Well, that didn't last long! Not saying that the New York Jets acted and celebrated like they won their second Super Bowl in team history but after a pre-season that saw them score 1 offensive touchdown they were absolutely giddy slamming the Buffalo Bills in their home opener. They were brought back to reality quickly when they traveled to Pittsburgh to face a Steelers team that had a chip on their shoulders for a couple of reasons: First, they lost to a quarterback (Peyton Manning) who hadn't played a down in the previous year. Second, the last time they stepped on Heinz Field, they saw Tim Tebow throw the game-winning touchdown in overtime to end their season.
From the start, it appeared the Jets picked up right where they left off in their demolishing of the Bills. They spotted the Steelers a 3-0 lead then saw QB Mark Sanchez march them down 80 yards for a 7-3 lead. Pittsburgh responded with another field goal and from that point on, it was all downhill for Gang Green.
The offense that moved so fluidly on their first possession (Mark Sanchez completed 4 of 5 passes for 80 yards and 1 touchdown) sputtered the rest of the game. Defensively, they could not come up with the big stops when they needed them. Pittsburgh was 8 of 15 on third down conversions. Of the eight completions, the Steelers had to go at least eight yards.
Now for the second time in this early season, the Jets have to face another division rival in the Miami Dolphins, this time on the road. The Fish are coming off an impressive win over the Raiders. The Jets are shaking their heads trying to figure out how they could look so good against the Bills and so bad against the Steelers. Another shaky Sanchez performance and you know the name that the fans will be screaming for...
Lost in the second half offensive explosion when the Giants came back in their game against Tampa Bay was the performance by backup running back Andre Brown. He was forced into action after starter Ahmad Bradshaw left the game in the second quarter with a neck injury. Brown finished with 71 yards on 13 carries and 1 touchdown. When the Giants faced Carolina Thursday night, they did so without Bradshaw, David Diehl, Dominic Hixon, and Hakeem Nicks...
Of all the teams to start 2-0, none is more surprising than the Arizona Cardinals. They went into New England to face a Patriots team that had not lost a home opener since 2002. The Cardinals did give the Pats a chance to steal a win after Arizona running back Vince Wilfolk fumbled with 1:01 left in the game. Two Patriots penalties, the first a 30-yard Danny Woodhead touchdown run called back as tight end Ron Gronkowski was caught holding and the second, Gronkowski is called for a false start, moved the ball back to the Cardinals 24-yard line. The normally reliable field goal kicker Stephen Gostkowski pushed the attempt wide left. The number of fans who got bumped from their suicide pool is still being counted...
Houston, San Diego, Philadelphia (both of the Eagles wins were by 1 point), Atlanta and San Francisco are the other undefeated teams heading into week 3...Dallas, Washington, Baltimore, Denver, Chicago, Detroit, and Minnesota were brought back to reality in their week 2 losses...New Orleans is one of six teams that are 0-2 after losing to Carolina. The other five, Tennessee, Jacksonville, Cleveland, Kansas City, and Oakland are just plain bad...Finally, not much was made after week 1 about the job the replacement refs did. It was quite different after week 2 when the mistakes were glaring. From shaky pass interference calls, non-holding calls to simply failing to spot the ball correctly on the yard line, it looks like things are going to get worse before they get better. Still, the powers that be, namely Commissioner Roger Goodell is intent on squeezing the referee's union. You have the best players on the planet being officiated by division 3 refs. One ref was removed prior to the Saints/Panthers game as he posted pictures of himself wearing Saints gear and claiming his allegiance to the team. The NFL, claiming they are doing everything they can to protect the players, are putting them at severe risk with 3rd tier referees.
East Rutherford, NJ - So this is what the New York Jets defense looked like with the best cornerback in football Darrelle Revis out with a torn ACL in his left knee. The San Francisco 49ers spent the week in Ohio rather than travel back home after getting beat by the Minnesota Vikings last week.
After losing 34-0 to the 49ers at MetLife Stadium, it's not only the defense the Jets have to worry about. It's the 11 players on offense that head coach Rex Ryan should be concerned with. Ryan was clearly steamed afterward using some language he had to apologize for. Parents may want to shield their kids from the following quote.
"I apologize for my language," he began his postgame press conference. "Because I was going to say we got our butt kicked. But really, we got our ass kicked. There's no two ways ins or outs about it."
He then dissected how the ass whipping took place.
"We go in and it should be 7-3 at halftime. It's 10-0 because of the mistakes we make. Then we come out, turn the ball over four times. Here's the recipe for getting our ass kicked: 2 for 13 on third down that 15%, four turnovers, a blocked punt when they rush one guy and give up 245 rushing. How's that for a recipe."
Things won't get any easier for Gang Green as they host one of the three teams that remain undefeated in the Houston Texans. They stayed perfect by rolling over the Tennessee Titans 38-14...The other two teams that are without a loss, Arizona, and Atlanta, had to work hard to come away with victories.
The Cardinals needed overtime to beat the Miami Dolphins (24-21) as QB Kevin Kolb threw for 324 yards and two touchdowns. Miami wasted a great performance by their QB Ryan Tannehill as he threw for 421 yards and a touchdown. Wide receiver Brian Hartline entered the Dolphins record book by hauling in 12 catches for 253 yards...The Falcons needed to go 90 yards with a little over one minute left to eke out a 30-28 win over the Panthers. Matt (Matty Ice) Ryan finds Roddy White for a 59-yard pass completion and then watches Matt Bryant kick the game-winning 40-yard field goal. Ryan finished his day throwing for 369 yards as White caught eight passes for 169 yards...
Redskins wonder QB RGIII passes for 323 yards in its 24-22 win over Tampa. Another nail-biter as Washington's Billy Cundiff nails a 41-yard field goal with three seconds left...Seattle was brought back to reality after its gift win Monday night against Green Bay as the Rams turned them back 19-13. Rams field goal kicker Greg Zuerlein was feeling his oats as he converted four field goals. The first, a 58-yarder that was followed up by a club record 60 yards. Expect him to be named special team player of the week...The disappointing Lions lose for the third time in four weeks after as the Vikings go on the road and come away with a 20-13 win. Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson continues to impress coming off knee surgery as he ran for 102 yards on 21 carries. Detroit's QB Matthew Stafford threw for 319 yards...For the second time this year, the Buffalo Bills gave up more than 45 points in a game. Sunday, they gave up 52 to the New England Patriots. The Bills did take a 14-7 halftime lead then saw their defense give up 45 points in the second half in the 52-28 loss. Patriots QB Tom Brady threw for 340 yards and two TDs...San Diego (37-20) and Denver (37-6) routed Kansas City and Oakland respectively. The Chargers jumped out to a 20-0 lead and Denver scored 21 third-quarter points running away with the victories...
Don't look now but the Cincinnati Bengals are tied for first in the AFC North after its 27-10 road win over Jacksonville. The Bengals are tied with the Ravens who just got by the winless Cleveland Browns last Thursday 23-16. The Browns had a chance to send the game into overtime but Cleveland's QB Brandon Weeden pass in the end zone went out of bounds...They join the only other winless team, the New Orleans Saints who were edged by Green Bay 28-27. The Saints had a chance to take the lead but Garrett Hartley misses a 48-yard field goal with a little less than three minutes in the game...
The New York (Football) Giants fell to 2-2 and 0-2 in the division after losing Sunday night in Philadelphia 19-17 to improve their record to 3-1. Big Blue had a chance to win it after Lawrence Tynes missed his first attempt at 54 yards but Eagles head coach Andy Reid called a timeout. Tynes could not take advantage of the second opportunity as the kick came up short. Giants QB Eli Manning did throw for 309 yards and two touchdowns but the running game was non-existent. The Eagles did not turn the ball over for the first time this young season. The Giants host those lowly Browns Sunday at MetLife Stadium.
Finally, the Chicago Bears (3-1) went into Dallas (2-2) and picked off Tony Romo five times (tying a career high) coming away with a 34-18 win. Bears QB Jay Cutler completed 18 of 24 passes for 275 yards and two TDs while wide receiver Brandon Marshall pulled in seven catches for 138 yards and one touchdown. Dallas now gets a much-needed bye week, as Romo and his offense, try to figure out how to straighten out their issues. When they return to the field, four of their five following games will be on the road.