This week was full of only two types of games: closely contested battles and a few high-scoring blow-outs. The New England Patriots suffered their first loss of the season to the Carolina Panthers in one of those close games, only their third in their last 36 games. New England started off strong with a nice drive down the field ending with a Tom Brady touchdown, but things went downhill from there as the Panthers came back with the help of running back Stephen Davis who managed three touchdowns on the ground to lead the Panthers to a 27-17 victory. The Patriots wont have time to lick their wounds, as they go on to face the intimidating and, recently, rival Pittsburgh Steelers.
The most lop-sided of the blow-outs this week happened in Philadelphia, where Donovan McNabb came back from a painful injury and loss last week against Atlanta, and led his team to a 42-3 win against the San Francisco 49ers. McNabb, whom it wasnt certain would even play this week, threw four touchdown passes in the first half, two of which were brought down by Terrell Owens.
Another one-sided game was the Lions against the Bears, where the Bears won 38-6, thanks largely to the five interceptions thrown by Detroit quarterback Joey Harrington.
Monday Night held two exciting games, as all four teams stepped into the spotlight undefeated, a perfect formula for an event that raised more than $5 million in six and a half hours for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The first game was an emotionally charged home game for the Saints, in Giants stadium, where the Giants played well, and were helped along by the six turnovers that came their way, four from quarterback Aaron Brooks.
Next on Monday Night were the Cowboys and the Redskins. The game started off slowly, with only three points in the first half. But then, with four minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, with the Redskins down 13-0, Mark Brunell managed two touchdown passes to receiver Santana Moss, for a heart-pounding 14-13 win.
Week 3 starts with some exciting games, like yet another AFC playoff game rematch between the Steelers and the Patriots, where the Patriots will have something to prove after their embarrassing performance this week, and where their defense will be tested against a quarterback with a passer rating of 153.6 so far and a running back with two consecutive 100 yard games. Also, the Giants, who have surprised everyone by going 2 and 0 so far, will face the Chargers in San Diego, hopefully letting us know if the New York Football Giants are for real this year.
Another exciting game next week pits arguably the two best receivers currently in the game against one another as Terrell Owens Eagles take on Randy Moss Oakland Raiders, with the big difference being the men throwing them the ball, all-star Donovan McNabb for the Eagles, and Giants reject Kerry Collins leading the Raiders.
Only seven teams in the league are left undefeated after week 2, not surprisingly the Colts and Steelers, but also the Bengals, Chiefs, Redskins, Giants and Buccaneers. Equally, seven teams are yet to win a game, which comes as a big shock to many Chargers, Packers and Baltimore Ravens fans, but with 15 weeks still left in the regular season, there is still plenty of time for teams to prove what they have, or dont have.
