2009 Game Reviews
NFL Week 9
by Jody Jamieson
13/11/2009
 
Redskins 17 Falcons 31
 
The Redskins weren't as terrible as they normally are in this contest, but the running of Michael Turner was the difference in a game that could have been a little closer if the Skins defense could have contained the running game. Turner ran for 166 yards and two touchdowns on just 18 carries against a team whove done a reasonable job stopping the run in recent times. Washington were down 24-3 at half time but actually made the Falcons sweat by pulling within a touchdown, but could never get over the top. Matt Ryan to Tony Gonzalez gave Atlanta a 7-0 lead before Secret Agent Campbell threw a pick six to Tye Hill. It was 21-3 after Michael Turner rushed in from 30 yards before a Jason Elam field goal made it a three touchdown game at the half.
 
Ladell Betts filled in admirably for Clinton Portis in the Washington backfield and took his 15 carries for 70 yards and a third quarter score to make it 24-10. Betts also had a 23 yard catch in the contest. Todd Yoder caught a 2 yard pass from Campbell, but just when the Redskins really needed a stop, they allowed Turner to rip off a 58 yard touchdown run to end the game. Campbell (15/22, 196 yds, TD, INT) had to leave this one twice due to injury but returned both times. Matt Ryan was a slightly disappointing 17/24 for 135 yards with a score and a pick, but his running game allowed him to be conservative and take the simple pass when it was there. Even if you ignore the two long touchdown runs, Turner was averaging nearly 6 yards a carry.
 
Cardinals 41 Bears 21
 
I just dont get the Cards. How can they get completely destroyed by the Panthers at home, and then go on the road and pummel Chicago? Kurt Warner redeemed himself by throwing five touchdown passes just 7 days after being picked off five times by Carolina. Warner was an impressive 22/32 for 261 yards, 5 TDs and no turnovers. Jay Cutler on the other side was no slouch himself, going 29/47 for 269 yards with three touchdowns (all to Greg Olson) but a late pick after a furious comeback attempt was thwarted. Warner threw 4 of his touchdown scores in the first half as Arizona held a commanding 31-7 half time lead. Larry Fitzgerald twice, Ben Patrick and Anthony Becht had the first half scoring grabs with Cutler to Greg Olson being the only Bears resistance. Tommie Harris was ejected early for socking Deuce Lutui in the head while they both lay on the ground. Why punch a man who is wearing a helmet? Nothing good can come of that.
 
Olson caught his second touchdown pass in the 4th quarter to make it 34-14 but with the game seemingly over, the Cards inserted Matt Leinart. Party Boy only threw one pass, which was intercepted by Zack Bowman. The Bears quickly scored on Olsons third TD grab and the Cards put Warner back in the game. Cutler threw a desperation pass that was intercepted by Matt Ware, and Warner to Breaston on the short field put Arizona back up by 20 to finish off a commanding win that not even Party Boy could ruin.
 
Ravens 7 Bengals 17
 
Will someone please respect the Bengals? Nine points on the spread was a steal when these two met in Baltimore. Three points at home is just silly. Cincinnati dominated this game from start to finish, holding the ball for exactly two-thirds of the contest and limiting the Ravens to just 215 yards of offense. Baltimore could only muster one third down conversion on a whopping TEN attempts, and Cedric Benson carried the rock for 117 yards and a touchdown. The Bengals defense sacked Joe Flacco four times and just never allowed them to get into any sort of rhythm.
 
Cincinnati were quickly 7-0 up when Carson Palmer hit Andre Caldwell for 6 yards and a score. They followed this up with a 10 play, 80 yard drive on their next possession that culminated with a Cedric Benson 1 yard rush. It was 17-0 when Ray Rice scored the Ravens only points of the game in the 4th quarter on a 2 yard run. Rice (48 rushing yards, 87 receiving yards) was the only player who gave Cincy anything to think about in a game they completely controlled. Steven Hauschka had a chance to make it a one score game with 6 minutes remaining, but he missed a 39 yard field goal.
 
There was a big collision involving Chris Henry and Fabien Washington on a catch from Carson Palmer. Washington left the game with a bad knee, but Henry broke his arm and has been placed on Injured Reserve.
 
Texans 17 Colts 20
 
Its going to be a massive monkey off the back of the Houston Texans when they finally win in Indianapolis, but the fact remains that they should have broken their duck on Sunday. Despite finding themselves down 13-0, Houston came charging back into it, and made a couple of big mistakes which ultimately blew it for them. First Ryan Moats fumbled on the Colts one yard line with a chance to take the lead, and then as time expired Kris Brown hooked one wide left from 42 yards.
 
The Colts were 13-0 up after a receiving touchdown by Joseph Addai and two Matt Stover field goals. Just as the half was winding down Kris Brown was good from 56 yards to give the Texans a little momentum. They rode that momentum into the third quarter, putting together a 13 play, 86 yard drive that ended with a 1 yard Matt Schaub TD pass to Ryan Moats. Houston were then 17-13 up after Steve Slaton finished off another long drive with a 1 yard rush, but Addai replied with a 2 yard rushing score. The game looked destined for overtime, but Brown missed his relative chip shot compared to his earlier kick and the Texans are now 0-8 in Indianapolis.
 
Chiefs 21 Jaguars 24
 
Normally when Jack Del Rio makes a big mistake he goes out of his way to rectify it the next week. After Maurice Jones-Drew hardly touched the ball last week I predicted hed get 30 carries in this one. He got 29. He rushed for 97 yards and a score. The Jags completely dominated this game, but a couple of late touchdowns by the Chiefs made it look closer than it really was. It was 24-6 with 5 minutes left before Chris Chambers caught two touchdown passes from Matt Cassel on his Kansas City debut.
 
Seventh round pick Rashad Jennings put the Jaguars on the board in the first quarter with a 28 yard rush. Kansas Citys own 7th rounder Ryan Succop kicked two field goals before David Garrard found Mike Sims-Walker all alone for a 61 yard touchdown pass. It was 17-6 in the 4th quarter when Jones-Drew escaped from a mass of humanity to score on a 10 yard rush to put the game out of reach despite the late KC rally.
 
Dolphins 17 Patriots 27
 
I set up the game reviews on a Saturday night or a Sunday morning and put a little bit of info up, just in the off chance I have some interesting thoughts before the game. I wasnt too far off here. I expect Ronnie Brown to throw a touchdown pass, and the Fins have a good shot at the upset here. But the Patriots off a bye week find a way and win it 27-20.
 
Not bad at all. Id have likely taken the Dolphins to win the game straight up if the Pats weren't coming off a bye, but as such took the Dolphins as 10.5 point underdogs and rejoiced as they covered by a whole half point. Miami even held a 17-16 lead at one point but couldnt keep it going and fell to their AFC East rivals. New England led 10-3 during the second quarter after a Laurence Maroney rushing touchdown, but Miami tied it up on a Ricky Williams 16 yard run. Gostkowski kicked two late second quarter field goals, but Miami took the lead in the third quarter on a 16 play drive that ended with a Ronnie Brown 1 yard TD pass to Joey Haynos. New England replied quickly on a 71 yard Tom Brady bomb to Randy Moss. Brady and Moss repeated the trick for the 2 point conversion. Miami just couldnt keep it going and when Gostkowski kicked a late field goal it was all over.
 
Packers 28 Buccaneers 38
 
If Im going to have a little crow about my comments on the Patriots game, it's only fair to leave my little ditty about this one in. If the Packers dont score 40 points in this one it's because theyve stopped trying. I expect at least 27 by half time. Aaron Rodgers has one of the worst lines in the league, but even the Bucs wont get a sack here. If the spread was -27 Id still be tempted. Packers win 38-7 or 41-10.
 
Oops. Im sure Im not the only one who was amazed that the Bucs got their first win here, but it doesnt excuse my awful predictions. I didn't get a single thing right here. Well I did say that the Packers had one of the worst lines in the league, but thats stating the obvious rather than making a prediction. Rodgers was dropped 6 times by Tampa Bay on Sunday and is threatening David Carrs record of 76 sacks in one season. Hes currently on pace for 74. Green Bay even had Chad Clifton and Mark Tauscher back at the tackle positions and it didn't matter at all. Green Bay were scoring at will in the first half, but killed themselves with turnovers and poor special teams play.
 
The Packers took an early lead when Rodgers hooked up with James Jones for a 74 yard score, but the Bucs tied it up after an interception set them up on the 8 yard line. Derrick Ward scored from 6 yards out on Josh Freemans first NFL TD pass. The Pack went 14-7 up on a rushing touchdown by Ryan Grant, but blew it again after Ronde Barber returned a blocked punt for a TD. It was 21-17 Green Bay at half time after a 34 yard Donald Driver score and a Connor Barth 38 yard field goal. Aaron Rodgers scored on the ground to give the Packers an 11 point lead with 13 minutes to play, but letting the Bucs hang around came back to kill them.
 
Clifton Smith returned the ensuing kickoff to the Green Bay 17 yard line, and Freeman hit Kellen Winslow (2 point conversion failed) to cut the deficit to five. With four minutes to go Raheem Morris made a gutsy call to go for it on fourth and 4 from the Packer 7, but it paid off. Freeman threw a beautiful pass to the back of the endzone and Sammie Stroughter hauled it in (Freeman to Clayton for 2 points) for the first Tampa lead of the game. The Packers had 4th and 12 deep in their own territory with less than a minute to play trying to save the game, but Rodgers desperation heave was intercepted and returned for a touchdown by Tanard Jackson. Freemans numbers were pretty pedestrian (14/31, 205 yards 3TD, INT) but he was excellent in his first pro start. Freeman stood tall in the pocket and made some huge throws. His mobility is a huge plus and his accuracy on touch passes was very impressive. He tended to make good decisions with the football and was willing to throw the ball away when there was nothing on.
 
Panthers 20 Saints 30
 
I had 31-21 Saints here. Not too bad at all. I also had Jake Delhomme costing the team with turnovers, but for the second week in a row he was economical with the ball and didn't self destruct. His performance wasnt bad (17-30, 201 yds) but he didn't do quite enough to take his team over the top against the unbeaten Saints. Even when Carolina had a 14-0 lead, I was still nervous about taking them as 13 point dogs. I even made a comment about getting my shoelaces confiscated if they blew the spread. Carolina were very competitive due to keeping up their good work in the running game, but it was fumbles and not interceptions that ruined them on Sunday. Delhomme, DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart all lost fumbles in this one to condemn them to defeat. Carolina scored their two early touchdowns on DeAngelo Williams runs of 66 and 7 yards, the latter set up by a Drew Brees fumble. It was 14-3 when the Saints looked to be driving towards a touchdown, but Brees threw right into the arms of Chris Gamble. The teams traded field goals as the Panthers led 17-6 at the half.
 
Pierre Thomas scored on a 10 yard rush in the third quarter and after another John Kasay field goal, the final play of the third quarter was a 54 yard pass from Brees to Robert Meachem to tie the scores at 20. A John Carney 40 yard field goal gave New Orleans their first lead of the day, and the win was sealed when DeAngelo Williams fumbled on his own 2 yard line. Anthony Hargrove scooped it up and scored to send the Saints to 8-0.
 
Lions 20 Seahawks 32
 
If youre a spread better, I hope you didn't take Detroit in this game. For the second year in a row they managed to go 17-0 up as underdogs of more than a touchdown and fail to cover. They did it against the Bucs last year and lost 38-20 as 8.5 point dogs (I nearly cried) but thankfully I didn't take them this time. I would have written to the Ford Family to demand a refund if I had. Matthew Stafford was the undoubted goat of the game, throwing 2 touchdowns and 5 interceptions, but Im willing to give him a pass on this one. Playing in Seattle is not easy as a rookie and his offensive line sucks. Mark Sanchez has bounced back well from his 5 pick day against Buffalo and Im confident Stafford will do the same. Detroit were without Calvin Johnson for most of this one. Johnson did have 2 catches for 27 yards, but spent most of the game on the sidelines not fully recovered from his injury.
 
Detroit raced out to their early lead on the back of Stafford touchdown passes to Brandon Pettigrew and Bryant Johnson and a 41 yard field goal by Jason Hanson. All three scoring drives were set up by Seattle turnovers in their own territory. A pick, a fumble and a turnover on downs set up the three scores which looked to have killed Seattle early. Julius Jones scored on the ground before 3 Olindo Mare field goals cut the deficit to 17-16. Matt Hasselbeck then found TJ Houshmandzadeh in the endzone for the first Seattle lead of the day. It was 25-20 Seattle when Detroit were driving to try and secure their second win of the season, but Stafford threw a pick six to Josh Wilson, ending their chances.
 
Chargers 21 Giants 20
 
Rivers versus Manning is always going to be the big storyline when these teams face off. These two passers will be forever linked by the high profile trade the Giants and Chargers made on draft day in 2004 and for the first time, they squared off against each other. When the teams met in 05, Drew Brees was under centre for San Diego. Rivers barely won this one, but down 20-14 with 2 minutes remaining, he led a great drive to knock off the Giants in the Meadowlands. The Giants looked to have won this one late, but their alarming skid continues as theyve now dropped four straight after opening up 5-0. Jeff Feagles couldnt get the snap down on a 39 yard field goal attempt after an impressive opening drive, which seemed relatively innocent at the time, but would obviously be a costly play. Vincent Jackson and Steve Smith both had first half touchdown receptions, as the score was knotted at 7-7. Kris Wilson then caught a Rivers pass to make it 14-7 before the Giants reeled off 13 straight points to seemingly end their barren run. New York was up 17-14 when Terrell Thomas returned a Rivers interception to the Charger four yard line but they couldnt punch it in to end it and gave San Diego one more chance. The Giants needed one stop to go to 6-3 but they couldnt get it done as Rivers marched his team down the field and eventually found Vincent Jackson in the corner of the endzone for the victory with just 21 seconds to go.
 
Eli Manning was an economical 25/33 for 215 yards and 2 scores, while Rivers was 24/39 for 209 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. When you look at the stats, it's hard to understand how the Giants lost this one. They bested San Diego in yards (304-226), third down efficiency (35%-30%), time of possession (37:47-22:13) and won the turnover battle 2-1. The Giants however were flagged for nine penalties (104 yards) to San Diegos three (20 yards) which will have made a difference. The Chargers also sacked Eli Manning a whopping five times, with Shawn Merriman turning up for the first time in ages, sacking Manning twice including a game ending drop of Eli as time expired.
 
Titans 34 49ers 27
 
Lets not get completely carried away. The Titans are not running the table from here on in and finishing 10-6 like Chris Johnson predicted. But the Titans are much improved on their early 0-6 mess. Vince Young continues to put up pedestrian numbers, but as long as hes not turning the ball over then it's ok. The same team that was 0-6 with Kerry Collins is now 2-0 with Young at the helm and thats no fluke. Assuming the Titans stick with Vince for the foreseeable future, Mike Heimerdinger should be fired on the spot if he tries to make him a pocket passer in 2010.
 
Vince Young score his first rushing touchdown of the season in the second quarter to make it 10-3, but the Niners had a 7 point half time lead after Frank Gore scored on the ground from 2 yards before Alex Smith tossed a 12 yard touchdown pass to Jason Hill. Chris Johnson then tied the game at 17 in the third quarter before the scoring really exploded in the final 15 minutes. Joe Nedney kicked a field goal before it seemed like Chris Johnson had given Tennessee the lead on a 77 yard touchdown rush. However Johnson stepped out of bounds at the 40 and the play was reversed after a challenge. Not to be outdone, the Titans kept driving and Johnson scored from 2 yards. Rob Bironas kicked a field goal to make it a seven point game and then the Titans wrapped it up with a Cortland Finnegan pick six. Jason Hill caught his second touchdown pass of the day but it was not enough as they couldnt convert the onside kick.
 
Cowboys 20 Eagles 16
 
There is no question the Eagles are a talented team. But when it comes down to it, they seem unable to win the close game, and this has been the case for a while. When the game is on the line, the Eagles dont seem to be able to find a way to get over the top. Weve seen this type of loss many times from Philadelphia in recent times. Tight games going into the 4th quarter more often mean a loss than a win. Andy Reid is an excellent NFL coach, but his in game management skills tends to be very suspect. A few weeks ago in Oakland, Andy Reid called his last time out on 3rd down with 2:02 remaining, inviting Oakland to try a low risk passing play knowing the clock would stop anyway. Oakland converted and took knees to win the game. There was 4:30 left on the clock when down seven Reid sent Akers onto the field to kick a 52 yard field goal. While thats already a strange call, even on 4th and 10, with no timeouts it's a huge risk. It was a risk that ultimately didn't pan out as the Eagles never got the ball back. Reid burned two timeouts on challenges Walt Coleman was never going to change after spending his first timeout putting Michael Vick on the field and not being prepared to get his offense back on the field in time.
 
Midway through the first quarter the Cowboys drew first blood when Tashard choice took a direct snap from the Wildcat and took it in from 3 yards. Dallas led 7-6 late in the second quarter when Romo completed a 64 yarder to Patrick Crayton to set up first and goal, but the Cowboys couldnt punch it in and settled for a chip shot field goal. Philadelphia took a 13-10 lead on their first drive of the second half when after a long 45 yard screen pass to LeSean McCoy, McNabb found Brent Celek in the endzone. After McNabb threw a pick to Mike Jenkins and the Cowboys tied it up on a field goal, they took the lead on their next drive. The drive was set up after Philly turned it over on downs at the Dallas 45. Romo hit Miles Austin for his only catch of the day but when your only catch is a 49 yard game winning touchdown grab, you can chalk that up as a successful day. The Eagles later kicked that field goal with 4:30 to go and never saw the ball again. On 3rd and 3 Romo to Witten for 5 yards ended the game as the Cowboys ran out the clock and took sole possession of first place in the NFC East.
 
Steelers 28 Broncos 10
 
It was another case of role reversal for the Denver Broncos. They have spent the entire season playing close games in the first half before taking control in the second half and winning games on defense. Pittsburgh had a lousy 54 yards of offense through the first 30 minutes, but turned it on after the restart and blasted the Broncos for a big win. Denver mixed up play action nicely on their opening drive and it allowed Orton the time to find Royal and they hooked up three times on the opening drive. Kyle Orton should have been intercepted by William Gay, but the ball fell incomplete and Matt Prater kicked a 40 yarder. Denver moved the ball well on the Steelers, but found themselves behind at the half when Orton was picked by Tyrone Carter, who took it the other way for a 40 yard score. This weeks EA backtrack award goes to Josh McDaniels. Jabar Gaffney went for the catch, didn't gain full possession and was stripped before going to the ground. McDaniels had a look at the replay and stupidly tried to challenge. I know the referees are incompetent, but even he had to know he didn't have a prayer.
 
Finally on the first drive of the second half, Pittsburgh looked to be getting somewhere offensively. Unfortunately they fell flat on their faces when Kenny Peterson strip sacked Roethlisberger. Robert Ayers picked it up and put Denver up 10-7. That was the last we would see of Denver as a threat in this one as Pittsburgh rattled off 21 unanswered points and picked off Orton two more times. First it was Big Ben to Hines Ward for the lead. Roethlisberger even found the time to lead them down the field before being picked in the endzone by Andre Goodman, but all this did was delay the inevitable. First it was a 25 yard strike to Mike Wallace to make it 21-10 and Hines Ward completed the scoring late on a bubble screen to send Denver to 6-2. Has the bubble burst? it's hard to say as theyve faced two very good teams the last two weeks, but Denver need to figure it out too as the second half defense that has defined their season has gone missing in a big way. This cannot continue as San Diego are looking like a threat and are sitting just a game behind in the AFC West.