NFL WEEK IN REVIEW - WEEK 4

Week 4 - NFL Week In Review

NFL GAME BY GAME SUMMARIES - NFL WEEK IN REVIEW - WEEK 4

Week 4 - Final Score: New Orleans 19, Buffalo 7

San Antonio, TX (MySportsbook.com) - Deuce McAllister rushed for 130 yards to help lead the New Orleans Saints to a 19-7 victory over the Buffalo Bills at the Alamodome. Aaron Brooks scored the lone touchdown for the Saints on a four-yard run and finished 15-of-26 with 172 yards as New Orleans (2-2) earned its first home win of the season. The Saints are playing seven "home" games in two different stadiums (the Alamodome and Tiger Stadium) after the Superdome was damaged by Hurricane Katrina. "It was very nice," Brooks said of playing in front of the crowd in the Alamodome. "From the time we stepped out of the locker room...the crowd was really, really excited about us being there and they really embraced us and we thank them for that."

Donte Stallworth filled in nicely as the number one target for Brooks, catching eight passes for 129 yards. Top receiver Joe Horn missed the game with a hamstring injury. "I wanted to come out and prove what I can do. I had a drop (passed) early and I just wanted to shake that off and continue to play well," said Stallworth. "I've been here four years so its been time for me to step it up when I get my opportunities." John Carney kicked four field goals in the win. Willis McGahee rushed for 84 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries for the Bills (1-3), who have lost three straight since a season-opening victory over winless Houston. Buffalo is off to its second straight tough start, having opened last year 0-4. J.P. Losman finished an awful 7-of-15 passing for 75 yards with one interception and was replaced by Kelly Holcomb in the fourth quarter. Jonathan Smith led the Bills in the air with two catches for 30 yards.

Buffalo's offense looked good to start the game as it scored on the opening drive. McGahee started the 10-play, 75-yard march with a 25-yard run to midfield and Losman added a 14-yard run and completed two passes to Lee Evans for 15 and 12 yards, respectively. McGahee then finished off the series with a one-yard touchdown run. Down 7-0 in the second quarter, New Orleans scored the last 19 points of the game for the win. The Saints capped a 13-play, 56-yard drive with a Carney 23-yard field goal with 9:05 left in the second quarter. The scoring drive consumed just over eight minutes of clock time and was keyed by a 24-yard pass from Brooks to Stallworth. Losman was then intercepted on the first play of Buffalo's next series by Jason Craft, who returned it 39 yards to the Buffalo 23-yard line. Brooks finished off the short march with a four-yard TD run that put the Saints ahead 10-7 with 5:38 remaining in the half. "That was a play designed to go to our tight end and they played man coverage," said Brooks of his run. "(The) offensive line did a great job of opening everyone up."

Rian Lindell missed a chance to tie the game with 1:27 left in the half when his 45-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right. Brooks then drove the Saints 43 yards in six plays, featuring a 26-yard strike to Stallworth, to set up a 40-yard field goal by Carney, putting New Orleans up 13-7 going into halftime. The Saints opened the second half at their own 35-yard line and used another big play by Brooks to Stallworth, this time a 26-yard pass on 3rd-and-15, to drive down to the Buffalo 14-yard line. However Carney hooked a 32-yard field goal try wide left. The teams then traded punts until Buffalo turned the ball over on downs after McGahee failed to convert a 4th-and-2 with 5:02 left in the fourth quarter. New Orleans then extended its lead on the following drive to 16-7 after a 20- yard field goal by Carney with 4:59 left in the game. Faced with a 3rd-and-5 early in the series, Brooks found Stallworth on a 14-yard completion to keep the drive going. Carney's 37-yard field goal with just over a minute left accounted for the final margin.

Game Notes

This was the first of three games the Saints will play at the Alamodome. The team will also play four home games at Tiger Stadium on LSU's campus...Buffalo had won two of its last three over New Orleans...McGahee has 15 rushing TDs in his last 14 games...Losman finished with 38 yards rushing on four carries.

Week 4 - Final Score: Atlanta 30, Minnesota 10

Atlanta, GA (MySportsbook.com) - Warrick Dunn ran for 126 yards and a touchdown and the Falcons defense forced three turnovers and recorded nine sacks as Atlanta routed the Minnesota Vikings, 30-10, at the Georgia Dome. Michael Vick left the game midway through the second quarter with a right knee strain and did not return, but it didn't matter for the Falcons (3-1). Atlanta used a strong running game and even better defensive effort to win its second straight contest. Vick ended 6-of-8 for 49 yards with a touchdown and ran for 58 yards. He left the game, mostly as a precautionary measure, after being tackled by Erasmus James with eight minutes left in the half. "It does not appear that Mike's injury is serious," said Atlanta head coach Jim Mora. "We'll get some tests done on it [Monday]. An x-ray at halftime came back negative...I'm not worried about it for two reasons. One is that Mike is a fast healer, and two is that I have great confidence in [backup] Matt Schaub."

Schaub went 5-of-14 for 39 yards in a game that didn't see much of an air attack from Atlanta. The Falcons gained 286 yards on the ground, falling 11 yards short of the club record. "You're just one play away at all times and you've got to be ready and into the game for when you're called upon if something would happen to the starter," said Schaub, who also had to finish a game two weeks ago when Vick hurt his hamstring. Minnesota quarterback Daunte Culpepper's horrid season continued. The quarterback threw two interceptions and lost a fumble as his turnover total increased to 13 through four games this season. He finished 23-of-34 for 250 yards with a touchdown. Mewelde Moore recorded 120 yards of total offense and Troy Williamson had a touchdown catch for the Vikings (1-3), who failed to follow up their first win of the season with another victory.

Atlanta started the scoring on its first possession of the game. Beginning at their own 22 yard line, Vick marched the Falcons 78 yards on eight plays in just over 4 1/2 minutes. He capped the drive with a five-yard pass to Alge Crumpler for a 7-0 advantage. Then, after holding the Vikings to a three-and-out, Atlanta bridged the first and second quarters with a 14-play, 63-yard drive that was culminated by a T.J. Duckett one-yard TD blast. Later in the quarter, Warrick Dunn ran in from 37 yards out, ending a brief three-play, 69-yard drive that made the score 21-0. Todd Peterson sent the game into halftime 24-0 when he nailed a 38-yard field goal with one second left until the break. In the second half, the Falcons cruised. Peterson hit a 26-yard third-quarter field goal for a 27-0 edge. Then, after Minnesota finally got on the board with a Paul Edinger 43-yard field goal in the fourth, Peterson connected on a 39-yarder to regain the 27-point cushion.

Williamson caught a 16-yard TD pass from Culpepper with 2:33 left, as the Vikings avoided a complete embarrassment. Demorrio Williams, Roderick Coleman and Brady Smith had two sacks each for the Falcons, who fell one sack short of the team's single-game record.

Game Notes

Atlanta had 10 sacks on October 12, 1997 at New Orleans...Williamson ended with four catches for 39 yards and has a TD catch in two straight weeks...Moore had a team-high 57 yards on the ground and game-best 63 through the air...Brian Finneran had three catches and 31 yards to lead the Falcons' receivers...Dunn's TD was the 50th of his career in the regular season...DeAngelo Hall has three picks this season.

Week 4 - Final Score: Indianapolis 31, Tennessee 10

Nashville, TN - (MySportsbook.com) - Peyton Manning threw for 264 yards with four touchdowns and the Indianapolis defense played another strong game, as the Colts rolled to a 31-10 victory over the Tennessee Titans at The Coliseum. Manning and the Indianapolis offense came alive after three subpar weeks in which the defense carried the club. The All-Pro quarterback had thrown for just two scores in the first three games, but doubled that output on Sunday as the Colts (4-0) beat the Titans for the fifth straight time. He completed 20-of-27 passes, including nine to Marvin Harrison, who finished with 109 yards and two scores. Harrison notched his 100th and 101st career touchdown receptions, surpassing Steve Largent and Tim Brown for sole possession of third place on the all-time list. Manning and Harrison have also combined for 85 touchdowns, tying the NFL record set by Steve Young and Jerry Rice.

"It is definitely something special," said Harrison. "It is not something that you come into your career hoping to get, but when it happens you have a great appreciation for it and the guys that have done it. At some point they [records] will mean a tremendous amount. Right now we are just focused on winning games." The Colt defense, meanwhile, was trying to keep an opponent under 10 points for its fourth straight game to start the season, but they were denied with a late touchdown by the Titans. "I'm kind of disappointed that we let them score at the end," said Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney. "That's why I think that we ought to do better defensively and hopefully continue this success. It's four games in -- when we get to the eighth or 10th game, we'll see how everything compares. It's still early. We are playing great defensively." Steve McNair struggled most of the day for Tennessee (1-3), which has lost two in a row. He completed 28-of-37 passes for 220 yards with a touchdown and an interception in defeat. McNair was also the top rusher for the Titans with 40 yards on four carries. "I do not believe we played as good as we are capable of playing," said Titans head coach Jeff Fisher. "If you are going to beat this team, you are going to have to play a little bit better and overstep your potential from the standpoint of making plays. I'm disappointed. I'm not disappointed in the effort. I'm disappointed in the execution."

The Indianapolis offense, according to head coach Tony Dungy, was not firing on all cylinders through the first three games. It took the Colts just 3 1/2 minutes on Sunday to reach the end zone.

Manning was perfect on four throws and Edgerrin James ran three times during the 81-yard march, which ended with a 25-yard strike from Manning to Reggie Wayne in the back left corner of the end zone for a 7-0 lead. "I guess we won't have to ask the question what is wrong with the offense now," said Dungy. McNair responded with six completions in seven attempts on the first drive by Tennessee, but the 11-play march ended only in three points as Rob Bironas booted a 34-yard field goal. After a trade of punts the Colts marched deep into Tennessee territory, but couldn't punch it into the end zone after a 1st-and-goal at the nine-yard line and they settled for a 20-yard field goal from Mike Vanderjagt for a 10-3 lead with 7:17 left in the half. The Colts got the ball back after a punt and marched 76 yards in 11 plays for another score. Manning started it with a nine-yard pass to Harrison, who also caught an 11-yard scoring strike to make it 17-3 just 1:17 before the break.

"We had good execution today," stated Manning. "We had a real mindset to execute down in the red zone because last week people were making a big deal that in the red zone we had to settle for three points a couple of times. That was the mindset, to finish drives into the end zone. We did that today and that really was the difference." The Titans quickly moved across midfield with time winding down and a juggling catch by Drew Bennett appeared to give them a first down inside the five. Bennett actually lost control of the ball and it went into the hands of safety Bob Sanders for an interception. Officials initially ruled Bennett was down by contact, but Dungy called a timeout with 29 seconds to play, giving time for replay officials to decide if they wanted to review it. They eventually did and overturned the call, giving the Colts possession going into the locker room.

"It was huge," Fisher said of the call. "We felt like we were going to get points. Even if it is ruled incomplete, we come back and we got 3rd-and-10 around the 30-yard line with three timeouts left. You've got a chance to make a couple of plays and at least get points. Yes, that was a momentum thing." The Indianapolis defense forced a quick punt to start the second half and Manning followed with an eight-play drive for another touchdown. He completed all four of his passes, including an eight-yard scoring toss to James, giving the Colts a 24-3 cushion midway through the third quarter. The Titans answered with a drive of more than seven minutes, but the tough Indy defense stiffened inside its own 20 and forced a 38-yard field goal attempt that Bironas missed wide left in the final minute of the third quarter. Back came the Colts with a 72-yard touchdown drive. Manning completed just three passes during the eight-play series, but they went for 23 yards to Wayne -- who made an acrobatic catch along the sideline, 24 yards to Dallas Clark and 24 yards to Harrison, who tiptoed along the right sideline before knocking over the pylon for the score.

The Titans finally reached the end zone with 4:31 to play when McNair found rookie tight end Bo Scaife with a six-yard scoring toss on fourth down. "Our guys were very disappointed," Dungy remarked about the late TD. "They wanted to keep them out of the end zone, but that gives them something to work on so that probably keeps me smiling." The game also featured the pro debut of Jarrett Payton, son of the late NFL great Walter Payton. The younger Payton carried four times for 37 yards in the closing minutes.

Game Notes

Manning completed his first five passes on the day after ending last week's game with 12 straight completions. The 17 straight completed passes tied a Colts record set previously by Bert Jones in a December 15, 1974 game against the New York Jets...Harrison notched his 48th career 100-yard receiving game, surpassing Michael Irvin for third place on the all-time list...James finished with 90 yards on 21 carries...Tennessee rookie cornerback Pacman Jones made his first NFL start and was flagged three times in the first half, one penalty was negated. He also fumbled a kickoff return, but the loose ball was recovered by his teammates.

Week 4 - Final Score: San Diego 41, New England 17

Foxboro, MA (MySportsbook.com) - LaDainian Tomlinson rushed for 134 yards and two touchdowns to lead the San Diego Chargers to a 41-17 victory over the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium. Drew Brees connected on 19-of-24 passes for 248 yards with two touchdowns for the Chargers (2-2), who won for the second straight week after starting the season 0-2. Tomlinson extended his NFL record with a rushing touchdown in his 16th straight game. The 16-game stretch is also second behind Lenny Moore's league record of 19 straight games with a touchdown of any kind. "We were 1-2 and we needed this victory badly," said Tomlinson. "So for us it was the Super Bowl Champions, but at the same time it was just the next game on our schedule." Tom Brady threw for 224 yards with a touchdown and an interception for the Patriots (2-2), who were coming off last week's 23-20 victory at Pittsburgh.

The loss ended New England's 21-game winning streak at home, including the playoffs. The team's last setback in Foxboro came to the New York Jets on December 22, 2002. "They did a better job at everything than we did," said Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. "Pass protection, throwing the ball, catching it, making the big plays. You can pick out anything you want, every single area of the game, so whichever one you want, go ahead." The Patriots lost safety Rodney Harrison for the season with a torn ACL he suffered against the Steelers and this was New England's first game without him. "I don't think about the injuries at all," said Brady. "I mean we've got plenty of capable players out there, guys that have proven a lot of things. We have got to play with the guys we've got."

The score was tied at 17-17 at halftime, but the Chargers dominated the game over the final two quarters. Tomlinson plunged into the end zone from one yard out to give San Diego a 24-17 edge with 6:16 left in the third quarter. The TD capped a nine-play, 80- yard drive for the Chargers. The Chargers forced New England to go three and out and the offense responded with another score to make it 31-17 with just 19 seconds left in the third. Brees fired a 28-yard TD pass to Reche Caldwell, who made a nice leaping catch near the back of the end zone. The Patriots had to punt again early in the fourth quarter and Nate Kaeding kicked a 21-yard field goal to increase San Diego's lead to 34-17. San Diego completed the scoring on Clinton Hart's 40-yard interception return for a touchdown with just 34 seconds left. The pick came with reserve quarterback Matt Cassel in for Brady.

The Chargers opened the scoring on Kaeding's 42-yard field goal with 6:22 left in the first quarter. The kick came the possession after New England's Adam Vinatieri missed a 37-yard attempt. However, the Patriots would go ahead 7-3 on a one-yard TD run by Corey Dillon with 1:34 remaining in the opening period. The score capped a nine-play, 70- yard drive. San Diego went ahead 10-7 on an 11-yard touchdown strike from Brees to Keenan McCardell midway through the second quarter.

The Patriots would regain their edge shortly after, as Tim Dwight made a diving catch in the end zone. The 30-yard strike from Brady made it a 14-10 game with 5:29 left until halftime. Tomlinson's first touchdown of the game, an eight-yard run with 2:47 left, would put San Diego ahead by three, but Vinatieri kicked a 24-yard field goal with 21 seconds left to tie the score at 17-17 at the intermission.

Game Notes Antonio Gates led San Diego with six catches for 108 yards...Dillon paced the New England rushing attack with 63 yards on 14 carries...The Chargers gained 431 yards of total offense and held the ball for 36:38...New England fell to 25-4 all-time at Gillette Stadium.

Week 4 - NY Giants 44, St. Louis 24

Miami, FL (MySportsbook.com) - Eli Manning tossed a career-high four touchdown passes and Plaxico Burress recorded a season-high 204 yards receiving to lead the New York Giants to a 44-24 win over the St. Louis Rams at Giants Stadium. Manning ended 19-of-35 for 296 yards for the Giants (3-1), who rebounded from their lone setback of the season with their third win of 2005. Burress had a career-best 10 catches, including two for touchdowns, and New York has just one loss through four games for the second straight season."It feels good right now," said Manning of the early campaign success. "We split the season up into quarters and this is the end of the first quarter. Obviously you'd like to be 4-0, but 3-1 is a good start going into a bye week. We can't just blow this week off. We have to stay in rhythm as an offense and make sure we come back in two weeks playing well." Tiki Barber added 128 yards and a touchdown rushing, and Jeremy Shockey and Amani Toomer also had TD catches for the Giants, who have won three straight over the Rams.

Marc Bulger completed 40-of-62 passes for 442 yards for St. Louis (2-2), which had a two-game win streak come to an end. "We did a good job of fighting back, but when you are down by two or three touchdowns at the end, that is when you have to start winging it and hope for the best," said Bulger, who set career-bests in completions in attempts while coming up nine yards shy of his best yardage mark. "Unfortunately, when you get down that much and our running game wasn't going real well, it's what you have to do." Shaun MacDonald had 121 yards on nine receptions for the Rams, who needed to rely on the air attack after falling behind early. Steven Jackson was held to 17 yards and a TD on 10 carries, but also had a receiving score as St. Louis was held to just 42 yards on the ground for the game.After the Rams drew within 10 points going into halftime with 10 unanswered points, the Giants took control in the third quarter. St. Louis appeared to be heading in for a touchdown on the half's first possession, but Jackson fumbled and Fred Robbins recovered at the Giants' 13 yard line.

From there Manning marched New York 87 yards on eight play drive, taking just 3:26 off the clock, for a 34-17 lead. The march was capped by a 31-yard touchdown pass from Manning to Shockey. In the fourth quarter, Jay Feely extended the Giants' lead to 37-17 with a 23- yard field goal. Later in the fourth, Tory Holt caught a 22-yard touchdown pass to get within 13 points, but Barber capped the scoring with a 16-yard TD. Holt was held to 85 yards on seven catches despite the Giants' best cover corner William Peterson missing the game with back injury. The Giants registered their second 40-point performance of the campaign, having posted 42 in their season-opening win over Arizona. The 1972 season was the last time New York had two 40-point performances. The 1963 squad was the last to have more than two, going for 40 or more points three times. The club is averaging 34 points per game this season.

The Giants started the scoring on the game's opening possession when Manning hit Burress with a 31-yard touchdown strike. New York needed just over two minutes to drive 75 yards on five plays. Then, after the Rams went three-and-out, New York got the ball at the St. Louis 49, drove to the 20 and Feely connected on a 38-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead with 8:39 left in the opening quarter. St. Louis answered on its next possession with Bulger leading a nine-play, 80- yard drive for seven points. Bulger hit Jackson with a 13-yard scoring toss, cutting the deficit to 10-7 just over 3 1/2 minutes later.

Jackson ended with five catches for 42 yards. Manning, however, extended the New York cushion to 17-7 on the Giants' next drive when he tossed a one-yard touchdown pass to Amani Toomer on a 4th-and- goal. The big plays of the drive, other than the TD pass, was a 46-yard toss from Manning to Burress and a 22-yard reverse by Tim Carter. New York later bridged the first and second quarters with a seven-play, 54- yard drive that was capped by a 17-yard pass from Manning to Burress for a score. Feely made the score 27-7 with 9:25 left in the half, connecting on a 32-yard field goal. The Rams then ended the quarter with 10 straight points to draw within 27-17 at the break. Jackson ended a 67-yard, 11-play possession that followed the Giants' field goal drive with a one-yard TD run. A 4th-and-7 completion from Bulger to Dane Looker kept the drive alive. Looker had eight catches for 90 yards. Later, with 1:47 remaining until halftime, Jeff Wilkins hit a 37-yard field goal to make it a 10-point game after 30 minutes of action.

Game Notes

Burress' career-high in receiving is 253 yards set on November 10, 2002 with Pittsburgh against Atlanta...Rams tight end Roland Williams left the game with a sprained right knee. He needed to be carted off with his leg in an air cast, but x-rays came back negative. Williams was filling in for injured starter Brandon Manumaleuna...St. Louis WR Isaac Bruce missed the game with a left toe injury...New York starting LB Carlos Emmons missed the contest with left knee pain...Toomer's TD catch was his first since the December 28, 2003 versus Carolina...Shockey ended with four catches for 57 yards...Shockey's TD catch was the 200th reception of his career. He reached the milestone in just his 43rd game, becoming the second fastest TE to that mark. Kellen Winslow reached the mark in just 39 games....Manning has at least on TD pass in five straight games...Burress' receiving output was the third best in Giants history...Toomer, who ended with three catches for 20 yards, also had 10 receptions for 204 yards at Indianapolis on December 22, 2002...New York's Michael Strahan had a sack to pull into a tie with Clyde Simmons for 11th on the all-time list...New York improved to 14-3 in games prior to a bye week.

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