I know I may have said this before but this season just seems to just be flying past at a ridiculous rate of knots; you know the kind you would only associate with something out of Top Gun!
Week 10 in the NFL saw the welcome return to action for one Detroit wide receiver simply known as ‘Megatron’. That’s right folks Calvin Johnson was back in action and showed on his touchdown reception that he has not missed a beat!
The Detroit Lions played host to the Miami Dolphins this week and with the kind of form Miami has been in of lately you always knew that this was going to be a close game despite being played in the heart of the motor city (Detroit).
The first quarter of the game belonged to the Lions as they managed to rack up 10 points which included a 49 yard touchdown pass from Matthew Stafford to the one and only Calvin Johnson (Megatron). When you watch the highlight of this catch you will see the commentators were right when they said Grimes could not have defended that route any better but when you give up seven inches in height to someone what else can you do!
The second and third quarters belonged to the Dolphins as they managed to score 13 unanswered points taking a 13 – 10 lead into the fourth quarter. It was in the fourth quarter that the drama unfolded nicely with Detroit tying the game with 50 yard field goal just three minutes in. On their next possession Miami managed to drive for over seven and half minutes and finished the drive of with 20 yard field putting them up 16 – 13 with a little over four minutes left in the game.
Both teams then exchanged punts on their next drives setting up Detroit with a little under three minutes to score either a tying field goal or the game winning touchdown. In 11 plays we had our answer and that was a game winning touchdown pass from Matt Stafford to Theo Riddick with just 29 seconds left of the clock. This was a great win for the Lions and it keeps them sitting on top of the NFC North with seven weeks of football left to play. You can see the highlights of this game by clicking on the picture below:
Next up I want to go through the third and final instalment of the International Series this year which was played at Wembley between the Dallas Cowboys and Jacksonville Jaguars. I was very impressed with the NFL as they embraced what is known in England as remembrance Sunday both before and during the game.
Prior to the game we saw Joss Stone singing the official poppy appeal song ‘No Man’s Land’. Here is what The Royal British Legion website says about the single itself:
‘The single is a soulful cover of 'No Man’s Land (Green Fields of France)', written in 1976 by Scottish-born folk singer-songwriter Eric Bogle. Reflecting on the grave of a young man (Willie McBride) who died during the First World War, its chorus refers to two famous pieces of military music, 'The Last Post' and 'The Flowers of the Forest'. Although the song speaks of the destiny of one soldier in particular, the song was chosen by Joss and Jeff because of the way it honestly reflected the terrible fate of so many.’
I have also included the official you tube video which can be found on the website for The Royal British Legion.
‘The single is a soulful cover of 'No Man’s Land (Green Fields of France)', written in 1976 by Scottish-born folk singer-songwriter Eric Bogle. Reflecting on the grave of a young man (Willie McBride) who died during the First World War, its chorus refers to two famous pieces of military music, 'The Last Post' and 'The Flowers of the Forest'. Although the song speaks of the destiny of one soldier in particular, the song was chosen by Joss and Jeff because of the way it honestly reflected the terrible fate of so many.’
I have also included the official you tube video which can be found on the website for The Royal British Legion.
Also all of the players for the Cowboys and Jaguars had poppies on their jerseys which again I think is a really nice touch.
On to the game itself now and whilst the game itself was about as one sided as it gets, there were a few big plays by both teams including a 32 yard touchdown run by Denard Robinson of the Jaguars where he showed his pure raw pace and a 35 yard touchdown reception by Dez Bryant showing his big play ability by braking tackles and dancing into the endzone. You can see all of the games highlights by clicking on the picture below:
The final game I want to mention before we check all the scores from around the league is the big NFC matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints. Going into the game the 49ers were desperate for a win to keep their playoff and division title hopes alive whilst the Saints needed a win to extend their lead at the top of the NFC South.
It was San Francisco who came out of the traps the fastest as they raced to a 14 - 0 lead with a little over four minutes left in the first quarter. The 49ers run game was looking good and the Saints offense was really struggling to get anything going. A lot of that had to do with the play of stand in rookie linebacker Chris Borland.
During the entire game in fact he was at the heart of all great things being done by San Francisco and he even came up with a massive play towards the end of the game but more about that later. The second quarter saw the Saints cut the lead to just seven points following a 31 yard touchdown pass from Drew Brees to Brandin Cooks before the 49ers extended the gap again at the end of the half.
At halftime San Francisco were looking comfortable with the score 21 - 10 however as we have seen earlier in the season, the 49ers are not that great at scoring points in the second half of games. With this in mind the Saints managed to score two more touchdowns, one of which was an amazing piece of escape artistry from Brees before throwing a touchdown strike to Jimmy Graham.
The second touchdown of the half from the Saints came with just under two minutes left on the clock and they could easily of thought it would be enough to win the game for them and it nearly was. After some bad drops by the 49ers receivers it was fourth and ten from the 49ers own 22 yard line when Kaepernick managed to extend the play and find Michael Crabtree for a 51 yard bomb setting up the game tying field goal.
The game was tied and overtime was upon us, both teams were unable to score on their opening possessions which meant that the next score won the game. Cue Brooks and Borland who with the ball on the Saints 15 yard line managed to force and recover a fumble from Brees setting up the game winning field goal from Phil Dawson. To see all of the highlights from this one please click on the picture below:
Now we take a look at all of the score from the week ten action:
Cleveland 24 vs 3 Cincinnati
San Francisco 27 vs 24 New Orleans
Tennessee 7 vs 21 Baltimore
Kansas City 17 vs 13 Buffalo
Miami 16 vs 20 Detroit
Dallas 31 vs 14 Jacksonville
Pittsburgh 13 vs 20 New York Jets
Atlanta 27 vs 17 Tampa Bay
Denver 41 vs 17 Oakland
St Louis 14 vs 31 Arizona
New York Giants 17 vs 38 Seattle
Chicago 14 vs Green Bay 55
To be played Monday 10th November 2014
Carolina vs Philadelphia
Cleveland 24 vs 3 Cincinnati
San Francisco 27 vs 24 New Orleans
Tennessee 7 vs 21 Baltimore
Kansas City 17 vs 13 Buffalo
Miami 16 vs 20 Detroit
Dallas 31 vs 14 Jacksonville
Pittsburgh 13 vs 20 New York Jets
Atlanta 27 vs 17 Tampa Bay
Denver 41 vs 17 Oakland
St Louis 14 vs 31 Arizona
New York Giants 17 vs 38 Seattle
Chicago 14 vs Green Bay 55
To be played Monday 10th November 2014
Carolina vs Philadelphia
I would like to finish off this week by talking about a team that has quietly gone about their business whilst staying under the radar and that is the Arizona Cardinals.
This season the Cardinals have built up a record of 8 - 1 and they sit a top the NFC West after ten weeks of action and you would have to say they are looking firm favourites to win the division having already beaten both the St Louis Rams and San Francisco 49ers this year. What has made this even more impressive for me is that they have played three and a bit games without their starting quarterback.
Whilst Carson Palmer was injured Drew Stanton won two out three games and looked quite comfortable in the process. Of course it helps when you have wide receivers making unbelievable catches like the one you are about to see by clicking on the picture below:
On that note I think we shall finish there and until next time football fans stay safe, take care and 'Thanks for Stopping By'.