Patriots-Bengals: Who would’ve thought the Patriots would have their lowest scoring game against that vaunted Bengals defense? Not that it mattered as the game was pretty much a joke. So are the Patriots the best team in the league? It’s hard to make a case why they wouldn’t be. The Colts, Packers, and Cowboys are still undefeated, but the Patriots have been far more dominant than all those teams. The one knock on the Patriots is that they haven’t played anyone good yet. Yes, they’ve played the Chargers and Bengals, but both those teams are 1-3. In fact the Patriots have only played 1-3 teams thus far. If I were ranking teams, I’d have to put the Patriots #1 for now, but let’s see how they play Dallas on the road in two weeks before we start the 16-0 talk.
Eagles-Giants: This was one of the worst-coached games I’ve ever seen at the professional level. What is wrong with Andy Reid? I can’t blame McNabb or the receivers for this game (though I’m sure plenty of people will). It’s pretty hard to throw from your back. I can’t even give Osi Umenyiora that much credit for his six sacks. It was an impressive individual effort, but any properly coached team would have double teamed him after the first sack or two. I was screaming for someone to give Winston Justice some help in the first quarter. Umenyiora was still racking up sacks in the fourth quarter. This is the first time I truly questioned whether Andy Reid should still be the Eagles head coach. Of course, this game also proved that Brian Westbrook is the Eagles most valuable player, if there was any doubt.
Chiefs-Chargers: Just when it looked like Tomlinson was back, the Chargers self-destructed and were outscored 24-0 in the second half…at home…against the CHIEFS! There is no excuse for any of that. Norv Turner has ruined a very talented team, pretty much single-handedly. Fire him now!
Steelers-Cardinals: This game should shut up everyone who counted the Steelers among the NFL’s elite after they went 3-0 against bad teams. Nice revenge game for Ken Whisenhunt, as his two-quarterback gameplan and some solid defense gave the Steelers their first loss of the season. Maybe this game was a fluke for Pittsburgh and had a lot to do with Whisenhunt’s knowledge of his former team. Next week against Seattle should give us a much better sense of just how good this team is.
Colts-Broncos: Just goes to show that it doesn’t matter who you put around Peyton Manning as long as the offensive line is intact. Both Marvin Harrison and Joseph Addai left the game and Manning still lit up the Broncos defense. Can’t wait to see the Colts play the Patriots.
Seahawks-49ers: Trent Dilfer. (That’s all the punchline I need.)
Packers-Vikings: Did you hear?! Brett Favre broke the touchdown record! Thanks to ESPN for ingraining that unspectacular play in my head by showing it every five seconds. Good for Favre, it’s an impressive milestone, but did anyone else notice that the amazing reborn Packers only beat Minnesota by a touchdown?
Bears-Lions: Well, the Brian Griese experiment hasn’t helped much. Still, he’s no worse than Grossman. None of this would be happening if they had kept Thomas Jones. The real disappointment has been Cedric Benson.
Raiders-Dolphins: Daunte Culpepper made the Dolphins look pretty stupid. You mean it takes two years to recover from a torn ACL? Ohhhhh! Enjoy Trent Green. Also, Justin Fargas is this week’s Knee-Jerk Fantasy Pickup of the Week.
Rams-Cowboys: Every member of the Rams defense should be sentenced to a week in Arena Football after that Tony Romo fumble-recovery-first down. Pathetic.
Ravens-Browns: Willis McGahee had 14 carries. McNair had 53 passing attempts. That pretty much sums it up.
Texans-Falcons: If anyone was left on the Texans bandwagon after they lost to the Colts, they’re gone now.
