Game Recap: Arizona 24 – New York Giants 17

Known more for their offensive firepower than an overwhelming defense, the Cardinals flipped the script on Sunday night, bringing relentless pressure and forcing four turnovers in a season defining victory at the Meadowlands over the Giants.

Coming off a tough road loss last week in New Orleans, few expected a second straight defeat for New York, but the G-Men looked lost from the very beginning, especially on offense. QB Eli Manning had three interceptions and WR Mario Manningham dropped a sure touchdown pass late in the game, giving voice to critics that have called for his benching in favor of rookie WR Hakeem Nicks. Nicks scored for the fourth time in four games on the game’s craziest play, snatching a deflected pass in stride and racing 62 yards into the end zone to take a 14-7 lead.

The Cardinals switched fronts and formations with reckless abandon all night long, confusing New York’s offense and making it difficult for them to get into the rhythm they usually enjoy against lesser opponents.

“We feel like we’ve got one of the best defenses in the league. It’s tough for teams to move the ball on them, let alone score on them.” - Arizona WR Anquan Boldin

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Game Recap: New York Jets 38 – Oakland 0

Victories in the NFL are not without their price, and the Jets found that out the hard way on Sunday afternoon, cruising to a 38-0 triumph over the Raiders, but losing one of their top playmakers on offense in RB Leon Washington to a broken fibula in the process. Washington will likely miss the remainder of the season while he recovers from the devastating injury.

That said, New York has to be happy with their performance, especially on offense, with rookie QB Mark Sanchez bouncing back from a horrible performance last week at home to the Bills. Sanchez threw for just 143 yards and one touchdown, but he was calm and in control all afternoon, directing the Jets offense to a precise dissection of a Raiders defense that had seemingly turned the corner last week in defeating the Eagles in Oakland.

Raiders DE Richard Seymour, who claimed Oakland would make the playoffs earlier in the week, summed up his team’s disastrous effort fairly well:

“I don’t think we could have beaten an Oakland high school team today.” - Oakland DE Richard Seymour

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Game Recap: Cincinnati 45 – Chicago 10

There are few things that make an NFL player happier than playing a pivotal role in crushing a team that let them go, and Bengals RB Cedric Benson did just that earlier today in Cincinnati’s demolition of the Bears.

Benson dominated his old team throughout the entirety of Sunday’s affair, racking up a career high 189 yards on the ground along with a touchdown, keying the Bengals’ surprising charge and moving Cincinnati to 5-2 overall. QB Carson Palmer helped out a bit as well, tossing five touchdown passes against a Chicago defense that looked completely lost from the opening coin flip.

WR Chad Ochocinco chipped in as well, catching 10 passes for 118 yards and two touchdowns. As usual, he didn’t shy away from making his opinion known after the game was over:

“The offensive line played unbelievable. For Ced to run the way he did today and for us to be able to throw, we could have done what we wanted to do.”   – Cincinnati WR Chad Ochocinco

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Game Recap: New Orleans 46 – Miami 34

Heading into the waning seconds of the first half of today’s contest against the Saints, the Dolphins were thinking victory was securely in their hands. And seeing as they were already up 24-3, with the ball and momentum on their side, not many could blame them.

But as in life, the NFL has a way of cruelly reversing a team’s fortunes in a heartbeat, and that’s exactly what happened earlier today in Miami. Following an ill-advised turnover in their own territory late in the 2nd quarter, New Orleans QB Drew Brees calmly led his team into the head zone with a leap, slicing the halftime deficit to just 14 points, and showing the Dolphins that they were in for a fight during the final 30 minutes of play.

The biggest play in the game though came courtesy of All-Pro safety Darren Sharper, who snatched a deflected pass from Dolphins QB Chad Henne and raced 42 yards for a pick six that firmly swung the momentum to the visitor’s side of the field. That made the score 24-17 less than a minute into the third quarter, and the air of invincibility Miami had through most of the first half was all but gone.

The teams traded several scores until the fourth quarter when the Saints drove into the end zone on the back of Brees once more for the lead at 37-34. With the comeback all but complete, New Orleans’ defense pinned their ears back and went after Henne at every opportunity, finally forcing another game changing interception late in the game, this one by CB Tracy Porter, who returned it 54 yards for a TD to clinch the victory.

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