Clinton Portis proved that it's possible to run against the Eagles
defense.
Philadelphia's top-ranked run defense hadn't allowed more than 78 yards
rushing in any of their first four games this year. But Portis shredded them for
nearly double that total, finishing the day with 145 yards on the ground and a
touchdown. Ladell Betts tacked on 44 more yards, and quarterback Jason Campbell
scrambled for 14 yards to push Washington's total to 203 net yards during their
23-17 win.
Wide receivers Deion Branch and Bobby Engram returned to the Seahawks
lineup, but it really didn't matter against the Giants.
You have to feel some empathy for Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck. After
doing his best to hang tough during the plethora of injuries to his wide
receivers earlier this season, he finally got a pretty good pair of receivers to
throw to on Sunday when Branch and Engram joined him on the field for the first
time this season against the defending World Champs. But the Giants took no
prisoners in a 44-7 rout that left Hasselbeck standing on the sidelines with
just 105 passing yards to show for his efforts while Seneca Wallace stepped in
with roughly two minutes remaining in the third quarter. Branch caught three
passes for 31 yards while Engram led the team with eight catches for 61 yards.
It does appear that Hasselbeck did have one bit of good luck on Sunday.
Just three plays into the Seahawks' first possession, Hasselbeck ended up on the
ground, holding onto his knee in obvious pain. But he returned to action.
“I hyper-extended my knee. As I was hyper-extending, I was able to twist
with it. And so I don’t know exactly what’s wrong," the Seahawks
quarterback told the media following the game. "The doctors didn’t seem
too concerned. I think we're going to do the normal scans. But I’m not too
concerned about it."
Colts DE Robert Mathis dives and slaps the ball out of the hands of Texans QB Sage Rosenfels. Mathis also recovered the fumble to set up the winning touchdown.
AP Photo/David J. Phillip |
The Colts reminded everyone why a team should never quit, even late in the
fourth quarter, down by double-digits.
After the Texans scored 27 unanswered points to take a commanding 27-10 lead
with just 8:18 left to play, the Colts went on a scoring tear, tallying 21
points in roughly two minutes to snatch the win. After Indianapolis'
offense engineered an 11-play, 81-yard drive to pull within ten points with 4:04
remaining, Colts defensive end Raheem Brock forced Texans quarterback Sage Rosenfels to fumble just 20 seconds later. Middle linebacker Gary Brackett
scooped it up and ran 68 yards to cut Houston's lead to just three points with
3:36 remaining. Three plays later, Robert Mathis stripped Rosenfels of the ball
as he attempted to scramble out of the pocket, and the Colts defensive end
recovered it at the Texans' 20-yard line. Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne
caught a game-winning 5-yard pass just two plays after the fumble recovery to
put Indy ahead for good, 31-27, with 1:54 left in the game.
Larry Johnson and Damon Huard were rudely reminded just how fleeting fame
can be.
Just a week ago, the Chiefs were celebrating a hard-fought upset win over the
Broncos. Twelfth-year veteran quarterback Damon Huard completed 75
percent of his passes for 160 yards and a touchdown, and running back Larry
Johnson ran wild for 198 yards and two scores. But against the Panthers, last
week's heroes quickly became has-beens as Johnson rushed just seven times for
two yards and Huard completed less than half of his throws for 86 yards -- and
threw two interceptions to boot -- during a 34-0 drubbing in Carolina.
Miami RB Ronnie Brown tries to elude Chargers CB Quentin Jammer.
(AP Photo/J. Pat Carter) |
After a very slow start, running back Ronnie Brown is now setting the pace
for the Miami Dolphins.
Brown rushed for 125 yards at home against the Chargers as a
follow-up to his impressive 113-yard effort against the Patriots in Week 3.
Miami claimed their second consecutive victory, this time by a count of 17-10,
as Brown outpaced Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson (12-35). Brown
scored one rushing touchdown and was obviously excited about the direction the
team has been heading, especially after last year's awful 1-15 experience.
"Coming in we had a whole new mindset coming into this season. We
stumbled a little bit at the beginning, had a slow start, but we knew it was
early in the season," Brown told the media after the game. "We had an
opportunity to get back on our feet and we’re sitting here at .500 now. We got
an opportunity to go out here to Houston next weekend and go 3-2. We’re going
to come in and focus on that.”
If you had any idea that the Tennessee Titans would be the first NFL team
to be 5-0 in 2008, take a bow.
I sure didn't see that coming. And if you would have told me that they were
going to achieve that feat with Kerry Collins at the helm, I would have told you
to lay off the sauce. While we all knew during the offseason that Tennessee
would once again field a tough-as-nails defense, the offense was highly suspect
with an erratic Vince Young, a somewhat lethargic running attack with LenDale
White penciled in as the featured back, and a hodge-podge of questionable
receiver talent. But Collins has been steady, rookie running back Chris Johnson
has been sensational, and the receivers have been adequate. While it took a late
drive capped off by an 11-yard pass from Collins to tight end Alge Crumpler to
pull out the win, Tennessee earned their fifth victory against a tenacious
Baltimore Ravens defense by a narrow 13-10 margin.
Bears quarterback Kyle Orton finally had a breakout game.
The fourth-year pro out of Purdue completed a career-best 70.6 percent of
his passes while amassing 334 passing yards to lead his team to a 34-7 thumping
of the winless Detroit Lions. Orton was only sacked once, and his two touchdown
passes boosted his total to seven over the last three weeks. He spread the
ball around nicely, completing passes to eight different receivers, including
six to Rashied Davis for 97 yards and a score. Chicago heads to Atlanta next
week to take on the Falcons, so it'll be interesting to see if Orton can follow
up Sunday's big day with another strong performance.
A member of the Pro Football Writers of America, Ed Thompson's player interviews and NFL features
are published across the Scout.com network and at FOXSports.com. You can contact him by email
through this link.