Monday Read Option: Drew Brees Avoids the Romo Criticism; Baltimore Ravens Win the NFC South
By Jason Lisk
Recognizing the Broncos as the top team in the league, though, is not exactly breaking news. Then, you have the Cowboys, who featured in this spot last week and are the first team to get to 6 wins, and the Cardinals, who were discussed a few weeks ago and also got to 5-1 on Sunday at Oakland. What about the two-loss teams, though? Four continued to impress in different ways on Sunday and showed that they will be in the discussion as the season moves on.
DETROIT BURIES BREES IN THE FOURTH
I want you to imagine an alternate universe where Tony Romo was playing in Detroit on Sunday and the game played out just as it did: 13 point lead, less than 5 minutes remaining, and the game is ultimately swung by a late interception. That game, in fact, was straight out of the Tony Romo playbook, pre-2014.
It started even before the big plays. New Orleans twice had the ball in scoring range, and only managed to get field goals both times to extend the lead to 23-10. On the second opportunity, Brees got called for delay of game on the first down in field goal range, it pushed the Saints back. That would prove costly, as the Saints later declined a running into the kicker on a the made field goal, because accepting would have still resulted in a fourth down.
Then, the defense gave up a gut-punching long touchdown on third down in embarrassing fashion to open the door. Yes, another Fail play involving Golden Tate on the other end.
Even after that play, though, New Orleans got the ball back, but the pressure was on to execute first downs, because of Rob Ryan’s defense and its high potential for implosion. Drew Brees stepped up and threw the ball right to Glover Quin, who was just waiting in the middle of the field. That set up the Lions with the short field and the go-ahead touchdown.
There was to be no further comeback. For the fourth quarter, Brees went 3 for 14 for 17 total passing yards and that costly interception. Lost amidst all the other teams who have been garnering the headlines is this: the Detroit Lions’ defense is very good. The Lions have won despite being without a healthy Calvin Johnson for much of the season. While they haven’t been the best team over that span, if the defense continues, and the offense is even more balanced with both Johnson and Golden Tate, this is a team to watch.
It will then just have to overcome the whispers of last season’s collapse, and use that as motivation as we head toward November.
RAVENS HAVE ALREADY CLINCHED THE NFC SOUTH
Steve Smith probably feels like he never left the NFC South, while the Baltimore Ravens are lurking as the “team no one is talking about,” just a month after they were the team everyone was talking about for other reasons.
After Sunday, Baltimore is now 3-0 against the NFC South, and have won those games by a combined 115-34 score. On Sunday, they battered the Falcons’ offense and sacked Matt Ryan five times, limiting him to just 3.8 net yards per pass.
Other than a bad first half at home against Cincinnati in the season opener, Baltimore has been one of the better teams in the league for a sustained stretch. The only other loss came at Indianapolis, another team that is surging.
Baltimore is the tenth team since 1990 to win at least 4 of its first 7 games by 20+ points. Five of the others reached the Super Bowl.
ANDY DALTON IS IN POSTSEASON FORM AGAINST THE COLTS
Speaking of the Colts, they completely shut down the A.J. Green-less Bengals and shut out Cincinnati, recording the team’s first shutout since week 17 of the 2008 season (and that was against a Titans team that had already clinched the top seed and was resting starters.)
If Andy Dalton wanted to quiet talk about how he was reliant on those around him to generate good numbers, well, Sunday didn’t help, and now the Bengals have gone from being the toast of the town to 3-2-1 in just three weeks.
Cincinnati didn’t even have a first down in the first half. It was the type of dominant performance that we expected out of the Colts against some of the lesser teams in their own division, but not against a team that was recently being touted as the best in the league.
Also, random, but I had to look around at the lowest yardage games (Cincinnati ended up with 135 in this one), and was once again reminded of this game. That one should be featured in a 30 for 30 some day. Sorry, Steelers fans.
AARON RODGERS IS RELAXED
Ryan Glasspiegel, our resident Green Bay fan, pointed this out to me. Aaron Rodgers has now thrown 18 touchdown passes and only 1 interception all season. Ho hum.
It’s also a testament to just how much the elite quarterbacks are able to dominate in the current climate, that Rodgers putting up that ratio, and a passer rating of 117 through seven games, doesn’t even have him as the clear MVP candidate.
SEATTLE SLEEPLESS AFTER 3-3 START
Is there reason to be concerned in Seattle? Yes, but I don’t think it’s actually because of this game. Seattle has already lost two games against quality competition, the type they would face in the postseason, where the opponent was able to control the ball for large portions of the game against the defense. They had another, at home against Denver, where they could not hold a lead late, but won in overtime.
I’m not sure there is much to glean from the Sunday defeat at St. Louis, other than this is the NFL, “any given Sunday”, and bad luck and random likely unrepeatable events can conspire sometimes for losses. That doesn’t mean the Percy Harvin trade and the word “distraction” won’t be used.
That punt return touchdown above was awesome, but not exactly the type of thing I would stay awake at night wondering if it meant the end of the Super Bowl Champs and their dominance.
Seattle still out gained St. Louis 463 to 272 and likely would have completed the comeback but for yet another special teams play, the punt fake first down from Johnny Hekker.
[GIFs by the indispensable Michael Shamburger]