NFL Highway, Week 3

It’s time for another trip down the NFL highway.

There is never a dull moment in the NFL. When it comes to the NFL, the only thing to do is to expect the unexpected. So, there were some surprising events, in addition to some rather mundane results.

We’ll start in Chicago, where the Dallas Cowboys had a coming-out party, as they whipped the Bears by a score of 34-10. The Romo Empire is being built one game at a time, as Tony Romo threw for 329 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. Marion Barber III continued to stake his claim to the RB position, gaining 101 yards while scoring a touchdown. The Bears, meanwhile, continue to struggle on offense, as Rex Grossman continues to play himself out of the Windy City. Sexy Rexy had three interceptions and a quarterback rating of 25 for the game. Defense alone will not be able to carry the Bears back to the Super Bowl this year.

In Philadelphia, the Eagles celebrated the 75th year of their franchise by wearing their 1933 uniform. The horrible fashion statement grossed out the Detroit Lions, as the Iggles ripped the Lions apart, 56-21. Donovan McNabb threw four touchdown passes, including three to Kevin Curtis. Brian Westbrook had 110 yards rushing, 111 yards receiving, and three touchdowns in 2 ½ quarters. Rumor has it that the Lions were forced to walk back to Detroit, and were seen hitchhiking late Sunday night on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

The Indianapolis Colts showed the Houston Texans what a championship team looks like, as they delivered a workmanlike 30-24 win over the Texans. The Texans are being quickly bitten by the injury bug, as WR Andre Johnson was joined in the infirmary by RBs Ahman Green and Ron Dayne. The Colts will not give up their championship easily.

The Baltimore Ravens held on at home to defeat the Arizona Cardinals, 26-23. Cardinals backup QB Kurt Warner (remember him?) brought the Cardinals back to make the game close, leading Arizona to 17 4th quarter points. The Ravens lost QB Steve McNair to injury, as he was replaced by Kyle Boller.

The San Diego Chargers are in deep trouble. Well, maybe not deep trouble, but things are definitely not well in sunny San Diego. The Chargers traveled to Green Bay and lost, 31-24. Chargers RB LaDainian Tomlinson and QB Phillip Rivers were seen arguing and yelling at each other on the sideline late in the game. Meanwhile, the ageless Brett Favre threw for three touchdown passes, tying the career record for touchdown passes with 420. The Packers find themselves undefeated at 3-0. The Chargers are 1-2.

In a rematch of Super Bowl IV, the Kansas City Chiefs matriculated the ball down the field just enough to defeat the Minnesota Vikings, 13-10. The Chiefs’ running game was shut down, while Adrian (Oklahoma) Peterson is becoming a star for the Vikings, gaining 102 yards rushing and scoring a touchdown. Look for both of these teams early on draft day next spring in New York.

For the third week in a row, the New England Patriots scored 38 points. This week, the victim was the awful Buffalo Bills, as the Patriots rolled, 38-7. Tom Brady threw four touchdown passes, as the Patriots continue to roll. This team is playing better than anyone in the league at the moment.

The New York Jets got their first win of the season in a high-scoring game with Miami, winning 31-28. The Jets still have a chance to salvage their season. The Dolphins stink.

There are some really strong teams in the AFC. Another one is in Pittsburgh, where the Steelers won big for the third week in a row. The black and gold-clad team made mincemeat of the San Francisco 49ers, 37-16. I’m already looking forward to the AFC playoffs, where the Steelers, Patriots, and Colts will all run into each other.

A big disappointment thus far is the St. Louis Rams. The Rams did not show up in a 24-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Earnest Graham came off the bench to score two touchdowns for the Bucs. Marc Bulger was hammered by the Bucs’ defense, and caused both of my fantasy teams to perform horribly.

What is up with the Denver Broncos? I had given the Jacksonville Jaguars up for dead in this one. Instead, the Jags went into Denver and smashed the Broncos, 23-14. The game really wasn’t that close. The Broncos are still in 1st place in the AFC West, but that division is looking pretty mediocre at this point.

The Oakland Raiders lost a game last week when Denver called a timeout as the Raiders were kicking a game-winning field goal, nullifying the play and forcing a block of the second attempt. The Raiders did the exact same thing to the Browns yesterday, as Cleveland missed a game-winning field goal on the Browns’ second attempt. Oakland won their first game of the season, 26-24. These are two more teams that look to be drafting early next spring in New York.

The Cincinnati Bengals are off to a slow start, losing their second in a row on a trip to Seattle, as the Seahawks nipped the Bengals 24-21. Matt Hasselbeck threw three touchdown passes for the Seahawks. Seattle is a tough road trip for anybody.

The Atlanta Falcons aren’t very good. Sunday, quarterback Joey Harrington threw for 361 yards and two touchdowns. However, that performance was wasted as the Carolina Panthers dispatched the Falcons, 27-20.

In the Greatest Division In Football, a/k/a the NFC East, two old rivals met as the New York Giants went to Washington looking for respect and a win. The Giants bounced back from an awful start by beating the previously unbeaten Redskins, 24-17. The Redskins had four downs from the Giants’ 2 yard line in the last minute. The Giants’ defense kept Washington out of the end zone on four consecutive plays to preserve the win.

The Monday night extravaganza features Vince Young and Reggie Bush. The Tennessee Titans and New Orleans Saints will also be playing. Plenty of points will be scored in the Superdome.