NFL Week 2 Notes
September 21st, 2009 at 6:04 am by Displaced Cleveland FanThese are stories from around the league that I thought were worth noting. You can read my recap of the Browns week 2 game here.
We had a wild one in Nashville.
The Tennessee Titans, hosting the Houston Texans, were looking to rebound at home against a supposedly inferior team after a loss last week to the Steelers. But the Texans played tough and stayed right with them all game.
This game was physical. Then it got intense. Then it got ugly. Jason Jones of the Titans was ejected for his part in a brawl on the sidelines in the 4th quarter. Watching this game, you knew something like that was going to happen. These teams kept getting closer and closer to a fight. It’s a good thing Albert Haynesworth doesn’t play for the Titans anymore, or else someone might have gotten some cleats across their face.
Finally, with less than 3 minutes to go, Houston pulled ahead on a field goal. On the next possession, Kerry Collins fumbled the ball back to the Texans who ran out the clock.
I don’t know if it’s the fact that I’m living in southern Kentucky just north of Nashville where most of the people claim the Titans as their team. But I really enjoy watching them lose. That may be awful of me, but it’s the truth.
Oh, and Houston QB Matt Schaub through for 357 yards and 4 touchdowns. What in the world?!
The Eagles may not be hopeless without Donovan McNabb. Sure, they lost 48-22 to the Saints this week. But there may be some reason for optimism.
Back-up quarterback Kevin Kolb had a fairly good game - 31/51 for 391 yards and two touchdowns. The downside was the three interceptions he threw. But still, not too bad. I watched some of this game. The Saints defense was putting all sorts of pressure on Kolb. He kept his poise and threw accurate passes, even while getting knocked on his back. He’s definitely got some potential.
The Eagles also ran several plays from the wildcat formation with some success. They’ll have even more options next week when Michael Vick is able to return from his suspension.
The Dallas Cowboys played their home opener in their brand new billion dollar stadium last night against the New York Giants.
The game began well with former President George W. Bush there to do the coin toss. Then it ended well with the Giants hitting a last second field goal to win the game 33-31.
It’s a great new stadium. Makes seeing the Cowboys lose in it even greater.
In the Division:
The Cincinnati Bengals will not be joining the Browns in last place this week. They pulled off a 31-24 win in Green Bay against the Packers. Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco, starved for attention as he is, scored a touchdown and performed the famous Lambeau Leap into the arms of some Bengals fans in the front row.
The Pittsburgh Steelers lost to Chicago, 17-14. A missed field goal and a solid performance by Bears quarterback Jay Cutler gave the defending champs their first loss of the season. The Steelers were without long-haired safety Troy Polamalu. Could he have made the difference in this game? Who knows. But it’d be nice to see Pittsburgh drop a few more games before he returns.
The Baltimore Ravens held on to beat San Diego on the road this week, 31-26. They didn’t put up quite the same offensive numbers as they did last week (501 total yards), but they did enough to beat the Chargers. They’re sitting in first place at 2-0.
Quick hits:
- Brett Favre was efficient - 23/27 (85%) for 155 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Detroit Lions. The Lions have lost 19 straight games.
- Speaking of efficient… Arizona Cardinals QB Kurt Warner set an NFL record for completion percentage in a game, completing 24 out of 26 passes (92.3%). The record was previously held by Vinny Testaverde who completed 21 of 23 passes (91.3%) while playing for the Browns in 1993.
- Tom Brady got outplayed by rookie Mark Sanchez as the Jets beat the Patriots 16-9.
- San Francisco 49ers RB Frank Gore rushed for 207 yards, including two touchdown runs - one for 79 yards, one for 80 yards.
-dcf
Tags: Brett Favre, Chad Ochocinco, Donovan McNabb, Frank Gore, George W. Bush, Jay Cutler, Kerry Collins, Kevin Kolb, Kurt Warner, Mark Sanchez, Matt Schaub, Michael Vick, Tom Brady, Troy Polamalu, Vinny Testaverde
