NFL Week #2 Review

A lot of people around the NFL are talking about the success of young quarterbacks like Mark Sanchez in New York, Joe Flacco in Baltimore and Atlanta’s Matt Ryan.

But NFL Week #2 was really a celebration of old quarterbacks and young running backs as the league went through the second line of the 2009 schedule.

Brett Favre (soon to be 40), Kurt Warner (38), Peyton Manning (33) and Drew Brees (30) all led their teams to big victories, with the last three on the road. The Vikings, Colts and Saints are all 2-0 to start the year.

And those young running backs lit up the scoreboard, as 26-year old Frank Gore and soon to be 24-year old Chris Johnson just blew up their opponents.

Manning put the cap on the week with a remarkable effort in beating Miami on Monday night. With a decided disadvantage in time of possession, Manning directed the Colts to the victory and started it all on the first Indy offensive play on an 80-yard TD pass to TE Dallas Clark (right). They held the ball for less than 15 minutes and ran just 35 plays, and won.

“It was about being efficient when it counted, in the fourth quarter,” Manning said after the game. “That’s really what the game’s about.”

Against Detroit at the Metrodome, Favre made his 271st straight start, breaking the NFL record of 270 starts held by former Vikings DE Jim Marshall.

“Every game I play in at this point, I’m pretty grateful,” Favre said. “I know how difficult it is.”

Throwing against Jacksonville, Warner set an NFL single-game record for completion percentage, 92.3 percent. He completed 24 of 26 passes and that was better than the 91.3 percent day that Cleveland QB Vinny Testaverde’s had back in 1993.

“Kurt’s found the fountain of youth somewhere,” Arizona teammate Larry Fitzgerald said. “I don’t know where it is, but we’re blessed to have his services. He played error-free football to put our offense in a great position. When he’s back there in that kind of rhythm, it’s hard to deal with him.”

And Brees continued his remarkable start, throwing for three more TD passes as his Saints clubbed the Eagles. He now has nine on the season.

“If you look at our skill group, each game no guy ever knows who’s day it’s gonna be,” Brees said. “Each guy knows it’s their job to open things up for everyone else.”

When it came to carrying the ball, Gore ran for 207 yards on only 16 carries and displayed a tremendous burst on a pair of long touchdowns that he hasn’t shown in several seasons. He ran 79 yards for a first-quarter TD and then he took the opening handoff of the second half and went 80 yards to the end zone. Gore became the fifth player since 1950 to have two rushing touchdowns of more than 70 yards in the same game.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that,” quarterback Shaun Hill said of Gore. “He was moving.”

Against Houston, Johnson exploded for three long scores, going 57, 69 and 91 yards. He finished the game with 284 yards from scrimmage.

Johnson scored three times — twice rushing and once receiving — on plays of 57, 69 and 91 yards. He finished the game with 284 yards from scrimmage. Still the Titans fell to the Texans.

“It’s good to have great days like that,” said Johnson. “But at the end of the day when you take that ‘L,’ it puts a damper on your whole day.”

HOW THE LEAGUE STANDS

2-0 (9) – Atlanta, Baltimore, Denver, Indianapolis, Minnesota, New Orleans, N.Y. Giants, N.Y. Jets, San Francisco.

1-1 (14) – Arizona, Buffalo, Chicago, Cincinnati, Dallas, Green Bay, Houston, New England, Oakland, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Diego, Seattle, Washington

0-2 (9) – Carolina, Cleveland, Detroit, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Miami, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Tennessee

TOP RUSHING PERFORMANCES

San Francisco’s Frank Gore ran for 207 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns against Seattle.

• Tennessee’s Chris Johnson ran for 197 yards on 16 carries and a 91-yard TD run against Houston.
• Cincinnati RB Cedric Benson ran for 141 yards on 29 carries against Green Bay.
• Atlanta’s Michael Turner had 28 carries for 105 yards and one TD against Carolina.
• Buffalo’s Fred Jackson ran 28 times for 163 yards against Tampa Bay.
• Miami’s Ronnie Brown ran 24 times for 136 yards and 2 TDs against Indianapolis.
• Dallas’ Marion Barber carried 18 times for 124 yards and a TD against the Giants.
• St. Louis’ Steven Jackson ran for 104 yards on 17 carries against Washington.

TOP PASSING PERFORMANCES

Indianapolis’ Peyton Manning hit 14 of 26 passes for 303 yards, 2 TDs and a passer rating of 133.9.

• Arizona’s Kurt Warner was 24 of 26 for 243 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs and a 131.2 passer rating.
• Houston’s Matt Schaub hit 25 of 39 passes for 357 yards and 4 TDs, a passer rating of 127.8.
• Atlanta’s Matt Ryan connected on 21 of 27 passes for 220 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT and a 122.2 passer rating.
• New Orleans’ Drew Brees was 25 of 34 for 311 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT and a 118.6 passer rating.
• Minnesota’s Brett Favre hit 23 of 27 for 155 yards with 2 TDs and a passer rating of 115.3.
• New York’s Eli Manning connected on 25 of 38 passes for 330 yards, 2 TDs and a 110.6 passer rating.
• Chicago’s Jay Cutler was 27 of 38 for 236 yards and 2 TDs for a 104.7 passer rating.
• New York Jets’ Matt Sanchez was 14 of 22 for 163 yards, 1 TD and a 101.1 passer rating.

TOP RECEIVING PERFORMANCES

Indianapolis TE Dallas Clark caught seven passes for 183 yards and an 80-yard TD against Miami.

• New York Giants WR Mario Manningham had 10 catches for 150 yards and a TD against Dallas.
• Houston WR Andre Johnson caught 10 passes for 149 yards and 2 TDs against Tennessee.
• San Diego WR Vincent Jackson had six catches for 141 yards and a TD against Baltimore.
• New York Giants WR Steve Smith hauled in 10 passes for 134 yards and a TD against Dallas.
• Carolina WR Steve Smith had eight catches for 131 yards against Atlanta.
• San Diego RB Darren Sproles had seven catches for 124 yards, including an 81-yard TD against Baltimore.
• Miami WR Ted Ginn caught 11 passes for 108 yards against Indianapolis.
• Philadelphia TE Brent Celek caught eight passes for 104 yards against New Orleans.
• Philadelphia WR DeShea Jackson had four catches for 101 yards and a TD.

TOP DEFENSIVE PERFORMANCES

New Orleans S Darren Sharper returned an interception 97 yards for a touchdown against Philadelphia.

• Buffalo S Donte Whitner returned an interception 76 yards for a TD against Tampa Bay.
• Green Bay CB Charles Woodson had two interceptions against Cincinnati, including one he returned 37 yards for a TD.
• New York Giants CB Bruce Johnson returned an interception 34 yards for a TD against Dallas.
• Cincinnati DE Antwan Odom had five sacks of Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers. Odom now has seven sacks after two games.
• Denver’s OLB Elvis Dumervil had four sacks of Cleveland quarterback Brady Quinn. He also caused a fumble.
• Minnesota LB Chad Greenway had two interceptions and recovered a fumble against Detroit.
• Tampa Bay LB Barrett Rudd had 14 tackles against Buffalo
• Philadelphia’s defense earned a safety when New Orleans QB Drew Brees fumble out of end zone.

TOP SPECIAL TEAMS PERFORMANCES

Arizona’s DE Calais Campbell blocked a Jacksonville FG attempt and S Antrel Rolle returned it 83 yards for a touchdown.

• Atlanta CB Brian Williams blocked a Carolina punt.
• Philadelphia’s Ellis Hobbs had 63-yard kick return against New Orleans.
• Cincinnati’s Quan Cosby had a 60-yard punt return and averaged 22.8 yards on five returns against Green Bay.

NOTEABLE TEAM ACHIEVEMENTS

An NFL regular-season-record crowd of 105,121 attended the Cowboys-Giants … Indianapolis had the ball for 14:53 against Miami, the lowest time of possession for a winning team since 1977 … the Colts have won 11 straight regular-season games, which is the longest active streak in the NFL … the Broncos have won 10 straight home openers and have started 2-0 for the third straight season … the Jets snapped an eight-game home losing streak to the Patriots (first since Sept. 11, 2000.) … the Falcons are 2-0 for only the second time in the last 11 years.

NOTEABLE INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Arizona QB Kurt Warner set an NFL single-game record for completion percentage at 92.3 percent. Warner bested Vinny Testaverde’s 91.3 percent for Cleveland on 12/26/1993 against the Los Angeles Rams. Warner also tied a Cardinals record for most consecutive passes completed to start a game by going 15 for 15, tying Jake Plummer’s mark from Nov. 8, 1998 against Washington … WR Torry Holt passed Art Monk for 13th all-time with 12,772 career receiving yards … Mark Sanchez joins Ben Roethlisberger as the only rookie starting QBs to defeat the Patriots under Bill Belichick … Saints QB Drew Brees has thrown at least two touchdown passes in eight consecutive games dating back to 2008 … New Orleans safety Darren Sharper now has nine career interception returns for a touchdown, the most among active players … St. Louis QB Marc Bulger (1,861) passed Jim Everett (1,847) to become the Rams’ all-time leader in pass completions … Terrell Owens has at least one reception in 185 consecutive games, the third longest streak in NFL history behind Jerry Rice (274) and Marvin Harrison (190) … Steelers WR Hines Ward now has a reception in 164 consecutive games, the second-longest active streak in NFL … 49ers RB Frank Gore became the second player in NFL history to have two TD runs of 79 or more yards in the same game, joining Barry Sanders who had runs of 80 and 82 yards at Tampa Bay on 10/12/1997. Gore became the fifth player since 1950 to have two rushing touchdowns of more than 70 yards in the same game … San Francisco QB Shaun Hill is 6-0 as a starter at home … Colts TE Dallas Clark finished with seven receptions for 183 yards, the fourth highest total for a tight end in NFL history … Indy QB Peyton Manning moved past Johnny Unitas for most victories (119) by a quarterback in Colts history … Titans RB Chris Johnson’s 91-yard TD tied a franchise record set by Sid Blanks in 1964.

NOT SO MEMORABLE

The Cardinals-Jaguars game in Jacksonville drew a crowd of just 46,520 … the Lions have now lost 19 straight games, tied for the second longest streak in league history. Chicago Cardinals in the ’40s and the Oakland Raiders in the ’60s also lost 19 straight. NFL record is 1976-77 Tampa Bay Bucs with 26 straight defeats … the Browns have scored just one touchdown in their last 33 quarters … the Jaguars started 0-2 in consecutive years for the first time in club history … St. Louis lost its 12th consecutive game dating back to last year … the Redskins have scored only three touchdowns in their last five home games … In two games under rookie head coach Raheem Morris, Tampa Bay has now allowed 900 yards of offense, including 438 against Buffalo … the Dolphins are 0-2 for the fourth straight year … The Cowboys had no sacks against the Giants, giving them no sacks through two games after leading the NFL with 59 last season … Dallas QB Tony Romo finished with a 29.6 passer rating, thanks to three interceptions.

OTHER STUFF

At half-time In Denver former Broncos TE Shannon Sharpe skydived into the stadium as part of a tandem parachute jump and he was inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor … Philadelphia fell to 13-10 since 1999 when Donovan McNabb misses a game due to injury … the Falcons wore throwback uniforms honoring the 1966 inaugural season for the team.