The Carolina Panthers knocked off the Indianapolis Colts in a 26-23 overtime thriller on Monday Night Football, capping off another exciting week of NFL action.
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The Broncos and Patriots are each 7-0.
Irsay later insisted what he meant was if the Colts, instead of asking the quarterback to do too much, had only given Manning better special teams and defense, they could have won more than one Super Bowl ring together. That last happened in 2009.
For the first time in National Football League history, four teams are 7-0.
“When we lost him, I think there was a bit of a void there that we were trying to fill”, Elway said. “But boy, oh boy, it seems like the good teams are staying pretty good and the poor teams are having a hard time building it back up for a few reason. He sure looks good out there”. Keep that in mind when you wonder if the Broncos are real Super Bowl contenders. And while I did give Cam Newton praise, the fact is he hasn’t been spectacular either. Let that sink in. Quarterback Nick Foles needs to cut down on turnovers and the team needs to become more consistent against teams outside their own division.
It is a week dictated by ferocious defense that certainly dictates how games are played these days – defensive teams can dictate the pace of the game and push the team for the win. But I’m not moving the Bengals down. Andy Dalton has played lights-out ranking 4 in total QBR.
Denver came out with something to prove and took control from the start of the game. The offensive line and receivers have been as steady as can be. They can get back on track with a win over Carolina this weekend, but the swarming Carolina defense will not make it easy.
So there you have the 2015 AFC season in a nutshell: the AFC title will be determined by Brady’s Patriots and Manning’s Broncos, unless Roethlisberger and the Steelers can rally with a late-season surge and pull off an upset in the playoffs. Drew Brees just threw for 511 yards and seven touchdown passes last week against a decent enough team. “I’m glad we don’t have to game plan against them”. They are consistently great. However, after numerous surgeries and setbacks, Peyton Manning is no longer a top five quarterback in the NFL. Lastly they have freaking Tom Brady and Bill Belichick – who wouldn’t want those guys? The Broncos have been searching for a top tight end since losing rookie Jeff Heuerman to a torn ACL shortly after he was selected in the third round of the draft out of Ohio State.
Also, their cornerbacks are a huge question mark. After the departures of Revis and Browner, the Patriots No. 1 corner is Malcolm Butler, the same one that got torched by Antonio Brown in Week 1.
“I love that”, Harris said. But along with silencing his critics, and remaining unbeaten, Manning is playing for something else next Sunday: Becoming the NFL’s all-time leading passer.
Are we seeing another 2000 Ravens, 2002 Buccaneers or 2013 Seahawks, where the defense is so deep and dominant that the offense doesn’t even matter anymore?
Plus the Broncos just added Vernon Davis.
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Splitting the carries appears to be working here, so getting the running game established will help open up the passing game just like it did for the Broncos last week. Like a Bic you find in your pocket, Johnson and the Cardinals have found that fire, with the former first-rounder rushing for for 676 yards and 3 rushing TD’s in only six starts this season; already, Johnson has more rushing yards than 2014 (663) and is on pace to finish with his most rushing yards since 2010 (1364). This team looks great on all fronts, but the weakest link is the QB play.
