0 Colts Edge Ravens 17-15 to remain perfect at 10-0... Posted by DieHardFans | at 1:24 AM

Typically with the Indianapolis Colts, they usually rely on their Star Quarterback Peyton Manning to get the job done, which he does with alarming regularity. But since last few games, it has been the defense that has saved the day for the Colts, as evidenced by their narrow win over the New England Patriots last Sunday. The Colts would have their hands full Sunday when they went up against a pesky Baltimore Ravens at M&T Stadium.

Curiously enough, Indianapolis’ defense once again were the heroes as they intercepted a Joe Flacco pass, allowing Indianapolis to remain undefeated, edging Baltimore 17-15. The Colts drew first blood, going 87 yards on seven plays, capped by a 3-yard TD pass from Manning to tight end Dallas Clark (one-handed), giving Indianapolis an early 7-0 lead. The third quarter was 15 minutes of ball control warfare, for the most part as no scoring took place. The fourth quarter would find Baltimore tacking on field goal by Cundiif, giving the Ravens their first lead at 15-14; just over three minutes later, former Ravens kicker Matt Stover put Indianapolis ahead 17-15 with a 25-yard FG with 7:02 remaining in the game. The Colts would ice the win when the Ravens’ Ed Reed fumbled on a punt return with 17 seconds left.

Manning put up un-Manning-like numbers as he went 22 of 31 for 299 yards with a TD and 2 interceptions while Joe Flacco went 23 of 35 for 256 with an INT. Addai rushed 19 times for 74 yards and a score while Ray Rice rushed 20 times for 71 yards while catching 7 passes for 64 yards. Pierre Garcon led all Colts receivers with 6 receptions for 108 yards while Reggie Wayne caught 7 passes for 89 yards; tight end Tom Santi caught 6 passes for 80 yards. Derrick Mason led the Ravens receiving corps with 9 receptions for 142 yards while Rice caught 7 for 64 yards. Indianapolis (10-0) looks to extend their winning streak to 20 when they travel to Houston to take on the Texans next Sunday while Baltimore (5-5) remains at home to host the Pittsburgh Steelers next Sunday.

0 Falcons on road fell short against the Giants in OT! Posted by DieHardFans | at 10:43 PM

In a matchup with possible playoff implications, the Atlanta Falcons lose 34-31 in overtime to the New York Giants in New Jersey. Both teams hoped to build on their success from last season and entered the regular season with very high expectations. Right now, they are both in the thick of the young wild-card race and the Falcons did not help their cause with today’s outcome. Without its top two running backs, the Falcons relied on New Jersey native Jason Spelling to fill their void. The third year fullback/tailback gained 76 yards on the ground and had 2 touchdowns.

Needless to say, it was not enough. Eli Manning’s career high 384 yards and 3 touchdowns bested quarterback Matt Ryan‘s 268 yards and 2 touchdown passes. Tony Gonzalez hauled in 8 catches for 82 yards and 1 touchdown. He has 52 receptions for 583 yards and 5 touchdowns this season. After a promising 4-1 start, the Falcons are 1-4 in their last 5 games. Barring an unprecedented miracle, the Falcons have no chance of winning their division. To gain ground on the wild-card race, the Falcons must turn things around and start winning games. They play their next three games at the Georgia Dome where they are 4-0 so far this season.

0 Giants Stunned at the Meadowlands 21-20 by the Chargers! Posted by DieHardFans | at 10:42 PM

You could cut the atmosphere for this match up with a butter knife. Eli Manning and Phillip Rivers have never met head to head. Ever since the 2004 draft, both fans and experts have debated whether the Chargers or Giants had been more successful in the big trade that day. To date, it would appear that the Chargers are on top, having beaten the Giants on the last drive of the game.



The standard of the passing was pretty indistinguishable between the two quarterbacks. Rivers threw 24/36 for 209 yards and 3 TD’s and 2 interceptions. While Manning threw for 2 TD’s going 25/33 for 215 yards.

The Chargers didn’t seem to have much luck in managing to get a run together. They only had a total of 34 yards rushing with 15 of those yards coming from Phillip Rivers scrambling for a first down. Tomlinson ran the ball 12 times for 22 yards. Meanwhile, Giants ran for 116 yards total.

Jacobs ran 11 times for 67 yards and Bradshaw carried it 14 times for 39 yards. It looked like the Chargers were going to score more through the air but both Malcolm Floyd and Antonio Gates dropped key passes that cost them dearly, and forcing them to punt the ball to the Giants. Smith and Boss caught Eli Manning’s two touchdown passes.

The Giants sacked Phillip Rivers twice while the Chargers got to Eli Manning 5 times. They have now lost 4 games in a row. They are due to host the Atlanta Falcons while the Chargers find themselves in the middle of a 3 game winning streak and they host the Philadelphia Eagles next Sunday.

0 Giant stumble at home as they embraced a loss against the Cards... Posted by DieHardFans | at 3:45 AM

The New York Giants spent the week shrugging off the last week’s loss and promised to be better this week at home against the Cardinals as it was a ‘Get Right” game. The defense promised more blitzing and less trepidation. The offense promised to be sharper. To a man, the Giants were certain they'd come up with a big win Sunday night over the reigning NFC champs... and then they lost.

The Cardinals played their own style of takeaway on Sunday night at the Meadowlands against the Giants, stunning the big blue with a 24-17 win. It’s the third straight win on the road for the Cards. They stopped Giants QB Eli Manning all night, forcing four Giants turnovers, including two on their last two possessions as Ahmad Bradshaw fumbled and then Manning threw a pick after the Giants appeared to be driving towards what could have been the tying score.“Tonight,”, “we definitely fed off our defense” said Kurt Warner who was 20-for-36 for 231 yards with a touchdown to running back Jason Wright that put the team up 24-14 with 2:32 left in the third quarter.

The Cards were outgained by New York 327 to 288 in the passing dept., but the turnovers by Manning helped the birds take advantage of the chances they were given. Safety Adrian Wilson had an interception and a fumble recovery, Antrel Rolle picked off Manning to seal the win for Arizona. The Arizona Cardinals (4-2) scored 17 straight points from the end of the second quarter to late in the third quarter to go up 10 points at 24-14, putting all the pressure on Manning and the Giants offense.

Arizona spent most of the night taking advantage of great field position. They had three touchdown drives that went no farther than 55 yards, taking advantage of field position via poor punting and turnovers. Their drives of 46, 55, and 20 yards were enough to hand the Giants their second straight loss to drop them to 5-2 after a 5-0 start. The Cards are now by themselves in the NFC West, a game up on the 49ers. Next week they host the Carolina Panthers (2-4). It's all part of a weird and surprisingly substandard vibe the Giants are giving off the past couple of weeks.

After two years as a dominant NFC force, they have looked lately like a team that still has a ways to go before we can call it a Super Bowl contender.