land. Brady & Moss, in their three games together, have combined for five touchdowns and 403 yards receiving. Brady and his picture-perfect smile were 23-29 for 311 yards and 4 touchdown passes this past Sunday. Oppositely Bills QB, J.P. Losman, took a shot in the knee and will miss the next two games with a strained MCL. With him or without, the Bills offense continues to struggle. Buffalo rookie running back, Marshawn Lynch, was their only bright spot and source of offense. He rushed 20 times for 74 yards and a touchdown.

Cut Off Your Hands - You And I

Miami 28 vs. NY Jets 31

Chad Pennington didn't do it with flash, but his 124 yards passing were good for two touchdowns and his four rushes for negative one yards also put another one in the endzone. The Dolphins kept it close on Ronnie Brown's back and the Jets terrible rushing defense. Brown rushed 23 times for 112 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught six passes for 99 yards and another touchdown.

Athlete - In Between Two States

San Francisco 16 vs. Pittsburgh 37

Boy, the Steelers are clicking. They're even killing teams on special teams. Their punter, when they rarely have had to, is starting opponents deep in their own territory and Allen Rossum is either putting the Steelers in great positions to start from or just taking it to the house themselves. New coach Mike Tomlin is off to a 3-0 start and looks like everyone is drinking his Kool-Aid. Ben Roethlisberger had to do very little this game. He was 12-20 with only 160 yards and one touchdown. His kicker, Jeff Reed, provided three field goals and along with Rossum's TD return, his defense returned an errant Alex Smith pass for a touchdown also. One more problem for the 49ers...they went 5-of-15 on third downs and are 11-of-40 for the season.

Pinto - Iron & Rust

St. Louis 3 vs. Tampa Bay 24

Remember when the Rams were "the greatest show on turf"? Seems like ages ago compared the offensively challenged group that has taken the field this year. Steven Jackson finally surpassed 100 yards rushing (115 on 30 carries), but he couldn't find the endzone. Jackson also has a groin tear, so he's likely to struggle all season. It's not one of those injuries that heals quickly. One measly field goal was all the Rams could muster against a formidable Tampa defense. The Bucs D intercepted Marc Bulger three times. The Bucs found offensive help in backup running back Earnest Graham. Graham rushed just 8 times for 75 yards and two touchdowns. Tampa Bay is a suprising 2-1 and the Rams have yet to put a notch in the win column.

The Donnas - Don't Wait Up For Me

Jacksonville 23 vs. Denver 14

Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor needed a combined effort to surpass 100 yards, but it was Greg Jones who slammed it in the endzone for the Jags. Jags QB David Garrard threw for just over 150 yards (but at a 70% completion rate) and rushed for just over 50, but he managed the game well and didn't make mistakes. His only touchdown pass was a three-yarder and capped a long first drive. Jay Cutler threw a touchdown and a pick to go along with his 220 yards, but the Broncos offense was stifled by the Jags D for most of the day.

Les Savy Fav - What Would Wolves Do

Cleveland 24 vs. Oakland 26

Derek Anderson wasn't near as on-point this time around. Anderson threw one touchdown, but two interceptions. He did have one rushing touchdown to even things out though. For the Raiders, Lamont Jordan continued his rushing success - 121 yards and a touchdown. This game was won when Oakland coach Lane Kiffin, learning from what happened to his team the previous week, called a timeout to ice Browns kicker Phil Dawson. The technique worked. Dawson's field goal was blocked and the Raiders won the game. Daunte Culpepper may again get his chance as a starting NFL quarterback this coming week. He replaced an injured Josh McCown late in this game.

Innerpartysystem - Don't Stop

Cincinnati 21 vs. Seattle 24

Carson Palmer put up big numbers again this week, but it again ended in a loss. Palmer threw for over 340 yards - 141 and a touch to T.J. Houshmandzadeh - but was picked off twice. Seattle's QB Matt Hasslebeck was also picked off twice, but he managed three touchdown passes to offset the mistakes. Seattle held the Bengals leading rusher, Rudi Johnson, to nine yards on 17 carries! Wow. Shaun Alexander, on the other hand, rushed for 100 yards on the nose.

Devestations - Mistakes

Carolina 27 vs. Atlanta 20

This game was full of second-chance quarterbacks. David Carr came in to relieve an injured Jake Delhomme, and with the help of Falcons DB DeAngelo Hall, led the Panthers to the go ahead TD. Hall went coo coo for Coco Puffs and was penalized three times for 67 yards on the Panthers drive to take the lead. Carr later led the team down to hit a game-cliching field goal. The sad thing is, third-chancer and born loser, Joey Harrington actually looked like a professional quarterback for the Falcons this time around. Joey threw for over 360 yards and two touchdowns. Roddy White was his favorite target, connecting for 127 yards. The Panthers and Carr controlled the clock with running back DeShaun Foster. Foster rushed for 122 yards and scoring twice, also adding a receiving TD.

Blitzen Trapper - Sci-Fi Kid (40 Thieves Remix)

NY Giants 24 vs. Washington 17



More throwback unis. I loved the 'Skins throwbacks as much as the Eagles. I am fully aware that the NFL does this to sell more merchandise, but I'm totally buying in. Anyway, this game had an exciting finish! The Giants held fast on their goal line, denying the Redskins on four chances to break the plane and tie the game. Ladell Betts tripped over his own blocker on fourth down and the Giants escaped with a division road victory. Eli Manning wasn't great, throwing two picks to only one touchdown, but Derek Ward handled most of the work between the 20s and Ruben Droughns punched the ball across twice once they entered the red zone. Three rushes for three yards and two touchdowns. That's a nice day's work! The Giants defense, which had been pourous in it's previous efforts, held fast in the second half, allowing the offense to comeback from 14 points down. They also held the Redskins to only 81 total yards in the second half.

Drug Rug - Day I Die

Dallas 34 vs. Chicago 10

Rex Grossman has thrown six interceptions in three games. Three in this one alone. Lovie Smith said Rex is still the Bears QB in the post-game press confernce, but that line seems to be waivering as the week goes on. The Bears defense was also able to get to Tony Romo a couple times, but the Cowboys offense still put up over 400 yards of offense. Marion Barber III rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown, also adding a receiving touchdown. Terrell Owens didn't find the endzone, but Romo kept him plenty busy. The two connected eight times for 145 yards. Jason Witten also had a big night for the 'Boys, catching six passes for 90 yards. Bears rookie TE and former Miami Hurricane star Greg Olsen finally saw game action, after missing the first two with a knee injury. He caught two passes for 28 yards.

Poison Control Center - Magic Circles Symphony

Tennessee vs. New Orleans

This was the first meeting between Vince Young and Reggie Bush since their epic NCAA Rose Bowl National Title game two years ago, and Vince got the better of it again this time too. Vince's first Monday night under the lights. You figured the Titans would take to the air against a Saints defense that has been anything but effective against stopping the air assault, and while Vince didn't throw for big yardage, he did throw two touchdown passes. He was picked once, but his opposite, Drew Brees, was picked off four times! Bush didn't get a lot of carries, seven for 15 yards, but he found the endzone on two of them. The Saints actually only rushed 16 times in this game. In the NFL, you are not going to win much if you don't control the ground game.

Ben Jelen - Mr. Philosopher

Previous:

NFL Week Two Recap
NFL Week One Recap
NFC Projections & Breakdown
AFC Projections & Breakdown

--------------------------------------------------------

Official Site | More MP3s | eMusic | Subscribe To RSS Feed | Del.icio.us | Technorati