Week Two NFL recap and key injuries

By Dave Shepherd | Wednesday, September 21, 2005 | ( 0 )

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Let's take a look back at week two in the NFL...

The Best Games:

San Diego 17 at Denver 20
Got to give the Denver Broncos credit, being down 14-3 at halftime, and coming back to win it on a last second field goal. This game had it all: LaDainian Tomlinson's record-setting performance (most consecutive games with a rushing TD, now at 14), a 4th down gamble to set up a last second field goal, a divisional rivalry, and a comeback.

Cleveland 26 at Green Bay 24
The Cleveland Browns went into Lambeau Field and beat a fired up Green Bay team on the day they retired Reggie White's number. Even if Green Bay isn't that good, it was still impressive. Another record fell, as Brett Favre tossed his 180th TD at Lambeau, grabbing the record for most touchdowns in a stadium, previously held by John Elway. Green Bay scored with 0:04 left to make it seem closer, but failed to get the onside kick.

Washington 14 at Dallas 13
This was probably the best game of the week. First, some history: The Washington Redskins had lost 25 straight games when trailing at the end of the third quarter. Teams coached by Parcells (Cowboys Head Coach) were 77-0 when leading in the 4th quarter. Down 13-0 with four minutes left, Mark Brunell throws his first touchdown pass to Santana Moss on a 4th and 15 from the Dallas 39. 13-7. The next Dallas drive was ruined by a holding penalty, and two plays after the Redskins got the ball back Brunell connected with Moss again, this time for a 70 yard TD. 13-14 Redskins. The Dallas Cowboys had a chance to salvage the game in the waning moments but they were shut down by the Redskins defense.

Atlanta 18 at Seattle 21
The defense saved the day. Up 21 - 0 at halftime, Seattle almost collapsed as Michael Vick took the Falcons on a run of 18 straight points. The Seahawks defense stopped them eventually, holding them on fourth down while Vick was on the sidelines nursing an injury. Had he been in, it may have been a different story.

The Worst Games:
Minnesota 8 at Cincinnati 37
The Vikings got annihilated. The Bengals looked fantastic for the second week in a row. Can they keep it up? Culpepper looked like his old self, turning the ball over numerous times in the loss.

Pittsburgh 27 at Houston 7
Everyone expected the Steelers to hammer the Texans, and they did. Roethlisberger played well for a second straight game, and Pittsburgh will have a shot at taking down the Patriot's record for regular season games won in a row (18).

San Francisco 3 at Philadelphia 42
Owens humiliated his old team, scoring two touchdowns and catching 5 passes for 143 yards. The 49ers never had a chance.

Detroit 6 at Chicago 38
Detroit looked horrendous against Chicago. Their "explosive" offense has yet to live up to its expectations.

St. Louis 17 at Arizona 12
This would've been a great game, if not for the way it ended. Deep in St. Louis's territory, Kurt Warner had the Cardinals line up in the shotgun instead of under center to spike the ball. Leonard Davis got called for the false start with 7 seconds remaining. Under NFL rules, a 10 second runoff of the game clock was assessed and the game was over.

New Orleans 10 at New York Giants 27
First of all, yes I know this was a "home-game" for the Saints. Let's not kid ourselves though; this was an away game with a few Saints decorations thrown in. New Orleans had a bad start, so the Giants capitalized and took the win easily.

Upsets:
Baltimore 10 at Tennessee 25
Two weeks ago, the Ravens were a Super Bowl contender. Now, they're getting hammered by the Titans. What happened? Maybe that defense isn't as good as everyone was saying� and the offense looks even worse than expected.

New England 17 at Carolina 27
A Super Bowl rematch� only not quite. Neither team was particularly impressive, which is unusual for two well coached teams. In the end, New England just couldn't make the plays they needed to make.

The Rest:
Jacksonville 3 at Indianapolis 10
The Jaguars defense stood up to the task, but so did the Colts. Peyton Manning played patiently making sure not to force too many passes, and in the end it was enough for the Colts to walk away with the win in a defensive struggle.

Buffalo 3 at Tampa Bay 19
Buffalo never really started, and for the second straight game Tampa Bay held their opponent without an offensive touchdown. Who would've thought Carnell �Cadillac' Williams would be the league's rushing leader?

Miami 7 at New York Jets 17
This was what we expected from Miami, not the dominance of the Broncos in week one. Pennington never looked comfortable, but did enough to win the game.

Kansas City 23 at Oakland 17
Kansas City held on to the lead for most of the game, and the defense stopped the Raiders in the dying minutes to preserve the win.

Key Injuries:
-Broncos running backs Mike Anderson and Tatum Bell are both nursing injuries, so expect to see more of Ron Dayne

-Vikings WR Nate Burleson is expected to miss at least one week due to a sprained knee

-Jaguars SS Donovin Darius could be out for the season with a torn ACL, pending the MRI

-Raiders WR Ronald Curry is out for the season after tearing his Achilles

-Packers TE Bubba Franks may miss the upcoming game with a bruised knee

-Ravens QB Kyle Boller may miss the rest of the season following surgery on his toe. The Ravens are optimistic that he'll be back in October.

-Lions CB Fernando Bryant may be out for the season with a dislocated clavicle

-Eagles K David Akers has a strained hamstring

-Jets RB Curtis Martin may miss some time with a sprained knee

-Panthers FS Mike Minter will miss a few weeks with a strained calf

-Patriots CB Rudy Gay is expected to miss the upcoming game against Pittsburgh

-Colts FB James Mungro is out with a sprained knee, and Dominic Rhodes is expected to miss time with a shoulder injury

That's all for this week. Check back next week for the latest happenings in the NFL.

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