Just two games into the 2009 NFL Football season and we now already know that the New England Patriots, despite the presence of quarterback Tom Brady, will not go undefeated during this regular season as they did in 2007.
The New York Jets, complete with a bandwagon getting heavier by the second, knocked off "Tom Terrific" and the Pats, 16-9 on Sunday to go to 2-0 and first place in the AFC East. The Jets held New England out of the end zone (first time Brady & Co. didn't score a touchdown since 2006) and erased any doubts as to whether or not the Brady-led Patriots are beatable.
How about the Chicago Bears knocking off the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers, 17-14 at Soldier Field?
Bears' QB Jay Cutler led two fourth quarter drives that allowed the Bears to tie the game 14-14 and then the winning drive in the final minutes that set up kicker Robby Gould's game-winning 44-yard field goal.
Speaking of great finishes, how about the Baltimore Ravens holding the San Diego Chargers furious comeback in the final three minutes as All-Pro linebacker Ray Lewis stuffed Chargers' running back Darren Sproles on fourth-and-two from the Ravens 15-yard line in the final 30 seconds of the game to save the day.
San Diego QB Philip Rivers had a career day against the vaunted Ravens' defense, throwing for 436 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the 31-26 loss to Baltimore, which had a pair of scoring runs from Willis McGahee and two touchdown passes from Joe Flacco.
The key to the Ravens win was the fact that the Chargers kicked four field goals, including two when they were inside the Ravens two-yard line.
Can anyone stop the New Orleans Saints high powered offense?
The Saints went into Philadelphia and absolutely pasted the highly-touted Eagles defense Sunday afternoon while winning 48-22. The Saints have scored 93 points in the first two games, which is the most in professional football since the Oakland Raiders scored 95 in the first two games of the 1968 AFL season.
Other games saw Cincinnati surprise the Green Bay Packers 31-24 at Lambeau Field that included a "Lambeau leap" by Chad Ochocinco after he caught a touchdown pass from QB Carson Palmer.
The New York Giants rallied past the Dallas Cowboys 33-31 as Dallas QB Tony Romo was intercepted three times by the Giants defense. New York kicker Lawrence Tynes kicked the game-winning 37-yard field goal as time expired. Giants QB Eli Manning passed for 330 yards and threw two TD passes in the win.
The following night, Eli's older brother Peyton led the Indianapolis Colts from behind in the closing minutes at Miami as the Colts beat the Dolphins 27-23 on Monday Night Football.
A strange game indeed as Miami had the ball for over 44 minutes and ran for 250 yards in the loss to the Colts.
Notes & Stats ... The Manning brothers (Eli and Peyton) staged comeback wins for their teams in the closing minutes in consecutive nights... The Lions lost their 19th consecutive regular season game against Minnesota 27-13 Sunday after jumping ahead 10-0 in the first quarter... New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (pictured upper right) passed for 311 yards and three touchdowns against Philadelphia, giving him nine TD passes in the first two weeks... The Oakland Raiders were outgained 409-166 in total yardage by Kansas City, yet still managed to beat the host Chiefs, 13-10... The Denver Broncos lead the AFC West with a 2-0 mark after beating Cleveland 27-6... Tennessee, the team with the NFL's best record in 2008, is 0-2 after blowing an early 21-7 lead at home against the Houston Texans before eventually losing the game 34-31... Chargers' running back LaDainian Tomlinson missed his first regular season game start in Sunday's loss to Baltimore as backup Darren Sproles had 270 all-purpose yards, including an 81-yard TD pass from QB Philip Rivers... San Francisco 49ers running back Frank Gore had 207 yards on 16 carries, including TD runs of 79 and 80 yards in the win... Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson (pictured upper left) rushed for 197 yards on 16 carries and scored on long runs of 57 and 91 yards and also caught a 69-yard TD pass from QB Kerry Collins... and Vikings quarterback Brett Favre started his 271st consecutive game, eclipsing former Viking and Hall-of-Famer Jim Marshall's long standing record of 270 consecutive NFL starts.
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