Author: Anthony Stalter (Page 1159 of 1503)

Mistakes doom Browns as Steelers nab 10-6 victory

Derek AndersonThe Pittsburgh Steelers continued their dominance of the Browns, beating Cleveland 10-6 on a gusty Sunday night.

• The Steelers won their 10th straight over the Browns, and now own the NFL’s longest active win streak against a single opponent.
• Willie Parker topped 100 yards for the second straight week.
• The Browns rushed for 53 yards and are averaging 39.2 rushing yards in their last four games against the Steelers.

The Browns had their opportunities, but could never convert. In the first half, Derek Anderson threw two costly interceptions, the second one deep in Pittsburgh territory that cost the Browns an opportunity for points before halftime. Then, late in the third quarter down 10-0, Cleveland had a first and 10 at the Pittsburgh 11-yard line, but proceeded backwards after Jamal Lewis was stuffed for a three yard loss on second down and Kellen Winslow was called for a false start on 3rd and 7 from the 8-yard line. Anderson proceeded to throw an incomplete pass on the next play and the Browns had to settle for a Phil Dawson field goal. The Browns’ offense just couldn’t sustain momentum all night.

As the score suggests, the Steelers weren’t overly impressive but the weather conditions played into that. Battling a sore shoulder, Ben Roethlisberger threw for 186 yards and a touchdown, while Willie Parker rushed for over 100 yards for the second straight week. As previously noted, the Pittsburgh defense proved to be the difference, forcing two Browns’ turnovers and holding them to field goals when they reached Steeler-territory.

NFL Week 2 Game Recaps

Below are snippets of all the Week 2 action in the NFL. For more analysis and discussion on each game, click on the links provided.

Aaron Rodgers– Aaron Rodgers looked fantastic for the second straight week as the Packers put up 24 fourth quarter points in a 48-25 thrashing of the Lions.

– The upstart Bills pulled off one of the better upsets of the day, beating the winless Jaguars 20-16 in Jacksonville.

– The Bengals’ offense looked brutal again this week in the Titans’ 24-7 win in Cincinnati.

– For the second straight week, the Panthers pulled off a fourth quarter comeback, this time rallying to beat the Bears 20-17 in their home opener.

– Jason Campbell and the Redskins’ offense bounced back from a dismal Week 1 performance to beat the Saints 29-24.

– The Colts avoided going 0-2 for the first time since Peyton Manning’s rookie season in 1998 by beating the Vikings 18-15.

– Eli Manning threw for three touchdowns in the Giants’ 41-13 romp over St. Louis.

– Despite rumors circulating that head coach Lane Kiffin could be fired Monday, the Raiders cruised to a 23-8 win over division rival Kansas City.

Brandon Marshall– After a controversial call went in their favor, the Broncos rallied to beat the Chargers 39-38 after Denver went for two with only 24 seconds remaining in the game.

– The Bucs’ defense harassed rookie quarterback Matt Ryan as Tampa beat the Falcons 24-9 to earn their first win of the season.

– Matt Cassel won his first career start as the Patriots beat Brett Favre and the Jets 19-10.

– Kurt Warner threw for 361 yards and three touchdowns in Arizona’s 31-10 win over the Dolphins.

– The Seahawks fell to 0-2 after losing 33-30 to the 49ers in overtime. Matt Hasselbeck threw two interceptions in the loss.

Seahawks fall to 0-2 after losing to 49ers in OT

San Francisco 49ersJoe Nedney kicked a 40-yard field goal in overtime to lift the San Francisco 49ers to a 33-30 win over the Seattle Seahawks at Qwest Field Sunday.

• This is just the third time in the last five seasons in which the 49ers scored at least 30 points in a road game.
• After losing in his first career NFL start a week ago, J.T. O’Sullivan threw for 321 yards on 20-of-32 passing, including a TD.
• The four-time defending NFC West champion Seahawks (0-2) lost their first two games of the season for the first time since 2002.

The Seahawks built an early 14-0 lead, but couldn’t sustain it after losing two more wide receivers to injuries. The Seattle defense struggled for the second straight week, which is a bit surprising given the overall talent the Seahawks have on that side of the ball. On a positive note, Julius Jones rushed for 127 yards and a touchdown, but unfortunately he couldn’t mask Matt Hasselbeck’s (189, 2 INTs) rough day.

You knew it was only a matter of time before Mike Martz’s offense started to click. J.T. O’Sullivan threw for over 300 yards and a touchdown, while the ageless one Isaac Bruce caught four passes for a whopping 153 yards. I don’t think this game should be a ringing endorsement for the 49ers’ chances this year, but it’s always impressive when a team can beat the Seahawks in Seattle.

Cardinals blast Dolphins to get to 2-0

Kurt WarnerKurt Warner threw for 361 yards and tossed three touchdowns as the Arizona Cardinals cruised over the Miami Dolphins 31-10 in the desert.

• Arizona’s win was just its second win in 10 all-time meetings between the two clubs.
• Sunday was Anquan Boldin’s first career three-TD game and the first by a Cardinals receiver since Rob Moore against the Redskins on Dec. 7, 1997.
• The Dolphins have lost 11 straight road games dating back to 2006 and are just 7-27 in 34 games since closing 2005 with six straight victories.
• Dating back to last season, the Cardinals have scored 301 points in their last 10 games (30.1 PPG).

So how much can we draw from the Cards after wins over the 49ers and Dolphins? Well for one, Warner looks outstanding in the passing game, even though it’s been against suspect defenses. And even though he remains pissed over his contract situation, Anquan Boldin (6 catches, 140 yards, 3 TDs) has been out-of-this-world impressive.

We’ll see how the Cards do over the next three weeks when they travel to Washington and New York before hosting Buffalo in early October. While those teams aren’t powerhouses, they certainly offer a bigger challenge than San Francisco and Miami, so it’ll be interesting to see how good Arizona actually is.

Matt Cassel beats Brett Favre in first career start

Matt CasselMatt Cassel passed his first test in replacing the injured Tom Brady, guiding the New England Patriots to a 19-10 win over division rival New York. Jets’ QB Brett Favre threw a costly interception while trying to rally NY late in the game.

Cassel, who hadn’t started at any level since his senior year of high school, was 16-of-23 for 165 yards, Sammy Morris ran for a touchdown and Stephen Gostkowski kicked four field goals.

The Jets and Patriots receiver Randy Moss said New England was still the team to beat even without Brady, who was lost for the season last Sunday when he injured his left knee against Kansas City.

The Patriots (2-0) then showed why, ruining the Jets’ home opener and Favre’s first regular-season home start for New York. New England won its 21st straight regular-season game, and beat the Jets for the eighth straight time at the Meadowlands.

It was easy to get excited about Favre and the Jets after they won their opener, but it was against the Dolphins so maybe we got a little ahead of ourselves. This clearly isn’t the same Patriots team that went 18-0 last year, but at least Cassel looks like he’ll keep them afloat with Brady out. It might be a matter of time before things start to crumble, but for right now New England is still the team to beat in the AFC East. (Although Buffalo looks damn good after two weeks, too.)

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