NFL Week In Review-Week 4

NFL Week In Review: Week 4

What’s with the blowouts? There were a lot of points scored today, and some one-sided affairs. There are some pretty good teams, and some really bad teams. Anything can happen on a given Sunday in the NFL, but there are some things that are more predictable than others in this league.

First, we start in Music City, U.S.A. I expected the Cowboys to beat the sorry Titans, but I didn’t expect 45-14. Thanks to our friends at the NFL, I didn’t get to watch this game. I’m sure Fox 26 in Houston would have liked to have shown hometown boy Vince Young in his first start against the Cowboys, but the NFL wants everyone to watch the Texans when they are on TV in their hometown. I knew Vince would struggle in his first start, but he had some good spots. Julius Jones and Terry Glenn had good games for the Cowboys. Good win for the Silver and Blue, and the T.O. circus returns to Philly next week. The Titans are a bad team.

While on the subject of blowouts, the 49ers soiled the legacy of Joe Montana and Jerry Rice with that awful goose egg they laid in Kansas City. The Chiefs, with backup quarterback Damon Huard, horsewhipped the Niners by a score of 41-0. Rarely does an NFL team lose 41-0. The Bay Area is starving for quality football. Dante Hall came up big for the Arrowheads, with a punt return and a catch for touchdowns.

What was that thud we heard from Cincinnati today? The Patriots, coming off a dreadful game against Denver, beat the Bengals like a rented mule. Props to Laurence Maroney, for breaking 100 yards, scoring a touchdown, and helping my fantasy team.

The discussion of blowouts is incomplete without mentioning the Sunday Night event in Chicago. The Seahawks were missing Shaun Alexander, and they may as well have been missing their entire team. Da Bears are the real deal, as they now have some offense to go with that defense.

Downstate and across the river in St. Louis, there was a shootout in the return of Mike Martz to the River City. My friends at Fox 26 were able to show this one, as it was the token 3:00 game on Fox. Yeah, it started at 3, and ended at 6:45, without going into overtime. Just a ton of passing, as the Rams beat Etroit, 41-34. Where’s Etroit? There’s no D in Detroit today, as they gave up 41, so it’s Etroit. Those teams went up and down the field all day, and the Lions even had a chance to chunk it into the end zone to tie it at the end. It was not to be, and the Rams are 3-1.

The Colts have played as many games in New York this year as they have in Indianapolis. Their trip to the Meadowlands to play the Jets ended well. They were given a scare by the J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets. Peyton Manning scored a rushing touchdown for the second game in a row, for the winner. The Jets almost won at the end on a multiple-lateral play, but fell about 25 yards short, and the Colts won 31-28.

Here in Harris County, the sad sack Texans beat the suddenly hapless Dolphins, 17-15. They tried to give it away, as the Dolphins scored in the last two minutes, missed a two-point conversion, then fumbled a recovery of an onside kick. Big win for the Texans, and they have a chance for as many as three more wins this year, with two games against the Titans and one against the Raiders still on the schedule.

The Raiders were competitive today, and actually had a 21-3 lead. However, they blew it, and Cleveland won, 24-21. I’m sure it was a competitive game, but there were games in the USFL and XFL that were competitive. That doesn’t mean it was a quality game. The Raiders are bad, bad, bad.

Atlanta put a whipping on the Cardinals, 32-10. What’s the over/under on Matt Leinart’s debut in Arizona?

The Carolina Panthers got win #2, 21-18 over the Saints. The Panthers are recovering from a slow start, and have Steve Smith back. The Saints are marching back to earth.

There was a barnburner in Landover, Maryland today, as Jacksonville and Washington lit up the scoreboard and went into overtime. Santana Moss picked overtime to catch his second touchdown pass. The Redskins needed the win, especially one over a quality team.

Just up I-95, the Ravens had a battle with San Diego. Last week’s comments apply here. Good teams find a way to win. The Ravens are a good team. Steve McNair is liking crab cakes, especially at 4-0.

Finally, the Bills beat the Vikings in Buffalo today. I got that pick wrong. The Vikings’ new uniforms are ugly, especially the road version with the white jerseys, purple pants, and white stripes. Bud Grant can’t be happy.