Sunday Thoughts: Week 5

I don't have anything to say about the week in general, so...let's just get to the notes!

-The Broncos/Cowboys game gets my vote for early Game of the Year. Who needs defense, anyway? The combined 99 points were a season high for a single game, and Peyton Manning again kicked butt, throwing for four scores and rushing for one, the first time that's happened in five years. Manning did throw his first pick, so if you're scoring at home, that's 20 touchdowns before his first interception. Romo also threw a fourth quarter interception that set up the game-winning Denver field goal. If you're scoring at home, that's 84,576 fans sighing and shaking their heads simultaneously.

-The Jacksonville Jaguars were actually competitive today! Shockingly enough, they scored first and were even leading 10-7 before finally succumbing to the Rams, 34-20. If you take away Blaine Gabbert's short pass that Justin Blackmon turned into a 67-yard touchdown, the former Mizzou standout (maybe? I don't remember him doing much in college, either) completed just eight of 18 passes, and even including Blackmon's scoring catch, Gabbert didn't reach 200 yards. Unsurprisingly, he was yanked due to ineffectiveness. For both Jacksonville's and my fantasy team's sake, let's hope Chad Henne is the starter for the rest of the year. 

-After Michael Vick left the game near the end of the first half, you'd think LeSean McCoy and Bryce Brown would hop on the expanded opportunity. Nope! The duo combined for -5 yards rushing going into the final drive (McCoy with -4 and Brown with -1). Then you remember that they were playing the Giants and you say "Oh, they could have literally ran backwards for 99 yards and thrown the ball straight up in the air, and they still would have somehow completed a pass for a touchdown." The Eagles won, 36-21.

-The Saints look really good. Pierre Thomas had a shocking nine receptions, while Jimmy Graham had a pedestrian 10 catches for 135 yards. The Bears once again could not get anything going on offense, even though Jay Cutler threw for over 350 yards and Alshon Jeffery caught 10 balls for 218 yards.

-Meanwhile, in games that did not warrant watching news, the Bengals bumbled their way to a 13-6 win over the Patriots. The game was a torrential downpour and it made throwing the ball (and watching the quarterbacks trying to throw said ball) dang near impossible. Pathetic.

-Our Worst Team of the Week wouldn't even go to the Jaguars, since, as we mentioned earlier, were at least somewhat competitive. No, this goes to the Carolina Panthers, who just narrowly squeaked out the award against the New York Football Giants. Both of these teams are abysmal and going nowhere fast, but the Panthers can't get a run game established, have a quarterback that apparently isn't good anymore, and have a defense that can only do so much when it has to be on the field 3/4 of the game. It's tough on those big D-linemen!

-Meanwhile, the Stupidest Play of the Week goes to my very own Bears' Lance Briggs. Facing a 4th and 2 in kind of no-man's-land, the Saints were very clearly just yelling random words to draw the Bears offsides. Well, it worked, and N'awlins could milk a lot more clock and essentially ice the game.

-Matt Schaub has thrown a pick-6 in four games in a row. Take a moment to process that. In all but ONE game, Matt Schaub threw a pass that a defensive player not only caught, but then proceeded to return for a touchdown. And in the one game he didn't, his opponent (Philip Rivers) did. Rivers doesn't play till very late tonight--well past my bedtime--so I don't know if the following stat will hold, but Rivers has only thrown two interceptions on the year, and they've both been returned for touchdowns.

-The Colts are playing very well right now, and gutted out a gritty win against the very talented Seattle Seahawks. I can't say I'm surprised, since the Colts are very solid at home and the Seahawks are spotty on the road, but impressive nonetheless. Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch each ran for 102 yards, which is nine more than the two Colts RBs (Trent Richardson and Donald Brown) combined.

-I just discovered NFL.com has a "RedZone" feature that showcases all of the touchdowns from any given week. Enjoy.