Week 5 Sunday Headlines

     In this weeks wrap-up of Sunday's events, the amount of content to write about was not as vast as in several weeks prior. There were few upsets, not that many outstanding performances, and above all, just a boring week of football. What am I saying, every week is a great week for football. Without further ado here are the three best story lines from Sunday's action.

Alex Smith

1. Brady survives a late Denver comeback: Entering Foxborough's game, Brady seemed like the ultimate favorite over Payton Manning and the Denver Broncos. Throughout the first half, New England was not exactly flawless, but were able to put points on the board. With just four minutes left in the third quarter, New England was up 31-7, and many presumed the game was all but over. Then, Manning completed a two yard pass to Eric Decker, making it a seventeen point game. Nearly half a quarter went by before Manning returned to the red zone, completing a pass to Brandon Stokley, a ten point game with six minutes left. Then, in Denver's territory, running back Stevan Ridley fumbled the ball, handing back the ball to Manning and the Broncos. Denver had no problems marching up the field until they reached the 14 yard line. Then, Willis McGhee mimicked Ridley by coughing up the football, sealing the deal for New England. Brady out played Manning in one of the greatest quarterback series of all time.

2. RGIII leaves with an injury: With 6:12 left on the clock against a very talented Falcons team, RGIII went down with a head injury. There were two criticisms involving the loss of RGIII, one blaming the defender, the other blaming RGIIIs own coach. First, it appeared that the Falcons defender hit the opposing team's quarterback very late in the play. Even if Griffin was yet to be ruled down, the nature of the hit was extremely unnecessary, such that he could have easily put two hands on him and the play would have ended. Secondly, the NFL is criticizing head coach Mike Shanahan for not providing enough information on the seriousness of Griffin's state. The league is reviewing Shanahan's behavior, but it has been provided that RGIII will be expected to play next week against Minnesota.

3. Luck upsets the Pack: At one point in this afternoon's game, Luck and the Colts found themselves down to Aaron Rodgers and the Packers by a grand total of 18 points. Then, over the course of one full quarter, Indianapolis scored 19 unanswered points, giving the Colts a one point lead. However, the lead did not last very long, and soon, the Packers were up 27-21. Then, with 0:35 left on the clock, Luck found Reggie Wayne for a late touchdown, and Rodgers had little time to work with. However, Rodgers completed three quick passes, setting up Mason Crosby for a 51 yard field goal attempt. Unfortunately, Crosby hooked the field goal wide left, giving Luck the first comeback win of his career.

Week 3 Sunday Headlines

     By far the most exciting week of football yet took place today, Week 3. Eight games were decided by a touchdown or less, and not all of them turned out the way we predicted. Along with the eye-opening upsets, many players showed off their skills in the third week of football, helping their teams win in a tight situation. These surprises help shape the league we know, and The NFL Report will update you on the three main things you missed on Sunday.

Sebastion Janikowski

1. Upsets from around the league: Entering Week 3, I would estimate 99% of football fans did not predict the Minnesota Vikings to defeat San Francisco. However, in a surprising turn of events, Christian Ponder and the Vikings over powered San Francisco, beating the heavy favorites 24-13. This was not the only upset to take place on Sunday, in fact nearly half of the games ended in a shocking manner. The Cardinals remain undefeated by beating Philadelphia, the Raiders beat Pittsburgh thanks to a Stephen Janikowski game winner, San Diego scored just three points against the Atlanta Falcons, the Titans tamed the Detroit Lions, winning by a field goal, and the Chiefs handed New Orleans their third loss of the season as they remain win less. And last but not least, last night’s game featuring Baltimore and New England ended in a strangely familiar manner, this time, however, Baltimore’s kicker “made” the game winning field goal. I doubt Week 4 can be any better than what we witnessed last Sunday, but anything is possible in the National Football League

2. Jamaal Charles is back: After an injury kept Jamaal Charles from playing the majority of the 2011 season, Week 3 proved this former star is back and ready for action. His 233 rushing yards and lone touchdown helped guide Kansas City towards a win over New Orleans. Though he is not known for scoring countless amounts of touchdowns, Charles has no problem racking up yards consistently. Over the course of his five year career, Charles averages a yards per carry of 6.0, even when spending much of his time as a second string running back. Unfortunately for fantasy owners, we are not yet sure on how newly acquired running back Peyton Hillis will affect Charles' statistics, but if Kansas City is still willing to hand him the ball 20 to 25 times per game, he has a legitimate shot at the 2,000 yard mark.

3. CJ Spiller suffers an injury: Spiller is not the first Buffalo Bills member to suffer an injury this season, the first key loss coming from fellow running back Fred Jackson. Jackson's injury is what gave Spiller the opportunity to succeed in the first place, and succeed he did. His outstanding statistics ensured him multiple weekly awards, as well as help out his fantasy owner from around the nation. His shoulder injury suffered against Cleveland rules him as doubtful in this weekend's game against New England. Buffalo was able to defeat the Patriots in 2011, but without two big stars, the chances of them winning by the same margin are slim.

Week 2 Sunday Headlines

    Wide left! Sound familiar to New England Patriots fans. Today, however, New England was on the other end of a missed field goal; the losing end. Gostowski's miss was one of the many headlines to come out of Week 1's action, and though the San Francisco-Detroit game enters halftime, with one more game expected to take place on Monday, Week 2 did not disappoint.

Tom Brady (

1. Cardinals upset Patriots in last second thriller: As I mentioned earlier, the New England Patriots suffered a devastating missed field goal with barely any time left on the clock. Leading up to the play, the Arizona Cardinals were two downs away from winning the game, and many Patriots fans were exiting the arena. Then, in an unexpected turn of events, running back Ryan Williams fumbled the ball at the worst possible time, and it was pounced on by nose tackle Vince Wilfork. The Pats then scored what appeared to be the game winner, except Rob Gronkowski was called for holding and the touchdown did not count. Finally, it came time for Gostowski to make the somewhat easy field goal, but he was unsuccessful. Who would have thought the Cardinals would be 2-0?!

2. Steelers too much for Mark Sanchez: Things were looking up for Jets fans after New York's triumphant win over Buffalo in Week 1, but things came to a stop when playing the Pittsburgh Steelers. Missing some of their key stars, the Steelers were still able to get inside the opposing quarterback's head. Throughout the duration of the game, Sanchez was unable to get any sort of rythym going, and though he was sacked twice with zero interceptions, he did not eclipse the 200 yard passing mark, nor did he pass for multiple touchdowns. His ineffectiveness cost the Jets the game, and took the cockiness out of this Jets team entering Week 3.

3. Saints are 0-2: It is now clear just how important Sean Payton was to the Saints franchise before he was suspended for the entire 2012 season. Brees was not able to lead New Orleans to victory against both Washington and Carolina. His statistics are not struggling, for he has thrown for 300 yards in back to back games. However, it appears that his interception problems of 2010 have returned. Unfortunately, it will only get harder from here; the next three games are against playoff contenders from around the league: Kansas City, Green Bay, San Diego. The coaching staff better make some radical changes to their gameplan if they wish to have a shot at the post season.

4. CJ2K has lost his touch: No one wants Chris Johnson to succeed more than me, a fantasy owner who went out of his way to acquire the 2,000 yard rusher. If Johnson's struggles continue, he would rush for a whopping (sarcasm) 168 yards by the end of the season. His speed is still there, but once New England restricted him to just 4 rushing yards, it appears that the Tennessee Titans have lost all faith in their running back. Houston is scheduled for Week 4, but the following week he will play a not so difficult Vikings defense. All I can say is he better get some points in Week 3, or he will be a free agent in many fantasy football leagues.