NFL Week 7 News and Notes

This past weekend the NFL saw several quarterbacks making their 2011 debuts, season ending injuries, and come from behind wins.  The season is nearing the midway point and it is becoming clear who the teams are that will make a push for a Super Bowl championship.  The “Suck For Andrew Luck” sweepstakes are also narrowing down do a few remaining teams.  Below is a breakdown of some of the games this past week:

 

San Diego Chargers VS New York Jets

In the Rex Ryan vs Norv Tuner cage match, Rex came out victorious.  Slighted by being a home underdog, the Jets felt they needed to send a message to the league by proving they were among the NFL elite.  The Jets defense kept Chargers QB, Phillip Rivers, guessing all day.  The Chargers were held to under 100 yards rushing as a team and Phillip Rivers threw only one touchdown pass and two crucial interceptions.  On San Diego’s last drive on a 4th and 3, Rivers threw the ball out of bounds not even giving the WR the opportunity to catch the ball and continue the drive.  Jets wide receiver, Plaxico Burress, had his best game as a Jet.  Burress hauled in four catches, 3 of which were caught for touchdowns.  San Diego still sits atop a weak AFC West and should be able to recover from the road loss.  Final score: Jets 27  Chargers 21

Denver Broncos VS Miami Dolphins

It should be rephrased to the, Denver Tebows vs Miami Dolphins.  All attention on this game, between two teams combined for one win, was on Denver Bronco Tim Tebow.  Through three and a half quarters Tebow looked lost.  He was missing wide open receivers, got sacked seven times, and made the Dolphins defense look like the Baltimore Ravens defense.  In typical Tim Tebow fashion, when the game was on the line he stepped up and started making plays.  Down by 15 points with three minutes to play Tebow marched the Broncos down the field and the comeback was on.  The Broncos became the first team since the NFL/AFL merger (1970), to come from 15+ points behind with less than three minutes remaining to win the game.  The jury is still out on Tim Tebow, as he must show he can play well for an entire game , especially against a good defense.  Final score: Broncos 18  Dolphins 15

Seattle Seahawks VS Cleveland Browns

Just kidding, nothing to talk about a game to which featured 3 field goals, no touchdowns and a ton of mistakes.   This game can be summed up by one picture from the Green Bay Packers vs Minnesota Vikings game:

Kansas City Chiefs VS Oakland Raiders

Midweek, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that newly acquired quarterback, Carson Palmer would not start.  It was unknown whether Tyrell Prior or Kyle Boller would get the start.  It was Boller who started the game however, his game did not last long.  After throwing three interceptions in the first half, Carson Palmer got his first action as an Oakland Raider.  It was apparent that Palmer was not ready for NFL action, as he did not fair much better than Boller.  Palmer threw three interceptions of his own.  Kansas City forced six total turnovers while shutting out the Raiders for their third straight win.  Oakland has a bye week this week.  That should give Oakland enough time to properly prepare Palmer for the rest of the season.  Final score: Chiefs 28  Raiders 0

Other News and Notes

The Washington Redskins fear they have lost running back, Tim Hightower, for the rest of the year with a torn ACL.  Christian Ponder made his first NFL start against the Green Bay Packers.  Ponder looked good throwing for 219 yards and two touchdowns in the loss.  Dallas Cowboys running back, DeMarco Murray, got the start replacing injured running Felix Jones.  Murray made the most of his opportunity, setting a new Cowboy rushing record of 253 yards and added one touchdown.  The Indianapolis Colts, St Louis Rams, and Miami Dolphins all remain winless and thus alive in the Andre Luck Sweepstakes.

What team or player were you impressed with this past weekend?  If you are a fan of a team in the Luck Sweepstakes, do you want your team to start tanking games?  Let us know what you think.  As always don’t forget www.biginthegame.com for all your ticket needs.  Use promo code: WordPress for a special discount.