While seven teams battled for the rights to remain perfect on Sunday, the Oakland Raiders and the Cleveland Browns sought to claim their first victory of the season. Up 21-3 at one point, it looked like new coach Art Shell would finally get his first notch in the win column. But an inability to adjust when things turned in the Browns' favor doomed the Raiders.
After throwing one interception, Browns quarterback Charlie Frye threw for three unanswered touchdowns to put his team on top 24-21. A second interception by Frye in the fourth almost led to d?©j?? vu for the team, which lost last week to the Baltimore Ravens following a Frye interception in the end zone which the Ravens returned for a field goal and the win.
There would be no game-ending heroics for the Raiders, however, and the team dropped to 0-3 for the season. The only bright spot for the Raiders is the fact that their sleeping offense finally awoke after being outscored 55-6 in their first two games of the season. Yet even that is a hazy moral victory, with the team being shut down after they went ahead 21-3 in the second quarter.
With the bottom of the barrel secured, three top dogs continued their search for the perfect season on Sunday night. The Indianapolis Colts prevented an upset, holding off the New York Jets, 31-28, to go 4-0 on the year. But the surprise 4-0 teams were the Baltimore Ravens, who rallied to beat the San Diego Chargers, 16-13, and the Chicago Bears, who are 4-0 for the first time since 1991 after their primetime dismantling of the Seattle Seahawks.
Brian Billick suddenly looks like a genius again with his acquisition of Steve McNair. Air McNair didn't look great on Sunday, throwing for 158 yards on 17-of-30 attempts, with a pair of TDs and two interceptions, but it was McNair who, for the second week in a row, rallied his team from behind with 42 seconds left, tagging TE Todd Heap in the end zone for the win.
On the flip side, the Bears had no need for comebacks in their dominant win over the Seahawks. Now looking like serious contenders in the NFC, the team stunned Matt Hasselbeck, sacking him five times and picking him off twice. The defense was stalwart, but there was no slouching from the offense either. Rex Grossman threw for 232 yards with a duo of TD's on 17-of-31 attempts. Without the running game of Shaun Alexander, the Seahawks looked sluggish and one-dimensional.
If the Bears proved themselves to be contenders on Sunday, the Cincinnati Bengals showed themselves to be the Not-Ready-For-Primetime-Players in their embarrassing 38-13 loss to the New England Patriots. Only a week after some were calling it the end for the Patriots and others were shouting an early MVP cry for Carson Palmer, New England went in to Cincinnati and proved themselves far from over.
Tom Brady returned to his natural form, spreading the ball well and taking his time in the pocket. He was 15-of-26 on the day, throwing for 188 yards and two TD's with one interception. The story of the day was rookie sensation Laurence Maroney who rushed for 125 yards and two TD's. After an abysmal 18-yard rushing performance last week against Denver, the young runner rebounded well and looks to be another reliable weapon in Brady's arsenal.
Bengals' QB Carson Palmer didn't look awful, but with little protection, including four sacks, he was rushed all day long, leading to two drive-ending fumbles. Palmer threw for 245 yards but discovered that big numbers don't often lead to success against the Patriots' defense.
The Patriots have not lost back-to-back games since December 2002, and they'll go for their fourth win of the season next week against a quickly sinking Miami Dolphins team.
