Jaguars over Bills
Adam: -The Jaguars have got to be one of the biggest surprise teams thus far. I don't envision them making a playoff run or anything, but at 3-2 they have done better than anyone expected. It shows maturity that the Jags didn't have a letdown against the awful Bills after getting a huge win a week ago against the Colts.
-The Bills have to be looking to next year...again.
Eric: -The Jaguars are not a very good team, which is especially evident by having to come from behind to pull out a win against the league's worst team, the Buffalo Bills.
Falcons over Browns
A: -The Browns are in every game, but they just don't have the talent to win consistently.
-The Falcons earn a nice road win and run their record to 4-1.
E: -Leading up to this game, the Browns had had fourth quarter leads in every game they played. They have been playing tough but haven't been able to finish.
-It's now looking like Colt McCoy will get his turn at quarterback. At 1-4, there's not much lower a team can go, so give the rookie a shot.
Ravens over Broncos
A: -Kyle Orton and Brandon Lloyd fill up the stat sheet again, but Baltimore is too much for them as Ray Rice has a huge game. Baltimore may be the best team in football through five weeks.
E: -Although Orton had another big game through the air, most of those numbers came in garbage time after the Ravens had the game firmly in hand.
-This is the Ravens team many pundits were expecting to make a Super Bowl run. Rice finally looked healthy with 133 yards on the ground and a pair of one-yard touchdown dives. With the ground game clicking, Joe Flacco wasn't asked to generate offense, but still played solidly.
Giants over Texans
A: -Who are the Giants and who are the Texans? Both teams change from week to week, but the Giants' defense seems to be getting on a roll.
E: -Adam mentioned in his preview about how this was a game the Texans needed to win if they want to be an "elite" team. They didn't get there Sunday.
-I'll give credit where credit's due though, the Giants have played lights out on defense the past two weeks. They must be licking their chops with the Lions, most likely without Calvin Johnson's services, coming into the Meadowlands this weekend.
Colts over Chiefs
A: -The Chiefs did what they needed to by pounding the run and playing impressive defense, but they took too many unwarranted chances. They opened the game with an onside kick that did not work, then they went for it on fourth down early in the game, rather than kick an easy field goal, and they didn't make it. I know they probably thought they had to take chances to win this game, but had they not onside kicked that ball, or if they had kicked that field goal, they might have won.
-The Colts struggled again but got the victory.
E: -The Colts certainly looked beatable this week, and even though the Chiefs came into this game undefeated, they didn't have the offense to beat the Colts in Indianapolis. The Colts have not been juggernauts out of the gate, though as the season goes on and their injured playmakers come back, Indianapolis should be a very dangerous team in the playoffs.
Buccaneers over Bengals
A: -It's time to start thinking differently about the Bengals. We all thought their offense would be much improved this year, but Carson Palmer has held this team back. Since their hot start last year, this team has been lethargic on offense.
-The Buccaneers came into this game off a bye and got a win that probably reloaded their bandwagon a bit after their blowout loss to the Steelers two weeks ago. Josh Freeman has been really good this year with a QB rating of 84.8. He has done a really nice job of minimizing turnovers. Mike Williams has been very impressive as a rookie wideout.
E: -Who would've thought the Buccaneers would have a better record than the Saints and only be a half game out of first place in the NFC South?
-Nothing the Bengals have done this year has impressed. Palmer made a few nice throws in this game, but at the same time made some bonehead throws as well, including throwing three interceptions.
Redskins over Packers
A: -The Packers have had just about everything go wrong for them this year. Injuries to Morgan Burnett, Nick Barnett, and Clay Matthews have hampered the defense. Jermichael Finley, Donald Lee, and Ryan Grant have gone down on the offensive side of the ball. With all of this and with some boneheaded penalties, the Packers have still been in every game, and that is a testament to Aaron Rodgers.
-The Redskins get a really nice win here and seem to just believe they can win with Donovan McNabb at QB.
E: -Injuries should not be the only excuse for the loss, but they really took their toll on the Packers. In their first game without Barnett and Burnett, they also lost defensive lineman Ryan Pickett on one of the first defensive series, lost their top two tight ends in Finley (out for the year) and Lee on the Packers' only touchdown drive, which came in the first quarter, and lost Matthews for the second half after he had made McNabb's life a living hell throughout the first. Coming back to tie and then eventually win it in overtime, the Redskins also gave Rodgers a concussion on Green Bay's last offensive play, an interception by LaRon Landry.
Lions over Rams
A: - This was huge for Detroit. They get a win finally, and a blowout win at that. This was their biggest margin of victory since 1995. Shaun Hill has been really good the past two weeks, but Matthew Stafford should be back in the next week or two; that is a very good thing. Ndamukong Suh is already one of the best defensive linemen in football.
-The Rams are just not a very good team and now lose their best receiver, Mark Clayton, for the year with a knee injury.
E: -How bad would you feel if you had the score run up on you by the Lions?
Bears over Panthers
A: -Todd Collins throws for 36 yards, 4 interceptions and the Bears win by 17. What?
E: -With the quarterbacks for both teams combining for 147 passing yards and seven interceptions, Matt Forte was the only offense in this game.
-Julius Peppers even made an interception in his return to Carolina. It's been a good two weeks for veterans on new teams playing their former squads; Peppers' Bears beat the Panthers this week and McNabb's Redskins beat the Eagles last week.
Cardinals over Saints
A: -Undrafted rookie Max Hall beats Drew Brees. What?
E: -Hall did not do much in his rookie debut, but he didn't need to with scoring plays coming on an interception return, a fumble return, and a recovery of a Hall fumble on offense.
Titans over Cowboys
A: -Big trouble for Dallas who could easily move to 1-4 when they travel to Minnesota to face the Vikings next week. The NFC East is not waiting for Dallas to catch up.
-The Titans are really well-coached, and despite not having huge overall talent, seem to believe they can beat anybody anywhere.
E: -Even at 1-3, with no team really dominating the NFC East, the Cowboys are still right in the mix, but they have to be disappointed losing this game. They had a big win in Houston and then coming off a bye, they lose to the Titans at home.
-Vince Young played well in this game, made some key throws, and did not turn the ball over.
Raiders over Chargers
A: -The Raiders snap a thirteen-game losing streak to the Chargers.
-The Chargers are off to yet another slow start, but this doesn't feel like the type of thing that they can turn around with ease. They just aren't that good of a team this year.
E: -Here's another upset where the home team's offense didn't have to do a whole lot. The Raiders blocked a punt for a safety, recovered another blocked punt for six, and returned a fumble for a touchdown as well.
-The Chargers played pretty well—Philip Rivers threw for over four hundred yards—but too many costly mistakes did them in.
Eagles over 49ers
A: -Alex Smith is unbelievably erratic, not just from game to game, but from play to play. Coach Mike Singletary nearly benched him, but then Smith responded with two touchdown drives, but ultimately threw the game losing interception. The 49ers are a maddening collection of errors, bad luck, and mismanagement.
-Kevin Kolb looked pretty good, and the Eagles are a respectable 3-2.
E: -It was good to see the Eagles open up their offense a bit more with Kolb in, playing a full game for the first time all season. Things will get interesting once Michael Vick is healthy.
Jets over Vikings
A: -This game was a tale of two halves. The Vikings were abysmal on offense in the first half, but really picked it up in the third and fourth quarters. Despite how good Brett Favre was on a few drives, he was inconsistent overall, lost two fumbles, and threw the decisive pick six.
-LaDanian Tomlinson continued his resurgence with 95 yards. That leads me to my next point: the Vikings' defensive line has been nowhere near as dominant this year as it was the past few years. Although the offense deserves most of the blame for the Vikings' struggles, the defense deserves its share. We knew the secondary was suspect coming into the season, and while the front seven has been solid, it has not been the spectacular group we have come to expect. D'Brickashaw Ferguson absolutely neutralized Jared Allen, and this was not the first time this year Allen has been a nonfactor.
-The Jets moved the ball nicely in the first half but could not get the ball in the end zone. Santonio Holmes was clearly just getting his rhythm, but he will be really dangerous once he gets acclimated. Antonio Cromartie was superb in man coverage against Randy Moss all night.
-4-1 looks really good for the Jets, and 1-3 feels like panic time for the Vikings.
E: -Big props to Cromartie, he was dynamite. The only time Moss beat him was on a perfect throw from Favre; the old man's got a few of those left.
-Favre reached two milestones this game. He threw his 500th career touchdown pass and also eclipsed Warren Moon's record for most fumbles in a career. You win some, you lose some.
-C'mon man.
Adam: -The Jaguars have got to be one of the biggest surprise teams thus far. I don't envision them making a playoff run or anything, but at 3-2 they have done better than anyone expected. It shows maturity that the Jags didn't have a letdown against the awful Bills after getting a huge win a week ago against the Colts.
-The Bills have to be looking to next year...again.
Eric: -The Jaguars are not a very good team, which is especially evident by having to come from behind to pull out a win against the league's worst team, the Buffalo Bills.
Falcons over Browns
A: -The Browns are in every game, but they just don't have the talent to win consistently.
-The Falcons earn a nice road win and run their record to 4-1.
E: -Leading up to this game, the Browns had had fourth quarter leads in every game they played. They have been playing tough but haven't been able to finish.
-It's now looking like Colt McCoy will get his turn at quarterback. At 1-4, there's not much lower a team can go, so give the rookie a shot.
Ravens over Broncos
A: -Kyle Orton and Brandon Lloyd fill up the stat sheet again, but Baltimore is too much for them as Ray Rice has a huge game. Baltimore may be the best team in football through five weeks.
E: -Although Orton had another big game through the air, most of those numbers came in garbage time after the Ravens had the game firmly in hand.
-This is the Ravens team many pundits were expecting to make a Super Bowl run. Rice finally looked healthy with 133 yards on the ground and a pair of one-yard touchdown dives. With the ground game clicking, Joe Flacco wasn't asked to generate offense, but still played solidly.
Giants over Texans
A: -Who are the Giants and who are the Texans? Both teams change from week to week, but the Giants' defense seems to be getting on a roll.
E: -Adam mentioned in his preview about how this was a game the Texans needed to win if they want to be an "elite" team. They didn't get there Sunday.
-I'll give credit where credit's due though, the Giants have played lights out on defense the past two weeks. They must be licking their chops with the Lions, most likely without Calvin Johnson's services, coming into the Meadowlands this weekend.
Colts over Chiefs
A: -The Chiefs did what they needed to by pounding the run and playing impressive defense, but they took too many unwarranted chances. They opened the game with an onside kick that did not work, then they went for it on fourth down early in the game, rather than kick an easy field goal, and they didn't make it. I know they probably thought they had to take chances to win this game, but had they not onside kicked that ball, or if they had kicked that field goal, they might have won.
-The Colts struggled again but got the victory.
E: -The Colts certainly looked beatable this week, and even though the Chiefs came into this game undefeated, they didn't have the offense to beat the Colts in Indianapolis. The Colts have not been juggernauts out of the gate, though as the season goes on and their injured playmakers come back, Indianapolis should be a very dangerous team in the playoffs.
Buccaneers over Bengals
A: -It's time to start thinking differently about the Bengals. We all thought their offense would be much improved this year, but Carson Palmer has held this team back. Since their hot start last year, this team has been lethargic on offense.
-The Buccaneers came into this game off a bye and got a win that probably reloaded their bandwagon a bit after their blowout loss to the Steelers two weeks ago. Josh Freeman has been really good this year with a QB rating of 84.8. He has done a really nice job of minimizing turnovers. Mike Williams has been very impressive as a rookie wideout.
E: -Who would've thought the Buccaneers would have a better record than the Saints and only be a half game out of first place in the NFC South?
-Nothing the Bengals have done this year has impressed. Palmer made a few nice throws in this game, but at the same time made some bonehead throws as well, including throwing three interceptions.
Redskins over Packers
A: -The Packers have had just about everything go wrong for them this year. Injuries to Morgan Burnett, Nick Barnett, and Clay Matthews have hampered the defense. Jermichael Finley, Donald Lee, and Ryan Grant have gone down on the offensive side of the ball. With all of this and with some boneheaded penalties, the Packers have still been in every game, and that is a testament to Aaron Rodgers.
-The Redskins get a really nice win here and seem to just believe they can win with Donovan McNabb at QB.
E: -Injuries should not be the only excuse for the loss, but they really took their toll on the Packers. In their first game without Barnett and Burnett, they also lost defensive lineman Ryan Pickett on one of the first defensive series, lost their top two tight ends in Finley (out for the year) and Lee on the Packers' only touchdown drive, which came in the first quarter, and lost Matthews for the second half after he had made McNabb's life a living hell throughout the first. Coming back to tie and then eventually win it in overtime, the Redskins also gave Rodgers a concussion on Green Bay's last offensive play, an interception by LaRon Landry.
Lions over Rams
A: - This was huge for Detroit. They get a win finally, and a blowout win at that. This was their biggest margin of victory since 1995. Shaun Hill has been really good the past two weeks, but Matthew Stafford should be back in the next week or two; that is a very good thing. Ndamukong Suh is already one of the best defensive linemen in football.
-The Rams are just not a very good team and now lose their best receiver, Mark Clayton, for the year with a knee injury.
E: -How bad would you feel if you had the score run up on you by the Lions?
Bears over Panthers
A: -Todd Collins throws for 36 yards, 4 interceptions and the Bears win by 17. What?
E: -With the quarterbacks for both teams combining for 147 passing yards and seven interceptions, Matt Forte was the only offense in this game.
-Julius Peppers even made an interception in his return to Carolina. It's been a good two weeks for veterans on new teams playing their former squads; Peppers' Bears beat the Panthers this week and McNabb's Redskins beat the Eagles last week.
Cardinals over Saints
A: -Undrafted rookie Max Hall beats Drew Brees. What?
E: -Hall did not do much in his rookie debut, but he didn't need to with scoring plays coming on an interception return, a fumble return, and a recovery of a Hall fumble on offense.
Titans over Cowboys
A: -Big trouble for Dallas who could easily move to 1-4 when they travel to Minnesota to face the Vikings next week. The NFC East is not waiting for Dallas to catch up.
-The Titans are really well-coached, and despite not having huge overall talent, seem to believe they can beat anybody anywhere.
E: -Even at 1-3, with no team really dominating the NFC East, the Cowboys are still right in the mix, but they have to be disappointed losing this game. They had a big win in Houston and then coming off a bye, they lose to the Titans at home.
-Vince Young played well in this game, made some key throws, and did not turn the ball over.
Raiders over Chargers
A: -The Raiders snap a thirteen-game losing streak to the Chargers.
-The Chargers are off to yet another slow start, but this doesn't feel like the type of thing that they can turn around with ease. They just aren't that good of a team this year.
E: -Here's another upset where the home team's offense didn't have to do a whole lot. The Raiders blocked a punt for a safety, recovered another blocked punt for six, and returned a fumble for a touchdown as well.
-The Chargers played pretty well—Philip Rivers threw for over four hundred yards—but too many costly mistakes did them in.
Eagles over 49ers
A: -Alex Smith is unbelievably erratic, not just from game to game, but from play to play. Coach Mike Singletary nearly benched him, but then Smith responded with two touchdown drives, but ultimately threw the game losing interception. The 49ers are a maddening collection of errors, bad luck, and mismanagement.
-Kevin Kolb looked pretty good, and the Eagles are a respectable 3-2.
E: -It was good to see the Eagles open up their offense a bit more with Kolb in, playing a full game for the first time all season. Things will get interesting once Michael Vick is healthy.
Jets over Vikings
A: -This game was a tale of two halves. The Vikings were abysmal on offense in the first half, but really picked it up in the third and fourth quarters. Despite how good Brett Favre was on a few drives, he was inconsistent overall, lost two fumbles, and threw the decisive pick six.
-LaDanian Tomlinson continued his resurgence with 95 yards. That leads me to my next point: the Vikings' defensive line has been nowhere near as dominant this year as it was the past few years. Although the offense deserves most of the blame for the Vikings' struggles, the defense deserves its share. We knew the secondary was suspect coming into the season, and while the front seven has been solid, it has not been the spectacular group we have come to expect. D'Brickashaw Ferguson absolutely neutralized Jared Allen, and this was not the first time this year Allen has been a nonfactor.
-The Jets moved the ball nicely in the first half but could not get the ball in the end zone. Santonio Holmes was clearly just getting his rhythm, but he will be really dangerous once he gets acclimated. Antonio Cromartie was superb in man coverage against Randy Moss all night.
-4-1 looks really good for the Jets, and 1-3 feels like panic time for the Vikings.
E: -Big props to Cromartie, he was dynamite. The only time Moss beat him was on a perfect throw from Favre; the old man's got a few of those left.
-Favre reached two milestones this game. He threw his 500th career touchdown pass and also eclipsed Warren Moon's record for most fumbles in a career. You win some, you lose some.
-C'mon man.
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