Week 3 Rewind
By Brian Edwards
Where do we start after another frenetic week of NFL action? Let’s go with the Bengals, who I called as my NFL sleeper team back in June. They got off to an inauspicious start in their fluke loss to Denver in Week 1.
However, Marvin Lewis’s team has back-to-back wins after beating Green Bay at Lambeau Field and then rallying for a 23-20 home win over Pittsburgh on Sunday. Cincinnati took the money as a 3 ½-point underdog, hooking up money-line backers with a plus-160 payout.
Carson Palmer found Andre “Bubba” Caldwell for a four-yard touchdown pass with 14 seconds left to stun the defending Super Bowl champs, who lost a nail-biter on the road for a second straight week.
The Steelers actually out-yarded Cincy 373-273 and led 13-3 at intermission. But the game turned in the third quarter when Ben Roethlisberger was intercepted by Jonathan Joseph, whose 30-yard return for a pick-six brought his team and the crowd back to life. The Bengals snapped Pittsburgh's eight-game winning streak in Cincinnati.
Minnesota beat San Francisco in a battle of unbeaten teams thanks to a miraculous last-minute rally orchestrated by none other than Brett Favre, who found Greg Lewis in the back of the end zone for a 32-yard scoring strike with just two ticks left on the clock. Trailing 24-20 with no timeouts remaining, the Vikings took over on their own 20 with 1:29 left.
Ten plays later, Favre had a raucous crowd celebrating a 27-24 victory. Nevertheless, the 49ers cashed tickets as seven-point road underdogs.
Even in defeat, gamblers had to come away impressed with another strong effort from Mike Singletary’s team, which clearly has taken on the personality of their head coach. Vernon Davis had a remarkable game, hauling in seven receptions for 96 yards, including a pair of TD grabs from QB Shaun Hill.
Favre threw for 301 yards and two touchdowns, while Adrian Peterson had 85 rushing yards on 19 carries. When Minnesota was down 17-13 in the third quarter, rookie Percy Harvin provided a huge lift with a 101-yard kickoff return for a TD.
The Giants and Saints joined the Vikings as the only undefeated NFC teams remaining. New York went into the New Sombrero and dealt out cream-cheese treatment to the Bucs in a 24-0 triumph as a 6 ½-point road favorite. Tom Coughlin’s club produced 397 yards of total offense and his defense limited Tampa Bay to merely five first downs and 86 total yards.
Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs combined to rush for 196 yards for the G-Men, who are nine-point favorites at Kansas City in Week 4.
New Orleans went into Orchard Park and broke open a tight game by outscoring Buffalo 17-0 in the fourth quarter. Will Smith had a huge interception and a sack, while Pierre Thomas ran for a pair of TDs in the Saints’ 27-7 win over the Bills as 6 ½-point road ‘chalk.’
Let’s give kudos galore to New Orleans defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, who has his unit playing outstanding football. They held Terrell Owens without a catch for the first time in T.O.’s last 185 games played.
Drew Brees didn’t have the huge numbers he had the first two weeks, but Sean Payton had to love seeing his squad winning a different type of game. Brees completed 16-of-29 passes for 172 yards without an interception. For the season, Brees has a 9/2 touchdown-interception ratio and an NFL-best 118.1 QB rating.
In the AFC, all four division leaders (Jets, Colts, Ravens and Broncos) remain unscathed in the ‘L’ department. Indianapolis demolished Arizona by a 31-10 count as a three-point road underdog. Peyton Manning threw for 379 yards and four TDs, while Dwight Freeney had a pair of sacks and one forced fumble. Bettors backing the Colts to win outright brought home a plus-140 return (risk $100 to win $140).
The 41 combined points stayed ‘under’ the 49-point total. The Cardinals fell to 1-2 going into their bye week. They’ll play host to the Texans in Week 5.
The J-E-T-S kept Tennessee winless by capturing a 24-17 win as 2 ½-point home favorites. Rex Ryan’s team jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the Meadowlands, but the Titans responded with 17 unanswered points to take the lead in the third quarter.
The Jets didn’t get rattled, however, as Mark Sanchez found Jerricho Cotchery for a six-yard scoring strike to regain the lead. Jay Feely added a 30-yard field goal in the final stanza and the Jets’ defense did the rest to preserve the victory. They go on the road this week to face the Saints in a battle of undefeated clubs.
Baltimore thumped Cleveland 34-3 thanks to a dominant defense and a career-high 342 passing yards from Joe Flacco. The Ravens easily hooked up their backers as 13 ½-point favorites. Willis McGahee had a pair of touchdown runs.
Eric Mangini yanked QB Brady Quinn in favor of Derek Anderson, but Anderson proceeded to throw three interceptions. As of Monday, Mangini was unsure who would start at QB for the Browns when they host the Bengals this week as home ‘dogs.
We can put to bed the rumor that the Pats have lost their punch in 2009. Many pundits have been destroying their defense, but that unit has now given up just 16 and 10 points in the last two games.
New England bounced back from its loss to the Jets by spanking Atlanta 26-10 as a 4 ½-point home favorite. Fred Taylor rushed for 105 yards and one touchdown.
The Falcons had a Matt Ryan TD pass called back that proved costly. Also, Michael Turner fumbled in New England territory to end a nice drive late in the second quarter when the game was tied at 10-10. Mike Smith’s team has an open date to regroup before playing at San Francisco.
Detroit finally collected a ‘W’ for the first time since December of 2007 when it held off the Redskins 19-14 at Ford Field. The Lions won outright (plus-200 money-line tickets) as 6 ½-point underdogs, as rookie QB Matthew Stafford threw for 241 yards without a turnover.
Washington fell to 1-2 and head coach Jim Zorn is now clearly on the hottest seat in the NFL. The ‘Skins are seven-point favorites this week against the winless Bucs.
Philadelphia bounced back from its home loss to the Saints by pounding Kansas City 34-14 as a 7 ½-point home ‘chalk.’ Kevin Kolb threw for 327 yards without an interception in his second week starting for the injured Donovan McNabb, who will probably return after the Eagles enjoy their bye week.
Philly WR DeSean Jackson had another monster game with six receptions for 149 yards. Michael Vick returned to the field for the first time since New Year’s Eve of ’06. He was in on 11 plays, gaining seven yards on his only rush attempt. Vick misfired on both pass attempts.
**B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets**
--According to multiple reports Monday, San Francisco RB Frank Gore is expected to miss the next two games with an ankle injury. Rookie Glen Coffee will start in Gore’s absence. The Alabama product was extremely impressive during the preseason, but Coffee was limited to 54 rushing yards on 25 carries against Minnesota’s stout defensive front.
--St. Louis WR Laurent Robinson is out for the season with a fractured fibula. Robinson was leading the Rams in catches (13) and receiving yards (167) with one touchdown.
--Washington DT Albert Haynesworth is “questionable” this week against Tampa Bay.
--Tampa Bay will go with second-year QB Josh Johnson at Washington. The Bucs have demoted Byron Leftwich to third-string status with rookie Josh Freeman now listed as the No. 2 signal caller.
--Although Chad Pennington is expected to seek a second opinion on his injured shoulder, a number of media outlets reported Monday that he’s done for the season. That leaves the Dolphins with Chad Henne and rookie Pat White from out of West Va.
--To wrap up Week 3, bettors who backed Carolina (like me) had a hard time stomaching the Monday Night Football defeat from an 8 1/2-point 'dog situation. The Panthers led 7-0 at halftime, opening up an attractive hedge opportunity for gamblers heavy on John Fox's squad, especially those with a taste of the money-line payout (+300 minimum). Most betting shops made Dallas an eight-point 'chalk' for second-half wagers. This equated to the 'Boys minus one for the game. When Wade Phillips' team took a 10-7 advantage in the second half, Carolina tried to answer when Jake Delhomme found Muhsin Muhammad down the right sideline for a long touchdown pass. However, Muhammad was flagged for offensive interference, negating the go-ahead TD. Later in the fourth quarter, Dallas got to the enemies' one yard line for a second-and-goal play after Tashard Choice's running had his team in the red zone. And then the play-calling Gods cast a spell on Cowboys' offensive coordinator Jason Garrett, who seemingly lost his mind. He threw back-to-back fades to the corner rather than running it down the throat of a gassed Panthers defense. Both attempts failed and the Dallas Dummies settled for a FG, leaving bettors on Carolina feeling fortunate and confident. (Once again, I repeat Andy Iskoe's gem from the VI Seminar in August: "Dallas has the talent to win the Super Bowl and the coaching to finish last.")
Down 13-7 nearing the 5:00 mark of the fourth quarter, the Panthers had the ball with a chance to win. And then Steve Smith lost his mind. He quit on a quick slant, leaving his QB out to dry and many a gambler as well. Terence Newman intercepted Delhomme's pass (that appeared to be on the money had Smith stayed on his route) and then raced 27 yards for a TD to put the 'Boys ahead of the number at 21-7. Carolina backers still had a better-than-decent shot at a backdoor cover but after a couple of first downs, Delhomme's protection broke down and he lost a fumble. Therefore, the 'under' and Dallas cashed in the Week 3 edition of MNF.
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