A quick tour of Week 8 in the N.F.L.:
Steelers 25, Patriots 17
For the second straight week, the Patriots’ high-powered offense sputtered a bit against a complex and blitz-heavy 3-4 defense. But this game was decided on the other side of the ball. The Steelers ran 28 more plays than the Patriots and easily controlled the tempo for the first three quarters. And they did it by playing Steeler Ball – which hopefully people now realize involves spreading and passing. Ben Roethlisberger completed 36 of 50 for 365 yards. Heath Miller devoured the zones behind New England’s blitzes, finishing with 85 yards on seven receptions. Wideouts Antonio Brown, Mike Wallace and Emmanuel Sanders each had between 5 to 9 catches and 65-75 yards.
These types of performances happen when a wide-ranging aerial attack goes up against a poor pass rush. Yes, the Patriots sacked Ben Roethlisberger five times. But that was because Roethlisberger was even more devoted to “extending the play” than usual. He realized early on that the aging Patriots ends could not turn the corner against the ho-hum-but-enormous Steeler tackles. And, surprisingly, Pittsburgh’s interior double teams on Vince Wilfork & Co. worked marvelously. This is all but officially the third year in a row that an impotent pass rush has hindered Bill Belichick’s club.
49ers 20, Browns 10
No two teams are as committed to hiding their quarterbacks as these two. The difference is that the 49ers hide Alex Smith behind a power run game, while the Browns hide Colt McCoy behind play-action and bootlegs (which slice the field in half for him). This box score shows which approach is best (i.e. safest/most sustainable). Frank Gore, spearheading San Francisco’s sixth-ranked rushing attack, finished with 134 yards on 31 carries. McCoy finished with four fumbles, while Browns wide receivers caught a total of 11 balls for only 116 yards.
A week after Montario Hardesty stumbled for just 95 yards on 33 carries against Seattle, the Peyton Hillis-less Browns turned their ground game over to Chris Ogbonnaya. Unfortunately, an early deficit limited the ex-Texan to just 11 attempts (he finished with 37 yards). Who at the beginning of the year would have guessed that on Halloween weekend Cleveland would be searching for its identity on the ground?
Bills 23, Redskins 0
This was just a preseason game that happened to be played in October. Think about it: the game took place in Toronto; the Redskins started a backup at running back, wide receiver, No. 2 tight end, center and left tackle; the Bills came in having just signed their quarterback, Ryan Fitzpatrick, to a long-term contract; Fox had its top color commentator, Troy Aikman, calling the game, but its top play-by-play man Joe Buck did not make the trip.
Lions 45, Broncos 10
At the end of the third quarter, Tim Tebow was 7 for 21 for 80 yards, and the Broncos trailed, 38-3. Despite playing with GUTS and HEART and LEADERSHIP and a SPARK (or whatever it’s called when the quarterback throws wild incompletions that are at least exciting to watch), Tebow mounted no comeback. Eric Decker’s garbage-time touchdown prevented Denver’s offense from finishing with more sacks allowed (seven) than points scored (10). Then again, considering one of those seven sacks resulted in a fumble returned for a touchdown, and considering that Tebow’s lone interception was run back for a score, Denver’s offense actually posted minus-4 points.
How about some Brady Quinn billboards this week?
Bengals 34, Seahawks 12
The Seahawks named Tarvaris Jackson their starter before kickoff but sent the incompetent Charlie Whitehurst out there instead. Whitehurst picked up where he left off at Cleveland last week, leaving play after play on the field and seemingly drawing the ire of his wide receivers.
Mercifully, with 10:41 remaining in the second quarter, Jackson entered the game. Which leaves you to wonder, Did Jackson, who had been sidelined since injuring his pec in Week 5, just need one more hour to get fully healthy? Or did Pete Carroll inexplicably botch the most important decision he had to make this week? If Jackson is healthy, he’s the starter – no questions asked. So what happened here? Why didn’t Jackson start originally?
Titans 27, Colts 10
See this separate post on the Fifth Down.
Rams 31, Saints 20
The Saints played as if they assumed that some of their excess points against Indy would carry over. In the last 40 seasons, teams are now just 1-3 in their first outing after scoring 62 or more. Steven Jackson led the way for St. Louis. The eighth-year veteran rushed for 159 yards on 25 attempts, moving past Marshall Faulk for third on the team’s career yardage list.
The tenacious and talented Jackson plays with a fiery personality that would make him a household name – and likely future Hall of Famer – if not for the fact that his team has reached the postseason just once in his career (2004). There’s still time, Steven. Leverage a trade to a contender and you might become football’s version of Kevin Garnett or Ray Bourque.
Giants 20, Dolphins 17
The Dolphins netted a measly 101 yards through the air. That’s two yards less than Reggie Bush had rushing. And remember, Bush stinks (he even said so).
Giant fans can fret about how hard-fought this presumed cakewalk turned out to be, but they might as well just say “whatever” and take the 5-2 record. Eli Manning picked up the slack for a running game that has been off-track for all of Subway’s $5 Foot-long Month. Manning evenly distributed 344 passing yards to a solid but unspectacular group of wide receivers. He also found tight end Jake Ballard four times for 55 yards. Ballard is practically a clone of predecessor Kevin Boss: upright, lumbering and surprisingly effective. He entered Sunday having caught eight balls for 153 yards over his previous two games. Though not fast, he’s averaging 17.3 yards per catch, second most among tight ends with at least 10 receptions.
Vikings 24, Panthers 21
If not for a rare slip by Olindo Mare, one of the best kickers of this era, we might be discussing Cam Newton’s first overtime win, first winning streak and, perhaps, his most impressive game as a young pro. Instead, we’ll mention the solid performance of Christian Ponder and even more solid performance of Adrian Peterson, who was stymied by an uncharacteristically instinctive Panthers run defense early in the game but who compensated with a career-high 76 yards receiving (including a touchdown).
Then again, maybe we need to look at the other side of the ball. Two of Minnesota’s touchdowns were set up by sack-fumbles of Newton that were spearheaded by Jared Allen. The newly minted father is on pace for 23 sacks this season. The current single-season sack record is “21.5 plus a gift from Brett Favre,” set by Michael Strahan in 2001.
Ravens 30, Cardinals 27
Know why the Cardinals weren’t good enough to protect a lead? Because they weren’t good enough to really build a lead. Their 21-point second quarter surge was mostly good fortune. The first score was set up by a Ravens fumble that Darnell Dockett recovered at the Baltimore 2. The second was a Patrick Peterson punt return (spectacular play, but not something you can bank on each week). A tipped interception – courtesy of Torrey Smith – at the Raven 19 led to the third score.
But from the start, it was clear: Arizona’s offensive line could not protect Kevin Kolb. This is what lost the game for the Cardinals last week, too. Their offensive tackles are unathletic, and the collective group has had trouble executing basic protection adjustments against the blitz. That will always prove costly when you face stars like Terrell Suggs (one sack and a career-high 13 tackles, including four for a loss on Sunday).
Texans 24, Jaguars 14
Given Tim Tebow’s debacle and Matt Moore’s awful outing, maybe Blaine Gabbert’s 10-for-30, 97-yard passing performance has something to do with the fact that he’s a quarterback associated with the state of Florida….?
Or it could just be that the Texans’ defense has secretly blossomed under Wade Phillips. The front seven plays with vigor and creativity each week, and the back four has been buttressed by the free agent Johnathan Joseph, who has played like a true No. 1 corner.
Eagles 34, Cowboys 7
It was just one of those days for the Cowboys. Andy Reid’s opponents always seem to have “just one of those days” whenever Reid is coming off a bye (he’s 13-0). It was great that Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth opened a nationally televised discussion about where LeSean McCoy ranks among running backs. McCoy is on pace for over 1,600 yards rushing (he’s second to Adrian Peterson in total rushing this season) and, at times, he’s an integral part of the passing attack. He has the breakaway speed that is a prerequisite for playing in Philadelphia’s offense, and he has arguably the best lateral agility in the league.
Andy Benoit is an N.F.L. analyst for CBSSports.com and founder of NFLTouchdown.com. He can be reached at andy.benoit@NFLTouchdown.com or @Andy_Benoit.
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