Last week the Baltimore Ravens and the Houston Texans faced off in a match between the two teams in the AFC with an above .500 record; and it was all one sided.
First Down: “Dismantling the Ravens” When one door closed another one opened for the Houston Texans. After a lackluster performance against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, they now had to deal with the return of Terrell Suggs. Suggs was supposed to be out all season but through hard work managed to come back by week 7. He had an impact early in the first quarter, but there were visible signs of rust. The Texans got a safety early and that jumpstarted the defense which picked off Joe Flacco 2 times, returning one to the house in a 43-13 mauling. The offense continues to flow through Arian Foster who had 98-yards and 2 scores against a Ravens defense that is starting to look old. While Andre Johnson and the passing game hasn’t picked it up yet, Foster remains the team’s workhorse. Through the first seven games Foster has 9 touchdowns and 659 yards, putting him on pace for 20 TD's. As great as the run game is, it's Wade Phillips defense that has been getting all the praise and rightfully so. The Texans use to be the joke of the league on defense but now with studs J.J. Watt, Connor Barwin and Whitney Mercilus as a linebacking core, they have become one of the most feared defenses in the league. The Texans could not have asked for a better start before their bye week. Their first in the AFC and have home advantage is in their sights. Their schedule is pretty easy the rest of the way besides a trip to New England and Chicago, to wrap up the AFC.
Second Down: “ALL DAY” Given the nickname in his first year out of Oklahoma, Adrian Peterson has lived up to the name and has become a beast in the NFL. To further my point, last year Peterson suffered his first severe injury as a pro (a torn ACL). A regular human being usually can’t lift his leg for two weeks after surgery; AP was lifting his leg right after surgery. He was expected to miss at least half the season and probably more, but instead has played since opening day. Listening to Peterson talk, he knows he can get better is showing improvements each week. Last Sunday his Minnesota Vikings were in tough against the Arizona Cardinals. The Vikings needed “All Day” to step up and score his first TD since week one! Peterson scored on a spectacular 13-yard run and finished the day with 153-yards on the ground, which was huge because Christian Ponder had one of the worst performances ever. Ponder completed only 8 of 17 passes for 58 yards and 2 interceptions in the 21-14 win. If the Vikings want to make the playoffs it’s going to have to be on the backs of Peterson and the strong defense, which ranks sixth. It also helps to go a perfect 8-0 at home and the Vikings look to extend their home winning streak to 5 on Thursday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Third Down: “Steel Town” After losing on the road to Tennessee two weeks ago the Pittsburgh Steelers had plenty of time to think about their next game. Under the lights, “Big” Ben Roethlisberger through for 278-yards while Jonathan Dwyer ran for 122, as the Steelers beat the Cincinnati Bengals 24-17. In a big division match, on the road, the Steelers defense stepped up holding Andy Dalton to only 105 yards throwing, and A.J. Green to just one catch. Up next for the Steelers, they face two tough NFC East opponents in Washington and at New York.
Fourth Down: “The Buffalo Bills” Just when you think you have seen the worse from the Buffalo Bills, something even worse happens. After awful performances against New England and San Francisco, the Bills looked good in a win against the Cardinals. However, Chris Johnson and the Titans were coming to town and CJ24 has never had a bad game against Buffalo in his career. He stung them again running for a season best 195-yards and 2 scores including a career high 83-yard run. Bills Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick looked good all game until a costly pick with just under 4 minutes to go. The Titans score a d touchdown on 4th and 9 with just over a minute left. Matt Hasselback found Nate Washington for a 15 yard score and the Titans held on for a 35-34 win. The Bills could have remained tied for first had they won, but now they have to put the past in the past and gear up for Foster and the Texans after the bye week.
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