Week 2 Review

The Arizona Cardinals celebrate after New
England Patriots K Stephen Gostkowski
misses game-winning kick.

Week 2 got underway with an ugly one at Lambeau Field that was preceeded by some trash-talking from Chicago Bears QB Jay Cutler. The Green Bay Packers secondary made sure Cutler ate those words Thursday night, picking him off four times in the 23-10 victory. To make matters worse, Cutler was sacked seven times and was seen publicly bashing a member of his offensive line near the sideline. Packers CB Charles Woodson, who had an interception in the game, decided to take shots back at Cutler for his remarks early in the week. Now the 41 points the Bears put up in their opening game victory against the Indianapolis Colts looks like it happened a long time ago. The Packers offense wasn't too impressive either, only scoring one touchdown after one of Cutler's interceptions gave the Packers good field position.

The 1pm games on Sunday were clearly the highlight of Week 2. The Arizona Cardinals stunned almost the entire nation by going into Gillette Stadium and coming out with a 20-18 victory over the defending AFC champion New England Patriots. The Cardinals defense was solid throughout the game, forcing the Patriots to settle for four field goals before they scored their first touchdown. With under two minutes remaining and no timeouts left for the Patriots, the Cardinals were in position to put the game away when RB Ryan Williams coughed up the football. 

RB Danny Woodhead would score a touchdown on a draw play to give the Patriots the lead, but it was called back on a hold by TE Rob Gronkowski. The Patriots got very conservative after and decided to rely on K Stephen Gostkowski on a 42-yard field goal attempt. Already connecting on four field goals prior, most of the people in attendance were pretty sure he would make it for the victory. However, he hooked it wide left, sealing the stunning victory for the Cardinals. Many can point the finger at Gostkowski, but the fact that Bill Belichick went conservative after the penalty cost the Patriots the game.

New York Giants QB Eli Manning
throws one of his touchdown passes.

After watching the first half, it appeared the defending champions New York Giants had no shot at winning the football game at home against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Giants QB Eli Manning threw three interceptions, with the final one coming right before halftime as the Giants looked to score again down 17-13. Instead, CB Eric Wright picked him off, ran circles around the Giants and then returned it 60 yards for a touchdown to give the Buccaneers a 24-13 halftime lead. The Giants also lost three important players due to injury in the first half.

Manning didn't let his first half performance affect his play in the second half. The Giants did struggle to get in the end zone in the third quarter also, but when the fourth quarter came, the Giants were lights out. Manning threw for nearly 300 yards in the quarter alone, continuing his dominance of the game's most important quarter. After the Giants took a 34-27 lead on a touchdown catch from TE Martellus Bennett, the Buccaneers struck right back to tie it with a touchdown reception from WR Mike Williams. Manning calmly led the Giants back down the field for the winning score, giving the Giants a thrilling 41-34 victory. Moments like these is why Manning definitely considers himself elite.

After the Philadelphia Eagles struggled throughout their opening game against the Cleveland Browns, and the Baltimore Ravens easily handling the Cincinnati Bengals in their opener, many thought this could be an easy game for the Ravens. Many people overestimated how good the Ravens actually are, and some are underestimating the talent the Eagles have. This game felt like a war from the opening kick to the finish, with several fights breaking out at the conclusion of plays. It appeared to be a lot to handle for the replacement referees, but a call made in the fourth quarter would end up being the story.

Philadelphia Eagles QB Michael Vick celebrates after
completing their 24-23 victory.

The Ravens held a 20-17 lead in the fourth quarter when QB Joe Flacco threw it to WR Jacoby Jones for what appeared to be his second touchdown of the game against CB Nnamdi Asomugha. However, the referees announced it was an offensive pass interference on Jones, even though a flag was not thrown. On replay, it appeared Asomugha never turned around to be interfered with. The Ravens settled for a field goal which gave them a six point lead instead of a 10-point lead. The Eagles scored a touchdown in their final possession for the 24-23 victory.

Washington Redskins QB Robert Griffin III got his second start against the St. Louis Rams in the Edward Jones Dome in what turned out to be a solid game as well. However, the game will be remembered for the personal foul penalty on WR Josh Morgan that pushed the Redskins out of field goal range down 31-28. K Billy Cundiff attempted a 62-yard field goal for the tie, which was wide right and short, sealing the win for the Rams. No word yet on Morgan's status, but it's safe to say he could be seeing more time on the bench.

Week 2 had some great finishes, but it appears the performance of the replacement referees is the headline. The Monday night matchup between the Denver Broncos and the Atlanta Falcons went past midnight, mainly because of delays from the referees trying to get the calls right. Flacco and LB Ray Lewis openly complained about their performance following their loss, and Redskins CB De'Angelo Hall said the players can dig into their own pockets to help out the regular referees on the bargaining table.

I'm not so sure the performance of the referees was horrible, but plenty of games were slowed down by their inability to get calls correct initially. The NFL does not seem to be worried about it at all, taking their time in negotiating with the referees. We'll see how long it'll take for the real referees to get back onto the field. For now, who knows.