If you watched ESPN's "Sunday Night Football" game between the Miami Dolphins and Denver Broncos, you should feel pretty good about the NFL. Frankly, I don't know how either team has enough gas left in the tank to play this week, because those guys emptied themselves at Denver's Invesco Field at Mile High Stadium.
This week's Super Bowl forecast: Eagles vs. Dolphins. Yeah, I'm a little stubborn about 3-2 Philly, but I won't be if the Eagles drop one to the Bucs this Sunday. Here's what I saw this past weekend:
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| Miami kicker Olindo Mare, right, is congratulated by teammate Rob Konrad after Mare's 53-yard field goal beat the Broncos. |
Best Games
1. Dolphins 24, Broncos 22 -- Incredible intensity, physically brutal, lead changes,
big-play drama and two 50-yard-plus kicks in the last 45 seconds. Best game of the year,
so far.
2. Chargers 35, Chiefs 34 -- Guarantee you that if he you had told Chargers coach
Marty Schottenheimer his team would have five turnovers and a blocked punt and still
win the game, he would have laughed uncontrollably. But it happened, thanks to Drew Brees, Curtis Conway & the Chiefs' defense.
3. Cowboys 14, Panthers 13 -- A totally one-sided, dominating performance by
the Panthers for 56 minutes. And then, Quincy Carter made the big throws and Antonio Bryant made the big catch.
4. Colts 22, Ravens 20 -- Fourth-down pass interference paved the way for Mike Vanderjagt's fifth FG with four seconds left.
5. Vikings 31, Lions 24 -- Two basement teams gave fans a bargain with hairy Culpepper-Harrington duel.
Most Impressive in Victory
1. Dolphins 24, Broncos 22 -- Maybe the stats don't back it up, but defense was
relentless with big plays, and Jay Fiedler was courageous when it counted, all in the most
hostile environment of the week.
2. Rams 28, Raiders 13 -- Playing with a third-string QB against the only
unbeaten team in the NFL, what else did you expect from the winless Rams?
3. Packers 28, Patriots 10 -- The Packers, coming off a big Monday night win
over the rival Bears, were on the road with a handful of starters sidelined. The defending
Super Bowl champion Patriots had to win this home game. Brett Favre, Ahman Green
and a well-designed defense pushed Packers to most impressive win yet.
4. Saints 43, Redskins 27 -- There are a whole bunch of ways to beat a team, and I
think the Saints exhausted all of them in this victory.
5. Bucs 17, Browns 3 -- The 2002 Bucs are playing defense almost like the 2000
Ravens. No TDs in three games and just 56 points allowed through six games.
Best Performance: Quarterbacks
1. Brett Favre, Packers -- A great lesson for everyone: There's never been a better 147-yard passing day by a quarterback. Three TDs, no picks, and almost made it look too easy.
2. Drew Bledsoe, Bills -- With the Bills down 17-3 to the fired-up Houston Texans,
Bledsoe calmly pulled his guys together and went to work for a 31-24 win.
3. Marc Bulger, Rams -- All the former third-stringer did was throw for three TDs
with no interceptions and lead the Rams to a decisive victory over the Raiders.
4. Doug Johnson, Falcons -- Given no hope with Michael Vick sidelined, Johnson delivered a mistake-free game (19-of-25, 257 yards, 1 TD) with big plays via the arm and legs on the road in an upset over the Giants.
5. Drew Brees, Chargers -- One of the things you always heard about Brees at Purdue is that he never let his interceptions drag him down. Threw two against KC and came back with a perfect winning drive. His coming-out game.
Best Performance: Running Backs
1. Marshall Faulk, Rams -- He got 30 touches, ran for 158 yards, caught a TD pass and led the Rams to their first win, over the Raiders, no less.
2. Travis Henry, Bills -- He's starting to look like a 220-pound, more powerful
version of Thurman Thomas. Went for 159 yards and two TDs on 28 carries vs. Houston.
3. Ahman Green, Packers -- On a day when the Packers had to control the clock to keep the defense less exposed, he was a workhorse (31 for 136 yards) against Patriots.
4. Mike Alstott, Bucs -- Asked the boss (Jon Gruden) for more work. Got it and delivered 126 yards on 31 carries.
5. Deuce McAllister, Saints -- The Redskins were intent on stopping him, and he still went for 121 yards.
Best Performance: Wide Receivers
1. Marvin Harrison, Colts -- Just another day at the office (150 yards, 12 catches).
2. Curtis Conway, Chargers -- Overcame two fumbles to make huge catches on Chargers' last-minute winning drive. Eight catches for 129 yards.
3. Peerless Price, Bills -- A free agent after the season, maybe he should split the bill to keep playing with Bledsoe. Another strong game (eight catches for 121, one TD).
4. Marc Boerigter, Chiefs -- Fantasy football alert! Caught four passes for 85 yards and two TDs vs. Chargers. This 6-foot-3, 223-pound wideout was a red-zone monster in the CFL; a former Hastings College (Neb.) star.
5. Terrell Owens, 49ers -- So confident he would score against Seahawks CB
Shawn Springs, had a pen ready to autograph football. And it was the game-breaking catch.
Best Performance: Defense
1. Jason Taylor, Dolphins DE -- Relentless all year, relentless all night against
the Broncos, including a strip of Mike Anderson at the goal line.
2. Julius Peppers, Panthers DE -- At what point do his skeptics cry "uncle"? Three more sacks, an interception and a forced fumble.
3. Warren Sapp, Bucs DT -- QB Killa adds two more sacks and led a Bucs' D that brutalized Tim Couch.
4. Adam Archuleta, Rams S -- Playing his old college WLB spot on nickel downs, he wreaked havoc on the Raiders with 11 solo tackles.
5a. Al Wilson, Broncos LB -- Put a hit on Ricky Williams that will make the season's highlight films.
5b. Sam Madison and Patrick Surtain, Dolphins CBs -- Madison's best game and Surtain delivered big interception return.
5c. Darren Howard, Saints DE -- Finally played a big game with three sacks vs. Redskins.
5d. Joey Porter, Steelers LB -- Two more sacks and helped contain Corey Dillon.
Best Plays
1. Quincy Carter's 24-yard touchdown pass to a leaping Antonio Bryant on fourth-and-14 with 56 seconds left gave the Cowboys a 14-13 win over Carolina.
2. Michael Lewis' 90-yard kickoff return for the Saints proves he is the fastest former beer deliveryman in the world.
3. Brett Favre's Ali-esque "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" throw on
fourth-and-3 when Favre backpedaled, was chased to his left by Pats LB Tedy Bruschi, and then delivered a perfect pass to pick up a first down en route to a back-breaking score.
4. Jay Fiedler's 22-yard pass -- broken thumb and all -- found its mark to Dedric Ward that set up Olindo Mare's dramatic 53-yard field goal. Sure, John Mobley could have had a leaping interception, but it was still a heck of a throw under the circumstances.
5. Corey Chavous' interception in the end zone of a Joey Harrington pass that gave the Vikings and coach Mike Tice a much-needed first victory.
Welcome Back
1. Marshall Faulk, Rams -- It took six games, but he finally reminded the NFL why he's an all-timer.
2. Eddie George, Titans -- It was a vintage 31-carry day that included a TD catch.
3. Mike Alstott, Bucs -- Bowled over the Browns like old times.
4. Jake Reed, Saints -- The 12-year veteran caught his first TD of the year.
5. Daunte Culpepper, Vikings -- Took command and finally looked like the stud QB he is.
Welcome Back to Earth
1. Patrick Ramsey, Redskins -- He threw four picks (could have been six) in his first start.
2. Tom Brady, Patriots -- His QB rating since 3-0 start is under 70.
3. Chris Redman, Ravens -- Just when he was making progress, threw a pick that cost team at end of first half.
4. Jon Kitna, Bengals -- Well, he did almost beat the Colts the week before.
5. Trent Dilfer, Seahawks -- All he does is ... lose?
Stock's Up
1. Green Bay Packers
2. Miami Dolphins
3. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
4. New Orleans Saints
5. San Francisco 49ers
Stock's Down
1. New England Patriots
2. Carolina Panthers
3. Cleveland Browns
4. New York Giants
5. Washington Redskins
Bengal's Bungles
1. Owner/president Mike Brown failed to fire himself on Monday after a 0-6 start.
2. Jon Kitna threw five picks and declared it his worst game since he was 5 years old. Really?
3. T.J. Houshmandzadeh caught a 19-yard pass to put the Bengals in Steelers'
territory only to draw a 15-yard taunting foul -- this, with the Bengals losing 24-0.
4. Michael Westbrook for sinking to a new low -- being declared inactive by the winless Bengals, and then leaving the stadium
5. All Bengals who didn't say "amen" when Lorenzo Neal declared, "We're the laughingstock of the NFL."
Best Quotes
1. "It's a T.O. thing." -- 49ers receiver Terrell Owens after doing the unthinkable by pulling a pen out of his game sock in order to autograph the football he had just scored with vs. Seattle.
2. "Not bad-mouthing (Jon) Kitna, but I thought he made some bad throws today.
It wasn't like we had to make great breaks on the ball." -- Steelers safety Lee Flowers
after his team picked off the Bengals QB five times.
3. "Everyone is looking for answers. Right now, we're the questions and the
answer." -- Patriots QB Tom Brady after the third straight defeat for the defending Super Bowl champion.
4. "I told (Patrick) Ramsey he should have took the redshirt option." -- Saints
DE Darren Howard, who sacked the Redskins' QB three times in the rookie's first NFL start.
5. "Right now, we're pitiful to watch." -- Redskins coach Steve Spurrier, always direct and to the point.
Best Games, Week 7
1. Tampa Bay at Philadelphia -- We'll see if Gruden can do what Dungy
couldn't -- win at Veterans Stadium.
2. San Diego at Oakland -- You do realize the Chargers have the best record (5-1)
in the AFC West, don't you?
3. San Francisco at New Orleans -- We'll find out just how good one of the teams is.
4. Buffalo at Miami -- The Dolphins' defense confronted with biggest task yet.
5a. Denver at Kansas City -- Broncos can't afford third loss, Chiefs can't afford a fourth.
5b. Indianapolis at Pittsburgh -- A MNF moment-of-truth game for the Colts.
5c. Washington at Green Bay -- Packers have struggled at Lambeau, even in winning.
