Upon Further Review(NFL Week 9 Recap)

Nov. 7, 2011 - PRLog -- Each week, CHARGED brings you observations from the week that was in the NFL.  Where do we even start after that great week nine?  I think the most logical place to start is in New England, where Eli Manning and the Giants defense ended the Patriots' 20-game home winning streak at Gillette Stadium in spectacular fashion.

- Can we all agree that Eli Manning is an elite quarterback now?  His numbers yesterday look unassuming (20-39, 250 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 INT) but find me another quarterback that can do what Manning did in the fourth quarter yesterday.  Down 13-10 with seven minutes left, Manning leads the Giants down and finds Mario Manningham in the back of the end zone to put New York up four with 3:03 minutes left.  Then Tom Brady comes right back to find Rob Gronkowski for a touchdown with just 1:36 remaining in the game.  Unfazed, Manning orchestrated his second go-ahead drive in the final seven minutes of the game, finishing it off with a touchdown to tight end Jake Ballard with 15 seconds left.

Manning also accomplished all of this without his top running back (Ahmad Bradshaw) wide receiver (Hakeem Nicks) and starting center (David Baas).  As much as Joe Buck and Troy Aikman were hating on Manning during the game, you can't deny that he has played MVP-caliber football this season for the Giants as they retain their firm hold on the NFC East.  They earned this celebration.

- Joe Flacco put together a nice comeback of his own against the Pittsburgh Steelers last night.  Down four and pinned on their own eight yard line with just 2:17 left on the clock, Flacco delivered a masterful drive that was almost derailed by drops.  Flacco found Torrey Smith behind the defense in the end zone but the rookie receiver couldn't hang on to the pass.  Then Anquan Boldin dropped what would have been an easy first down inside the Pittsburgh 20.  Flacco didn't waver, finding Smith again just three plays after his drop for a go-ahead 26-yard touchdown with eight seconds left in the game.  

With the win, Baltimore swept the season series against the Steelers and now has the tie-breaker should the two teams finish with the same record.  Pittsburgh was playing with a limited defense, and they certainly are still in a good situation at 6-3.  But if they want to play at home in the postseason, they will have to play with a strong sense of urgency after their bye this week.

- The Aaron Rodgers MVP tour stopped in San Diego this week, where the Green Bay quarterback put together another virtuoso performance.  Rodgers completed 21-26 passes (81%) for 247 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions and 52 rushing yards just for good measure.  The defense almost let a 21-point lead slip away in the final ten minutes, but Philip Rivers' third interception sealed the Packers' win in the final minute.  Green Bay is 8-0, but with that defense I think the chances of the Packers running the table are slim.

- The New York Jets made a statement with their 27-11 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.  The defense made Ryan Fitzpatrick finally look like an Ivy League quarterback and Fred Jackson like a pedestrian.  The offense couldn't get in the end zone until the second half, but the defense kept Buffalo off the board long enough for them to figure it out.  Buffalo, who normally averages 30 points a game, scored just 11 against the Jets and compiled just 287 total yards.

- The “Suck for Luck” race took an interesting turn on Sunday.  Indianapolis held firm and lost to the Atlanta Falcons, but the Miami Dolphins blew out the Kansas City Chiefs at home 31-3.  Matt Moore, Reggie Bush and the rest of the Dolphins dropped 31 unanswered points on the Chiefs.  I said last week(http://www.charged.fm/blog/post/1157/the-charged-elite-we...) in my power rankings that the Dolphins would win at least two games.  I didn't think it would happen this soon, especially coming on the road against a Chiefs team that had won four straight.  

- Speaking of the Chiefs, they have faced two AFC East teams this year at home (Miami and Buffalo) and have lost to them by a combined score of 72-10.  They still have to play the Jets and the Patriots, this time on the road.

- With their victory over Tennessee, the Cincinnati Bengals are tied with the Baltimore Ravens and ahead of the Pittsburgh Steelers after nine weeks of football.  Andy Dalton has more TD passes than Michael Vick, Philip Rivers and Jay Cutler. Amazing.

- San Francisco keeps plugging away and now find themselves at 7-1 halfway through their schedule.  At this point, it would take a miracle to prevent the 49ers from making the playoffs.

- With everything else that happened, big days by Julio Jones (3 catches, 131 yards, 2 TD), Vincent Jackson (7 catches, 143 yards, 3 TD), the Houston running tandem (Arian Foster and Ben Tate combining for 239 rushing yards and 2 TD), and DeMarco Murray's second outburst (139 rushing yards and 47 receiving yards) were slightly overlooked.  

- What a finish in Arizona.  Patrick Peterson is turning into Devin Hester 2.0 in the return game.  Peterson has an extra inch and an additional 30 pounds on Hester and is just as electric.  His 99-yard punt return TD* in overtime yesterday was incredible.  He might not be making a huge impact on defense yet, but his impact has been felt immediately on special teams.

- Even without Mark Ingram, New Orleans found a way to get it done on the ground.  New Orleans gouged the Tampa Bay defense for 195 yards on the ground.  Chris Ivory, Pierre Thomas, Darren Sproles and Drew Brees all had rushes of at least 12 yards as New Orleans bounced back from last week's stunning loss to St. Louis.  Tampa Bay has now lost three of its last four games and lost a key contributor on defense, DT Gerald McCoy, for the season.  

– One final note: home teams went 4-9 in yesterday's action.  That means watch out, Philadelphia.

*(http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2011/11/6/2543077/patrick-pet...)

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