Week 13: Who Dat?! New Orleans Saints at the Atlanta Falcons

Saints fans call themselves "Who Dat Nation". After last night's rematch against the Atlanta Falcons they might want to change their name to "What Happened Nation". You may remember that just a few short weeks ago, the embattled New Orleans Saints handed the Falcons their first loss of the season. A win made much sweeter by the fact that these 2 NFC South rivals HATE each other. The Falcons are in a comfortable position to make it to the playoffs being tied for the best record in the NFL with the Houston Texans. But Drew Brees and the Saints needed this win to even stay part of the Post Season conversation. To say that Brees blew it would be an understatement as well as a clever play on words and the Falcons walked away with a BIG 13-23 win. Here are the highlights...or lo-lights whichever you prefer.

I can't help but love New Orleans and all their weird ways

- The Saints should have known that things were not going to go well for them on Thursday night when they landed at the Atlanta airport and their team bus was egged. Seriously, Atlanta...what are you 12 years old?

- The first drive started off with the Falcons scoring a quick touchdown...it took them just about 4 minutes to put 7 points on the board after an impressive drive led by running back, Michael Turner, who had 83 yards rushing and the opening touchdown. Drew Brees had his chance on the next drive and it looked like he was going to turn nothing into something when he threw a 38 yard bomb for a big 3rd down conversion. But on the very next play, he threw his first of 5 interceptions of the night. I feel like I need to say that again. DREW BREES THREW 5 INTERCEPTIONS LAST NIGHT! Not only was that a career high for him (i would hope so) but last night's game also ended Drew Brees' streak of 54 consecutive games with a touchdown pass, an NFL record that he set earlier this season.

- Despite the interceptions, the Saints had multiple chances to win this game. I mean, they only lost by 10 despite giving the ball back to the Falcons like it was a bomb or something. At the end of the second quarter the Saints drove to the red zone but were unable to put ANY points on the board when Brees had an incomplete pass to Sproles with 12 seconds remaining and did not have enough time to get the last play off before time ran out. The usually reliable, wide receiver, Lance Moore, also dropped a ball in the endzone during the 3rd quarter.

- The 3rd quarter actually looked like it belonged to the Saints. The Falcons had yet to convert a third down the entire game and with less than 4 minutes left in the game, they had gone 5 consecutive possessions without a 1st down. At this point in the game the Saints had run 58 offensive plays, wearing out the Falcons' defense. "Impress Him" Fact: The average number of plays run by an offense in a football game is around 63, which is why the Falcons defense was understandably worn out. But at the end of the 3rd quarter Brees threw his 3rd interception of the night and the Saints never quite reclaimed the momentum.

- There was one glimmer of hope towards the end of the 4th quarter. Michael Turner fumbled the ball and it was recovered by the Saints and even run down for a touchdown. But the touchdown was called back because the refs said there was contact made with the runner, but it was still Saints ball. "Impress Him" Fact: In the NFL a runner has to be "down by contact" to be considered down. Which means that unlike in college football, if a player gets possession of the ball and falls down but is not touched by an opposing player, the play is still alive and he is allowed to get up and continue forward progress. After recovering the fumble, the Saints still had a chance, that is before Drew Brees threw his 5th interception. Oh wait! the Falcons were offsides, the interception doesn't count, it's still Saints ball, they have another chance! Or Drew Brees can now throw his 5th official interception of the night.

- You'll notice that I have not even mentioned Matt Ryan yet. That's because the Falcons owe this win to their defense. For as well as they played on defense they did little on offense after the first quarter. Matt Ryan completed just 18 of 33 passes for 165 yards and a touchdown pass. But as Matty Ice (yes, that is seriously his nickname) has said all season, it doesn't have to be a pretty win, just a win, and the Falcons go on to an 11-1 record.

Matty Ice with some Natty Ice...get it. 

What a game to kick off Week 13! The next 3 weeks will be filled with teams trying to claw their way into the playoffs and then it starts all over again. Let me know what you think on Twitter @gridiron4girls or on my Facebook Page. Happy Friday!!

Week 10: Nobody's Perfect: Sunday Recap

It's Week 10 and things are starting to get interesting out in NFL land. The New Orleans Saints defeated the unbeaten Atlanta Falcons 31-27. To make things even more interesting the two teams used their post-game interviews to sling passive aggressive shots at each other that would make the meanest of high school Mean Girls proud. First, Falcons Wide Receiver, Roddy White, said something to effect of that the Falcons gave the Saints that win and the Saints didn't really do anything to earn it. That would be a little more convincing coming from a guy who didn't stop short on a run, causing him to miss a pass that would have won the game. The Saints then answered by way of Linebacker, Curtis Lofton (who used to play with the Falcons), by saying that he didn't really consider the Falcons rivals because the Saints have won 11 of their past 13 meetings. Both of these Mean Girls have solid points. The Falcons had plenty of chances to win this game and just could not finish, giving steam to the critics out there who say that they are overrated. Nonetheless, these two teams play again in a few weeks and it will be interesting to see what happens. 

Has Regina George been schooling the NFL in the Art of Mean?

- It was actually raining cats and dogs when the Houston Texans traveled to Chicago to take on the Bears, throwing in an added element to what was already going to be an interesting game. "Impress Him" Fact: Going into Sunday's game the Bears led the league in takeaways and the Texans led the lead in fewest turnovers. But the Texans managed to turn the tables on a team who forced 4 fumbles last week (all by one Charles "Peanut" Tillman). The Bears turned the ball over 4 times and QB, Jay Cutler was knocked out with a concussion late in the second quarter. (Aside: One of my friends believes that Jay Cutler was not really concussed and shouldn't have left the game. It is my belief that Jay Cutler was simply tired of being in the cold rain wand wanted to get home to Kristin to watch reruns of The Hills. End of Aside.) It was a sloppy 13-6 win for the Texans. Schaub had just 95 passing yards and an interception, but it is a win nonetheless and the Texans are now tied with the Falcons for the best record in the NFL.

Jay Cutler: Baby, you promise you think I'm cuter than Brody? Promise?!

Quick Notes:

- Jay Cutler wasn't the only one with a headache, Michael Vick (Eagles) and Alex Smith (49'ers) also left their games with concussions on Sunday.

- They might be Giants but they are still human. Eli Manning and the Giants got their fannies kicked by the Cincinnati Bengals 13-31. 

- The St. Louis Rams and the San Francisco 49'ers recorded the first tie game of the season with a 24-24 score at the end of overtime.

What do you think? Can NFL players be just as bad as Mean Girls? And can anyone name 3 songs from the band They Might Be Giants? If not, you are seriously missing out.

Week 4: So Close! Sunday Recap

Yesterday, thanks to a very sweet friend, I was invited to go to the Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers game in Atlanta. This was not only my first NFL game but also the first time I was going to get to see my favorite, Cam Newton, play live and in person. And to make my day even more special, my ticket came from Linda Hope, the wife of Chris Hope who plays for the Atlanta Falcons (my friend does some work with the Hopes). So in addition to my first NFL game, and seeing my favorite player, I got to see the games from the insiders perspective and the whole experience has really made me love this sport. The stadium's energy was so exciting with loud, fun music (which wins me over in most situations), and a raucous crowd. As much as I love Cam Newton it was hard not to root for the Falcons who were one of several teams to pull out a close win yesterday. I also want to say that even though I had the best time and am so thankful I got to go to the game yesterday, it did make me realize that the best way to watch the games really is in my living room with my husband and his crazy "NFL Sunday" hair....I wonder if he will let me blast some music during time outs.  Well, since I lived it, let's start in Atlanta.

- Let's just say that getting into the Georgia Dome 10 minutes before kickoff was not the easiest thing I have ever done. Once we got in and got up to our section the Panthers had already put 7 points on the board, Cam Newton had thrown a 17 yard touchdown pass to Greg Olsen for the early lead. In fact, it looked like the Panthers had locked up a win. Cam Newton competed 15 out of 24 passes for 215 yards and 2 touchdowns AND one rushing touchdown. It looked like the Panthers were going to hang on to their one point lead as Cam Newton hung on to the ball to rush for a first down and run the clock down. But he fumbled the ball, lost the first down, and the Falcons got their opportunity to score. Atlanta QB, Matt Ryan, was sacked for a career high 7 times during this game. But he overcame that painful stat to throw a 59 yard bomb to Roddy White. That huge play with a few more short completions got the Falcons in field goal position and Matt Bryan kicked a 40 yard field goal to win the game 28-30. The Falcons go on with a 4-0 record and Cam Newton walked off the field with the weight of the Panthers loss on his very nice shoulders.

The cheese stands alone. I'll talk to you, Cam!

- Eli Manning was not able to pull a rabbit out of his hat last night when the NY Giants took on Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night. Well, he actually was able to, but then his kicker killed that poor bunny. The Eagles were up by 2 with 15 seconds left in the game. The Giants' kicker, Lawrence Tynes went out to attempt a 54 yards field goal and he missed it! Except, much like the Dolphins last week, the Eagles had called a time out in order to try and "ice the kicker" so he would have another chance...a shot at redemption...he could still win the game...and then he missed it AGAIN! The Eagles squeaked out another win 17-19. "Impress Him" Fact: The Eagles became the first team in NFL history to have all 3 of their first wins decided by 2 points or less.

- For a hot second it looked like the New Orleans Saints might get their first win in the most hostile of environments, Lambeau Field, against the Greenbay Packers. I think it is safe to say that after the debacle that was last Monday night's game, the Packers deserved a break, though it seemed like even the regular officials were against them during this game. After it appeared that the Saints had fumbled a kickoff return and the Packers had recovers it, the refs called the runner "down by contact" which means there was no fumble. The Packers were out of challenges so what should have been a turnover, stayed with the Saints and the marched the ball down the field to get in field goal position. Garrett Hartley made the first 43 yard attempt but the Saints were called for holding so they moved it back 10 yards to set up a 53 yard attempt. To add a little more drama the Packers were then called for encroachment to move it back up 5 yards and make it a 48 yard attempt. Poor Hartley probably was expecting another whistle when he finally did get to kick the football so he missed it and the Packers found redemption with a 27-28 win over the Saints. In good news for the Saints, Drew Brees looked good with 446 passing yards including 3 touchdowns. "Impress Him" Fact: Drew Brees now has 47 consecutive regular season games with a touchdown pass, tying Johnny Unitas for the all time record. Aaron Rodgers was no slouch either, he threw for 319 yards and 4 touchdowns to get the Packers' win.

- The Washington Redskins and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers decided they wanted to be part of the close games that were going on on Sunday. And on a day where kickers were making or breaking games the Redskins' kicker, Billy Cundiff, thought that he would do his part by missing 3 field goals and then coming out to kick (and make) the game winning, 41-yard field goal. The Bucs had overcome an 18-point deficit to pull ahead of the Redskins 22-21. But our favorite rookie, who showed so much promise during that first week, was not ready for his team to lose 3 in a row. Despite the headset in his helmet going out, Robert Griffin III (RG3) led the Redskins from their own 20 yard line to the 40 and then carried the ball himself to the 26 yard line. Cundiff's game winner gave the Redskins their 24-22 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as well as ensuring that he had a ride home. Don't count RG3 and the Redskins out just yet.

Other Notables:
- The Houston Texans ran over the Tennessee Titans 38-14. Last week Texans QB, lost part of his ear after a particularly nasty hit. He proved that you really don't need that part of your ear to play football as he threw for 202 yards and 2 touchdowns. Arian Foster rushed for 86 yards. "Impress Him" Fact: The Texans are 4-0 for the first time in franchise history.

- The New England Patriots destroyed AFC East rivals the Buffalo Bills. At the beginning of the third quarter the Bills were up 21-7 and I was about to open a bottle of champagne to celebrate the demise of the Patriots. And then Tom Brady sensed my impending celebration and decided to rain on my parade. He directed 6 touchdown drives in the second half to come back and kill the Bills 52-28. The Patriots had 580 yards of offense and forced 6 turnovers. "Impress Him" Fact: The Patriots' 45 points in the second half were the most in franchise history and the fourth most in NFL history, they were also the most by a team who was trailing since 1950.

I just like silly pictures of this guy. Bet you a million dollars he has never been on a motorcycle. (Photo Credit: justjared.com)

Well, that does it for me until tomorrow's recap of the Chicago Bears at the Dallas Cowboys! I am off to have a very productive day off...and by productive I mean catch up on Revenge, Once Upon a Time, and the Real Housewives of New Jersey Reunion, Part 1 (of 3!!!). You have your definition of productive, I have mine.

Week 2: Oh When The Saints Come Falling Down

If nothing else, this blog is doing for me what I hoped it would do for other girls who are constantly surrounded by NFL talk. I have been spouting off stats and NFL tidbits all week and the reaction has been priceless.  The only downside so far has been that when it was time to go pick up lunch today neither my husband nor I wanted to go because we were both glued to the NFL Kickoff show, a minor bump in the road during this experiment in marriage and sports. SO MUCH happened this Sunday, here are some of the big headlines. I have also highlighted some "Impress Him" facts that are sure to raise some eyebrows if you have the opportunity to use them.

- The New Orleans Saints are no strangers to adversity. Seven years ago, Hurricane Katrina ripped through New Orleans and Drew Brees and the Saints stepped up to become the face of the recovery effort and the team that everyone was rooting for no matter who their team was. This year the Saints find themselves facing a different kind of adversity, a less friendly kind. Allegations of players being paid bounties for making hits against certain players have left Drew Brees and New Orleans without their head coach, Sean Payton for this season and the eyes of NFL fans everywhere focused on them, this time in a negative way. The Saints lost to the Carolina Panthers, 27-35, for the first time since 2009 and are now 0-2 for the first time since 2007. Cam Newton and the Panthers looked energized in their home stadium. Newton did a little bit of everything, he had 253 passing yards, was the lead rusher with a career high, 71 rushing yards, one rushing TD, and no interceptions,(Disclaimer: I am a HUGE Cam Newton fan, so I may tend to dwell on him a little. I'm sorry, I can't help it, we have a very special connection that only he and I know about. Well, he doesn't actually know but that's neither here nor there.). Anyhoo, on the other side of the ball, the Saints defense looked rough. They have allowed over 900 yards of offense in their last 2 games. Drew Brees threw 2 interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown. Everyone will be talking about how Drew Brees and the Saints can bounce back from this disappointing start to their season. (Aside: A replacement ref was dismissed at the beginning of this game because it came out that he was a HUGE Saints fan, and when I say "huge" I mean that there were pictures of him on Facebook wearing every bit of Saints clothing he could get his hands on. I am willing to bet there is a Saints tattoo somewhere on his body. Good call by the NFL.).


Cam Newton's Signature TD Celebration, "The Superman"

- Are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers really going to beat the NY Giants at home?! Are the Super Bowl Champions going to be 0-2?! Absolutely not, but it looked like it for the better part of 3 quarters. "Impress Him" Fact: Both the Offensive and Defensive Coordinators for Tampa Bay came from the NY Giants. The Giants had developed special signals just for this game in case it seemed like the Bucs were onto them. And it certainly seemed like they were onto them. At halftime, Eli Manning had thrown 3 interceptions for the New York Giants and the Bucs were up by 11. After the half, the Giants changed their tune. Eli Manning came out with 295 yards in the second half, tying for the 8th most in NFL history for a total of 510 passing yards overall (what?!). Tampa Bay scored 21 points off of turnovers but once Eli decided to play like a 2 time Super Bowl Champ, there was little the Bucs could do to stop him. The Giants won 34-41.

- Do you remember when I said a couple of weeks ago that Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys were under a lot of pressure this year? And then they opened this season up with beating the reigning Super Bowl Champion, NY Giants, in New York and I said it looked like the Cowboys had come to play this season? Remember all that? Well forget it. They looked terrible today against the Seattle Seahawks. Just terrible. And it started immediately, Felix Jones fumbled the kickoff return which gave the Seahawks their first 3 points and then Jeron Johnson returned a blocked punt to give the Seahawks a 10-0 lead in less than 5 minutes! Tony Romo started off in the hole and his teammates didn't do much to help him out of it. Jason Witten and Dez Bryant couldn't seem to catch a break, let alone a ball and Demarco Murray, who had over 100 yards against the Seahawks last season, only rushed for 44 yards. Seattle's rookie QB, Russell Wilson didn't look too bad either. He passed for 151 yards and ran for another 28. Marshawn Lynch also did his part for the Seahawks with 122 yards on the ground and one touchdown. Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks got their first win at home in a big way, 27-7 over the Cowboys. "Impress Him" Fact: The last time Tony Romo and the Cowboys played in Dallas was during the 2006 NFC wild card game where Romo bobbled the snap of what would have been the winning field goal, and then tripped up just shy of the goal line for what would have been the winning touchdown. Remember, the Cowboys have only won ONE PLAYOFF GAME during the Tony Romo years.

Chin up, Romo. At least you don't have to go home to Jessica Simpson

- Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles did it again this week against the Baltimore Ravens. Vick turned the ball over 4 times but in the end Michael Vick came through with a 1 yard rushing touchdown to win the game 24-23. Just as he overcame throwing 4 interceptions last week against the Cleveland Browns, to win the game 17-16. Whether or not you have forgiven him for his past, Michael Vick is proving that he still has plenty of life as a premier NFL quarterback.

- Rookie Quarterback, Robert Griffin III (RG3), almost had more to prove this week after the dazzling display he put on during his debut as the Washington Redskins starter last week. This week the Redskins took on Sam Bradford and the St. Louis Rams. At one point in the first half the Redskins led 21-6; but Rams receiver, Danny Amendola, decided to make things tricky with 12 receptions in the first half (an NFL record) including a 1 yard touchdown to cut the lead to 21-6 at the half. In the fourth quarter the Rams were up 31-28, but RG3 had managed to get the Redskins in easy field goal position to tie the game...that is until an unsportsmanlike conduct call went against the Redskins who now had to try for a 62 yard field goal attempt...which they missed and lost the game 31-24. Does this mean RG3 isn't the real deal? Not at all, he had a solid game with 206 passing yards, 82 rushing yards, and 2 rushing touchdowns. This guy is something special. "Impress Him" Fact: Mike Shanahan, the head coach of the Washington Redskins, wanted to draft Sam Bradford when he was #1 overall pick in the 2010 Draft but was not able to make the necessary moves to secure a higher draft pick.

- Last time the San Francisco 49'ers and the Detroit Lions played their head coaches , Jim Harbaugh and Jim Schwartz, almost got in a fist fight during their post-game handshake. So naturally, all the talk before this game was focused on whether they would kill each other during their handshake this year. They didn't. Not before the game, not after. And the San Francisco 49'ers won their second game of the season. Alex Smith threw for 226 yards and 2 touchdowns, Michael Crabtree was clutch in converting 3rd downs for SF. The SF managed to shut down Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions and stopped him from having another big yardage game. The San Francisco 49'ers won 27-19 over the Detroit Lions.

Quick Notes:

-The New England Patriots lost in a heartbreaker in their home opener against the Arizona Cardinals. Tom Brady and the Pats were stopped on an attempted 2 point conversion and then missed a field goal that would have won the game for them. They lost 20-18 to the Cards. (Aside: I know girls tend to swoon over Tom Brady, but I am not one of those girls. No offense to Gisele but I think he is a First Class Goob, and I think the picture below proves that I am not far off.)

married to Gisele, but snuggling a goat

-Miami Dolphins rookie QB, Ryan Tannehill, led the Dolphins to their first win (35-13) against the Oakland Raiders. Tannehill had 200 passing yards and Reggie Bush (another Kim Kardashian casualty) clenched the win with 172 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns.

- In other rookie QB news, Andrew Luck also got a "W" for the Indianapolis Colts against the Minnesota Vikings. Luck completed 20 out of 31 passes for 224 yards.

- Following their big win last week against the  NY Jets struggled against the Pittsburgh Steelers who were trying to avoid losing 2 in a row. The Jets lost to the Steelers 27-10 even though the Steelers were without key defensive vet, Troy Polamalou and linebacker James Harrison, who were both out with injuries. Tim Tebow only played for one snap on which he rushed for 22 yards...and was then booed when he came off the field. No one likes this guy, not even his own fans.

- C.J. Spiller led the Buffalo Bills to a big win over the Kansas City Chiefs. The former Clemson Tiger carried the ball 15 times for 123 yards (8.2 yards per carry) and rushed for 2 touchdowns. The Bills won 35-17 at home.

- Frustration is growing when it comes to the replacement refs. They are making inconsistent calls and one quarterback, the usually mild mannered Joe Flacco, has called them out for effecting the outcome of the game. They are also being criticized for taking too long making decisions and slowing down the game.

With everything that happened on the field this Sunday, I know that there is something that you might hear people talking about that I missed. If you ever need me to elaborate on games or story lines please feel free to hit me up on Twitter @gridiron4girls or you can email me at gridironforgirls@gmail.com. See you all Tuesday morning for a recap of the Denver Broncos vs. the Atlanta Falcons. All I can say is, thank god the Bachelor Pad is over.

Week One: This Is A Marathon Not A Sprint

After 10.5 hours and 11 games, I am feeling pretty good. I will admit that I wish I had more waters and less bloody marys at brunch, but you live and learn. In the end, I made it through my first Sunday with only a 20 minute nap (brought on by aforementioned bloody marys) and a slight back ache. My husband moved only once that I could tell during the entire 10.5 hours. He had 2 TVs in the living room and one game pulled up on the iPad. The couch was set up with 3 pillows from the bed and his favorite blanket and if you follow me on twitter (@gridiron4girls) you can see that every hair on his head was sticking straight up. I don't know if this is because he is stressed out about his fantasy football team, or just excited that football season is back; either way, I am looking forward to see how it behaves during the next 4 months. Truth be told, I didn't miss my lazy Sundays watching terrible "girlie" television. Instead, it was fun to watch something that so many people are passionate about, maybe even including me.

A LOT happened but here are the big stories coming out of the first Sunday:

-Remember when I told you that there were 5 rookies starting on Sunday, well you will be hearing one of their names a lot on Monday and that is Robert Griffin III but you should get use to calling him RG3. RG3 led the Washington Redskins to a 40-32 victory over the New Orleans Saints on the Saints' home field. He had 320 passing yards on only 26 attempts and on top of that he also rushed for 43 yards. In addition he added the longest touchdown pass by a rookie on opening day with a pass to Pierre Garçon for an 88 yard touchdown. If this kid put on that kind of performance in his first NFL start in a very intimidating road game there is no telling what is still to come, RG3 is the real deal.

- As for the other four rookies: Luck, starting for the Indianapolis Colts and trying to fill a very large void left by Peyton Manning, threw for over 300 yards but also threw 3 interceptions. Wilson showed some promise for the Seattle Seahawks, but nothing to write home about and don't even get me started on Ryan Tannehill for the Dolphins and Weeden for the Browns; they both got their fannies handed to them. Of the 5 starting rookies RG3 was the only one to get a win for his team.

-The San Francisco 49ers won at the Greenbay Packers for the first time since 1990. This is a HUGE win on the road for the 49ers against their NFC rivals. While the Packers made some moves to try and come back, in the end the 49ers simply outplayed Greenbay to win 30-22. Randy Moss, in his 14th season in the NFL had the first touchdown for SF and their kicker David Akers kicked a 63 yard field goal to end the first half; seriously, the ball bounced off the crossbar and just happened to fall on the right side of the goal. With that kind of luck on their side the 49ers were going to be hard to beat.

-During the 4 weeks of pre-season games the New York Jets played 4 games and scored 1 touchdown. 1 touchdown in 4 games. Maybe they were just saving them all for their season opener against the Buffalo Bills. The Jets won 48-28 setting a franchise record and silencing their critics. All the talk before the Jets game was about how they would use Tebow, but in the end Tebow all the credit has to go to Mark Sanchez for this decisive win. The Jets head coach, Rex Ryan, is somewhat famous for a lot of big talk. For now and for once it seems like he has kept his foot out of his mouth...so to speak.

- It was a wild one in Denver, the Steelers and the Broncos took traded the lead back and forth during all 4 quarters. Peyton Manning made his debut with the Denver Broncos after sitting out all last season after 4 surgeries on his neck. At the beginning of the game Manning and the Broncos didn't seem to quite have their mojo going, but that all changed in the 3rd quarter. At the beginning of the half Peyton Manning had been off the field for almost an hour. When he finally got his hands on the ball in the second half it took him 36 seconds to throw his 400th touchdown pass to Demariyus Thomas who took it 71 yards down the field. Manning joins the ranks of Dan Marino and Brett Favre with #400 and as the second half wore on he looked more and more like the Hall of Fame QB that he is. You can't ignore the play of the Steelers, Ben Roethlisberger and co. looked good and it looked like who ever could manage to have the ball last was going to be the team to come away with the win. But Big Ben threw an interception to Tracy Porter that was run back 43 yards for a Broncos touchdown with less than 2 minutes to go in the 4th quarter to put the Broncos up 31-19. After that it was all Broncos, Ben Roethlisberger was saked 3 times, maybe now he knows how his dates feel. In the end Peyton and the Broncos pulled off a big win and no one will be saying that it is time for Peyton Manning to hang up his cleats

-8 months after after having reconstructive knee surgery Adrian Peterson's legs seemed to be working just fine for the Minnesota Vikings against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Peterson carried the ball 17 times for 84 yards and had 2 touchdowns. Guess a brand new knee was worth it, the Vikings won 26-23.

-Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers fell to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers whose defense gave last years rookie of the year (and my personal favorite) a wake up call. The Panthers were shut out in the first quarter, the defense looked terrible, and while Cam tried to put a few drives together and had 303 passing yards, he also had 2 interceptions and virtually no ground game. I think it's too soon to say whether or not Cam Newton will fall victim to the Sophomore Slump, but it does seem like he and the Panthers have a tough road ahead.The Bucs won16-7 ending a 10 game losing streak.


-It wouldn't be a blog post without mentioning the replacement refs. This Sunday did not go as smoothly for our retired insurance salesmen (and woman) as they probably would have liked. The Packers-49ers game was ruled by terrible calls that very well could have helped put the nail in the Packers' coffin. The Panthers game and Steelers-Broncos game also had some miscues. Here's hoping that the NFL gets the real guys back on the field and these other guys back on the golf course sooner rather than later.

Well, I am exhausted, being an NFL fan is hard work! Don't forget to follow me on twitter @gridiron4girls and share this blog with your friends (if you want to). I will be back after Thursday's Bears- Packers match up. Hope everyone has a great Monday!