NFL Sunday Review #9

After Sunday’s action in the NFL, there remains one unbeaten team: the Tennessee Titans, who had to go to overtime to beat Green Bay 19-16 and move their record to 8-0.

And there is now just one winless team, the Detroit Lions, after they lost 27-23 to the Chicago Bears.

That’s due to a nice victory for the Cincinnati Bengals 21-19 over Jacksonville.

The Bengals are now 1-8.

“We were 0-8, but I think we’re a good 0-8 team, if that’s possible,” said Bengals WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh. “I was just telling them (his teammates): Are we going to the playoffs? Probably not. But we’re all men and play with pride. Basically, play with pride and let’s try to make this thing look somewhat respectable.”

For one day, Bengals and respectable could be used in the same sentence.

They now join the Chiefs as the only other one victory team in the league.

Here are some other performances and events from Sunday No. 9 of the 2008 NFL season:

Performances to Remember

Jets defense had five sacks against Buffalo, with two by DT Kris Jenkins … Texans DE Mario Williams had a sack against Minnesota and now has 20 sacks in his last 20 games … Rams receiver Derek Stanley’s 80-yard TD reception was the first catch of his NFL career…. Peyton Hillis is the third running back in Broncos history to gain 100 yards in a game through the air and the first since Floyd Little in 1974.

Performances to Forget

After committing four turnovers (two fumbles, two interceptions) in his first five games, Buffalo QB Trent Edwards has committed five (three interceptions and two fumbles) and allowed a safety in his past two games … David Garrard had gone 166 pass attempts without an interception before his third-quarter pick … Denver had 14 yards rushing on 12 carries. Broncos backs had 11 carries for 12 yards … The Cowboys had 102 net passing yards and gave up 67 yards on interception returns … The Raiders threw for just 31 gross yards and had 10 net yards passing as JaMarcus Russell was sacked four times and threw an INT. The Falcons held the Raiders to negative yards and no first downs in the first half … The last time a team played an entire half with a negative yardage total was on Nov. 11, 1992, when the Colts had minus-5 yards vs. San Diego. It was the Raiders lowest yards total in 47 years, since getting 58 in 1961 against the Chargers, when Al Davis was an assistant coach in San Diego. It’s the lowest total in the NFL since Cleveland gained 26 on Dec. 12, 2004, against Buffalo. Oakland’s three first downs were tied for the third fewest since the merger in 1970, with Cleveland twice being held to two in 1999 and 2000 … Mike Holmgren’s Seattle Seahawks punted 11 consecutive times — seven after three-and-outs.

Notes to Remember

Brett Favre earned his first win at Ralph Wilson Stadium after going 0-3 in his previous three visits with Green Bay. That leaves 10 places Favre has yet to win, including Texas Stadium, where he’s 0-6. The interception he threw to Jabari Greer was the 300th of Favre’s career … The Ravens have not allowed an opposing player to gain 100 yards on the ground in 26 straight games … Ravens K Matt Stover played in his 279th game, tying him with Bruce Smith for 12th all-time and he passed Jim Bakken for 13th place with 536 PATs … Arizona WR Anquan Boldin notched career reception No. 450, becoming the fastest player in NFL history to reach that mark (74 games) … Former Rams coach Dick Vermeil was added to the Ring of Honor at the Edward Jones Dome during a halftime ceremony … With the victory over Oakland, Atlanta has surpassed its entire win total from last season (4-12) … Philadelphia G Todd Herremans caught a 1-yard TD pass from Donovan McNabb . The last Eagles’ TD by a lineman was on Oct. 7, 1934, against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Bob Gonya caught a 4-yard pass from Dan Barnhardt, a back. It was Barnhardt’s only game for Philadelphia and only pass of his career.

Notes to Forget

The Lions have lost 15 of their last 16 games, including nine straight … The last time the Lions started 0-8 was in 2001; they opened the season with 12 straight losses that season … The Texans (3-5) played all four October games at home, due to a hurricane-related postponement, and their return to the road was a bit of a reality check. They’re 12-40 away from Reliant Stadium all-time and 4-24 since the start of 2005.

Longest Plays

97-Tampa Bay KR Clifton Smith returned a kickoff 97 yards for a TD against Kansas City.

95-Denver’s Eddie Royal returned a kickoff 95 yards against Miami.

92-New York Jets DB Abram Elam interception return for a touchdown against the Bills

92-Cleveland KR Joshua Cribbs returned a kickoff for a TD against Baltimore.

90-Seattle WR Koren Robinson caught a 90-yard TD pass against Philadelphia.

80- St. Louis WR Derek Stanley caught an 80-yard TD pass against Arizona.

100-Yard Rushing

154-Baltimore’s Ray Rice had 21 rushes for 154 yards, including a 60-yard run against Cleveland.

139-Atlanta’s Michael Turner had 31 carries for 139 yards against Oakland.

139-Minnesota’s Adrian Peterson ran 25 times for 139 yards and a TD against Houston.

126-Chicago’s Matt Forte ran 22 times for 126 yards against Detroit.

117-New York Giants’ Brandon Jacobs ran 17 times for 117 yards and a TD against Dallas.

109-Arizona’s Tim Hightower ran 22 times for 109 yards and a TD against St. Louis.

106-Kansas City’s Jamaal Charles ran 18 times for 106 yards against Tampa Bay.

104-Cincinnati’s Cedric Benson had 24 carries for 104 yards and a TD against Jacksonville.

100-Passer Rating

138.4-Atlanta’s Matt Ryan was 17 of 22 for 220 yards and 2 TDs against Oakland.

121.9-Indianapolis’ Peyton Manning completed 21 of 29 passes for 254 yards and 2 TDs against New England.

120-Arizona’s Kurt Warner hit 23 of 34 passes for 342 yards and 2 TDs against St. Louis.

111.6-Minnesota’s Gus Frerotte was 11 of 18 for 182 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT against Houston.

109.6-Baltimore’s Joe Flacco was 17 of 29 for 248 yards, 2 TDs and no INTs against Cleveland.

103.2-Houston’s Sage Rosenfels went 21 of 29 for 224 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT against Minnesota.

100-Yard Receiving

136-Baltimore’s Derrick Mason caught nine passes for 136 yards and a TD against Cleveland.

136-Green Bay’s Donald Driver caught seven passes for 136 yards and one TD against Tennessee.

133-Houston’s Owen Daniels caught 11 passes for 133 yards against Minnesota.

131-Philadelphia’s Brent Celek caught six passes for 131 yards against Seattle.

116-Denver’s Peyton Hillis caught seven passes for 116 yards and a TD against Miami.

115-Tampa Bay’s Antonio Bryant caught eight passes for 115 yards and a TD against Kansas City.

111-Miami’s Greg Camarillo caught 11 passes for 111 yards against Denver.

105-Seattle’s Koren Robinson caught four passes for 105 yards and a TD against Philadelphia.

104-Minnesota’s Bernard Berrian caught two passes for 104 yards and a TD against Houston.

Defense

Jets DB Abram Elam returned an interception 92 yards for a touchdown against Buffalo.

Houston Jacques Reeves returned an interception 44 yards for a TD against Minnesota.

Buffalo’s DB Jabari Greer returned an interception 42 yards for a TD against the Jets

Baltimore LB Terrell Suggs returned an interception 42 yards for a TD against Cleveland.

Arizona S Antrel Rolle returned an interception 40 yards for a TD against St. Louis.

Miami’s Will Allen returned an interception 32 yards for a TD against Denver.

Dallas Mike Jenkins returned an interception 23 yards for a TD against the New York Giants.

Jacksonville’s Montel Owens returned a fumble 18 yards for a touchdown against Cincinnati.

Cincinnati’s Jonathan Joseph had 15 tackles against Jacksonville.

Atlanta’s DE John Abraham had three sacks and five tackles against Oakland.

New York Giants DE Justin Tuck had six tackles and 2.5 sacks against Dallas.

Minnesota’s Jared Allen had two sacks and three tackles against Houston.

Special Teams

Tampa Bay’s KR Clifton Smith returned a kickoff 97 yards for a TD against Kansas City.

Cleveland KR Joshua Cribbs returned a kickoff 92 yards for a TD against Baltimore.

Chicago blocked a Detroit PAT kick.

Oakland blocked an Atlanta punt.

Injuries

Bills right guard Jason Whittle filling in for injured starter Brad Butler was hurt and did not return in the fourth quarter … Bears starting QB Kyle Orton was carted off the field after suffering an ankle injury just seconds before half-time … Bears safety Mike Brown walked off the field in the second quarter after trainers checked out his lower right leg on the sidelines. He did not return to the game … Browns G Eric Steinbach left with a rib injury in the third quarter and did not return … Texans starting QB Matt Schaub did not return after halftime with a left knee injury … Titans DE Kyle Vanden Bosch, who started in spite of a groin injury, did not finish the game after aggravating the injury … Packers left tackle Chad Clifton started, but didn’t play in the second half because of a reaction to medication for an illness … The Broncos lost leading tackler D.J. Williams to a torn MCL in his left knee, starting tailback Michael Pittman to a re-injured neck and safety Marlon McCree to a sprained ankle.

Former Chiefs

Buffalo LB Kawika Mitchell had seven tackles against the Jets … John Tait started at RT for the Bears against the Lions … Cleveland LB Kris Griffin had two special teams tackles against Baltimore … Minnesota DE Jared Allen had three tackles and two sacks against Houston … Vikings DB Benny Sapp had two special teams tackles against the Texans … St. Louis WR-KR Dante Hall caught one pass for four yards, returned two punts for eight yards and returned five kickoffs for 105 yards against Arizona … Rams LB Gary Stills was not credited with a tackle against the Cardinals … QB Trent Green was not active against Arizona … DT Terdell Sands had two tackles for the Raiders against Atlanta.