WEEK 2 REVIEW

All eyes this week were focussed on the Denver Broncos watching to see if Peyton Manning would indeed break Drew Brees’ Single Season Passing Yards Record and to see how many touchdowns he would eventually throw in the season after breaking Tom Brady’s Single Season Passing Touchdown Record in Week 16.  A win was a must for Denver in order to secure the #1 position in the AFC and home field advantage throughout the Playoffs knowing that a Denver loss and a Patriots win would put Tom Brady in the driver’s seat.  If not for that scenario, Coach John Fox might have sat Manning sat in the final game of the season. Everyone knew that Manning would only play a half game and maybe more if the score was close. Once it started, it was evident that the hapless Raiders had no chance of winning which made the clock seem to tick all that much faster as we all watched to see if history would be made.

Going into the game, Manning needed 265 passing yards to have the most passing yards in a season ever and having already broken Tom Brady’s record for touchdowns in a season in Week 16, it was just going to be a final accounting to see where the new record would wind up.  About half way through the First Quarter, Manning connected with Eric Decker for a touchdown from 3 yards out to put the first points on the board giving Manning his 52nd passing touchdown of the season.  Two minutes later, Manning threw a 7 yard pass to Knowshon Moreno for his 53rd touchdown and giving the Broncos a 14-0 lead. With the Broncos up by 14, everybody wondered how long John Fox would let his star player play in the game as he was still short of the record for passing yards and the Broncos were just 2 points away from posting the highest team total for points in the history of the NFL.  In the Second Quarter, Matt Prater kicked a 34 yard field goal and the Broncos were up 17-0.  Seven minutes later Manning threw a pass to Demaryius Thomas and he scored from 63 yards out and the record was in sight but the clock was ticking as the Broncos led 24-0.  On what looked to be the final drive of the half, Manning marched the ball down the field and again connected with Thomas for a touchdown from 5 yards out with 13 seconds left in the half. That catch put Peyton Manning over the single season passing mark by 1 yard and gave him his 55th passing touchdown of the season and gave the Broncos a 31-0 lead. As expected, Manning and many other starters did not play in the second half and in the Fourth Quarter, Prater kicked another field goal from 54 yards and the Broncos led 34-0.  The Raiders were able to put up 14 points with a 14 yard touchdown pass to Rod Streater and a 9 yard pass to Nick Kasa and would up losing 34-14.

Peyton Manning was the man of the hour and the entire season so far and he was the first Quarterback to throw for more than 5,000 yards and more than 50 touchdowns and he did it with only 11 interceptions all season.  The Broncos Offensive Line allowed the fewest sacks in the NFL and they had 8 opening drive touchdowns.  Manning was voted to his 13th Pro Bowl which is the most for any Quarterback.  In the end, Manning threw for 5,477 yards (beat Drew Brees’ record by 1 yard) and his 4 touchdown passes in Week 17 put the official passing touchdown record at 55 plus he scored 1 rushing touchdown when he ran in on a naked bootleg earlier in the season.  In addition, the Denver Broncos are the first team to ever score more than 600 points in one season.  His weapons were all over the field and the Broncos had 5 players with more than 10 touchdowns each including Demaryius Thomas (14 TDs and 1,430 Yards), Eric Decker (11 TDs and 1,288 Yards), Wes Welker (10 TDs and 778 Yards), Julius Thomas (12 TDs and 788 Yards) and Knowshon Moreno (13 TDs (10 Rushing + 3 Receiving) and ran for 1,038 yards and caught passes for 548 yards this season).  With the win, the Denver Broncos secured the #1 Seed and home field advantage throughout the playoffs finishing their season 13-3 for the second year in a row.  Manning as a Bronco has a regular season record of 26-6 over the two years he has played in Denver.  Peyton Manning was named the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year and he is the current front runner for the NFL MVP Award and deserves the MVP award for his play which would be his 5th NFL MVP Award, also a record. At this point, Manning is currently #2 on the Career Passing Yards list behind future Hall of Fame Quarterback Brett Favre and needs 6,874 yards to tie the record and is also #2 on the Career Passing Touchdown list behind Brett Favre and needs 17 touchdowns to tie the all time record. Football fans witnessed greatness this season and probably the best Quarterback to ever play the game.

It is hard to believe the 2013 NFL Football season had drawn to a close and the playoff schedules have been set with the Wildcard Playoffs beginning next week while the Division Champions getting the week off waiting to see who they will play in the Playoffs.  It was a fun season with many ups and downs.  Last years Super Bowl Champions got knocked out of the Playoffs with a loss to the Cincinnati Bengals and will be forced to watch the rest of the season from home.

SCORES FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE

• Denver Broncos defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 24-17
• Buffalo Bills beat the Miami Dolphins 29-10
• Washington Redskins crushed the Jacksonville Jaguars 41-10
• Dallas Cowboys wan over the Tennessee Titans 26-10
• Arizona Cardinals handily beat the New York Giants 25-14
• New England Patriots beat up on the Minnesota Vikings 30-7
• Cleveland Browns squeaked by the New Orleans Saints 26-24
• Cincinnati Bengals killed the Atlanta Falcons 24-10
• Carolina Panthers defeated the Detroit Lions 24-7
• St. Louis Rams won in a close one against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 19-17
• San Diego Chargers beat the Seattle Seahawks 30-21
• Houston Texans easily defeated the Oakland Raiders 30-14
• Green Bay Packers won over the New York Jets 31-24
• Chicago Bears came to play and beat the San Francisco 49ers 28-20
• Philadelphia Eagles won in a close one over the Indianapolis Colts 30-27

WEEK 2 HIGHLIGHTS

• Peyton Manning completed 80.8% of his passes throwing for 242 yards and 3 touchdowns with no interceptions.
• DeMarco Murray ran 29 times for 167 yards and 1 touchdown averaging 5.8 yards per carry.
• Knile Davis carried the ball 22 times for 79 yards and 2 touchdowns in addition to catching 6 passes for 26 yards.
• Emannuel Sanders caught 8 passes for 108 yards averaging 13.5 yards per reception.
• Sammy Watkins caught 8 passes for 117 yards and 1 touchdown.
• Kurt Cousins replaced the injured Robert Griffin III and threw for 250 yards and 2 touchdowns.
• Alfred Morris carried the ball 22 times for 85 yards and 2 touchdowns averaging 3.9 yards per carry.
• Dez Bryant caught 10 passes for 103 yards and a touchdown.
• Eli Manning completed 67% of his passes for 277 yards and 2 touchdowns but continues to be bitten by the interception bug throwing 2 in the game.
• Steven Ridley ran the ball 25 times for 101 yards and 1 touchdown.
• Jimmy Graham continues his hot streak catching 10 passes for 118 yards and 2 touchdowns averaging 11.8 yards per reception.
• Andy Dalton threw for 252 yards and 1 touchdown completing 65.2% of his passes.
• Matthew Stafford threw for 291 yards and 1 touchdown with 1 interception.
• Cam Newton completed 64.7% of his passes for 281 yards and 1 touchdown.
• Bobby Rainey carried the ball 22 times for 144 yards averaging 6.5 yards per carry.
• Philip Rivers completed 75.7% of his passes for 284 yards and 3 touchdowns.
• Jordy Nelson caught 9 passes for 209 yards and 1 touchdown averaging 23.2 yards per reception.
• Nick Foles threw for 331 yards and 1 touchdown with 1 interception.
• Antonio Gates caught 7 passes for 96 yards and scored 3 touchdowns.
• Arian Foster ran 28 times for 138 yards and 1 touchdown averaging 4.9 yards per carry.
• James Jones caught 9 passes for 112 yards and 1 touchdown averaging 12.4 yards per reception.
• Aaron Rodgers threw for 346 yards and 3 touchdowns completing 59.5% of his passes.
• Darren Sproles caught 7 passes for 152 yards averaging 21.7 yards per reception and ran the ball 4 times for 26 yards and 1 touchdown.
• Jay Cutler completed 67.6% of his passes for 176 yards and 4 touchdowns with zero interceptions.
• J.J. Watt recorded his first receiving touchdown catching 1 pass for 1 yard in a rare look at the offensive side of the ball.
• C.J. Spiller carried the ball 12 times for 69 yards and also ran back a kickoff for a touchdown from 103 yards out.

QUARTERBACK LEADERS – WEEK 2 PLAYERS ON THE MOVE

• Carson Palmer moved up 2 slots to #25 passing John Hadl and Phil Simms and is behind Ben Roethlisberger with 33,739 Career Passing Yards.  Palmer also moved past Hall of Fame Quarterback Terry Bradshaw to take over the #28 slot with 213 Career Passing Touchdowns and is currently behind John Brodie on the list.

• Philip Rivers moved up 2 slots past Hall of Fame Quarterback Sonny Jurgensen and Kurt Warner to #32 behind Ken Anderson with 32,369 Career Passing Yards.

• Aaron Rodgers knocked Hall of Fame Quarterback Sammy Baugh out of the Top 40 and assumed the #40 slot behind Hall of Fame Quarterback Bob Griese with 188 Career Passing Touchdowns.

RUNNING BACK LEADERS – WEEK 17 PLAYERS ON THE MOVE

• Marshawn Lynch moved into a tie at #31 with Jamal Lewis and Mike Alstott with 58 Career Rushing Touchdowns.

WIDE RECEIVER LEADERS – WEEK 17 PLAYERS ON THE MOVE

• Antonio Gates moved up 1 slot into a tie at #11 with Andre Rison and Larry Fitzgerald with 87 Career Receiving Touchdowns.

DEFENSIVE LEADERS – WEEK 17 PLAYERS ON THE MOVE

• Ed Reed moved past Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott and Darren Sharper to the #6 slot behind Hall of Famer Dick “Night Train” Lane with 64 Career Interceptions.

• Jared Allen moved into the Top 10 at #10 passing Hall of Famer Derrick Thomas and Hall of Famer Ricky Jackson and is behind Hall of Fame Linebacker Lawrence Taylor and Leslie O’Neil with 128.5 Career Sacks.

• Robert Mathis moved up 2 slots passing Dwight Freeney and Greg Townsend to #18 behind Sean Jones with 111.0 Career Sacks.