Ten Things We Learned On The NFL’s Eighth Sunday

Added on Nov 01, 2010 by Scott in

NFL

In keeping with Halloween, yesterday was filled with plenty of tricks and treats. The Cowboys continued their horrific slide. The Packers defense scared up a shutout. Brett Favre was left bloody and beaten. And Mike Shanahan threw a giant rock into Donovan McNabb’s sack of candy. Spooks and screams aside, there was much to learn on the eighth Sunday of the 2010 NFL season. Ten things to be exact.

10. The 49ers should play all their games in England – Leave it to the Niners to play their best game of the season overseas. Not only did they beat the Broncos 24-16, but they did so without Vernon Davis, and with Troy Smith under center. Yeah, the same Troy Smith who won a Heisman Trophy at Ohio State a few years ago. Weird.

9. The Cowboys have thrown in the towel – One would think with their starting quarterback sidelined with injury and facing a must-win game, the ‘Boys might come out swinging at home against the painfully average Jaguars. Uh, didn’t happen. Instead, they made David Garrard look like Troy Aikman and Mike Sims-Walker look like Michael Irvin. Jerry Jones needs to clean house ASAP. This team is dreadfully bad.

8. Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones are destroying defenses – Even though it came against the Bills 32nd ranked run defense, it’s still amazing that Charles and Jones combined to rush for 254 yards. Both backs are on pace to eclipse 1000 yards. With Matt Cassel limited as a passer, the Chiefs have no choice but to to ride their dynamic duo the rest of the way.

7. Matt Stafford makes a difference – Stafford’s four touchdown performance versus the Redskins wasn’t a thing of beauty, but the Lions won, which is all that matters. He led a balanced attack and targeted Calvin Johnson early and often. Don’t sleep on Detroit. With the defense playing better and Stafford healthy, the cowardly Lions may have finally found some courage.

6. Donovan McNabb is still Donovan McNabb – Inconsistent. Inaccurate. Unreliable. Benched. For those who questioned the Eagles for trading McNabb, it’s time to start apologizing. When a coach of Mike Shanahan’s caliber turns to Rex Grossman to lead the two-minute drill when trailing by three points, the writing is on the wall. McNabb has thrown seven touchdowns passes and eight interceptions in eight games. Rookie Sam Bradford has tossed eleven touchdowns and eight picks in eight games. Just sayin’.

5. The Jets aren’t invincible – Getting blanked at home in the NFL is embarrassing. Especially when the blanked team is a supposed Super Bowl contender. The Jets will be fine, but the Packers injury-riddled defense exposed a glaring weakness: Mark Sanchez’s inability to win games by himself. Until Sanchez proves he can beat good opponents with his head and arm, the Jets will not be playing in February.

4. Philip Rivers doesn’t need receivers – Rivers has set a record for passing yards through eight games and done it with Patrick Crayton, Legedu Naanee, Seyi Ajirotutu and Richard Goodman playing wide receiver. Really? To be fair, he also has Antonio Gates, but it’s obvious Rivers, like all great quarterbacks, doesn’t care who lines up outside to catch passes.

3. Randy Moss has lost interest – Moss has yet to surpass 100 yards or catch more than five balls in any game this season. On Sunday, he had one grab for eight yards and appeared to be disinterested for most of the game. A bored Randy equals an ineffective Randy. With the Vikings reeling at 2-5, don’t expect Moss to do much from here on out.

2. Break up the Raiders! – One week after posting 59 points, the silver and black dropped 33 on the NFC West leading Seahawks. Jason Campbell looked good, again. Darren McFadden looked awesome, again. Even Darrius Heyward-Bey looked solid. With the defense gaining confidence and the offense scoring consistently, the Raiders are making moves at the right time.

1. The Saints finally woke up – The defending champs needed to push around a contender and they did just that on Sunday night against the big, bad Steelers. The defense harassed Ben Roethlisberger all game long and Drew Brees delivered his most impressive outing of the season. If the Cajuns get on a roll, it’s bad news for the rest of the NFC.