Wednesday Morning QB (NFL Week 4)
The NFL is such an up and down league and this year the fans have seen it with so many comebacks and close games. The NFL has seen 19 games finish by three points or less which is the most in NFL history through 4 weeks. In week 4 the NFL saw another great image as there were a number of close games and a number of great comeback wins. The NFL has seen a lot of parity in the past years and it continues to arise. This week the comeback games showed this more than any others as three teams came back from big deficits while the three other teams gave up big leads. The Bills were a surprising 3-0 to start the season and beat the New England Patriots to get their third win in week 3. In week 4 the Bills were looking to go 4-0 against a team that had been struggling so far this season. The game started out with the Bengals taking a 3-0 lead in the first quarter but the Bills quickly erased that lead with a 17 point 2nd quarter. With the Bills ahead 17-3 at halftime the Bills looked to be continuing their great start to the season. Then the Bengals came out in the second half and erased this lead with 20 points in the second half to the 3 points by the Bills. The Bengals erased the lead that gave the Bills their first loss of the season and thrilling everyone watching. Meanwhile another undefeated team was involved in a big comeback game. The Detroit Lions were facing off against an up and down Dallas Cowboys team that had a number of injuries including their QB who has been suffering from broken ribs. The Cowboys came out to an early 20 point lead against the Lions which surprised many as the Lions were one of the better defences in the league. Before the half the Lions reduced the lead but only slightly. The Lions then rode Calvin “Megatron” Johnson and Matthew Stafford to get back into the game. They scored 31 points in the second half while Romo and the offence could only manage 10. The Cowboys gave up the biggest lead in the franchise’s history and Romo immediately went from hero to zero after being unable to score when they needed it to stave off the Lions offence. This was not the only comeback however as the San Francisco 49ers were able to put a dagger in the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles had a 20-3 lead at the end first half but seemed to collapse in the second half as the niners scored 21 points on the way to the win. With these comebacks these teams have added some thrills to an already thrilling NFL. The games showed a lot to each team as well with the Cowboys learning that they are not as good as many believed in the preseason. The Cowboys were favorites again before the season but have suffered a couple of bad losses were they have lost in the last quarter as they continue the pattern of collapsing in games. Meanwhile the Eagles “Dream Team” is falling apart with a 1-3 record thanks to injuries to their star QB Michael Vick. All of these comebacks have added more excitement and fans can only hope that the close games and dramatic comebacks continue all season.
As the season ends the fourth week the league is more even than usual as the undefeated teams have begun to drop off. The Bills were one of the last three teams standing but after their loss to the Bengals they are no long a part of the club. There are only two undefeated teams left and both reside in the NFC North. Both teams have gone about an undefeated season, so far, in very different ways and are two very different teams. The Detroit Lions have been a bad team for a long time but are finally looking to be good enough to win the division. With the front of the defensive line pressuring QBs and stopping the run the defence is at the core of their season so far. They also have utilized the pairing of Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson to score most of their TDs. Johnson has scored two TDs in every game so far as he has become one of the best WRs in the league. The Lions would be the class of their division if it weren’t for the Green Bay Packers who are the only other undefeated team in the league. The defending champions have come out to a great start and have used their offence to do so. Led by Aaron Rodgers, who scored 6 TDs in week 4, and a cast of great talent that can spread the field the Packers have become one of the hardest offensive teams to stop. Defensively the Packers are getting better as they have earned more turnovers every week. If the defence catches up with the offence the Packers will be a tough team to beat. The NFC North will see both of these undefeated teams face each other later in the season but both may not be undefeated at that point. Detroit and Green Bay will be fun teams to watch as both will try to string their undefeated record as long as they can.
Standings
American Football Conference
AFC East:
1. Buffalo Bills (.750)
2. New England Patriots (.750)
3. New York Jets (.500)
4. Miami Dolphins (.000)
AFC North:
1. Baltimore Ravens (.750)
2. Cincinnati Bengals (.500)
3. Cleveland Browns (.500)
4. Pittsburgh Steelers (.500)
AFC South:
1. Houston Texans (.500)
2. Tennessee Titans (.750)
3. Jacksonville Jaguars (.250)
4. Indianapolis Colts (.000)
AFC West:
1. San Diego Chargers (.750)
2. Oakland Raiders (.500)
3. Denver Broncos (.250)
4. Kansas City Chiefs (.250)
National Football Conference
NFC East:
1. Washington Redskins (.750)
2. New York Giants (.750)
3. Dallas Cowboys (.500)
4. Philadelphia Eagles (.250)
NFC North:
1. Green Bay Packers (1.00)
2. Detroit Lions (1.00)
3. Chicago Bears (.500)
4. Minnesota Vikings (.000)
NFC South:
1. New Orleans Saints (.750)
2. Tampa Buccaneers (.750)
3. Atlanta Falcons (.500)
4. Carolina Panthers (.250)
NFC West:
1. San Francisco 49ers (.750)
2. Seattle Seahawks (.250)
3. Arizona Cardinals (.250)
4. St. Louis Rams (.000)
POW Awards
American Football Conference
Arian Foster, RB (AFC Offensive POW)
30 rsh
155 yds
5.2 avg
1 TD
Jarret Johnson, LB (AFC Defensive POW)
3 tkl
1 PDef
1 Frec
1 TD
Ryan Succop, K (AFC Special Teams POW)
5/5 FG
54 lng
1/1 XP
16 pts
National Football Conference
Aaron Rodgers, QB (NFC Offensive POW)
29/38
408 yds
4 TD
134.5 rtg
Brian Orakpo, LB (NFC Defensive POW)
5 tkl
2.5 sck
0 FF
0 INT
Devin Hester, KR (NFC Special Teams POW)
2 KR
36 avg (73 lng)
1 PR
69 avg/lng
1 TD (Broke the all-time NFL return TD Record)
Key Scores:
Cincinnati Bengals 23 – 20 Buffalo Bills
– The Buffalo Bills were 3-0 entering week four and were ahead by 14 points in the first half but the Bengals erased this lead and handed the Bills their first loss of the season
Detroit Lions 34 – 30 Dallas Cowboys
– Detroit remained undefeated after going down by 20 point in the first half and coming back with a great performance by Calvin Johnson and the collapse of the Cowboys
Baltimore Ravens 34 – 17 New York Jets
– The offence was not on display as both teams struggled to produce on offence but the Ravens defence was great scoring three TDs
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24 – 17 Indianapolis Colts
– The Colts looked to continue to improve as they had a close game with the Bucs that came down to a last quarter TD by Josh Freeman to keep the Colts without a win.
Key Week 5 Matchups:
Philadelphia Eagles vs. Buffalo Bills (Oct. 9th; 1:00 pm)
– The Eagles are beginning to look less like a dream team every week and will the Bills looking to get back on track after their first loss both teams will need this win
New York Jets vs. New England Patriots (Oct. 9th; 4:15 pm)
– The rivalry continues with the Jets trying to recover from a bad game against Baltimore against a very weak defence in the Patriots
Green Bay Packers vs. Atlanta Falcons (Oct. 9th; 8:20 pm)
– The Sunday Night game will feature a NFC championship rematch from last year when the Packers blew out the Falcons this time around the Falcons will be looking for revenge and attempting to give the Packers their first loss
Chicago Bears vs. Detroit Lions (Oct. 10th; 8:30 pm)
– In an NFC North matchup the Lions will look to stay undefeated against last year’s NFC North champions in the Chicago Bears
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