The moment we’ve all been waiting for finally came on Sunday. Brett Favre returned to Lambeau Field, the place he called home for 16 years, as a visitor and was meet with a chorus of boos from the beginning to end. But in the end Favre got the last laugh as the Vikings won and are in total control of the NFL North. Now onto my thought on the week of football:
4 For Favre
Brett was back and better than ever on Sunday tossing four touchdowns in the 38-26 win. The game looked like it would be a blowout until the Packers conjured up a late comeback that was ultimately put down by Favre and the Vikings. The Vikings now sit at 7-1, a comfortable three and a half games over the Packers who now face an uphill battle to make the playoffs. The Pack won’t win if they can’t keep Aaron Rodgers off his back. He hit the ground six times on Sunday adding to the NFL leading total.
Raven Rebound
With their season on the line the Ravens stepped up in a big way. Their vaunted defense which had been nowhere to be seen this season showed up and held the previously unbeaten Broncos to just seven points. They set the tone by sacking Kyle Orton and the first play and didn’t let up the entire game. For the Broncos, they were going to lose eventually and there’s no shame in losing in Baltimore. It doesn’t get much easier for them though as they have Pittsburgh on Monday Night Football next week.
NFC East Shuffle
The division has taken a sudden turn of events this past few weeks. The once promising Giants now sit in third place after dropping their straight game, this week an embarrassing loss to the Eagles. Their secondary is getting burned repeatably and their pass rush hasn’t been the same. Meanwhile those Eagles, after dismantling the Giants, are tied at the top of the division with the red hot Cowboys.
The Eagles offense is scary with more weapons than Donovan McNabb has ever had. DeSean Jackson can score anytime he touches the ball and rookie Jeremy Maclin has emerged as a reliable target on the other side. Remember that they dropped 40 points on the giants without Brian Westbrook!
The Cowboys have turned their season around the past few week thanks largely to the play of Miles Austin. The receiver has ignited the offense and Tony Romo, who finally has a go to receiver. The Cowboys and Eagles square off next Sunday Night for first place in NFC East.
Vince Shines
It took seven games but the Titans finally have their first win of the 2009 season. Behind the play of Vince young and Chris Johnson the Titans took it to the Jags 30-13. Vince was solid completing 15 of 18 passes for a touchdown and added 30 yards on the ground. He gave the Titans another weapon and extended the play with his legs. While his solid play is good for the Titans it may not bode well for Jeff Fischer, who resisted playing Young only to give in to owner Bud Adam’s demands this week.
Game Balls
1. Ryan Moats
Moats came to the field on Sunday not expecting more than a handful of carries, but when Steve Slaton fumbled for the seventh time this season he was thrust into action and responded. He finished the day with 126 yards on 23 carries and three touchdowns as the Texans overcame an early deficit to defeat the Bills. He has at least earned a share of the carries going forward.
2. Reggie Wayne
The rest of the Colts team may not have been on their top form but Reggie Wayne certainly was. He tied a career high with 12 catches for 147 yards and a score despite not practicing the entire week! His touchdown catch from Jo Addai in the fourth quarter put the Colts ahead for good as the Colts narrowley avoided defeat.
3. Steve Spagnuolo
The rookie head coach gets his first career win and snaps the Rams 17 game losing streak. Good for Spags, who can be a great coach in this league. It was the Lions but the Rams will take anything they can get.
Lame Ducks
1. Derek Anderson
Anderson put up yet again another stinker. Anderson had a 10.5 qb rating bringing down his season rating to 36.2. Eric Mangini finally benched him for Brady Quinn in the fourth quarter but heading into the bye Mangini wouldn’t commit to a man.
2. Kurt Warner
In the Cardinals-Panthers game once would have figured if one quarterback where to turned the ball over six times it would be Jake Delhomme but that wasn’t the case on Sunday. The culprit was Warner, who threw five picks and lost one fumble, in the loss while his counterpart Delhomme was turnover free.
Stat of the Week: A Brett Favre related stat:
His four touchdown performance on Sunday marked the 21st time he’s passed for at least four touchdowns in a game tying him with Dan Marino for the most all time.
Stat of the Week 2:
In the Titans and Jaguars game both teams rushed for a combined 522 yards, 68 more yards than the Cardinals have run for all season.
Quote of the Week:
“They’re a great team. They’ll probably contend for the Super Bowl. They have a tremendous offense, great running backs, a great quarterback, a great tight end. They are stacked across the board. I’m serious. They are great.”
Jets Linebacker Bart Scott on the Dolphins post game.
Pic of the Week: In honor of Brett Favre’s return to Lambeau, we have montage of Brett Favre related photos, none of which include him.
[picapp src="b/5/f/0/Minnesota_Vikings_v_e2a9.jpg?adImageId=7087965&imageId=6953024" width="500" height="334" /] [picapp src="1/2/5/6/Minnesota_Vikings_v_13bb.jpg?adImageId=7087971&imageId=6952925" width="500" height="324" /]
Video of the Week:
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
