Broncos vs. Ravens
The Denver Broncos exceeded expectations this year by starting the season 6-0 coming into the game against the Baltimore Ravens. They began by beating the Cincinnati Bengals, the Cleveland Browns, and the Oakland Raiders, though everyone was skeptical at the time because these three teams are consistently at the bottom of the league. But then Denver continued the streak against the Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots, and San Diego Chargers. At that point, and especially after the win over New England, it became evident that Denver wasn't a fluke.
But how did they fare against the always great Baltimore defense? Not well. Baltimore put up 13 unanswered points over the first three quarters and then another 17 after the Broncos scored their only touchdown of the game close to halfway through the third. Kyle Orton had a solid game, passing for 152 yards on 23-37 passing and didn't turn it over, but the problem was the receivers' inability to get yards after the catch; the longest completion was 23 yards by Daniel Graham. Knowshon Moreno ran for a touchdown, but only had 39 yards rushing. In all, the Ravens defense gave up only 200 yards. On offense, Joe Flacco passed for 175 yards and a touchdown while Ray Rice rushed for 84 yards and another score in the 30-7 win.
The Big Game- Vikings vs. Packers 2
As was the case with their Week 4 game, a 30-23 win for Minnesota, the Vikings-Packers game was the main attraction of the weekend. This was Brett Favre's first visit to Lambeau Field, his home for 16 years. This was such a big deal that Fox had a "Brett Favre Cam" online. No, it wasn't as exciting as it sounds.
This game was very similar to the Week 4 prequel. Packers QB Aaron Rodgers was again harassed by the Vikings defensive line-Jared Allen, Pat and Kevin Williams, and Ray Edwards-and was sacked 6 more times, which was frustrating to watch. All the sacks aren't his fault, but Rodgers tends to hold onto the ball too long even when his offensive line does give him time. After a slow start, he passed for 3 touchdowns (287 yards total) in the second half to make the game interesting, but it ultimately wasn't enough to overcome Minnesota's defense, Adrian Peterson's touchdown on 97 yards rushing, and Brett Favre's 4 touchdowns and 244 yards. The Vikings demonstrated once again that they are a complete team when it comes to passing, rushing, and defense, and came away with a big 38-26 win on the road.
Dolphins vs. Jets 2
This weekend featured another grudge match from an earlier game. In Week 5, the Miami Dolphins beat the New York Jets 31-27 after a lot of chatter between players and coaches alike in the off-season, the topic of which ranged from Rex Ryan's confident talk to Miami's Wildcat offense. In fact, the two teams continued to snipe at one another an entire week after their first game.
New York lost again, but the game played out a lot differently. This time, the defense was able to contain the rushing attack of Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams, allowing only 54 yards combined from the duo. QB Chad Henne had a touchdown pass, but threw for only 112 yards. For the Jets, Mark Sanchez shook off the effects from a couple of bad weeks and passed for 265 yards and 2 touchdowns (one to Dustin Keller and another to Braylon Edwards) and got help from Thomas Jones, who ran for 102 yards. So how did they lose? They got beat on special teams. Ted Ginn Jr. had 299 yards in kick returns and 2 touchdowns. If it wasn't for that pair of scores, New York wins this game. It also didn't Jason Taylor had a fumble recovery for a touchdown on defense in the 30-25 win.
Titans vs. Jaguars
This game was talked about a lot because it was Vince Young's first start of the season, taking over for Kerry Collins. To this point, the Titans were 0-6 and an embarrassment on every level. Yesterday they looked a lot more like the Titans we're used to.
Vince Young passed for 125 yards and a touchdown and NO INTERCEPTIONS. This was the first game of the season where the Titans didn't throw at least 1 interception. Chris Johnson continued his strong season with 228 rushing yards and 2 more touchdowns. The defense also intercepted David Garrard twice, but did allow Maurice Jones-Drew to run for 177 yards and 2 scores.
The other games- Colts 18, 49ers 14
- Panthers 34, Cardinals 21
- Chargers 24, Raiders 16
- Eagles 40, Giants 17
- Rams 17, Lions 10
- Cowboys 38, Seahawks 17
- Bears 30, Browns 6
- Houston 31, Buffalo 10
