Favre fiasco? Nah — credit Steelers’ defense
Pittsburgh made its own luck vs. Minnesota, while parity vanished Sunday
Rick Stewart / Getty ImagesJames Harrison sacks Minnesota quarterback Brett Favre.
Dallas has its new game-breaker
Miles Austin will not go down as a one-game wonder. He backed up his 250-yard breakout with six catches, 171 yards, and two touchdowns against the Falcons. “Number one” receiver Roy Williams caught one pass for 16 yards.
It’s hard to pick on Cowboys owner Jerry Jones after Dallas’ most impressive win of the season, but the Austin-Williams dynamic is hard to ignore. The Cowboys handed out three draft picks and a monster contract for Williams, but they had a better option on their bench all along. Great front offices must evaluate their own talent well before anything else.
Cowboys on the rise?
It was a very good sign for the Cowboys that they won a game against a playoff-caliber team without getting much help from their running game. It was easily Tony Romo’s best game of the season considering the competition. Dallas has been uneven at best early in the season, but they are 4-2 with a home game against the Seahawks coming up. They are still on schedule.
Maybe Alex Smith is the answer
The 49ers lost in Houston, but they may have found an offensive identity. Alex Smith came in after halftime down 21-0, and threw three touchdowns to Vernon Davis before falling short 24-21. Smith struggled with some game-managing skills, burning timeouts and taking a costly delay of game penalty on the final drive, but displayed impressive accuracy.
The 49ers were too predictable with Shaun Hill. Run, Run, five-yard pass on third-and six. Teams dared San Francisco to throw and they couldn’t do it. With Smith, the playbook opened up. There were more three receiver sets and plays from shotgun. San Francisco’s defense is good, but not good enough to win every game 14-12.
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Look for Smith to get the rest of the season to prove he can finally be the guy San Francisco thought they were drafting four years ago.
Worthy debut
Michael Crabtree was worth the wait. He made a variety of difficult catches (five for 56 yards) in his debut and had another 17-yard grab called back by penalty. Crabtree may not be a burner, but he showed strong hands and an ability to make catches in traffic and near the sideline. Those skills usually translate to a long, productive career.
Houston coming into its own
Gary Kubiak’s program in Houston is starting to make progress. Back-to-back wins over solid teams — Cincinnati and San Francisco — shows that the Texans may be ready to break its 8-8 malaise. They struggle to put together a complete game, but the defense got the stop they needed by applying pressure with the game on the line.
The defense still gives up too many plays, and the run-blocking is suspect, but Matt Schaub, Owen Daniels, and Andre Johnson are good enough to overcome a lot. Houston gets the Bills next week and should be 5-3 and in the mix of the AFC wild-card race.
Two weeks ago, Buffalo fans were calling for Dick Jauron’s head. A billboard went up asking for his ouster. Despite a cavalcade of injuries, the Bills have responded with back-to-back road wins with Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback. (Though he hasn’t had much to do with it; an opportunistic defense has.)
The wins won’t lead Buffalo to the playoffs and they are unlikely to save Jauron’s job in 2010. But they are typical of Jauron’s teams in Buffalo. This is deeply flawed roster that gives maximum effort. They just aren’t much fun to watch.
Not yet, Norv says
Give Norv Turner and the Chargers credit for playing their best in a game they absolutely needed in Kansas City. The Chiefs have played frisky the last two weeks, and there could have been a natural let-down from the Chargers after a short week. Instead, Philip Rivers and Vincent Jackson played pitch and catch all day in a 37-7 win. There is an argument to be made that Rivers-to-Jackson is as good as any quarterback-wideout combo in the league.
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I still have questions about the Chargers defense long-term, but Rivers is playing at too high a level for San Diego to roll over.
Talk about a bad break
Leon Washington’s broken leg is doubly painful because he has turned down a number of competitive contract extension offers by the Jets in recent months. It's unclear if the injury will have serious repercussions past this season. Here’s to hoping the Jets don't completely pull their offer.
The Jets running game will be in good hands with Thomas Jones and powerful rookie Shonn Greene, but the team will be more one-dimensional. Washington’s loss hurts on special teams just as much as offense.
 | Quick look at Week 9 games |
Byes: Bills, Browns, Raiders, Rams, Vikings, Jets |
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