1 (1) Houston Texans (5-0) - Houston stretched their unbeaten start to 5-0 after a win in New York over the struggling Jets. Arian Foster was the star, rushing for 152 yards and a touchdown. Matt Schaub didn't have the best of games, completing just 50% of his passes for 209 yards, a touchdown and an interception. The Texans have Green Bay and Baltimore at home before their bye week, so it won't be an easy task to reach 7-0.
2 (2) Atlanta Falcons (5-0) - The Falcons made it to 5-0 after coming from behind in the 4th quarter to beat the Washington Redskins. Matt Ryan threw for 345 yards, 2 touchdowns and an interception. 285 yards of that, were passes to his main targets, Tony Gonzalez, Julio Jones and Roddy White. Jones and Gonzalez each caught a touchdown pass. The Falcons will be looking to keep their perfect record in place against the Raiders in their final game before their bye week.
3 (3) San Francisco 49ers (4-1) – The 49ers picked up another big win over an AFC East team with a blowout win over the Buffalo Bills. The game ended 45-3 and the result didn't flatter the 49ers. They had over 600 yards of offense and held the Bills to just over 200 yards. Alex Smith had a good game, throwing for 303 yards and 3 touchdowns. The running game was even better and the 49ers picked up 311 yards on the ground. Frank Gore led the way with 106 yards and a touchdown. Michael Crabtree and Vernon Davis both had 100 yard receiving games in a big day for the 49ers offense.
4 (7) New England Patriots (3-2) – Tom Brady won the latest installment in the long running battle between himself and Peyton Manning. Brady played well, throwing for 223 yards and a touchdown but the Pats put the game in the hands of their rushers and they didn't let them down. The Pats ran the ball 54 times and picked up 251 yards in the process. Stevan Ridley led the way, rushing for 151 yards and a touchdown from 28 carries.
5 (4) Baltimore Ravens (4-1) – Another unconvincing win for the Ravens as they edged out the Kansas City Chiefs by a scoreline of 9-6. The Ravens are 4-1 now but they have shown few signs of being a top level team in their last 2 games. However, as long as the wins keep coming, they won't mind too much. Joe Flacco had a poor game, completing less than half his passes for 187 yards and an interception. The Ravens main threat was once again, Ray Rice. Rice had 102 yards from 17 carries. The Ravens are setting the pace in the AFC North but there is definitely room for improvement.
6 (6) New York Giants (3-2) - The Giants came from behind to beat the Cleveland Browns and improve to 3-2 for the season. For once, it wasn't all about Eli Manning, although he did have a decent game, throwing for 259 yards, 3 touchdowns and an interception. The star of the show for the Giants was running-back, Ahmed Bradshaw. Bradshaw had 200 yards rushing and a touchdown. He also caught 4 passes for 29 yards. 3-2 isn't a great record but I have a suspicion that this Giants team have a lot more to give.
7 (9) Chicago Bears (4-1) - A big second half led the Bears to a
comfortable win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Bears won the second
half 38-0, after being held to a 3-3 draw at half-time. The Bears
offense had help from the defense, with 2 interceptions being returned
for touchdowns. Jay Cutler had 292 passing yards, 2 touchdowns and an
interception. Brandon Marshall caught 12 passes for 144 yards and a
touchdown. Matt Forte led the running game with 107 yards.
8 (13) Minnesota Vikings (4-1) – The Minnesota Vikings picked up another impressive win, with a 30-7 win over the Titans. Christian Ponder had his first interceptions of the season but interceptions aside he had another decent game, completing 25 of 35 passes for 258 yards and 2 touchdowns. Adrian Peterson had another good game, running for 88 yards on 17 carries. Percy Harvin led the Vikings receivers, catching 8 passes for 108 yards and a touchdown. The Vikings now head to Washington looking to keep their good run going.
9 (5) Arizona Cardinals (4-1) - Arizona lost their unbeaten record, with a defeat on Thursday Night Football in St Louis. Kevin Kolb threw for 289 yards but was sacked 9 times. The Cards running game was poor, averaging 2.6 yards per carry. Larry Fitzgerald led the receivers, catching 8 passes for 92 yards.
10 (14) Pittsburgh Steelers (2-2) – The Steelers came off their bye week and beat the Philadelphia Eagles to improve to 2-0 at home and 2-2 for the season. The Steelers deserved their win and took advantage of another bad display from Philadelphia. The Steelers offensive line had their best game of the season. Roethlisberger had been sacked 9 times in the opening 3 games but they gave him good protection and the Eagles defense were unable to get to him. Rashard Mendenhall played for the first time this season and ran for 68 yards off 13 carries.
11 (8) Green Bay Packers (2-3) - The Packers suffered another defeat, this time at the hands of the Indianapolis Colts. The Packers are struggling this year and things don't look great for them. Aaron Rodgers was sacked 5 times and the defense gave up 464 yards of total offense. Green Bay need to turn their season around quickly. They are falling behind in the NFC North and there are other teams getting ahead of them in the race for the wildcard slots. Running-back, Cedric Benson has picked up an injury and backup Alex Green already looks like a better option. He picked up 55 yards from 9 carries on Sunday.
12 (10) Philadelphia Eagles (3-2) - One step forward, two steps back. I'm an Eagles fan and I had high hopes for this season but it's not going to happen. Michael Vick has had a terrible season. He has turned the ball over 11 times in 5 games and it is killing the team. Andy Reid isn't helping things either. On Sunday the game was clearly going to come down to game management and Andy Reid wasted 2 timeouts. There's a lot of talent on the Eagles roster but unfortunately I can't see us winning anything with Reid and Vick. It's time for some fresh ideas and I think this year could be the end of Andy Reid's time in Philly.
13 (11) San Diego Chargers (3-2) - The Chargers were the victims as the Saints picked up their first win of the season. It was a bizarre performance from the Chargers and in my opinion they got the play calling wrong. The Saints are the worst team in the NFL against the run, yet the Chargers ran 18 rushing plays and 42 passing plays. The running game was working and they ended up getting 117 yards from those 18 plays. I could understand if the Chargers were well behind and they were forced to pass the ball but they were never behind by more than a touchdown at any stage in the game and in fact spent more time in the lead than behind throughout the game.
14 (17) St Louis Rams (3-2) – The Rams picked up a good win over the previously unbeaten, Arizona Cardinals, last Thursday. Sam Bradford had a disappointing game, completing just a third of his passes for 141 yards. Bradford only completed 7 passes but remarkably, 2 of them were for touchdowns. He also had an interception. Steven Jackson had a decent game, running for 76 yards from 16 carries. The Rams defense performed well and managed to sack Kevin Kolb 9 times.
15 (12) Cincinnati Bengals (3-2) - The Bengals drop to 3-2 after a home loss to the Miami Dolphins. As explosive as the Bengals offense has been this year, it met a very good Dolphins defense on Sunday and came out second best. Andy Dalton completed 26 of 43 passes for 234 yards and a touchdown but he also had 2 interceptions. AJ Green caught another touchdown pass, a 2 yard reception in the 4th quarter. The Bengals had 3 turnovers to Miami's 2 and in games as close as this one, turnovers are often the difference between a win and a loss.
16 (21) Seattle Seahawks (3-2) – The Seahawks picked up a win in Carolina to move to 3-2 for the year. The defense led the way again and restricted the Panthers to 190 yards of total offense. The Seahawks offense didn't do the team many favours, turning the ball over 3 times. Russell Wilson had another 2 interceptions although otherwise his numbers were quite good. He completed 19 of his 25 passes for 221 yards and a touchdown. Marshawn Lynch led the rushing game, running for 85 yards.
17 (16) Dallas Cowboys (2-2) - Dallas were on their bye week this week and face a difficult trip to Baltimore next week. With the Eagles and the Giants sitting at 3-2, the Cowboys will be looking for a win.
18 (15) Denver Broncos (2-3) - Peyton Manning lost to old rival, Tom Brady, in the first game between the pair since Peyton moved to the Denver Broncos. Manning's passing could not be faulted. He threw for 337 yards and 3 touchdowns. The biggest issue for the Broncos were the 3 fumbles. All 3 fumbles were costly. 2 came deep in New England territory when the Broncos looked likely to score and the other saw the Patriots start a drive on the Denver 14 which they converted into a touchdown. Demaryius Thomas had a great game for the Broncos, catching 9 passes for 180 yards.
19 (18) Washington Redskins (2-3) - The Redskins slip to 2-3 after a home defeat to the Atlanta Falcons. The biggest concern for the Redskins will be the injury to star quarterback, Robert Griffin III. He picked up a concussion after a hard hit in Sunday's game and the Redskins rely heavily on him. Kirk Couzins came in and scored on a touchdown pass to Santana Moss but he followed it up with 2 interceptions. Alfred Morris had another good game and ran for 115 yards.
20 (22) Detroit Lions (1-3) - The Lions had their bye week this week and will have been preparing for a trip to Philadelphia to face the Eagles.
21 (29) Miami Dolphins (2-3) – The Dolphins picked up a good win in Cincinnati over the Bengals. The defense led the way, restricting the Bengals to 298 yards of total offense and they also forced 3 turnovers. Ryan Tannehill had another solid game, throwing for 223 yards and no interceptions. The running game didn't do well, averaging just 1.9 yards per carry but they still managed to get 2 touchdowns. Reggie Bush and Daniel Thomas made it into the end zone on 13 yard and 1 yard runs, respectively.
22 (26) Indianapolis Colts (2-2) - The Colts done head coach, Chuck Pagano, proud this week, coming back from an 18 point deficit at half-time to beat the Green Bay Packers. It's been an emotional few weeks for the Colts since Pagano was diagnosed with leukemia but Sunday's performance will have helped lift morale. Andrew Luck had a great game, throwing for 362 yards, 2 touchdowns and an interception. Donald Brown ran for 84 yards but the Colts best offensive weapon was Reggie Wayne who caught 13 passes for 212 yards and a touchdown.
23 (20) New York Jets (2-3) – Another defeat for the Jets and another poor performance from Mark Sanchez. Sanchez completed just 14 of his 31 pass attempts for 230 yards. He got a touchdown but also had 2 interceptions. The Jets running game never got going and they managed just 3 yards per carry. The Jets are 2-3 now and Mark Sanchez is clearly not working out for them. Whilst he's not the best quarterback, Tim Tebow has a record of winning games and at this stage I'd give him a shot.
24 (19) Buffalo Bills (2-3) – The Bills suffered another heavy defeat, this time in San Francisco. Their defense was picked apart by the 49ers who picked up 621 yards of total offense. The Bills offense wasn't much better, picking up just 204 yards of offense. The 49ers had 3 times as many yards offensively and that dominance showed in the final score. As if being totally dominated in offensive yards wasn't enough, the Bills also threw in 2 turnovers for good measure. It was a bad day for the Bills and they need to turn things round quickly if they are aiming to make the playoffs.
25 (28) New Orleans Saints (1-4) – The Saints have finally picked up that elusive, first win of the season. They beat the San Diego Chargers, 31-24, on Sunday Night Football. Not for the first time in his Saints career, Drew Brees was the hero. He threw for 370 yards, 4 touchdowns and an interception. He also broke the record for the most consecutive games throwing a touchdown pass. The Saints other big performers were receivers, Marques Colston and Devery Henderson. Colston had 9 receptions for 131 yards and 3 touchdowns. Henderson had 8 receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown.
26 (24) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-3) - The Bucs had their bye week and will be looking to pick up a win next week against fellow strugglers, the Kansas City Chiefs.
27 (25) Oakland Raiders (1-3) – Oakland were on a bye this week and next up for them is a trip to the 5-0, Atlanta Falcons.
28 (27) Carolina Panthers (1-4) – The Panthers were beaten by a narrow scoreline in a game were they never really deserved to be as close as they were. The Panthers only picked up 190 yards of total offense. Quarterback, Cam Newton completed just 12 of his 29 pass attempts for 141 yards. He was better running the ball and picked up 42 yards from 7 runs. The Panthers were unable to take advantage of Seattle's 3 turnovers and drop to 1-4.
29 (30) Kansas City Chiefs (1-4) – I am getting a bit bored of writing the same stuff about this Chiefs team. It seems every week I am trying to find a new way to say the Chiefs struggle with turnovers and yet again turnovers beat them. They lost 9-6 to the Baltimore Ravens and every single point the Ravens got came on a drive that began with a Chiefs turnover. On one of those drives the Chiefs were in field goal range themselves so it really is a case of, if you took the turnovers away, the Chiefs would have won. The Chiefs best player on the day was Jamaal Charles who ran for 140 yards and also caught 3 passes for 21 yards.
30 (23) Tennessee Titans (1-4) - The Titans suffered another heavy defeat, this time at the hands of the Minnesota Vikings. The Titans were well beaten and never really looked like getting anything from the game. The offense couldn't get going and once again, Chris Johnson had a terrible game. Johnson picked up just 29 yards from scrimmage and also had a fumble. The Titans are struggling this year and things don't look like improving any time soon.
31 (31) Jacksonville Jaguars (1-4) - Jacksonville suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of the Bears on Sunday. It was going well at half-time with the teams tied at 3-3, but the wheels came off the Jags in the second half. Chicago scored 38 unanswered points and ended up winning 41-3. Blaine Gabbert threw for 142 yards and 2 interceptions. Maurice Jones-Drew ran for 56 yards off 12 carries at 4.7 yards per carry. The Jags will have to get Jones-Drew more involved in games if they want to improve on their record.
32 (32) Cleveland Browns (0-5) – Another defeat for the Browns but one that they can take some positives from. They got off to a good start, going 14-0 ahead and led until late in the 2nd quarter. From then on the Giants took control and ended up comfortable winners. The Giants will put up big scores against better teams than the Browns but the Browns can take heart from scoring 27 points. Brandon Weeden had another mixed day, throwing for 291 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. The interceptions were costly and both led to Giants touchdowns. Trent Richardson had a good game, gaining 128 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown.
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