Did Somebody Say Defense?
(1-0) Tennessee Titans @ Jacksonville Jaguars (0-1)
Over the past two seasons the AFC South has been headlined by the Indianapolis Colts, this weeks match-up pitted the runner-ups against one another as the Tennessee Titans visited the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Once again for both of these teams the passing game was rough as the keys to the offense were given to the two elite backs who went toe-to-toe this week. Rookie quarterback, Miles Quaglieri was unable to keep his starting job after sporting a 5.5 quarterback rating last week. Regardless of the change to Locker as the starting quarterback the Titans were still unable to move the ball through the air, totaling only 44 yards on the night. Veteran quarterback, Jay Cutler was off of his game for the second straight week, throwing for 129 yards along with 3 interceptions.
Two heavy hitter running-backs matched-up in this divisional contest with Maurice Jones-Drew and CJ2k going toe-to-toe for the first time this season. As long as the pass game continued to struggle the Titans would look to their million-dollar baby in the backfield. Johnson finished the night with a total of 112 yards on 15 attempts. On the other side of the ball Jaguars' running-back, Maurice Jones-Drew was able to find the endzone along with picking up 74 yards on the way to a 10-3 victory for the Jags.
Top Performers
HB - M.Jones-Drew - 23 Att., 74 Yards (3.3 AVG), 1 TD
TE - M.Lewis - 5 Rec., 84 Yards
SS - D.Landry - 2 Tackles, 1 Sack, 1 INT
CB - D.Cox - 2 Tackles, 1 INT
HB - C.Johnson - 15 Att., 112 Yards (7.4 AVG)
DE - D.Morgan - 5 Tackles, 4 Sacks
CB - A.Verner - 3 Tackles, 2 INT
OLB - C.McCarthy - 8 Tackles, 1 Sack
(1-1) / Next Week: vs Indianapolis Colts (2-0)
(1-1) / Next Week: vs Buffalo Bills (2-0)
Smith Stalls In Colts' Loss
(1-0) Indianapolis Colts @ Oakland Raiders (0-1)
The top dogs in the AFC South traveled down to the black-hole this week to take on the Oakland Raiders. Coach Regg and his boys in black and silver were looking for their first win of the season and it wouldn't be coming easy against a tough Colts squad.
Break-out running back, Roderick Smith tried to pick up steam this week after a quiet 50 yard performance last week against the Texans. With Oakland's defense built to hit hard and hit often the third-year back kept it quiet once again as he was able to pick up 46 yards on 9 carries. Raiders' running-back, Darren McFadden stuck his hand in the cookie jar, recording 80 yards along with a score on the ground.
This week's match-up wasn't a smash-mouth game like the Raiders hoped for but they did what they needed to do and getting up-and-coming quarterback, Andrew Luck out of his comfort zone was on their list. Luck was brought down three times on the night, the pressure from the line also forced Luck to throw three interceptions, which he counteracted with three-touchdowns. Though Luck was able to put up some points the Colts were unable to pull out a win as they fall to the Raiders by a score of 27-21.
Top Performers
HB - R.Smith - 9 Att., 46 Yards (5.1 AVG)
WR - G.Jennings - 7 Rec., 77 Yards, 2 TDs
TE - C.Fleener - 9 Rec., 112 Yards
WR - T.Y. Hilton - 6 Rec., 67 Yards, 1 TD
FS - A.Bethea - 7 Tackles
CB - V.Davis - 4 Tackles
QB - V.Young - 14/23, 169 Yards, 1 TD
HB - D.McFadden - 18 Att., 80 Yards (4.4 AVG), 1 TD
WR - D.Heyward-Bey - 4 Rec., 63 Yards
SS - B.Sanders - 6 Tackles, 1 Sack, 1 INT, 1 FF
OLB - A.Curry - 7 Tackles
(1-1) / Next Week: @ Tennessee Titans (1-1)
Two QBs Are Better Than One
(0-1) Houston Texans @ Buffalo Bills (2-0)
Coming off of yet another disappointing season, the Houston Texans have given the keys of their offense to rookie quarterback, Don Leoni. After starting off the season in rough fashion, Leoni continued to struggle this week, finding himself completing only 6 passes on the night.
Though Leoni struggled the Texans were still in great shape as the game went on due to their defense stepping up to the plate. Forcing the Bills to fumble the ball four times wasn't easy for the Texans D as they search for their identity early on this season. Stand-out defensive end, J.J. Watt was not on point this week, finishing the game with only a single tackle, but linebacker, Bradie James was there to pick up the pieces, recording 8 tackles, a sack, a interception and forcing a pair of fumbles.
Houston's defense seemed to melt down during key moments as they allowed running-back, C.J. Spiller to rack up the yards and eventually lead the Buffalo Bills to a 31-27 victory.
Top Performers
HB - A.Foster - 22 Att., 53 Yards (2.4 AVG), 2 TD
OLB - B.Reed - 3 Tackles, 2 FF
OLB - B.James - 8 Tackles, 1 Sack, 1 INT, 1 FF
CB - G.Quin Jr. - 5 Tackles, 1 INT
CB - R.Butler - 2 Tackles, 1 INT
HB - C.J. Spiller - 26 Att., 120 Yards (4.6 AVG), 2 TD
QB - J.Mapa - 7/8, 90 Yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
WR - S.Johnson - 5 Rec., 80 Yards, 1 TD
CB - S.Gilmore - 2 Tackles, 1 INT
(0-2) / Next Week: @ New York Jets (1-1)