Tag: Drew Brees (Page 33 of 34)

NFL Week 4 Recaps

Below are snippets of all the Week 4 action in the NFL. For more analysis and discussion on each game, click on the links provided.

Brett Favre– Brett Favre threw six touchdown passes as the Jets routed the Cardinals 56-35 in New York.

– The Jaguars won their second game in a row, edging out the Texans 30-27 in overtime.

– The Panthers dominated the Falcons 24-9 to improve to 3-1 on the year and share the NFC South lead with the Bucs.

– Larry Johnson nearly rushed for 200 yards on the ground as the Chiefs upset the Broncos 33-19 to notch their first win of the year.

– The Browns beat their AFC North division rivals the Bengals 20-12 to earn their first victory of the season.

– The Bucs bruised and battered Aaron Rodgers in a 30-21 win over the Packers. Tampa is now 3-1 to start the year.

– Drew Brees threw for 363 yards and three touchdowns as the Saints crushed the 49ers 31-17 in New Orleans.

– The Titans are one of only two teams still undefeated in the AFC as they beat the Vikings 30-17 on Sunday.

– It wasn’t pretty, but the Chargers earned their second win of the season, beating the Raiders 21-18. San Diego scored 18 fourth quarter points.

– With Scott Linehan’s job on the line, the Rams still couldn’t muster a win, falling to 0-4 after losing to the Bills 31-14.

– One of the more impressive wins of the day was in Dallas, but it wasn’t by the Cowboys. The Redskins are now 3-1 on the year after pulling off an upset, beating the ‘Boys 26-24 at Texas Stadium.

Brees, Saints cruise over 49ers 31-17

Drew Brees threw for 363 yards and three touchdowns as the Saints routed the 49ers, 31-17 in New Orleans on Sunday.

Drew BreesIt was over when …
Saints cornerback Tracy Porter intercepted J.T. O’Sullivan in the end zone with just under 10 minutes remaining and New Orleans leading 28-9.
Game ball
Running back Deuce McAllister had only two rushing attempts on the season but was more involved in the offense in Week 4, scoring his first touchdown of the year. McAllister finished with 83 total yards.
Key stat
O’Sullivan had two interceptions and lost a fumble, partly because of pressure caused by defensive end Charles Grant, who recorded two sacks and was a menace in the backfield. O’Sullivan was also sacked six times, and has now been taken down by opponents 19 times this season.
Noteworthy
Saints receiver Lance Moore matched his 2007 touchdown total with a pair of scores. … 49ers running back Frank Gore was held without a touchdown for the first time this season. … Saints quarterback Drew Brees had his second three-touchdown game of the season. He had three touchdown passes against the Buccaneers in Week 1.

Apparently the Saints weren’t as bad as they played the past two weeks and the 49ers weren’t as good. When Lance Moore racks up seven catches for 101 yards and two touchdowns, you know you have issues in the secondary. Brees did whatever he wanted to San Fran’s secondary, which had played well against top wide outs Calvin Johnson and Roy Williams last week.

The Saints also did a nice job against J.T. O’Sullivan and the 49ers’ offense, which had played well the past two weeks. They gave up a fair amount of yardage threw the air, but a lot of that came after they had built a 28-9 second half lead, too. The Saints are now 2-2, but trail the Panthers (3-1) and Bucs (3-1) in the NFC South.

Broncos edge Saints in shootout

Brandon MarshallThe red-hot Broncos earned their third win of the year, edging out the New Orleans Saints in a wild 34-32 shootout in Denver on Sunday. Saints’ kicker Martin Gramatica missed a 43-yard field goal that would have given New Orleans a 35-34 lead late in the fourth quarter.

Both quarterbacks put on an aerial show, with Drew Brees throwing for 421 yards and a touchdown and Jay Cutler finishing with 264 yards and two scores. Reggie Bush had another monster game, catching 11 passes for 75 yards and a touchdown, while also rushing for 73 yards and a score. And Denver WR Brandon Marshall was sick again, hauling in six passes for 155 yards and a touchdown. (How do you not triple cover that guy if you’re a defensive coordinator? He’s phenomenal.)

The Broncos look great. Their defense hasn’t played as well as people expected them to, but Cutler and the offense is playing with a ton of confidence and they’re shredding defenses through the air. They play at Kansas City next week, then return home to play Tampa and Jacksonville in Weeks 5 and 6. It’ll be interesting to see how good Denver’s offense can be against two of the better defenses in the league.

I really thought the Saints could be potential Super Bowl contenders this year and they still might be. But after all of the offseason additions, the defense still looks shaky. New Orleans still has issues in the secondary and especially in getting off the field on third downs. When your offense puts up 20-plus points a week, you should win more games than you lose.

AFC, NFC even par in the NFL?

Is the AFC still the NFL’s dominant conference? Probably not. The reigning Super Bowl champion New York Giants reside in the NFC. Two of the AFC’s best players (New England Patriots QB Tom Brady and San Diego Chargers LB Shawne Merriman) are lost for the entire season. And the NFC is 4-2 vs. the AFC in interconference play after two weeks of the season.

The NFC has not had a winning record against the AFC since 1995. Last season, the conferences were even (32-32) in head-to-head competition for the first time since 2001. And entering last season’s Super Bowl, the AFC had won six of the last seven title games.

Improved offensive play is a big reason why the NFC is flourishing once again, as 13 of the 16 NFC teams are averaging 20 or more points per game this season. A few star players in the conference have successfully returned from injury this season. Donovan McNabb is healthy, rejuvenated, and the Philadelphia Eagles are once again one of the top scoring teams in the league. And Jake Delhomme has brought his signature enthusiasm and gunslinger personality back to the undefeated Carolina Panthers after missing all of last season due to ligament-replacement surgery in his right elbow.

Scoring has been a staple in the AFC, thanks largely to the play of Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Historically, the AFC has always been considered “the conference of the quarterback, “and on most Sundays they will have more first-round starting quarterbacks than their NFC rivals. But Brady’s season-ending knee injury and the struggles of Carson Palmer have hurt the QB quality in the AFC.

Typically, the NFC has been a conference that features strong defenses and solid running games. But that philosophy could be changing, as some NFC teams are copying the AFC formula: basing their success on the play from the quarterback position. The statistical numbers do not lie; Tony Romo, Aaron Rodgers, Eli Manning, and Drew Brees are all having hot starts to their seasons. The passing numbers haven’t been this good in the NFC since the Kurt Warner era in St. Louis. And during this recent AFC’s domination, Brett Favre and McKnabb have been only premier quarterbacks the NFC had to offer in competition.

The supremacy of the AFC could be ending this season, as the gap seems to be closing between the two conferences. Perhaps now the NFC will get the respect it deserves.

Top 10 Active NFL Passing TD Leaders

When you think of passing touchdowns, you think guys like Peyton Manning and Brett Favre and Tom Brady, right? Who else do you think of? Hmm, you have to knock your head a bit, don’t you? Well, we’ve come to the rescue with a list of the active Top 10 in that category…..

1. Brett Favre, New York Jets (445)—Well sure, if you start every game since 1992, you’re going to put up numbers like this. But it’s not all longevity—because Number 4 has had 30 or more TD passes in eight different seasons. And by now, we forgive him for that yes-no-yes-no-yes-no-yes act of this past summer.

2. Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts (308)—If he stays healthy, there’s no reason to believe that Manning won’t eventually pass Favre. Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne don’t hurt his game, but Manning could complete passes to you and me if he had to.

3. Tom Brady, New England Patriots (197)—Brady is out for 2008 after breaking Manning’s NFL single-season record in 2007 with 50 TD passes. But it wasn’t like Brady was a slouch before that—his only season with less than 23 TD passes was 2001, the year he took over for Drew Bledsoe.

4. Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia Eagles (175)—McNabb never seems to be 100% healthy, but regardless, he still manages to have huge games frequently. Well, at least when Osi Umenyiora isn’t knocking him down six times in a game.

5. Kerry Collins, Tennessee Titans (175)—Collins might have his best chance ever of winning a Super Bowl ring this season, as he has taken over for the mentally and physically injured Vince Young. We won’t even count that debacle with the Giants against Baltimore in 2001.

6. Kurt Warner, Arizona Cardinals (156)—When you look at the big picture, it’s a wonder that robo-Warner doesn’t have twice as many TD passes. But injuries and backup status with various teams has contributed to that fact. Now, at 37, he’s the starter again in Arizona and flinging balls all over the field.

7. Jon Kitna, Detroit Lions (151)—Forget about the fact that Kitna plays for the hapless Lions. He had 23 TDs with Seattle in 1999 and 26 with the Bengals in 2003. He’s no pretender.

8. Jeff Garcia, Tampa Bay Bucs (150)—No matter what kind of numbers he puts up or what kind of leadership he displays on the field, Jeff Garcia seems to earn zero respect.

9. Matt Hasselbeck, Seattle Seahawks (143)—Is Matt Hasselbeck really only 33? He’s dealt with injury, but he’s shown that he’s a better QB when he has a decent running game to complement the passing attack.

10. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints (138)—In any season in which Brees started all or almost every game, he’s never had less than 24 touchdown passes. The guy is a solid QB—but more than that, he’s a very smart and talented football player.

Source: Pro Football Reference

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