The fall of the Minnesota Vikings has been painful to watch, and Sunday's loss was perhaps their hardest to swallow this season.
Sure Brett Favre's backbreaking final drive stung a bit, and losses to the Raiders and Bears at the Metrodome didn't feel too good either, but falling in the final minute to a Detroit team that was 5-11 with Barry Sanders in the fold last year has sunk the Vikings to new depths.
After breaking the league record with 556 points in 16 regular season games last year (an amazing average of 34.75 points per game), the Vikings have struggled on offense this year with an average of only 20 points per game after Sunday's game with the Lions.
After a 15-1 regular season last year with heaps of praise being lauded upon the powerful offense, the Vikings now sit at 2-4 in last place in the NFC Central, and are left to figure out their offensive woes like so many other mediocre teams have in the past.
| Week 6 NFL Recap |
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Rams 41 (5-0),
Falcons 13 (1-5) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
41: Rushing yards for the Falcons against the Rams' active young defense.
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| Player of the Game |
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Marshall Faulk, RB, St. Louis. Faulk almost matched his previous season yardage total coming into the game (188) with 181 rushing yards against Atlanta. |
| Breakdown |
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St. Louis proved that it can win with more just a high-powered passing attack, using a nice balance of offense, defense and special teams to blow out the Falcons in the Georgia Dome. Kurt Warner had his poorest passing game of the season, but he wasn't needed with the ground game chewing up 6.8 yards per rushing play. The Rams get Cleveland at home next Sunday before jumping into a tougher portion of their schedule with back-to-back road games at Tennessee and Detroit. |
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| Raiders 20 (3-3), Bills 14 (4-2) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
39:35: Time of possession for the Raiders, wearing down the aggressive defense of the Bills with 195 rushing yards on 48 carries. |
| Player of the Game |
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Tyrone Wheatley, RB, Oakland. Wheatley continued his career renaissance with another good performance against the Bills, rushing for 97 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries.
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| Breakdown |
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Oakland halted the Bills' four-game winning streak by keeping the ball away from Doug Flutie and Buffalo's offensive unit. Napolean Kaufman added 72 rushing yards to Wheatley's 97 yards, and the Raiders got another mistake-free game from Rich Gannon. Though not spectacular at quarterback, Gannon completed 15-of-22 passes for 155 yards while avoiding throwing an interception for the third time in six games this season. The Raiders have three consecutive games at home, while the Bills hit the road for three.
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| Eagles 20 (2-4), Bears 16 (3-3) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
668: Total offense between the two teams, a surprisingly high total considering they were averaging only 515.2 yards per game combined coming into the game.
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| Player of the Game |
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Doug Pederson, QB, Philadelphia. Pederson threw for a career-high 228 yards and two touchdowns on 22-of-38 passing.
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| Breakdown |
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The Eagles ended their 18-game winless streak on the road with their first road win since a 21-20 victory over the New York Jets on Dec. 14, 1996. A longer streak of futility was stopped as well, since Philadelphia had never won in 14 trips to the Windy City dating back to 1939, when the Bears played their home games at Wrigley Field. Cade McNown played adequately in his starting debut for the Bears, but threw three straight incompletions late in the fourth quarter with the game on the line. Doug Pederson's career-best game in the air was aided by Duce Staley's third 100-yard game of the year. The Bears' home loss cost them the opportunity to gain momentum heading into what is sure to be its toughest stretch of the season, with consecutive road games at Tampa Bay, at Washington and at Green Bay the next three Sundays.
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| Steelers 17 (3-3), Bengals 3 (1-5) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
125: Total passing yards by Kordell Stewart and the Steelers' struggling passing game. |
| Player of the Game |
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Jerome Bettis, RB, Pittsburgh. Bettis rushed for more than 100 yards for the first time this season, and scored two rushing touchdowns, with 26 carries for 111 yards on the day.
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| Breakdown |
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The Steelers snapped a three-game losing streak by reverting to their old form of controlling the ball on the ground and winning with a dominating defense. Pittsburgh's defense had four sacks and forced three turnovers in making Akili Smith look like an inexperienced rookie that he is for most of the game. Bettis' rushing total helped the Steelers control the clock for most of the game. Orpheus Roye led the defensive charge with six tackles, one sack, an interception and four passes defensed.
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| Lions 25 (3-2) Vikings 23 (2-4) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
35:16: Time of possession for the Lions in the game, thanks for 118 hard-earned rushing yards that kept the Vikings' offense off the field. |
| Player of the Game |
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Jason Hanson, K, Detroit. Hanson tied a team record with six field goals, including the game-winner with 12 seconds left.
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| Breakdown |
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The downward spiral of the Vikings continued at the hands, or maybe rather the foot, or Lions kicker Jason Hanson. Despite Jeff George's heroic efforts in the second half in relief of Randall Cunningham, the Vikings blew another winnable game with sloppy defensive play. The 2-4 Vikings will have to handle the questions of a quarterback controversy this week to go along with questions of their lost season. Gus Frerotte performed well backing up Charlie Batch for the Lions, completing 15-of-24 passes for 140 yards. The schedule doesn't get much easier for Minnesota with San Francisco visiting the Metrodome next Sunday followed by a trip to Denver on Halloween.
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| Jaguars 24 (5-1) Browns 7 (0-6) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
78.3: Tim Couch's completion percentage, well above his season average of 46 percent coming into the game. |
| Player of the Game |
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Jay Fiedler, QB, Jacksonville. After replacing the injured Mark Brunell in the second half, Fiedler completed 12-of-14 passes for 113 yards and one touchdown.
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| Breakdown |
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Jacksonville continues to get contributions from players that it didn't expect to be in the lineup before the season started. With James Stewart already filling in for an injured Fred Taylor, Mark Brunell was lost for the game with bruised ribs, but backup Jay Fiedler played spectacularly as his replacement. The Jaguars have a bye week to get Brunell healthy, but with the way their backups have been playing, they may not need to rush him back if his ribs are still bothering him.
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| Titans 24 (5-1), Saints 21 (1-4) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
12: Numbers of games since Eddie George had rushing for more than 100 yards. |
| Player of the Game |
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Eddie George, RB, Tennessee. George got his first 100-yard game of the season with a 28 carry for 155-yard performance.
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| Breakdown |
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Tennessee continues to win the close games, while New Orleans continues to give Mike Ditka ulcers in the fourth quarter. The Saints blew a 13-7 lead going into the fourth quarter to lose their fourth game of the season. New Orleans' losses are by a total of only 18 points. Ricky Williams struggled running the football against the Titans, with only 35 yards on 17 carries, with a long run of 7 yards. New Orleans travels to New York next Sunday to face the Giants, while the Titans have a bye week before playing the red-hot Rams in Nashville.
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| Dolphins 31 (4-1), Patriots 30 (4-2) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
40:07: Time of possession for the Dolphins. |
| Player of the Game |
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Damon Huard, QB, Miami. Filling in for the injured Dan Marino, Huard completed 24-of-42 passes for 240 yards and two touchdowns with one interception, and led the Dolphins' fourth-quarter comeback effort.
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| Breakdown |
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Miami overcame nine sacks and two turnovers to hang around and give itself a chance to win. The Dolphins' late-game magic moved them into first place in the AFC East by a half-game over the Patriots and the Bills. Tony Martin had a big game for the Dolphins with 118 yards receiving and one touchdown on seven catches. The Dolphins return home next week to face the Eagles, while New England gets Denver at home.
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| Colts 16 (3-2), Jets 13 (1-5) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
125: Net passing yards by the Jets against the league's second-worst pass defense coming into the game. |
| Player of the Game |
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Edgerrin James, RB, Indianapolis. James went over 100 yards for the third time in his first five career games with 111 yards on 26 carries against the Jets.
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| Breakdown |
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Ray Lucas played well in his first NFL start for most of the game, but his costly interception in the end zone with less than five minutes remaining to play led to the Colts' game-winning field goal. A surprise starter replacing Rick Mirer, Lucas completed 16-of-30 passes for 137 with one touchdown and one interception. Curtis Martin managed the majority of the offensive output for the Jets with 128 rushing yards on 23 carries, but Martin couldn't find the end zone and the Jets offense was held below their season average of 15.6 points per game coming in. The 1-5 Jets have to go on the road to play the Raiders next Sunday, while the Colts start a three-game homestand with the Bengals next week.
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| Chargers 13 (4-1), Seahawks 10 (3-2) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
49: Rushing yards by the Chargers, who had the league's fourth-worst rushing average coming in at 72.5 yards per game. |
| Player of the Game |
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John Carney, K, San Diego. The Chargers kicker booted a 28-yarder with just under three minutes to play, and then hit the game-winning 41-yarder as time expired.
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| Breakdown |
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San Diego continues to win games despite its inept offense. Erik Kramer threw four interceptions, and Natrone Means ran for only 35 yards on 17 carries. The Chargers were just lucky enough to be facing an offense that was struggling even worse than their own on Sunday. Seattle gained only 201 yards of total offense, but only converted one of the Chargers' four turnovers into points. The surprising Chargers host 3-2 Green Bay next Sunday before traveling to Kansas City for a tough divisional matchup, while the Seahawks get Buffalo at home next week before going to Green Bay on Nov. 1.
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| Broncos 31 (2-4), Packers 10 (3-2) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
45:14: Time of possession for the Broncos. |
| Player of the Game |
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Olandis Gary, RB, Denver. Filling in for the injured Derek Loville, Gary ran through the Packers for a career-high 124 yards on 37 carries and added one rushing touchdown.
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| Breakdown |
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The Broncos looked like their two-time defending champion selves against the Packers, dominating the line of scrimmage throughout and keeping the ball for an absurd amount of time. When Brett Favre and the Packers did get the ball they couldn't do anything with it, totaling only 133 yards of offense. Favre's 7-of-23 passing performance with three interceptions works out to a quarterback rating of -5.16 for the game, while Brian Griese completed 19-of-31 passes for 363 yards and two touchdowns, giving him a rating of 110.01. The staggering difference in the offensive output of the two teams is best exhibited by the fact that Green Bay ran only 35 offensive plays while Denver ran 82. The Packers will try to regroup next Sunday in San Diego against the surprising 4-1 Chargers.
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| Panthers 31 (2-3), 49ers 29 (3-3) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
39: Points scored by the two teams in the fourth quarter. |
| Player of the Game |
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Steve Beuerlein, QB, Carolina. The Panthers quarterback completed 23-of-36 passes for 300 yards and threw four touchdown passes, but he was intercepted three times.
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| Breakdown |
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Carolina's close win snapped San Francisco's 19-game home winning streak, which was the longest current streak in the NFL. The 49ers continue to get a preview of what life without Steve Young will be like, and with the possibility of retirement looming large in Northern California this week, Niners fans have to be worried for what the future may hold. Jeff Garcia completed only 22-of-45 passes for 236 yards for a disappointing per-attempt total of 5.24 yards. Three different receivers caught touchdown passes from Beuerlein, with Patrick Jeffers grabbing six passes for 93 yards including two touchdowns.
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| Redskins 24 (4-1), Cardinals 10 (2-4) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
46.1: Third-down completion percentage by the Redskins, compared to 25 percent success rate on third downs for the Cardinals. |
| Player of the Game |
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Champ Bailey, CB, Washington. The Redskins cornerback firmly established himself as the leading candidate for defensive rookie of the year with his three-interception performance, including one that he ran back 59 yards for a touchdown.
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| Breakdown |
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Washington's prolific offense only managed two touchdowns Sunday night, but Bailey's defensive heroics saved the Redskins. Bailey also had six total tackles and four passes defensed to go along with his three interceptions. Washington moved to 4-1 with the win, putting itself squarely in contention for a playoff berth in what is an topsy-turvy NFC this season. The Redskins will battle the Cowboys for NFC East supremacy next Sunday in Dallas. Arizona falls to 2-4 heading into its desparately needed bye week. Jake Plummer threw two more interceptions before leaving with a thumb injury, to push his league-leading interception total to 15 on the season.
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| Giants 13 (3-3) Cowboys 10 (3-2) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
1.2: Yards per carry by Emmitt Smith in the game, gaining only 26 yards on 22 carries with one short touchdown run. |
| Player of the Game |
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Tiki Barber, RB/PR, New York. Barber ran for only 35 yards on 10 carries, but his fourth-quarter punt return for a touchdown and long catch that set up the game-winning field goal were the keys to the win.
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| Breakdown |
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New York won despite another miserable performance from its offense. The Giants managed to gain only 228 total yards of offense for the game, but Tiki Barber accounted for 233 all-purpose yards to save the day. Barber's efforts ultimately put the Giants in the position to win the game, but the defense kept them close enough to do it. Jessie Armstead led the charge for the run defense, recording 10 total tackles to help make Emmitt Smith a non-factor. Troy Aikman did manage to throw for 266 yards -- even with Michael Irvin out of the lineup -- but it was rather apparent that the Cowboys will struggle in games that they can't run the football. Dallas faces archrival Washington in Irving next Sunday in a rematch of the Cowboys' Week 1 41-35 shootout win, while the Giants host the Saints in the Meadowlands.
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