Highlights, lowlights from week three in the NFL
The NFL season is now underway, and after three weeks of action, some teams are beginning to worry. There were three teams that already hit the panic button and changed their starting quarterback, including the Carolina Panthers, who began the Jimmy Clausen era in last weekend. Here are some of the main stories from last week’s action, plus what to keep an eye out for this week.
Winless no more:
Aside from the quarterback carousel, week three was an exciting week in the NFL. The most pass-happy team in the league, the Dallas Cowboys, remembered how to run the ball again and then ran it right over the Houston Texans. The Cowboys passed the ball 70 percent of the time before week three. Against the Texans, the Cowboys ran the ball 27 times, led by Marion Barber with 55 yards. More importantly, thy got their first win, beating the Texans 27-13.
Another team with high expectations coming into the season, but still looking for their first win, was the Minnesota Viking. The Vikings got that win running behind Adrian Peterson, who had 160 yards and two touchdowns in the victory over the Detroit Lions.
Steelers, Bears roll to 3-0:
There were two games pitting undefeated teams against each other this past week, starting with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers ran away with the game behind their stellar defense, 38-13. Pittsburgh is another surprise team this year given that they are undefeated even without their starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who is still serving a suspension for conduct detrimental to the league. The other game featuring unbeaten teams came Monday night in a great NFC North face-off. The Green Bay Packers killed themselves by tying a team record of 17 penalties in the game. In the end, the Bears outlasted the Packers 20-17.
A finish to remember:
The game to watch was the Atlanta Falcons against the New Orleans Saints. The game went into overtime and the Saints had a chance to win it with a 29-yard, chip-shot field goal from Garrett Hartley. Hartley hooked it left, giving the Falcons another chance. The Falcons marched down the field and set up a game-winning Matt Bryant field goal, only to have the kick blocked. But in trying to ice the kicker, Saints coach Sean Payton called a last-second time out, giving Atlanta another try. Bryant took advantage of the second chance by hitting a 46-yard field goal, leading the Atlanta Falcons past the defending champion Saints.
On tap for week four:
The one must-watch in week four has to be the Washington Redskins against the Philadelphia Eagles, as Donovan McNabb leads his new team into his old stomping grounds. This will be McNabb’s first game against Philadelphia since changing teams. Things haven’t gone as planned for the Eagles since trading away McNabb. The heir-apparent to McNabb was supposed to be Kevin Kolb, but the Eagles offense stumbled out of the gate, and Kolb suffered a concussion in week one. The reins of the offense were given to Michael Vick and he hasn’t looked back. Vick played so well in week two that he forced head coach Andy Reid to flip-flop on his decision, who stated originally that Kolb was be the starter in week three only to later announce that Vick was starting. The Eagles will want to prove they were right in trading McNabb away, and McNabb will want to prove that he has some gas left in the tank. It should be a good game on the field with intriguing storylines off the field. Tensions will be high.
– jake.ipsom@aggiemail.usu.edu