Former Kicker, Legendary Broadcaster Passes Away at 82

Earlier today the NFL world discovered that we have lost a legend. Former Detroit, Chicago and New York placekicker Pat Summerall passed away in Dallas, Texas at the age of 82. Summerall, born on May 10, 1930 in Lake City, Florida, was better known as the voice of the NFL for several decades.

After attending the University of Arkansas, Summerall was drafted by Detroit in the fourth round of the 1952 draft.

Following his 10 seasons in the league, Summerall retired and his legendary broadcasting career began with CBS Sports in 1962. He began his new career covering the New York Giants and Washington Redskins games for the Network in the first several years before being paired with Jack Buck (and later Ray Scott) as the network's lead national crew. So after spending years covering specific teams, Summerall began covering all the teams in 1968.

In 1974 Summerall made the switch from color commentary to doing just the play-by-play for games. He worked three Super Bowls alongside Philadelphia's legendary Tom Brookshier in the late '70s and early '80s. It wasn't until he teamed up with Hall of Fame head coach John Madden on CBS that Summerall gained national attention as a play-by-play broadcaster.

The Summerall-Madden partnership lasted over 20 years, and the two covered five Super Bowls together for CBS.

Similar to what Jim Nantz does today for CBS, Summerall dabbled in numerous additional sports for the network over the years. It wasn't just the NFL. Other sporting events include The Masters (Nantz is the voice of the event these days), the U.S. Open and the NBA Finals. He was a broadcaster for CBS until the early 1990s, before taking off for FOX Sports. Once again joining his old mate John Madden, the duo covered three more Super Bowls together for their new network.

He retired from the broadcasting industry during the 2002 season, right around the time John's contract had expired, abruptly ending one of the most well-known broadcasting duos in sports history. But Summerall's career didn't end there, as he was convinced to come out of retirement shortly after he announced he had finished.

Though he never teamed up with Madden again, Summerall went on to cover football games for FOX Sports and ESPN for a couple more seasons. His long list of accomplishments in his field includes being inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame in 1994, the American Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame in 1999 and now has a sports broadcasting award named after him.

In all, Summerall spent more than four decades on the air for numerous different major sports networks and has broadcast a record 16 Super Bowls combined for both CBS and FOX. Quite the accomplishment in his industry.

Rest in peace, Pat Summerall. 1930-2013.

Note: We do not own the above images. No copyright infringement intended.

Monday Night Football Live Blog: Jets Fighting for Playoff Hopes

Coverage of this past weekend's slate of Week 15 games will be coming your way tomorrow morning. For now, however, we will be taking this time to bring you live coverage of the Monday Night Football match-up between the 6-7 New York Jets and the 4-9 Tennessee Titans.

Not the most exciting match-up, we know. But we've got the time to do a live blog for the evening and since we haven't gotten the opportunity to do too many this season, why not take advantage?

Besides, this is Tennessee's chance to play spoilers and eliminate Mark Sanchez and the Jets from playoff contention. Plus this is the season's last Monday Night Football and we're only 8 days away from Christmas, so we're in an extra good mood.

Tennessee is clearly out of the postseason this season, with no possible mathematical way for them to make an appearance. New York, however, has a shot. A very slim shot, albeit, but it's still a shot. Here's their playoff scenario:

Must win final three games @ Tennessee, vs. San Diego, @ Buffalo

...AND...

Indianapolis must lose final 2 games

...OR...

Pittsburgh beats Cincinnati; Cleveland beat Pittsburgh

...OR...

Cincinnati beats Pittsburgh; Baltimore beats Cincinnati

Take a few moments to wrap your head around all of that. So not only do the Jets need to do something they haven't done since last November/December (win three consecutive games), but they also must rely on other teams to get into the postseason.

Titans in 2012

2-4 record at home

0-2 in December

2-1 vs. AFC East

Jake Locker: 1-2 record, 916 passing yards, 4 TD, 4 INT, 82.5 rating at home

Jets in 2012

3-3 record on road

2-0 in December

2-1 vs. AFC South

Mark Sanchez: 3-3 record, 1,185 passing yards, 4 TD, 4 INT, 74.0 rating on road

All-Out Blitz's pick: Jets win 24-10

In-Game Live Blog Updates

Last-minute injury report:

Jets--Dustin Keller (ankle), Stephen Hill (knee) are both out. Newly-signed wideout Braylon Edwards will be playing.
Titans--Damian Williams (hamstring), Colin McCarthy (concussion) and Scott Solomon (knee) are all out. Backup QB Rusty Smith will also be inactive tonight.

*The Jets are wearing helmet decals that say "S.H.E.S." in honor of the 20 children and 6 adults who were killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, CT last week. Also, just a few minutes ago there was a moment of silence at LP Field in honor of the victims as well.


First Quarter
*Kick-off officially at 8:41 pm eastern time, as Darrius Reynaud took the kick to the 22-yard line for Tennessee. The young Jake Locker will take his offense out on the field first.

8:45 pm: Jake Locker hits WR Nate Washington on a 30-yard pass on 3rd & 4. Just like that the Titans have set-up camp deep in New York territory on the team's opening drive.

8:49 pm: The promising drive stalls as New York stops the Titans' Chris Johnson for a loss of 10 on a 3rd down option play. Tennessee settles for a field goal attempt by Rob Bironas, which is blocked. New York will start its first offensive drive at their own 37.

Apparently Bironas had trouble finding his helmet before coming onto the field to attempt the first FG of the night.

8:51: Braylon Edwards will need to step up big for the Jets tonight, who will be without TE Dustin Keller and WR Stephen Hill.

8:53: Heading into the game RB Shonn Greene needed just 117 rushing yards to top 1,000 for the second consecutive season of his 4-year career. He could accomplish that feat tonight rather easily if the Jets get him the ball early and often.

8:54: Edwards makes his first catch as a Jet in 2012, a 14-yarder on a key 3rd down.

8:57: Tim Tebow makes his first appearance of the evening, running on a QB sneak up the middle to convert the Jets' second 3rd down of the opening drive. A pass interference call one play later puts the Jets inside the red zone.

9:00: Controversial touchdown pass from Sanchez to TE Jeff Cumberland. It was ruled a TD on the field, but after seeing the replay it appears to slip through his hands and hit the ground.

It will automatically be reviewed since this season all scoring plays and turnovers are automatically reviewed upstairs...ball has been ruled to have hit the ground after further review by referee Gerry Austin. That will bring up 4th down for NY.

9:03: Nick Folk's 22-yard field goal attempt is good. 3-0 Jets, 4:22 to play in the opening quarter.

9:11: Tennessee's Chris Johnson hasn't been the same since his 2,000 yard in 2009, but he still displays his explosiveness every once in a while. He hits holes at lightning speed but runs east-to-west far too often. If he was Barry Sanders, he could get away with lateral running a little easier, but he's not. Does he not understand that you can't bounce it to the outside every play?

At this point, Jake Locker has looked like a stronger runner than Johnson, who just took off down the field for a 15-yard gain and a TEN first down.

9:12: End of quarter 1. Still 3-0 Jets with the Titans facing a fourth down and short.


Second Quarter
9:18: The Jets need to find a way to make Shonn Greene a bigger part in the offense. A powerful back like Greene needs to be utilized as much as possible, especially if you have an unreliable quarterback under center. Greene has 25 yards on 6 carries thus far tonight.

9:22: Another punt coming for the Jets. The good news for Jets fans, however, is that at least Sanchez appears to be spreading the ball out and getting everyone involved. Five completions to five different players (Edwards, Greene, Cumberland, Bilal Powell and Konrad Reuland).

9:24: There's something we haven't seen in a while, but doesn't come as much of a surprise. Sure, I've been hard on Chris Johnson, but we all know he can break a long run at any moment. That's what he just did: 94 yard rushing touchdown for CJ. Longest run in franchise history for Tennessee. 7-3 Titans.

It was the sixth 80+ yard TD of Johnson's 5-year career with the Titans. Also the 48th touchdown of his career, rushing and receiving (including postseason).

Johnson has the names of all 20 of the victims of the Newtown, CT school shooting on his cleats tonight (photo shown below), and that TD was no doubt dedicated to those children and the families of the children.

9:30: Tim Tebow stays in the game for two consecutive plays, as he runs for a first down while running the triple option. Two tight ends were lined up in the backfield along with RB Joe McKnight. They're changing things up a bit on offense here.

9:35: This actually may be the longest I've seen Tebow in a game at one time this season. Four straight now as the Jets face a 3rd & 16 following a delay of game. He miraculously avoids a second straight sack and throws the ball away to bring up 4th down. I'm not really sure what Rex Ryan is doing here, to tell you the truth. Titans get the ball back with just over 6 minutes to play in the half.

Here's Locker's chance to start to break this one open. If he really wants to, anyways.

9:41: Tennessee's offensive line is really struggling tonight. New York doesn't even need to blitz, they are getting pressure on Locker with their front line and Johnson can't even get back to the line. If you take away NY's one mistake that led to the 94-yard TD, CJ has managed just 9 yards on 9 carries.

9:44: We've been waiting for this for a while now, appears to be a Sanchez interception (Jason McCourty). It will be reviewed to determine whether McCourty was in bounds, but if the play is upheld it'll be Mark's 14th interception of the season and Tennessee ball.

Call is confirmed upstairs, Titans ball. It appears as though the Jets are already throwing in the towel and we still have four minutes until halftime. Coming up with a defensive stop and going into the half with a 7-3 deficit would be a huge win for NY.

9:47: Locker is still running for his life and is forced to step out of bounds on third down. There's the stop that I just mentioned. 3 & out. This game is as ugly as I was expecting.

9:52: "4-9 football teams do 4-9 things" --Jon Gruden. Sounds about right.

2 minute warning in Tennessee.

9:57: Does anyone wanna win this one? A promising start to a late Tennessee drives stalls after another Locker sack and a near-interception. The Jets are trying to force things to happen and neither team can get any sort of rhythm. The Jets final drive of the half ends with a Sanchez sack. U-G-L-Y.

Halftime: Titans 7, Jets 3
Sanchez's first half rating: 16.7
One explosive offensive play: C. Johnson 94-yard TD
1 turnover (Sanchez INT)
4 total sacks, 7 combined punts
*Johnson's TD run is the only first half highlight worth mentioning


Third Quarter
*What's the over/under that the Jets break 200 total yards for the game (99 total yards in first half...81 of which came on the ground)? Our pre-game 24-10 prediction is looking pretty generous right now.

10:16: Rex Ryan was impressed by Johnson's run, apparently saying at halftime that he's "never seen anything like it before."

10:18: First offensive play of the second half is Braylon's 2nd catch of the game, moving the chains already. New York had 10 first half first downs.

10:20: Another Sanchez mistake, overthrowing Cumberland and straight into the hands of McCourty. It's McCourty's second INT of the night and 4th of the season. Titans take over at the NY 46 for their first offensive drive of half No. 2.

10:23: Locker loves the bootlegs to his right, he thrives off them as he just picked up TEN's 7th first down of the evening. It was Kenny Britt's first catch of the game, 41st of the season according to ESPN's Mike Tirico.

10:25: Penalties continue to destroy any hope the Titans generate, a holding call takes Tennessee out of field goal range and a failed 3rd down conversion will force another Brett Kern punt. The penalty was Tennessee's eighth of the game.

10:38: Tennessee takes over at their own 10 as they attempt to get a scoring drive going for the first time since early in the second quarter.

10:40: Another 3 & out. Kern will make his 6th punt of the night deep inside his own end zone. The punt goes out of bounds at their own 35, giving New York fantastic field position. If New York can't get anything out of this next drive, then all hope will officially go down the drain, despite the score still being just 7-3.

10:43: A 20-yard run by Joe McKnight puts the Jets at the TEN 15-yard line and pushes the Jets over the 100-yard mark on the ground. Total group effort: McKnight 35, Greene 35, Powell 20, Tebow 15, Sanchez 4. 109 total.

10:45: Tennessee brings the heat but Sanchez gets the ball out quickly to TE Cumberland for a TD. Linebacker Tim Shaw (McCarthy's replacement) has good coverage on the play but seems to lose track of where the ball is. The 17-yard touchdown through the air and the extra point by Folk gives NY a 10-7 lead with just over three minutes to play in the quarter.

Maybe the Jets do have some fight in them, as they were able to take advantage of the poor punt from Kern.

10:49: More pressure on Locker as he overthrows Nate Washington by a couple of feet on a deep pass down the right sideline. Can Jake get a little protection at all tonight?

It's a good thing he's still got that play-action bootleg to the right in his arsenal, as he hooks up with rookie Michael Preston for a first down on the next play.

10:50: Second red zone attempt of the game for the Titans. Last one came in the first quarter and ended with a blocked FG off the leg of Bironas.

10:54: Locker takes the ball into the end zone himself on a designed running play to his left, following his lead blockers the whole way. Locker was 3-for-4 on the drive before he capped it with a 13-yard TD run. A Bironas extra point gives Tennessee the lead back, 14-10, with under a minute to play in the third.

10:56: A short run on first down by Powell takes us to the end of the quarter. With 15 minutes to play, Tennessee leads the Jets 14-10. Rex Ryan better get his squad to rally together as they only have one quarter left to stay alive in the playoff hunt.


Fourth Quarter
*Tennessee leads nearly every offensive category through three quarters of play with the exception of total plays, first downs and giveaways.

11:03: New York has limited the penalties tonight, but there was a crucial one on that 3rd & 2 that eventually led to a punt after Akeem Ayers sacked Mark Sanchez (4th sack for Titans tonight). Titans offense back on the field at LP Field.

11:07: Neither team has managed to keep its quarterback upright on 3rd downs. Locker is dropped for the fourth time tonight as well, forcing another Kern punt and another fair catch from NY return man Jeremy Kerley. A holding call against the kicking team (Titans) adds 10 yards on to the end of the play, giving New York solid field position to start the next drive.

11:10: Two consecutive short passes that Sanchez has now missed, both check down passes. He's now 9/21 for just 93 yards.

Sanchez completes a pass for 8 yards on 3rd and 10. Another punt coming, but hey, at least Sanchez is now over the 100 passing yards mark for the night!! That's good news, right?? His rating has climbed to 36.7 for the game as well. Offense still not making any progress, however.

11:14: Tennessee's penalty count just went up to 12 for 86 yards after Deuce Lutui is called for holding. Basically tackled his man.

Cromartie barely misses an interception on the very next play. If "almost-interceptions" counted as interceptions, I think Locker would have about 3 so far tonight. Ouch.

11:19: Locker underthrows an open Lavelle Hawkins on 3rd and long. The two teams have combined for a 7-for-23 3rd down conversion rate tonight. New York takes back over at their own 23-yard line after Kern's eighth punt of the game. I'm feeling a long, 10-play scoring drive from Sanchez. We're overdue for one, wouldn't you say?

11:21: It had appeared as though Rex Ryan had come to his senses. Started this drive with a couple of Shonn Greene carries which resulted in a first down, but then a deep Sanchez pass intended for Edwards was picked off by Michael Griffin. Errant throw which was unnecessary. Tried to force it in, gave Griffin an easy INT.

Another holding penalty against Tennessee on Griffin's return negated the decent field position, but Tennessee holds possession with a four-point lead and 7 minutes to play, nevertheless.

11:24: Another designed run play for Locker comes up one yard short on 3rd down. Tennessee only managed to take off about a minute and a half on the game clock before the ball was given back to Sanchez and Co.

With 5:20 to play, this drive (starting at NY's own 8) may be New York's final chance to re-take the lead.

11:27: With Greene getting the ball on 3 of the first 4 plays this drive, I just thought I'd share with you the impact he's made on offense this season...In the 6 NY wins, Greene has been heavily involved. But in the team's 7 losses, Greene got 16 or fewer rushing attempts and just 1 total TD.

Take the ball out of Sanchez's hands and into Greene's for 25+ times a game, Rex. That's all I'm going to say. He's received 20 or more carries on just four occasions this season, all of which resulted in victories.

11:30: More Tennessee penalties have kept the NY drive alive as we reach the two-minute warning in Nashville. Will be interesting to see if Sanchez can close this one out and stay alive in the postseason hunt.

11:33: Uhm, oh my. What on earth was that? Inside Tennessee's 25-yard line and Sanchez throws another errant pass off his back foot, into triple coverage. Griffin makes his second pick of the game and gives the Titans the ball back inside their own 5 with 1:51 to play. Sanchez's 4th of the game and 17th INT on the year.

Awful.

11:35: Tennessee plays it safe and gives it to Johnson three straight times. The result? Four total yards and a Kern punt with :53 to play. New York will get the ball back one more time with zero timeouts.

11:37: Wacky ending to this one. For the second time this game Kern kicks one off the side of his foot and the Jets will get the ball at the TEN 25.

11:38: First play for New York's offense and Sanchez FUMBLES the snap out of the gun and gives the ball up for the 5th time this game. With no TOs left, Locker can kneel the ball and run out the final 39 seconds of play.

Unbelievable finish. Titans improve to 5-9 while the Jets fall to 6-8 and are eliminated from the postseason for the second consecutive season after two straight AFC Championship appearances.

FINAL: Titans 14, Jets 10

More recap and reaction from tonight's game, as well as the rest of Week 15, will come tomorrow morning/afternoon. Thanks for following along tonight!

Note: We do not own the above images. No copyright infringement intended.

NFL Statement Regarding the Controversial End of Monday Night's Game

It's all over the news, and not just ESPN and NFL Network. The National Football League and its replacement officials have hit rock bottom after the to last night's Packers vs. Seahawks primetime game.

Trailing 12-7, Seattle's rookie quarterback Russell Wilson threw up a desperation hail mary as time expired, which appeared to be intercepted by Green Bay's safety M.D. Jennings. The back judge ran over and signaled timeout, which would mean he's signaling a GB interception and touchback. However, the side judge signaled for a touchdown.

There was no conference between officials and it was ruled a Seattle touchdown, though there was no official call coming from the referee himself. After the call, Green Bay ran off the field in disgust after seeing the replay reveal that Jennings did, in fact, have the ball cradled against his body while Seattle's Golden Tate merely had two hands barely on the football.

The play was reviewed but referee Wayne Elliot apparently didn't find that anything was indisputable and the play stood as called. It took about 10 minutes for the Packers to get 11 guys back out of the locker room and onto the field to attempt the extra point.

If you were to ask my opinion on the ending, I must say that this was the most embarrassing ending to any NFL game I have ever seen. It felt as though you were watching a high school game. And the backlashing from Packer players, and other NFL players in general, on Twitter was severe last night.

As expected, Aaron Rodgers and head coach Mike McCarthy weren't too happy during their post-game press conferences. But I must give credit to Greg Jennings and a couple of other Packer players who were very classy following the defeat and didn't blame officials for the loss. That had to have been very tough after watching that unfold from the sidelines.

Here's the official statement the League came out with today, as they stated that the Seattle win will not be overturned after investigating further (they did admit that the officials missed a PI call on Tate that would have ended the game though):

In Monday's game between the Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks, Seattle faced a 4th-and-10 from the Green Bay 24 with eight seconds remaining in the game. 

Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson threw a pass into the end zone. Several players, including Seattle wide receiver Golden Tate and Green Bay safety M.D. Jennings, jumped into the air in an attempt to catch the ball. 

While the ball is in the air, Tate can be seen shoving Green Bay cornerback Sam Shields to the ground. This should have been a penalty for offensive pass interference, which would have ended the game. It was not called and is not reviewable in instant replay. 

When the players hit the ground in the end zone, the officials determined that both Tate and Jennings had possession of the ball. Under the rule for simultaneous catch, the ball belongs to Tate, the offensive player. The result of the play was a touchdown. 

Replay Official Howard Slavin stopped the game for an instant replay review. The aspects of the play that were reviewable included if the ball hit the ground and who had possession of the ball. In the end zone, a ruling of a simultaneous catch is reviewable. That is not the case in the field of play, only in the end zone. 

Referee Wayne Elliott determined that no indisputable visual evidence existed to overturn the call on the field, and as a result, the on-field ruling of touchdown stood. The NFL Officiating Department reviewed the video today and supports the decision not to overturn the on-field ruling following the instant replay review. 

The result of the game is final. 

Applicable rules to the play are as follows: 

A player (or players) jumping in the air has not legally gained possession of the ball until he satisfies the elements of a catch listed here. 

Rule 8, Section 1, Article 3 of the NFL Rule Book defines a catch: 
A forward pass is complete (by the offense) or intercepted (by the defense) if a player, who is inbounds: 

(a) secures control of the ball in his hands or arms prior to the ball touching the ground; and 

(b) touches the ground inbounds with both feet or with any part of his body other than his hands; and 

(c) maintains control of the ball long enough, after (a) and (b) have been fulfilled, to enable him to perform any act common to the game (i.e., maintaining control long enough to pitch it, pass it, advance with it, or avoid or ward off an opponent, etc.). 

When a player (or players) is going to the ground in the attempt to catch a pass, Rule 8, Section 1, Article 3, Item 1 states: 

Player Going to the Ground. If a player goes to the ground in the act of catching a pass (with or without contact by an opponent), he must maintain control of the ball throughout the process of contacting the ground, whether in the field of play or the end zone. If he loses control of the ball, and the ball touches the ground before he regains control, the pass is incomplete. If he regains control prior to the ball touching the ground, the pass is complete. 

Rule 8, Section 1, Article 3, Item 5 states: 

Simultaneous Catch. If a pass is caught simultaneously by two eligible opponents, and both players retain it, the ball belongs to the passers. It is not a simultaneous catch if a player gains control first and an opponent subsequently gains joint control. If the ball is muffed after simultaneous touching by two such players, all the players of the passing team become eligible to catch the loose ball.

So the Seattle (2-1) victory will stand and the Packers will remain 1-2. The internet, mostly social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, have taken the replacement officials' mistakes pretty hard. Here are a couple of things I have come across so far:

 And post-game press conferences following last night's game:

Players have been all over Twitter with this one. Do you think commish Goodell will realize how bad it has gotten and do everything he can to get the real guys back out there? Personally I don't think we're even close to the end, which is really scary. You know it's bad when bandwagon and fair weather fans even realize it's getting ugly out there.

Note: I do not own the above images or videos. No copyright infringement intended.

Week 3 in Perspective: Plenty of Sunday Action Despite Threats to Replacement Officials

The replacement officials have continued to struggle to maintain a reasonable game pace and avoid making critical mistakes. Yesterday's slate of games may have surpassed Week 2 in terms of butchered or missed calls.

Despite being warned by the National Football League prior to Sunday about harassing or "bullying" the officials, players and coaches all over have repeatedly made verbal threats. And in Bill Belichick's case following Sunday night's 31-30 loss to Baltimore, even made contact with one official.

Numerous calls involving player safety were missed, costing Matt Schaub a piece of his ear and sending Darrius Heyward-Bey to the hospital. Jim Harbaugh's 49ers were awarded extra challenges while Mike Shanahan's Redskins were unfairly penalized an extra five yards.

If this isn't enough proof that the regular NFL officials are well-qualified for the job and have done a spectacular job over the years, then I don't know what more to say. It takes a certain set of skills to officiate an NFL game and, clearly, you cannot just replace these guys with officials from the CFL, AFL and Lingerie Football League.

I understand the officials want more money, which the league does not agree with. But at this point, I don't think it matters how much you pay these guys, just get them back on the field as soon as possible. Unfortunately for coaches, players and fans, the league has shown that they are not in any hurry to get them back out there. Commissioner Roger Goodell knows that people will still be watching, but if the issue isn't fixed in the next couple of weeks he could start to see viewership drop. And drop fast.

Rant over.

Besides the blown calls and illegal hits from yesterday, there really was some good football played around the league. I believe that Week 3's action surpassed the previous two weeks of play, by far. Some players have continued to stay cold and disappoint while others have broken out from a slow start and turned heads.

Three Early Games Decided in Overtime

Three 1:00 p.m. (eastern time) games were not decided until the fifth quarter of play, in a (partial) sudden death format. The Kansas City Chiefs captured its first win of the season by upsetting the now 0-3 New Orleans Saints in OT, led by the speedy Jamaal Charles and his 233 rushing yards. Charles missed basically all of last season after injuring his ACL in a Week 2 match-up with Detroit. Charles showed he's back to full health by carrying a full load of 33 rushing attempts and adding a 91-yard rushing TD in the third quarter. The game was won by the foot of Ryan Succop, hitting a game-winning field goal from 31 yards late in OT. Chiefs win 27-24.

The Lions and Titans combined for 85 points and just over 1,000 total yards in their match-up in Tennessee. Despite running for just 59 yards as a team, the Titans' pulled out its first victory of the season by a score of 44-41 after Rob Bironas kicked the game-winner from 26 yards out in overtime. Sophomore quarterback Jake Locker, making his third career start as Tennessee's QB, had a career day throwing for 378 yards and 2 TDs with no picks. For Detroit, Matthew Stafford sustained an injury and was forced to leave the game. What did backup Shaun Hill, hailing from the University of Maryland, do in his place? Oh, he only completed 10 of his 13 passes for 172 yards and 2 TD passes with :18 to play in regulation. It's a shame Detroit lost after Hill's effort.

One of the most poorly played games of the day was a New York Jets/Miami Dolphins match-up in South Florida. The two teams combined for four turnovers and 20 penalties and Miami's Dan Carpenter missed two field goals, one being the potential game-winner in overtime. The game ended with Nick Folk kicking it in from 33 yards out with just over six minutes to play in the extra quarter. First-year Miami head coach Joe Philbin, however, shot himself in the toe by trying to ice Folk. Folk had his first attempt blocked by Miami, but Philbin had called the timeout before the ball was snapped, therefore giving Folk a second try. When you're given a second try, you can't miss. And Folk didn't, giving New York its second win of the season and dropping Miami to 1-2.

Dalton, Bengals knock off RGIII's Skins

Yes, I know, there was controversy towards the end of Cincinnati's 38-31 victory over Robert Griffin III and the 1-2 Skins, like I stated above. But that doesn't take away from one of the best games of Dalton's young career. His 328 yards and 3 passing touchdowns marks just the third time he's accomplished a 300-yard game in his 20 starts (regular and postseason). It was also the first time he's had back-to-back 300+ yard, 3 TD games. He was near flawless in a match-up with the Brian Orakpo and Ryan Kerrigan-less Skins defense. His favorite target, sophomore wideout A.J. Green had a big day as well (9 rec., 183 yards, 1 TD), sending a message to the other wideouts in the league. Green is here to stay. And apparently so is Dalton.

Bears' Defense Assists Cutler in 23-6 Victory

Sure, it would appear as though Jay Cutler redeemed himself after a relatively embarrassing performance against Green Bay last week. The reason for Chicago's victory, improving to 2-1 in the process, is pretty much because of a defense that forced two Sam Bradford interceptions and limited St. Louis' offense to 160 total yards and zero red zone trips. Bradford was unable to get anything going all game long against this Chicago defense, and Cutler's stat-line of 17/31, 183 yards, 1 INT isn't going to win over any of his fantasy owners. But it was enough to get the job done. That's all we can ask, right? No 7-sack game this week.

Spiller Goes Down, Choice Steps up in Buffalo Victory

C.J. Spiller had won over fantasy owners in the first two weeks of the season, filling the void for the injured Fred Jackson who was said to miss at least the first month of play this season. Well, another injury to a Buffalo running back occurred in yesterday's game with the Browns, as Spiller left the game with a left shoulder injury. At the time of the injury he only had four carries for 16 yards. Luckily another running back stepped right in as Tashard Choice ran for 91 yards on his 20 carries to help Ryan Fitzpatrick to a 24-14 victory over the Browns. Buffalo is now 2-1, but injuries continue to cloud up the backfield situation heading into next week's game with New England.

Romo Prevails vs. Bucs Despite Lack of Offensive Production

Tony Romo's Dallas Cowboys improved to 2-1, tying the Giants and Eagles for the NFC East lead, defeating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 16-10. But it wasn't pretty, on both sides of the field. Josh Freeman was limited 110 passing yards (10/28, 1 TD, 1 INT) and had a run game that managed just 3.0 yards per carry. Romo led Dallas on just one touchdown drive, capped by a DeMarco Murray 11-yard TD run in the first quarter. Other than that, both teams combined for five turnovers and six sacks. It didn't really appear to be spectacular defense, just poorly executed offensive drives. Both teams also finished for a combined 2-for-7 in the red zone. Neither lit up the scoreboard, or stat sheet in this match-up. Not sure which Cowboys team to expect this season, to tell you the truth.

Jones-Drew Leads Jags to First Victory

Ah, yes. Here's what we've all been waiting for. A big game from Maurice Jones-Drew. MJD held out of camp and preseason and clearly wasn't fully prepared for the first few weeks of the regular season, combining for 137 yards and 0 TDs in his first two games. But yesterday he broke out for 177 yards and a touchdown in Jacksonville's 22-17 victory over Andrew Luck's Colts. Luck was decent, throwing for 313 yards and a pair of TDs, but Blaine Gabbert's 80-yard bomb to Cecil Shorts with less than a minute to play gave Jacksonville the victory.

Vikings, led by Ponder, Stun 49ers

More controversy towards the end of this game was the main things that caught everyone's attention, but luckily Minnesota prevailed in the end despite coach Jim Harbaugh's two extra challenges that were basically conned from the referee. Sophomore quarterback Christian Ponder, much like fellow second year-men Locker and Dalton, looked very impressive throughout. Out-passing counterpart Alex Smith, Ponder got the job done with both his arm (2 TD passes to TE Kyle Rudolph) and his legs (23-yard TD run in 2nd qtr). Minnesota's defense stepped up as well, sacking Smith three times and forcing three more turnovers in the 24-13 victory. The controversy made no difference in the outcome of the game, luckily.

Big Ben Plays Near-Perfect Football, Stunned by Last-Second Janikowski GWer

Ben Roethlisberger had a career day in a 34-31 loss to the Oakland Raiders. Due to a lack of a running game (54 yards on 20 carries, 0 TD), Roethlisberger was forced to pass the ball 49 times, which is tied for the third-most of his nine-year career. Ben completed 36 of those passes for 384 yards and 4 TDs, with no interceptions. Oakland's Darren McFadden, finishing with 113 yards and a TD, ran for a 64-yard touchdown early in the game to knot the score at 7 apiece. But Oakland had never led until they tied the game at 34 following an Antonio Brown fumble and then hit the 43-yard game-winning field goal as time expired. Sebastian Janikowski used his leg to score the final six points of the game as the Raiders completed the comeback.

Cardinals, Kolb Improve to 3-0 by Shutting Down Vick's Eagles

The Eagles didn't have a shot from the very beginning of the game. Head coach Andy Reid even admitted he did a terrible job at preparing his team for the game. Arizona, one of the league's only undefeated teams left, sacked Vick five times throughout the four quarters and LeSean McCoy only touched the ball 16 times (13 rushes, 3 catches). Vick's two fumbles proved costly, one of which was returned 93 yards for an Arizona touchdown with six seconds to play in the first half. Kevin Kolb, of all guys, outplayed his former teammate Michael Vick as Kolb and wideout Larry Fitzgerald torched Philly's secondary all game. I almost want to say that Philadelphia is lucky the final score was only 27-6.

Atlanta Stays Winless After 27-3 Victory

San Diego was at home, and had running back Ryan Mathews (broke collarbone in preseason) back in the lineup, yet Matt Ryan's 3-0 Falcons were far too much for Philip Rivers and the Charger offense. Ryan threw for three more TDs, giving him a league-leading 8 for the season, spreading the ball out to eight different receivers in Atlanta's high-powered first half. Atlanta, in addition to Arizona and Houston, is one of three teams left that have yet to lose this season. With the way this passing offense has been playing, I think they could end up being the last to lose a game, too.

Peyton, Broncos Fall just Short of Comeback for Second Straight game

Peyton Manning's Broncos got off to another slow start against the 3-0 Texans, down 21-5 at one point during the second quarter. But two 4th quarter passing TDs to Brandon Stokley and Joel Dressen put Denver back in the game late, though the comeback attempt eventually failed. Peyton is not looking his regular form as a lot of his passes appear to be dead ducks, or just very loose spirals. It's disappointing not seeing his normal tight spirals thrown into very small windows, but we all know it'll take him some time to get back to full health. He'll be just fine.

Ravens Win Rematch in Controversy-filled SNF match-up

There's no doubt there were a lot of questionable calls, and a couple of critical no-calls as well in this game. In total, 24 penalties were called, adding up to 218 penalty yards (135 of them went against Baltimore). It was a long, yet still entertaining, game that featured two 300-yard passers in Tom Brady and Joe Flacco. Less than 24 hours after his younger brother was killed in a motorcycle accident, Baltimore receiver Torrey Smith had a career game with six catches for 127 yards and 2 TDs. A very inspiring performance indeed, and it was capped off when Baltimore placekicker Justin Tucker hit a walk-off 27-yard field goal as time expired, to give Baltimore a 31-30 redemption victory. Once again, there was some question as to whether or not the FG was good, but it appeared to sail just over top of the right upright, meaning it was, in fact, three points and a win for the 2-1 Ravens.

Key Injuries:

Matthew Stafford, Detroit QB--hamstring. Status uncertain.

C.J. Spiller, Buffalo RB--shoulder. Will have MRI, likely to miss Week 4.

Reggie Bush, Miami RB--knee. MRI revealed no structural damage

Austin Collie, Indianapolis WR--ruptured patella tendon. Out for season.

Darrius Heyward-Bey, Oakland WR--concussion and neck strain. Released from hospital on Monday.

Adrian Clayborn, Tampa Bay DE--torn knee ligament. Out for rest of season.

Darrelle Revis, New York Jets CB--torn ACL, out for season

Monday Night Preview:

Packers at Seahawks

Seattle's rookie signal caller Russell Wilson is coming off his most impressive performance last week, a 27-7 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. With Marshawn Lynch taking the pressure off Wilson with his 122 yards and 1 TD, Seattle's offense scored 17 unanswered points to put the game out of the hands of the Cowboys.

In tonight's match-up, however, Seattle will need to give Lynch at least 30 carries. Against a team of Green Bay's caliber, Pete Carroll will need to establish the run early and keep with it. This will be Wilson's toughest match-up yet and will need to be comfortable. Normally I would say you'd need to attack, but in Seattle's case a conservative game plan is their best bet to beat the Packers.

After missing last week's game with a groin injury, Greg Jennings told ESPN's Lisa Salters that he will be playing tonight and he has been listed as active by the team.

My Prediction: Packers 35, Seahawks 14

Note: I do not own the above images. No copyright infringement intended.

Monday Night Preview: Two Division Rivalries Set for ESPN Doubleheader

As if yesterday's slate of action couldn't get any better. Tonight, ESPN will continue its relatively new tradition of airing a double-header on the first Monday night of the season. The best part about that is it will include two division rivalries.

The first game, set to kick-off at 7 p.m. eastern time, will be between the Cincinnati Bengals and my AFC representative in SB XLVII––the Baltimore Ravens. Now, it isn't the fiercest rivalry in the AFC North, that obviously belongs to BAL/PIT, but it still always makes for a great matchup.

Second-year quarterback Andy Dalton will lead his Bengals offense, complete with new starting running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis, into Baltimore to face Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. One of the top defenses in the game, it will be a tough matchup for the Bengals, who ranked 18th in overall offense just last season.

Some "experts" may have Cincinnati in the playoffs this season as a wild card team, but I kind of felt this team was a bit overrated last season. At 9-7 last year, there's no way they'll manage to get in the playoffs this season if they repeat that performance. Of course I'm only previewing tonight's game, not how the two seasons will go for these two teams (that's already been done).

This will be Joe Flacco's first shot at proving he can lead this team to the big one, and I think he'll come through against Cincinnati's defense. Baltimore wins this one tonight, 28-17.

As for the night cap of the doubleheader, set to kick-off at approximately 10:15 p.m. eastern time, is between the Chargers (8-8 last season, just missing the playoffs) and the Raiders (also 8-8 last season). Philip Rivers is another signal caller who is trying to prove he can win the big games when it matters as he leads his Charger offense into Oakland's black hole for primetime.

With San Diego's unproven starting running back Ryan Mathews (broken collarbone) rule out for tonight's game, it will be the veteran Ronnie Brown, a former Dolphin, who will get the start.

I don't see the running game for San Diego having a huge effect on the outcome, but I believe Rivers and his arm will be enough to trump Oakland's Carson Palmer on his own turf. San Diego wins 21-10.

Note: I do not own the above images. No copyright infringement intended.

Sunday Recap: RGIII Leads Long List of Impressive Performances

When the Washington Redskins gave up three draft picks (first rounders in 2013 and 2014 and second rounder in 2012) just to move up four slots and select Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III with the No. 2 overall pick, I was very skeptic.

Throughout the offseason, in fact, I have admittedly been skeptic of this move by the Redskins front office. There's no doubt Griffin is a great quarterback who will be a solid professional, and was the second-best QB in the 2012 draft class. I just didn't see how giving up three high draft picks would allow the Skins offense to succeed immediately.

Would they be able to build a potent offense around him without those two first round picks in 2013 and 2014? That was my biggest question.

But after watching Griffin tear New Orleans' defense a new one (albeit without defensive captain Jonathan Vilma) yesterday afternoon, throwing for 320 yards and two TDs with guys such as Pierre Garcon, Aldrick Robinson and rookie running back Alfred Morris as the offense around him, RGIII has me second guessing myself.

No one is more excited than Washington fans, who have struggled at the quarterback position for years, maybe even a couple of decades. The Skins have not had a capable quarterback since at least Mark Rypien and Doug Williams in the late '80s and early '90s. It's been long overdue for the people in D.C., and maybe. Just maybe. Griffin and Mike Shanahan's Redskin offense can defy my criticism and compete in the East this season. Although, it's just one game, and I will continue to stand by my statement (that Washington will sit in last place by season's end) until RGIII further proves himself.

Griffin trumped the remaining rookie quarterbacks yesterday, by far. Andrew Luck, who's supposed to be the most pro-ready, quarterbacked the Colts to two scoring drives but threw three picks in a 41-21 loss to Chicago's Jay Cutler. Luck did manage to top 300 yards and put the ball into the end zone (four-yard TD pass to Donnie Avery in the fourth), but Luck only managed to complete 23 of his 45 pass attempts and never really demonstrated poise in the pocket and a strong throwing arm.

Chicago's stout defense ate him up for three sacks and a lost fumble, in addition to those three picks. For Luck, it was certainly a forgettable game, as it was for the other three rookie signal callers: Ryan Tannehill, Brandon Weeden and Russell Wilson.

Tannehill, the No. 8 overall pick of the Dolphins, was stuck with an unfortunate situation much like Luck, facing a very tenacious Houston defense. Tannehill really didn't stand a chance, being sacked three times and intercepted three additional times in a 30-10 defeat on the road.

Weeden, Cleveland's 28-year old No. 22 overall pick, had a showdown with the Philadelphia Eagles and, despite a porous performance under center (12/35, 118 yards, 4 INTs) fell just short of upsetting Michael Vick's Eagles. Vick threw four interceptions himself, so of course Weeden got a little help from the defense in this one, but even if the Browns had pulled off a victory, Weeden's four interception day would still not be anything to celebrate.

The fifth and final rookie quarterback to suit up for his respective team this weekend was Seattle's Russell Wilson, who was taking on the Cardinals. Arizona, in a 20-16 victory, had a little quarterback trouble of their own with starter John Skelton coming down with what has been announced a "low ankle sprain" (timetable for return is unknown). Kolb was forced to take over as he went 6/8 for 66 yards and a TD.

Wilson was a little less impressive than Kolb in his pro debut for Seattle, looking uncomfortable in the pocket and erratic with some of his passes. He finished the day by completing just 18 of his 34 pass attempts with one touchdown and an interception. The numbers proved to look better than Weeden's four interceptions, but he still certainly has some things he can improve on heading into his Week 2 matchup with Denver's defense.

Lets just get right down to it, the rookie quarterbacks (aside from Griffin, who didn't show much weakness against New Orleans), have a little bit of work to do before this weekend.

As for the rest of the NFL, there are teams that came right out of the tunnel and proved to all of us critics that the preseason doesn't mean squat. Just look at New York, for instance. The Jets scored just one touchdown in all four of its preseason match-ups. What did they do yesterday afternoon against Buffalo? Oh, no big deal, Mark Sanchez just rocked Buffalo's secondary for 266 yards and three TDs in a 48-28 beatdown.

It was a total team effort, too, as Shonn Greene ran for 94 yards and a TD while the defense picked Ryan Fitzpatrick off three times––Antonio Cromartie returned one of those 40 yards for a touchdown.

Jacksonville showed us that they aren't just going to lay down for any teams. They may not have come out winners, but second-year quarterback Blaine Gabbert put up a career-high 260 yards and 2 TDs, taking the Vikings to overtime before falling 26-23 on a Blair Walsh 38-yard field goal.

Other things that caught my attention on Sunday:

*Patriots revamped defense

I mentioned this in my season preview, you know the fact that Bill Belichick went out and upgraded on defense by selecting Chandler Jones and Dont'a Hightower in the first round. Well, it's already starting to pay off. Hightower recorded five tackles, one of which went for a loss and recovered a fumble for a six-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Who forced the fumble? Jones did, of course. Patriots defeated Tennessee on the road 34-13.

*Manning is back in the record books

Not only did future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning make an impressive Bronco debut in his return to action, defeating the Steelers 31-19 by throwing for 253 yards and 2 TDs. But he also happened to be just the third quarterback in NFL history to throw for 400 touchdowns, joining the greats Brett Favre (508) and Dan Marino (420). That's quite a club, I'd say.

*Ryan, Falcons plan on sticking around

The South has been all about Drew Brees' Saints and Cam Newton's rookie performance last season. People seem to be forgetting about the Falcons. Well, in yesterday's 40-point performance against Kansas City, Ryan has grabbed the spotlight once again, throwing for 299 yards and 3 TDs. Clearly he doesn't want us to forget about good old Atlanta.

*Niners trump Rodgers, Packers

In what I thought to be the game of the week, the Alex Smith-led 49ers managed to hand Green Bay its first loss of the season, 30-22. Just remember that the Pack lost one game all of last season. Once again, Smith went mistake-less (threw just five interceptions all of last season) and the Niner defense, looking to prove last season wasn't just a fluke, limited the Packers to just 45 yards on the ground.

*Arizona's QB carousel continues

It was bad enough that the overpaid Kevin Kolb struggled throughout the preseason and lost his starting role to John Skelton. But now, Skelton has suffered a low ankle sprain and may miss a game or two. Can Arizona and All Pro wideout Larry Fitzgerald ever catch a break on offense? The good news: they defeated Seattle anyways.

*Panthers struggle on the ground; fall to Tampa

It sure was an ugly one in Tampa Bay yesterday. Not only did Cam Newton throw two interceptions, but Carolina just couldn't get anything going on the ground. With Jonathan Stewart out, DeAngelo Williams got the start but carried the ball just six times for -1 yards. In total, Carolina ran the ball 13 times for 10 yards. TEN. That is not a typo. Tampa dominated the time of possession, holding the ball for nearly 38 of the 60 minutes of play, yet they still only managed a 16-10 victory. This game should have been a blowout according to the numbers Carolina put up. Ugly game for both squads.

- - - - -

We still have two more games this evening, a double-header on ESPN. First game will be between AFC North rivals Baltimore and Cincinnati, with the winner being the downright leader of the division (Browns and Steelers both lost). The second game is between AFC West rivals San Diego and Oakland.

Hopefully I'll be able to get a quick MNF preview up in a few minutes. Stay tuned!

Note: I do not own the above images. No copyright infringement intended.

Vick Picks Apart Skins on National Television; Climbs up Rankings in Process

If there was any doubt in Philly that Michael Vick could lead this Eagles offense, it has surely been erased over the past two weekends.

First, Vick takes hold of the reins as Philadelphia defeats Indianapolis for the first time since Peyton Manning joined the franchise in 1998. Next, Vick picked apart Washington's defense for a franchise-record 59 points at Fedex Field last night.

Vick did it all. He did what he does best--ran for 80 yards and two touchdowns--and he completed 20 of his 28 pass attempts for 333 yards and four touchdowns. He also managed to protect the ball, which was very key in Philadelphia's record-breaking 42 point first half. The 31-point victory (59-28) was Philly's fourth road victory, making them one of the most successful road warriors so far this season at 4-1, along with the 5-0 Jets and 4-1 Steelers.

This game alone, despite the 'Skins 4-5 record, should place the Eagles inside the top five in this week's power rankings, especially with the Giants, Ravens, Steelers and Titans all losing their respective match ups.

Vick wasn't the only player to have a great game last night. Vick's top three receiving threats--DeSean Jackson (2 rec., 98 yards, 1 TD), Jeremy Maclin (4 rec., 79 yards, 1 TD) and Jason Avant (5 rec., 76 yards, 1 TD)--all had spectacular games, and Philly's run game accumulated 260 yards on the ground.

On defense, the Eagles picked off former teammate Donovan McNabb, fresh off his new contract extension, three times. One of those three picks was turned into a pick6 after the interceptor, defensive back Dimitri Patterson, returned the ball 40 yards for the eighth and final touchdown of the night.

Photo Credit

Michael Vick: AP Photo/Gail Burton

Why Terrell Owens is slowly, but surely, stealing Ochocinco's spotlight

Yes, his convincing efforts in tonight's six-point loss to the 6-2 Steelers turned out to be all for nothing, but Terrell Owens' 10 receptions for 141 yards and two touchdowns has surely caught the attention of the general public.

Not only did Owens' first touchdown of the night put the Bengals back in the game, but it also just so happened to be his 150th career touchdown reception, making him just the third player to reach such a milestone (joining the likes of Jerry Rice and Randy Moss).

His second of two touchdowns, again, gave the Bengals offense some confidence and allowed them to make a great attempt at a comeback. But, by the fourth quarter there was some tension not only on the sidelines, but on the field between two certain players.

Those two players, not surprisingly (to me anyways), happened to be a quarterback and a wide receiver. A frustrated Chad Ochocinco, who caught just one pass for 15 yards all game, lashed out against Palmer--in the middle of the field in between plays, of all places! This was quite an embarrassment for Cincinnati fans, if you ask me. Palmer, who targeted Chad seven times throughout the game, had overthrown him, which did not make Ocho a happy camper.

To make matters worse, Ocho's good buddy, the guy Chad lobbied to bring in to Cincinnati, stole the spotlight as he was targeted an astonishing 14 times during the game.

So, while Chad attracts all the defenders and negative attention, Terrell gets all the touches and touchdowns. Hmmm, for some reason this looks a bit familiar. I knew this wouldn't last forever. It seems as though the Palmer/Ochocinco/T.O. trio could have it's days numbered already.

If there's one thing fans have picked up on by now, it's that Chad doesn't let go of things very often, so if Cincinnati continues to struggle, I don't expect this problem to go away anytime soon. Get ready for more drama in Cincinnati, people!

Photo Credit

Owens/Ocho: AP Photo/David Kohl

MNF Live Blog/Game Notes: Pittsburgh Travels to Cincinnati

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals face off in this fierce AFC North division battle. The 5-2 Steelers are looking to join the 6-2 Baltimore Ravens atop the division while Carson Palmer and his 2-5 Bengals are just trying to stay in the playoff hunt.

*Cincinnati fumbles the opening kickoff, forced by rookie wideout Emmanuel Sanders, and the Steelers take advantage of the short field as Rashard Mendenhall takes it in from one yard out.

*Less than ten minutes later veteran kicker Jeff Reed extends the early lead to 10 with a 25-yard field goal.

*Fast fact: Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is 11-2 in his career in Ohio (6-1, 5-1 @ Browns/Bengals).

*Update after opening quarter: Cincinnati has run the ball with Benson nine times already (41 yards), with only four pass attempts from Carson Palmer. Good to see the Bengals are not panicking despite the slow start.

*Special team miscues are the only difference in this game so far, but they may have made up for those as they just downed a punt inside Pittsburgh's two-yard line.

*Isaac Redman, Pittsburgh's short yardage back, starts this drive off with a run up the middle. Interesting stat from coach Jon Gruden: Cincinnati has allowed the most scoring drives of 80-plus yards this season.

*Something to watch out for throughout the remainder of the game is Terrell Owens, who was rolled up on while blocking during Cincinnati's last offensive drive. He looks to be a little shaken but stayed in the game. Not too serious, but no reason why you shouldn't keep an eye out.

*Despite his costly fumble last Sunday night against the Saints, tight end Heath Miller has been very reliable throughout his career and may be one of Roethlisberger's most underrated targets coming off the line.

*Another injury to Pittsburgh's offensive line, it's rookie center Maurkice Pouncey this time as we take another injury timeout. Big Ben has already had to shake off quite a few defenders to avoid any and all sack opportunities for Cincy's defense. This could prove costly for the Steelers' offensive attack.

*Any more injuries to the Steelers' line and they may have to use a backup defensive lineman as Big Ben's center.

*Hines Ward's streak of games with a reception has been extended to 186, just four behind Marvin Harrison's 190, and almost a hundred behind Jerry Rice's 274.

*Costly fumble for the Steelers, giving Cincinnati it's first scoring opportunity. This will be important for the Bengals. If they don't take advantage they may be in for some trouble later on.

*Palmer-T.O. connection cuts the Steelers lead to just three, 10-7 after the extra point. Both touchdowns have been the result of costly turnovers...Terrell Owens now has three receptions for 49 yards and a score in about a quarter and a half of play. The touchdown is No. 150 for Owens, just three shy of Randy Moss's 153.

*With eight minutes remaining in the second quarter, both Pouncey and Chris Kemoeatu continue to be out of the game. Pouncey had to go to the locker room while Kemoeatu is sitting on the sideline attempting to get taped up. Stay tuned for more injury updates when I get them.

*Owens has quickly become Palmer's go-to guy this season as he makes yet another catch, his fourth of the evening. Ochocinco has attracted more defenders, giving Owens, the future Hall of Famer, plenty of open looks thus far.

*Palmer looking like a rookie out there with that interception, throwing in to triple coverage on third down. That now gives Pittsburgh two first half turnovers and Big Ben gets the ball at about midfield with plenty of time to work with to try and add to the lead before the half.

*Hines Ward's 83 career touchdown (second on franchise's all-time list behind HOFer Franco Harris) comes with just over two minutes remaining. Despite recent struggles in the red zone this season, Roethlisberger finds Mr. Reliable for a short 8-yard touchdown to extend the lead back to 10 points.

*Mike Wallace has made a couple of nice grabs tonight, but that last drop was very costly. Pittsburgh is forced to attempt a 53-yard field goal. Jeff Reed, a pretty reliable veteran kicker, drills it, tying his career-high.

*Halftime score: Steelers 20, Bengals 7. Pittsburgh will receive the ball to start the second half, coming up in about 10 minutes.

**Cincinnati's pressure finally gets to Roethlisberger as he tries to avoid the rush. Robert Geathers records Cincy's first sack of the night as they force the 3&out on the opening drive of the second half.

**Relatively quiet so far tonight (five tackles, two for loss), James Harrison is shaken up on the field, forcing another injury timeout. When the game resumes Cincinnati will be facing fourth down, giving Pittsburgh the ball back.

**Both teams have exchanged punts throughout the third quarter, with the defenses dominated on both sides of the ball. About two and a half minutes to play in the quarter and the score is still 20-7. For Pittsburgh, James Farrior, James Harrison and Lamarr Woodley have all recorded sacks on Palmer as Pittsburgh gets the ball back once again.

**If Mendenhall can put the ball in the end zone during this drive, they could put the game away despite having a full quarter left to play. Terrell Owens seems to be the only Bengal still playing hard. Even Carson seems to have given up all hope...this game is a must-win for Cincy and it doesn't look like they want it at all. Shameful, really.

**End of quarter three, scoreless quarter. Just two penalties apiece throughout the game, and almost all of the statistical categories (except the score, of course) seem to be relatively even. If Cincinnati can get a defensive stop and get their heads back in the game they could turn it around. They have to want it for this to work, though.

**You can erase that whole last statement. Pittsburgh uses trickery (WR option pass from Randle El to Mike Wallace) for a long 39-yard touchdown pass, taking advantage of the injury to Cincy's Chris Crocker, who came out of the game after suffering an injury in the third quarter. 27-7 Pittsburgh, 14:50 remaining in the game.

**Owens is putting on a clinic for Pittsburgh's secondary as he makes his second touchdown catch of the night (151st of his prolonged career), which also happened to be his eighth catch of the game, giving him 118 yards through the air. Pittsburgh needs to establish the run game this drive in order to run out some clock...27-14 with just over 13 minutes to play.

**Another opportunity for Cincinnati to take advantage of as safety Roy Williams picks off Roethlisberger after an errant misses tight end Heath Miller. And, to top it all off, there was yet another injury timeout for Isaac Redman (turns out he's ok) and a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Flozell Adams. Palmer has a shot at turning this thing around.

**Oh my, a late pass interference call made against Ike Taylor as he was covering Owens in the end zone. Cincinnati gets the ball at the one. Looks like I spoke too soon with the "not many penalties" statement.

**Benson punches it in from one yard out, Newgent kicks the extra point throught the uprights...27-21 with under 10 to play. Boy have the tables turned in the past four minutes of play. Looks for a fantastic finish in this game.

**Looks like one of my above statements was jinxed once again. The "usually pretty reliable veteran" kicker Jeff Reed missed from 46 yards out and his 2010 struggles continue (sixth miss this season, most of which have come at very bad times).

**The missed field goal gives Cincinnati solid field position to start as we hit the two minute warning..

**Cincinnati put together a solid-looking drive, but it sputtered a bit with a 10-yard holding penalty and a couple of dropped passes. Pittsburgh's defense held up in the end as Cincinnati turned the ball over on downs and Roethlisberger kneeled the ball a couple of times.

---Pittsburgh survives late scare to improve to 6-2, tied with Baltimore atop division (Baltimore holds head-to-head tiebreaker), while Cincinnati drops to 2-6. Hope you enjoyed following the action here on my blog. Come back next week for more live blog action!

Clay Matthews, Packers' Defense Unblockable in Big Win over Big D

Things just haven't been going Dallas' way this season, and Green Bay's 45-7 shellacking of Jerry Jones' 'Boys tonight have just made matters worse.

Not only was Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers-led offense spot on, but so was the ball-hawking defense of Clay Matthews, Charles Woodson and A.J. Hawk.

Aaron Rodgers threw for nearly 300 yards and three TDs while Green Bay's defense scored two more times, once on a fumble returned by Nick Collins and the other a 62-yard interception return by Matthews. Kitna was pressured all night long and just couldn't seem to get much of anything going, unless of course he was throwing to rookie wideout Dez Bryant, who caught nine passes for 86 yards and the team's only touchdown.

Green Bay doubled Dallas' total yards, 415-205, as the Cowboys rushing attack struggled dearly, running for a mere 39 yards on 14 carries (2.8 YPC).

Jerry Jones has a Texas-sized problem out in Big D, but it isn't likely that he will be firing the 63-year old despite the team's 1-7 record this season.

What else have I learned from this game? Green Bay is a top five team. The last time I posted a top 10 (Oct. 30) I had the Pack at No. 9, but after this week they will certainly crack the top five considering the Pats and Chiefs both lost earlier today.

Photo Credits

John Kuhn: AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps

Monday Night Preview: Jags, Titans Clash in Division Showdown

In this league, almost all of the inter-division match-ups are great games and are decided in the last moments of the game. As odd as it may seem, the Titans/Jaguars showdowns are no different.

Both have young(ish) gunslinging quarterbacks under center with Vince Young in Tennessee and David Garrard in Jacksonville. Both have motivated, fiery head coaches in Jeff Fisher and the intense, yet professional Jack Del Rio in J'Ville.

Oh, wait. I almost forgot the teams' most well-known players: Chris Johnson, who became just the sixth player in league history to break 2,000 yards on the ground last season, and the stout 5'7'' Maurice Jones-Drew for the Jags.

Both are considered premier backs in the NFL and can turn a loss of three in to a gain of 85 in an instant.

Of course, according to my "Week Six Picks" article from the other day I have Tennessee coming out on top tonight, creating a three-way tie for first with Indianapolis and Houston. And I stand by my pick today. But, I've decided to add another dimension to this MNF preview.

I have brought in another source to create another opinion on the matchup. That source, as I am calling it, is Whatifsports.com: a simulator which allows any 'plain Joe' to simulate a matchup and get a winner, final score and box score for every simulated game that user runs through.

I noticed the simulator is a week behind (says both teams are  still 2-2), but it'll have to do.

WIS Says......Tennessee 17, Jacksonville 7

I was unable to post a link to the box score, but the truth of the matter is that Tennessee's defense shut down Garrard and the passing game. Tennessee's offense had the only turnover of the game (lost fumble) but Garrard managed just 124 yards through the air with no touchdowns as he completed just 13 of his 23 pass attempts.

Jacksonville's lone score came on a 16-yard run by Rashad Jennings. Tennessee's Vince Young, on the other hand, threw for 288 yards and a touchdown (65-yarder to Justin Gage in second quarter) on 17 completed passes.

Both Johnson and MJD were held to under 100 yards on the ground (65 for C.J. and 62 for Jones-Drew), were held out of the end zone, and caught just two passes each. Both head coaches knew exactly what to expect from their rivals and were able to stop it.

Although, Jeff Fisher did a slightly better job than Jack Del Rio.

Photo Credits
Maurice Jones-Drew: AP Photo/Mike Groll
Kenny Britt: AP Photo/Tim Sharp

Saints Squeeze out a Win in San Fran: Reaction to Monday Night's Game

San Francisco 49ers head coach Mike Singletary couldn't catch a break in his team's home opener in San Francisco Monday night, falling to the favored Saints after New Orleans kicker Garrett Hartley drilled a 37-yard field goal as time expired.

Quarterback Alex Smith was responsible for two of the team's four turnovers, but there's no way the Niners would've even been in the game if it wasn't for some stellar play from the former first overall draft pick. Smith led the offense 82 yards down the field in eight plays, the drive totaled just :53. Smith went 4/5 for 51 yards, not to mention he ran 12 yards or a first down on two separate occasions.

Frank Gore, topping off a magnificent game as well (20 carries, 112 yards, 1 TD; 7 receptions, 56 yards, 1 TD), capped off the scoring drive with a 7-yard touchdown run.

With the game 22-20 with under a minute and a half to play, the Niners were forced to attempt the two-point conversion. Alex hit tight end Vernon Davis at the goal line and it was called no good after the officials claimed the ball never broke the plane, but an official review reversed the call.

Smith stole the spotlight late in the game only to have his thunder snatched right back from his grasp.

Defending champion Drew Brees and the high-flying Saints offense drove 54 yards on seven plays to put Hartley in field goal range which, as we have already figured out, abruptly ended any chance of Smith winning the game in overtime.

Despite dominating nearly every faucet of the game on the offensive side of the ball, San Francisco's four turnovers took away precious scoring opportunities and ultimately costed the team the game. Let's see if Singletary can get his team together and bounce back next week at Arrowhead Stadium against the undefeated Chiefs after an 0-2 start.

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez