Five thoughts from this week's NFL action

It was an interesting week from the world of the NFL.  I wanted to hit and run on a few things that stood out to me.

#1: I was really impressed to see the Cleveland Browns win over the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-10.  No disrespect to the Steelers, but I love to see teams that have struggled have some success.  The Browns haven’t been very good for a really long time.  Currently they stand at 3-2 and they really should have a better record, as they let one game get away from them that they should have won.

#2: Great win by the Dallas Cowboys.  The Cowboys are for real.  They went into Seattle, the loudest stadium in the NFL, and they found a way to defeat the Super Bowl champion Seahawks by a score of 30-23.  The Cowboys are now 5-1, and they are one of the biggest surprises in the NFL thus far.

#3: Ties in the NFL are anticlimactic.  Yesterday the Bengals and Panthers game ended in a 37-37 tie.  Each teams had their shot to win.  Many will point to Mike Nugent missing a 36 yard field goal at the end of regulation.  But don’t forget that on the Panthers last drive, Jerricho Cotchery was thrown a good ball in the end zone that he should have caught, but he just couldn’t haul it in for the touchdown and the victory.  It’s disappointing to see two teams play their hearts out and have it result in a tie.

#4: I’ve been keeping my eye on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers because Lovie Smith is their new head coach this year.  It’s been disappointing to watch the Bucs struggle mightily so far.  They are 1-5.  They have been competitive in some games, but yesterday they were embarrassed.  They lost 48-17 to the Baltimore Ravens, but the game was over by halftime (Baltimore was leading 38-0).

#5: On their final drive, the Packers were going to spike the ball to stop the clock, but Rodgers faked everyone out and instead he passed it to a receiver who ran it inside the 5 and out of bounds to stop the clock.  Rogers ultimately threw a touchdown pass to defeat the Dolphins 27-24.

 

According to Rodgers own admission after the game, that fake spike play was his decision.  Fortunately for him and the Packers, it helped lead the team to a victory.  It was a very gutsy decision because they had no timeouts.  If his receiver was tackled in bounds, the Packers would have ran out of time and lost the game.

Kevin