John Berger
Senior Editor
What initially looked like a mediocre NFL slate turned into a pretty good group of games this weekend with a number of story lines. There were a few games with very good teams, a few with surprising outcomes, and some that had crucial injuries.
The Giants had arguably the most impressive win of the relatively young season on Sunday over the 49ers. They weren’t really dominant in any statistical category, however. In fact, the two teams were pretty evenly matched there. If you looked at the yardage and time of possession, you’d of thought it was a very close game. But New York didn’t turn the ball over once and forced three take aways. You’re going to win a lot of games doing that. After a David Akers‘ field goal in the first quarter, the Giants scored 26 unanswered points. The Giants showed balance on offense and really good third down defense. On the road against a team that was previously 4-1, this was a win to celebrate. With the Eagles and Cowboys both losing, New York looks to be in good shape in the NFC East.
This week was a bad loss for the Patriots, but it wasn’t shocking. Simply put, the Seahawks are really good when they play at home. Since 2010, they have been 6-13 on the road, but they are 12-7 at home. They have a big home field advantage, ranking fourth among all NFL teams. The Patriots didn’t score a touchdown in the last 40 minutes of the game. The Pats were 1-6 from the Redzone in terms of scoring touchdowns even though they’ve been in the top 10 in the league over the last 3 years in that category. Poor redzone offense and a loud opposing crowd will result in a loss a lot of times.
The Ravens suffered a couple of big injuries on Sunday. Lardarius Webb tore his ACL against the Cowboys, and Ray Lewis tore his tricep. Webb was playing like an all-pro this year, and Lewis has been the leader of that defense for the last dozen years. In addition, nose tackle Haloti Ngata sprained his MCL. Ngata is considered to be a top 10 player in the NFL. Now the Ravens have to travel to Houston and potentially not have three of their best defensive players.
Speaking of the Texans, they were completely outclassed by the Packers. Aaron Rodgers was in vintage form on Sunday, becoming only the fourth player to ever throw for over 330 yards, 6 touchdowns, and no interceptions in NFL history. The Packers got out to a quick 14-0 lead and never looked back. The Texans just couldn’t stop the Packers, even with Greg Jennings and Cedric Benson out with injuries.
That was a great comeback win by the Broncos on Monday. It’s easy to say that the Chargers blew the game, but I want to give Denver the credit here. They ripped off 35 unanswered points after halftime, and they were in complete control of the second half. Peyton Manning was able to overcome some adversity and play really, really well. On another note, the Chargers just don’t seem to have that “it” factor that teams need to close out wins against tough competition. Philip Rivers is in his 9th year, it’s inexcusable for him to throw 4 interceptions and lose that game last night.
