Then there was one... undefeated team that is. A two touchdown favorite on some online gambling sites, the Chicago Bears flopped at Soldier Field against a seemingly well-prepared Miami Dolphins squad. The Bears loss set the stage for the marquee matchup Sunday night between Peyton Manning and his still-undefeated Colts against Tom Brady and the the single-loss Patriots. After a great evening of football the Colts emerged as the lone undefeated team at the season's midpoint.
Here are some of the numeric ins and outs from Week Nine:
65.6 - Percent of the time that Peyton Manning has converted a third down and 8+ yards situation this season. That's ridiculous, folks. You can say all you want about the receivers he has, but Manning has to read defenses, handle pressure in the pocket, and get passes to those receivers.
44, 700, 7 - Receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns for this season's biggest surprise so far, WR/TE Marques Colston. Froget about Reggie Bush, Colston is the Saint's rookie this season that's making a huge name for himself. Those receptions and receiving yards rank fourth in the league, and those seven TDs, well, only Torry "Big Game" Holt has matched that output.
0:00 - Time left in regulation when the Redskins lined up to kick their potential game-winning field goal against the Cowboys. Recent Redskins pickup, Troy Brown, who can probably barely name all his teammates, broke through on what should have been the Cowboys game-winning field goal. And for the first time in his 13-year career, Brown got himself a block. Sean Taylor picked up the pigskin in hopes of a return miracle, but he didn't need it thanks to the rake to the facemask his received. Since the game can't end on a defensive penalty unless the offense is winning, the stupid play set up Nick Novak to redeem himself. Novak missed a 49-yard field goal to potentially win the game with less than a minute to play, but this time he buried a game-winning 47-yarder while the clock stood motionless. T.O., apologize all you want, but this one wasn't just your fault.
29.8 vs. 43.2 - Percent of total offensive yards that the Pittsburgh Steelers ground game has amassed this season compared to that of last year's Super Bowl Championship season. Bill Cowher and company haven't gotten the ground game going this season, and at 2-6, time might have run out to get things figured out.
10 - Combined turnovers Bears QB Rex Grossman racked up against Arizona and Miami. It's clear that if a defense can rattle the young QB who has yet to play a full season, he doesn't recover well. Expect Grossman to keep learning from his coaches as he gets his feet wet, but you can guarantee defenses will be coming after him with fury early and often.
21 vs. 1 - Number of times David Carr has been sacked this season compared to the number of times the New York Giants defense got to him on Sunday. The Texans line is clearly better this season. Carr doesn't even rank in the top five in sacks, where he has made his presence known for some time. Still, most were expecting the QB who spends more than his fair share on the turf to possibly find Jimmy Hoffa's body in the Meadowlands this past Sunday. Not so much. Now, will the Giants have as hard a time trying to get to Grossman this Sunday night?
3 - Threes are wild for Drew Brees. In three straight games, he's tossed three touchdown passes. In doing so, he has filled his expectations nicely in New Orleans, and now his new club is perched atop the NFC South all by their lonesome selves with a 6-2 record.
5.5 - Points the Atlanta Falcons were giving up to the 1-6 Detroit Lions this Sunday. This was one of those clear-cut Vegas sucker's bets. With the Falcons on fire and Michael Vick slinging the ball to one open receiver after another facing a hapless 1-6 Lions team, this spread looked like it belonged on a teaser parlay card. Ah, but the oddsmakers knew something was abrewing in the Motor City. The John Kitna and Kevin Jones combination brought the hammer down on the Falcons. In the Lions 30-14 win, Kitna passed for 321 yards and a TD, while Jones rumbled for 110 yards and two scores. By the way, Roy Williams' hunch this club can win their last nine games and finish 10-6 now has one tally on the board.
11, 1, 1 - Tackles, interceptions, and touchdowns for Buffalo Bills middle linebacker London Fletcher-Baker Sunday against the Green Bay Packers. That tackle total was tied for tops this week. Whether you call him "Dot Com" because he's "always online" or you find it really annoying, this linebacker is a point beast in IDP leagues year after year after year. And for whatever reason, he continues to go unnoticed.
1,623, 11, 1, 105.9 - Passing yards, touchdowns, interceptions, and passer rating for Damon Huard. When Trent Green went down with a concussion in that frightening play during Week One, most people didn't even know who the Chiefs backup QB was; including Chiefs fans. Everyone knows who he is now. Huard is 5-2 as the starting QB. And though he is definitely not the proven veteran Trent Green is, he's letting Larry Johnson do his thing, and then he's finding his number one pass threat, the ginormous Tiny Gonzalez, with frequency. Sounds like a winning combination to me.
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