And on the sixth Sunday, the Rams rested.
We all needed a break from the devastation. I tend to get exhausted just watching them beat up on opponents week after week.
With the Rams on a bye week, we were free to turn out attention to other deserving games, as well as some that didn't look deserving on paper initially.
The highlight off Week 6 was a surprisingly entertaining Battle by the Bay in San Francisco, and an upset (that maybe shouldn't be considered an upset based on the history of the series) in the Big Apple.
The Raiders and 49ers combined for 643 yards passing and six touchdown tosses in a thrilling West Coast offense exhibition at 3Com Park. An overtime finish and 943 yards of total offense add up to this being the game of the week, and one of the best of the season so far.
The Jets' quest for perfection ended at the hands of the upstart Steelers. Pittsburgh knocked Vinny Testaverde out of the game early and then gave the Jets a lesson in ball-control football to win for the ninth time in 10 trips to New York, and for the 13th time in 14 meetings between the two teams.
Breathe deeply and get some sleep while you can -- the Rams return to action against the Falcons at the Trans World Dome next Sunday at 1 p.m.
| Week 6 NFL Recap |
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| Patriots 24 (2-4), Colts 16 (3-2) |
Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
630: Passing attempts Peyton Manning is on pace for, after throwing 54 times in a losing effort against New England. |
| Player of the Game |
| Drew Bledsoe, QB, New England: Didn't put up eye-popping numbers, but was efficient in the Patriots' second win in a row, throwing for 142 yards and two touchdowns on 15-of-22 passing. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| The suddenly-hot Patriots made things a bit more interesting in the AFC East. Despite the win, New England was outgained by 107 yards (408-301) and Indianapolis managed 27 first downs to 19 for New England. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick utilized backup quarterback Michael Bishop well, bringing him in for his stronger arm and getting rewarded with a 44-yard Hail Mary touchdown pass on Bishop's first career throw. The Patriots' struggling running game bested its average by 44 yards, as running backs J.R. Redmond and Kevin Faulk split the load and combined for 109 yards on 26 carries. Manning threw for 334 yards in a losing cause, and Marvin Harrison grabbed 13 passes for 159 yards and a touchdown. |
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| Redskins 17 (4-2), Eagles 14 (3-3) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
12: Penalties committed by the Redskins for 80 yards, compared to only five for 48 yards by the Eagles. |
| Player of the Game |
| Darrell Green, CB, Washington: Veteran had the key fourth-quarter interception -- the 52nd of his Hall of Fame career -- that set up Michael Husted's game-winning 24-yard field goal. |
CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| The Redskins outplayed the Eagles, but poor kicking and silly mistakes almost cost them the game. Husted may be looking for work again this week, despite kicking his second game-winner in as many weeks. Husted's two missed field goals kept Philadelphia in the game, and he is only 4-of-8 since joining Washington prior to the Week 3 loss to the Cowboys. Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb completed 17 of 34 for 186 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, and also was their leading rusher with 43 yards on five carries. Eagles running back Darnell Autry ran seven times for only 15 yards replacing the injured Duce Staley as the featured back. The Redskins play host to the Ravens next Sunday with Baltimore making the short drive down I-95 for an intriguing matchup at FedEx Field. |
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| Dolphins 22 (5-1), Bills 13 (2-3) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
34:22: Time of possession for the Dolphins, who ran for 120 yards. |
| Player of the Game |
| Trace Armstrong, DE, Miami: Led the Dolphins' impressive defensive effort with five tackles, two forced fumbles and 3 1/2 sacks, bringing his league-leading sack total to 10 after six games and putting him on pace for an NFL-record 26 1/2 for the season. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| The offenses pretty much played to a wash, but the Dolphins' defense played like it had something to prove. Buffalo's defense was third-ranked coming in, but Miami's defense outplayed them and made the difference in the game. Each team finished with 254 total yards and 15 first downs, but the Dolphins recorded six sacks while the Bills only dropped Jay Fiedler once. Fiedler passed for only 142 yards, and the Dolphins committed five penalties for 64 yards, but the defense bailed out Miami once again to hold off Buffalo for its fifth win. Dolphins cornerback Sam Madison's fumble return for a touchdown with 4:45 left in the game sewed up the victory for the Fish. The win, combined with the Jets' loss, puts the Dolphins atop the AFC East at 5-1 with a bye week next Sunday, followed by a huge Monday night showdown with the Jets at the Meadowlands in Week 8. |
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| Lions 31 (4-2), Packers 24 (2-4) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
3-7: Brett Favre's career record in 10 starts against the Lions at the Silverdome. |
| Player of the Game |
| Charlie Batch, QB, Detroit: Completed only 13-of-26 passes, but threw for 199 yards and three touchdowns. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| The Lions pressured Favre often, finishing with four sacks and forcing him into three interceptions. Green Bay outgained Detroit 339-253 and finished with 19 first downs to only 11 for the Lions. The Packers wasted the significant offensive advantage by committing five turnovers to the Lions' one. Lions free safety Kurt Schulz made five tackles, had three passes defensed and picked off his league-leading sixth pass. Running back James Stewart struggled on the ground again with only 56 yards on 20 carries, but made up for it by catching five passes for 67 yards and a touchdown. Green Bay will try to get back on track when it faces San Francisco next Sunday, while Detroit is off Sunday before heading to Tampa for a Thursday night game in Week 8. |
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| Titans 23 (4-1), Bengals 14 (0-5) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
41:22: Time of possession for the Titans, who ran for 203 yards on 44 carries. |
| Player of the Game |
| Eddie George, RB, Tennessee: Ran for a season-high 181 yards and one touchdown on 36 carries. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| The Titans limited the Bengals to just seven first downs, but Cincinnati's offense wasn't on the field often enough to make anything happen. Bengals running back Corey Dillon finished with 95 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries, but 80 of those came on one run, and he gained only 15 yards on his other 14 carries. Cincinnati's second-year quarterback Akili Smith struggled again, completing only 10-of-23 passes for 85 yards. Ron Dugans was Cincinnati's leading receiver with three catches for 25 yards. Tennessee has increased George's workload the past two weeks and his productivity has improved with the added burden. In the first three games George carried 65 times for 191 yards and two touchdowns, while in the past two games he has rushed 71 times for 306 yards and two scores. |
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| Steelers 20 (2-3), Jets 3 (4-1) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
37:43: Time of possession for the Steelers, who ran for 193 yards on 41 carries. |
| Player of the Game |
| Jerome Bettis, RB, Pittsburgh: Carries 25 times for 107 yards and a touchdown, giving him 422 yards and five rushing touchdowns this season. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| Chalk this up as one of the surprises of the season, but based on the history of this matchup it shouldn't come as much of one. The win was the Steelers' 13th in 14 meetings against the Jets, and the ninth (against the lone loss) on the road in the series. The Steelers pulled the upset by beating the Jets at their own game -- using a ball-control offense to chew up the clock. Quite simply, Pittsburgh just ran the ball better than New York, outgaining them on the ground 193-112. Middle linebacker Levon Kirkland led the defensive charge for the Steelers with eight tackles and a fumble recovery. |
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| Saints 31 (2-3), Bears 10 (1-5) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
10: Penalties committed by the Saints for 149 yards, compared to only five for 45 yards by the Bears. |
| Player of the Game |
| Jeff Blake, QB, New Orleans: Ran the Saints' West Coast offense to perfection, completing 18-of-25 passes for 232 yards and three touchdowns, and adding 66 yards rushing on 12 carries. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| The Saints had their way with the Bears on both sides of the ball. When Cade McNown was on the field, he likely was making a mistake. McNown threw for 202 yards but tossed three picks and was sacked five times. After looking great last week against Green Bay, it is clear that McNown missed his tall, agile go-to receiver Marcus Robinson, who was out with a sprained left ankle. Chicago struggled running the ball again with starting running back James Allen picking up only 24 yards on 10 carries. McNown was again the Bears' leading rusher with five carries for 48 yards. Saints running back Ricky Williams ran for 128 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries, and now has 472 yards rushing through five games, putting him on pace for 1,510 yards. |
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| Cardinals 29 (2-3), Browns 21 (2-4) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
8: Penalties committed by the Browns for 86 yards, compared to only three for 20 yards by the Cardinals. |
| Player of the Game |
| Michael Pittman, RB, Arizona: Replaced rookie Thomas Jones in the starting lineup and ran for 107 yards on 16 carries. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| Browns rookie running back Travis Prentice was amazing in his starting debut, rushing for 98 yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries. Cardinals quarterback Jake Plummer avoided his nemesis (the interception) in throwing for 171 yards and two touchdowns. Cardinals linebacker Ronald McKinnon finished with 17 total tackles, helping hold Cleveland to only 12 first downs. Browns second-year wide receiver Kevin Johnson continues to have a disappointing campaign, as he caught only one pass for 4 yards, giving him 18 catches for 222 yards and no touchdowns. |
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| Raiders 34 (4-1), 49ers 28 (2-4) OT |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
59: Combined first downs by the Raiders (31) and 49ers (28), who also combined for 943 yards of offense. |
| Player of the Game |
| Tim Brown, WR, Oakland: Caught seven passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning 31-yard grab in overtime. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| After watching one of the most entertaining games of the season, it kind of makes you wish that these two neighbors would face off more often. It usually is an entertaining game when the second-leading receiver (Brown in this case) has 172 yards -- Terrell Owens returned to the 49ers lineup with a vengeance, setting career highs with 12 catches for 176 yards and two touchdowns. Jeff Garcia leads the NFL with 15 touchdown passes after throwing four with no interceptions against Oakland. But keep in mind that Superman, er, rather, Kurt Warner was off this week. Rich Gannon continued to surprise with his scrambling ability, rushing 12 times for 85 yards and a touchdown, giving him 157 yards and four touchdowns rushing this season. The teams combined for 23 penalties for 198 yards, but only four turnovers and one sack in what was generally a well-played game. The Raiders travel to Arrowhead Stadium next Sunday for a key AFC West battle with the second-place Chiefs. |
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| Broncos 21 (3-3), Chargers 7 (0-6) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
3: Sacks by Broncos defensive tackle Trevor Pryce giving him 6 on the season. |
| Player of the Game |
| Brian Griese, QB, Denver: Completed 27-of-40 for 235 yards and three touchdowns. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| Griese's return to the lineup was just what the Broncos needed. Denver's starting quarterback wasn't spectacular, but avoided mistakes and ran the offense better than Gus Frerotte did in his absence. The Broncos' running game wasn't spectacular, but was enough to stop their two-game losing streak and get past the meek Chargers. Mike Anderson filled in admirably for the injured Terrell Davis, though his 52 yards rushing was well below his 107.2 average. Ed McCaffrey caught his 400th pass, and his two touchdowns moved into sixth on the Broncos' all-time list with 37. Denver controlled the ball for 34:26 and held San Diego to a 41.9 percent completion rate. The Broncos step back outside their division for games the next two weeks against 2-4 Cleveland in Denver next Sunday and at winless Cincinnati in Week 8. |
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| Giants 13 (4-2), Falcons 6 (2-4) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
13: Franchise-low rushing total for the Falcons, eclipsing their previous worst of 19 yards set 26 years ago against the Los Angeles Rams. |
| Player of the Game |
| Shaun Williams, SS, New York: Led the team with eight tackles in the Giants' amazing defensive performance. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| It wasn't pretty, but Giants games rarely are. Though they wouldn't win many beauty pageants, the Giants are winning games, and they are doing it with their usual mix of rushing and defense. New York held Jamal Anderson to 12 yards on 12 carries, with Tim Dwight running twice for 1 yard to account for Atlanta's only other rushing yard. The Falcons came in averaging only 75.8 yards on the ground -- and the Giants were fifth in the league allowing only 81.8 yards per game -- but few would've predicated that Dan Reeves' former team would shut his current team down so thoroughly. Danny Kanell completed only 15-of-36 passes for 166 yards and an interception after replacing injured Chris Chandler, but with no threat of a running game, the Giants could afford to give up harmless short patterns to the Falcons.
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| Panthers 26 (2-3), Seahawks 3 (2-4) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
16: Difference in first downs between the Seahawks (10) and the Panthers (26). |
| Player of the Game |
| Steve Beuerlein, QB, Carolina: Completed 27 of 39 for 332 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in first game under new offensive coordinator Richard Williamson. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| This game was ugly from the start and probably wasn't as close as the 23-point margin would indicate. The Panthers led 7-0 after the first quarter, 20-0 at halftime, then called off the dogs in the second half and settled for two Joe Nedney field goals to provide the 26-3 final margin. Carolina outgained Seattle 447-209 in total yards, 125-63 in rushing yards and 332-146 in passing yards. The Seahawks enjoyed a 129-57 advantage in return yards, only because they spent most of their afternoon running back kicks after the Panthers had scored. Seattle committed 12 penalties for 80 yards and were 0-for-11 on third downs. About the only thing they did right was hold onto the football, as Brock Huard avoided throwing any interceptions in his first start and Seattle fumbled once but recovered it. Huard completed 19 of 34 for 172 yards with no touchdowns. |
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| Ravens 15 (5-1), Jaguars 10 (2-4) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
12: Losses by the Jaguars in the previous three regular seasons. |
| Player of the Game |
| Ray Lewis, LB, Baltimore: Led the Ravens with 13 totals tackles and added a fumble recovery and 1/2 sack. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| Any mystique surrounding the Jaguars with opponents in the AFC Central is officially dead. Baltimore beat Jacksonville for the second time in five weeks, though this win looked very different than the first. In Week 2, the Ravens beat the Jaguars 39-36 in a shootout at PSINet Stadium, a game in which the teams combined for 752 yards. Sunday night in Jacksonville they combined for only 542 yards. Jacksonville fumbled eight times, losing three of them, and couldn't even execute the center snap between Jeff Smith and Mark Brunell on a consistent basis. The Ravens won despite gaining only 194 yards and getting 10 first downs. Matt Stover's five field goals bailed out Baltimore's anemic offense again, as he has hit on 18-of-20 (90 percent) of his field goals this season and 220-of-274 (80.3 percent) in his 10-year career. |
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| Vikings 30 (5-0), Buccaneers 23 (3-3) |
| Review |
Key Stat |
Game Summary and
Game Recap |
7: Fumbles lost by the Buccaneers this season, with six of them coming in their three losses. |
| Player of the Game |
| Daunte Culpepper, QB, Minnesota: Completed 15-of-19 passes for 231 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, and scrambled for 35 yards and one touchdown on seven carries. |
| CNNSI.com's Breakdown |
| Tampa Bay played well offensively, but fumbles proved costly for the third consecutive week. Culpepper and Randy Moss continue to look like they've played together for years, hooking up on another long scoring pass to give Minnesota the lead back in the fourth quarter. Moss finished with five catches for 118 yards and one touchdown, giving him 24 catches for 482 yards (20.1 yards per catch) and five touchdowns. Robert Smith continues to have a quietly impressive (and healthy) season, carrying 22 times for 81 yards, giving him 99 carries for 487 yards (4.9 yards per carry) and two touchdowns in five games. Keyshawn Johnson lost a crucial fumble on the first play from scrimmage, but finished with five catches for 71 yards. Despite his early-season struggles with the Bucs, Johnson's presence has opened up the offense a bit and allowed Jacquez Green to be freed up for a career-high 11 catches for 131 yards. |
