The Final Drive: Week 3, 2011

Week three was as crazy as possible, with two surprising 3-0 teams, another injury for Michael Vick and “facial reconstruction” for Mark Sanchez. Let’s get right into The Final Drive!

(2-1) New Orleans Saints 40
(2-1) Houston Texans 33 

So… what happened to that vastly improved Texan defense? I suppose last year they would have given up 54 points? Whatever the case, losing to Drew Brees shouldn’t be counted too heavily against them.

(2-1) New York Giants 29
(1-2) Philadelphia Eagles 16 

Michael Vick got smacked around for the second straight game, suffering a bruised right hand in his latest debacle. Oh yeah, and the Eagles lost. Whoops! The Giants created mismatches on the Eagle linebackers and even got Victor Cruz a catch against Nmandi Asomugha. Well played G-Men.

(3-0) Buffalo Bills 34
(2-1) New England Patriots 31

This was EPIC. I’m not completely sold on the Bills as a contender, but they’ve certainly opened some eyes in the early weeks by putting up points in bunches and picking off Tom Brady FOUR times. That takes some talent.

(3-0) Detroit Lions 26
(0-3) Minnesota Vikings 23

Nearly as epic have been the collapsing Vikings, who can’t manage to hold onto double-digit halftime leads. How many of you saw 20-0 and thought “That’s the Lions I know,” only to get amazed when they fought all the way back to force overtime?

(2-1) Baltimore Ravens 37
(0-3) St. Louis Rams  

This was an absolute spanking. You can tell the Ravens were fuming over that letdown loss to the Titans. And the injury-plagued Rams are finding out just how tough their opening schedule really is. That 9-7 prediction of mine is probably out the door now.

(2-1) Oakland Raiders 34
(2-1) New York Jets 24 

This is the only time I’ll say this: Go Raiders. Darren McFadden gashed the Jet defense on the ground, ensuring the Oakland win. Mark Sanchez passed for 369 yards, broke his nose and STILL lost. Snap.

(2-1) Tampa Bay Buccaneers 16
(1-2) Atlanta Falcons 13

Wow. The Bucs still bore me and the Falcons aren’t exactly lighting it up lately. The NFC South is wide open for business. This next Monday night I’ll finally get to watch Josh Freeman in action, so maybe I’ll get the chance to be impressed… or take a nap.

(2-1) Dallas Cowboys 18
(2-1) Washington Redskins 16 

That’s right. Six field goals for the win. Honestly, I’ve thought on more than one occasion that Dallas is staging and fabricating all of this Tony Romo punctured lung/bad snaps/leader of men drama just so they can get the critics off their QB’s back for a few weeks. I know that’s ludicrous, but I’d probably do it if I were them.

That’s all she wrote folks. Check back next weekend for more NFL analysis!