Month: September 2008 (Page 20 of 61)

      Vikings defense shuts down Panthers

      September 21, 2008 /

      The Minnesota Vikings used a solid defensive effort to earn their first win of the season, beating the Panthers 20-10.

      Minnesota VikingsIt was over when …
      Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme was sacked on fourth-and-27 with no timeouts left and the Panthers down by 10 late in the fourth quarter.

      Game ball
      Just before halftime, Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield blitzed untouched around the left side, sacked Delhomme, forced a fumble, picked up the ball and ran it back 19 yards for a touchdown that tied the score and turned the momentum of the game.

      Key stat
      Referees threw 21 flags through the course of the game, but Carolina’s gaffes were more costly. The noise in the Metrodome may have contributed to the Panthers’ delay-of-game penalty and six false starts. On defense, an illegal contact penalty in the fourth quarter extended a Vikings drive and kept Carolina’s offense on the sidelines.

      Noteworthy
      A timeout called by John Fox in the fourth quarter negated a blocked field goal by the Panthers. … In his first game back from a two-game suspension, Carolina receiver Steve Smith caught the first pass of the game but had just three more receptions the rest of the way to finish with four catches and 70 yards. … Gus Frerotte is 38-44-1 in his career as a starter.

      The Panthers just have to tip their hats to the Vikings secondary, which had been brutal coming into this game. Minnesota held Jake Delhomme to 191 yards and no touchdowns, and more importantly kept Steve Smith (4 catches, 70 yards) relativity quiet. Kind of strange that on a day where Adrian Peterson (17 carries, 77 yards) looks mortal, the Vikings get their first win of the season over a quality opponent. At least for one week, it looks like the move to Gus Frerotte (16 of 28, 204 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) at quarterback paid off for Brad Childress.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Griese burns former team as Bucs beat Bears 27-24 in OT

      September 21, 2008 /

      Brian GrieseFor the second week in a row, the Bears blew a 10-point lead in the fourth quarter of a game, losing to former quarterback Brian Griese and the Tampa Bay Bucs 27-24 in overtime.

      Down 24-14 midway through the fourth quarter, Griese, who attempted a staggering 67 passes by the way, led the Bucs to a 35-yard field goal with just over three minutes to play. Griese then threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Jerramy Stevens with only seven seconds remaining to tie the game at 24 and send it to overtime.

      After the teams exchanged punts in OT, Tampa started on its 7-yard line. Griese then marched the Bucs all the way down to the Bears’ 3-yard line before Mark Bryant kicked the game-winning 21-yard field goal on second down.

      The Bears can spread the blame around evenly after this loss. After the Bucs kicked a field goal to cut the deficit to 24-17, Chicago took possession with just over three minutes to play in the fourth. But Kyle Orton and the offense couldn’t muster one first down and the Bears had to punt. Then the Chicago defense allowed Griese to march Tampa up the field for the game-tying score.

      The refs also blew one for the Bears, too. On Tampa’s eventual game-winning scoring drive in overtime, Chicago had the Bucs stopped after a failed 3rd and 9 from the 8-yard line. But CB Charles Tillman was flagged 15-yards for unnecessary roughness, allowing the Bucs to keep the ball. But replays showed Tampa guard Jeremy Trueblood hitting Bears’ DT Tommie Harris multiple times in the helmet. Tillman then came in and pushed Trueblood in retaliation.

      Tillman was still in the wrong. Everyone knows that the second guy will always get caught. But it was a game-changing moment and one the Bears never recovered from.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Bills rally late, edge Raiders

      September 21, 2008 /

      Rian Lindell kicked a game-winning 38-yard field goal as time expired, giving the Bills a 24-23 win over the Oakland Raiders in Buffalo on Sunday.

      Marshawn LynchIt was over when …
      Rian Lindell kicked a 38-yard field goal as time expired.

      Game ball
      Trailing 16-7 entering the fourth quarter, quarterback Trent Edwards led the Bills to 17 points, including two scoring drives in the final 6:23 to complete the comeback.

      Key stat
      The Bills held the Raiders to 2-of-12 on third-down conversions and only 10 first downs total.

      Noteworthy
      The Bills are 3-0 for the first time since 1992, when the team started 4-0. … Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell threw only three passes in the second half. One of them was an 84-yard touchdown to Johnnie Lee Higgins. … The Raiders had only 98 rushing yards after gaining 300 on the ground against the Chiefs in Week 2.

      Some are going to look at this as a step back for Buffalo, but for a young team learning how to win, it was perfect. The Bills looked great the past two weeks, beating two former playoff teams. There was bound to be a drop off at some point. Oakland outplayed the Bills for three quarters, but Buffalo didn’t panic and finished with a monster fourth quarter. A win like this will do more for the Bills than had they won by a double-digit margin. It’ll keep them grounded and focused, especially with a trip to St. Louis coming up.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Matt Ryan, Michael Turner rebound as Falcons handle Chiefs

      September 21, 2008 /

      Roddy WhiteAfter stumbling last week in Tampa, the Falcons returned to the Georgia Dome this Sunday and promptly crushed the Chiefs, 38-14.

      Rookie QB Matt Ryan completed 12 of 18 passes for 192 yards and also threw a 70-yard touchdown pass to WR Roddy White (5 rec., 119 yards, 1 TD). As with their win over the Lions in the opener, the Falcons stuck mostly to the ground game as Michael Turner rushed for 104 yards and three touchdowns.

      Atlanta has two wins over brutal teams, but Ryan is gaining confidence with each victory. Ryan needs to prove he can play on the road though. He looked bad last week in Tampa and will get tested by another division foe next week when the Falcons travel to Carolina.

      Chiefs’ QB Tyler Thigpen had another rough day, throwing three interceptions. He had to deal with some dropped passes, but he also missed receivers badly all game. Larry Johnson (24 carries, 121 yards, 1 TD) bounced back from last week’s dismal performance, but without the threat of a passing game, he could only do so much. The Chiefs are in for a long year.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

      Giants escape disaster, beat Bengals in overtime

      September 21, 2008 /

      It was only a matter of time before the Cincinnati Bengals’ offense came around. Carson Palmer had his first respectable game of the season, throwing for 286 yards and a touchdown, while WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh hauled in 12 catches for 146 yards and a touchdown. The effort went for naught though, as the defending champion Giants snuck out a 26-23 win in overtime.

      Eli ManningIt was over when …
      John Carney kicked a 22-yard field goal in overtime.

      Game ball
      Amani Toomer made an acrobatic catch on Eli Manning’s third-down pass in overtime to help set up the winning field goal. Toomer caught the ball on his finger tips and was able to drag his feet inbounds to keep the drive moving.

      Key stat
      The Giants averaged 6 yards per attempt.

      Noteworthy
      There were six lead changes in the game. … Carson Palmer had 228 passing yards in the first two weeks. He finished with 286 passing yards. … The Giants are off to their best start since 2000, when they started 3-0 before eventually losing to the Ravens in the Super Bowl XXXV. … The Giants sacked Palmer six times.

      The Bengals showed a lot of fight, but the Giants just kept swinging back. Manning and the G-Men offense look great and they face Seattle and Cleveland the next two weeks. New York could easily be 5-0 heading into its Week 6 BYE.

      At least fantasy owners who have Cincinnati players can breath a sigh of relief. I’m sure head coach Marvin Lewis is real happy for you, too.

      Fantasy Football, NFL

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