Another dramatic day in the NFL was highlighted by surprise wins for the New York Giants, the Oakland Raiders and, in particular, the Buffalo Bills while the Detroit Lions secured their best start to a season in over 30 years.
The Philadelphia Eagles followed up last Sunday night’s bruising loss at Atlanta with a comprehensive defeat at home to their arch-rivals from across the New Jersey Turnpike as the New York Giants produced a surprisingly bullish display to win 29-16.
To make matters worse for the hotly tipped Eagles who now hold 1-2 record for the season, their star quarterback Michael Vick added a broken right hand (not his throwing hand) to last week’s concussion. And he blasted the league’s referees after the game.
"Looking at the replays, I'm on the ground every time, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't frustrated," Vick said. "The refs have got to do their jobs. And I mentioned it to the refs in training camp when I talked to them. I'm on the ground constantly, all the time. Every time I throw the ball, I'm on the ground. And I don't know why I don't get the 15-yard flags like everybody else does."
The other two sides in the NFC East play tonight with the Washington Redskins (2-0) heading for Arlington, Texas to take on the Dallas Cowboys (1-1).
The Giants, though, had nothing on what happened in upstate New York where the AFC East’s dominant force, the New England Patriots were beaten by the nation’s favourite team, the Buffalo Bills who hadn't won against the Pats in their last 15 attempts.
Rian Lindell hit a 28-yard field goal as time expired to round off an incredible Buffalo comeback with the Patriots stung by the 34-31 final score having led 21-0 in the second quarter. The celebrations were so intense that stadium officials took the decision to unscrew the goal posts after police received a tip-off that fans were planning to tear them down.
The unbeaten Bills were inspired once again by a Ryan Fitzpatrick-inspired rally which bore more than a passing resemblance to their 38-35 win over the Oakland Raiders last Sunday.
Indeed, the Raiders more than made up for that disappointment with a frenzied display against the New York Jets who couldn’t handle Darren McFadden's astonishing rushing performance, his 171 yards and two touchdowns ensuring a 34-24 victory in the Bay Area.
In the NFC North, the Detroit Lions (3-0) and the Green Bay Packers (3-0) lead the way after they both had wins over their divisional rivals.
The Minnesota Vikings had taken a 20-0 lead into half-time against the Lions but then collapsed as Matthew Stafford threw two touchdown passes in the second half to help Detroit get to overtime. They won the toss and capped their drive with Jason Hanson’s 32-yard field goal, escaping with a fortunate 26-23 victory.
The Chicago Bears had less to complain about as Aaron Rodgers and the Packers enjoyed an easygoing afternoon at Soldier Field. Rodgers threw for 297 yards, including three touchdown passes to Jermichael Finley, on the way to a 27-17 victory.
A high-scoring clash in New Orleans saw the Saints twice battle back from behind in the fourth quarter to beat the Houston Texans 40-33 while two of the Saints’ NFC South rivals met in Florida where the Atlanta Falcons’ surprisingly lacklustre start to the season continued as they lost 16-13 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Baltimore Ravens crushed the St Louis Rams 37-7 while a 17-16 victory for the Cleveland Browns piled on the misery for another winless side, the Miami Dolphins. In the late game, the Pittsburgh Steelers were made to work hard for a 23-20 win at the Indianapolis Colts.
The San Francisco 49ers lead the way in the NFC West courtesy of a late Kendall Hunter touchdown which secured a 13-8 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Birthday boy Matt Hasselbeck inspired a late Tennessee Titans rally as the Denver Broncos were beaten 17-14 in Nashville while the Carolina Panthers overcame torrential rain and the Jacksonville Jaguars, a 16-10 win their first of the season and the first of rookie quarterback Cam Newton’s professional career.
There were also wins for the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC West and the San Diego Chargers in the AFC West.
Source: http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/iesportsblog/~3/IGMAZvxZNF0/post.aspx
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