Neil Reynolds reflects on an inspirational display by Cam Newton and another New York Jets win in his latest Pick Six.
Close games, overtime contests, breath-taking plays and some intriguing storylines that will keep us chatting about the American football action for another week…Yes, it was just another typical Sunday in the wild and always entertaining world of the NFL.
This column could very easily be called Pick 26 this morning given all the talking points that came out of the weekend's contests across America. But as we have to stick with the usual half a dozen, here are the big headlines that grabbed my attention.
Heading into Sunday's contest with the Seattle Seahawks, Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton insisted he wanted to deliver that "statement win" that had previously been missing from his career.
He did just that in the intense, playoff-like, hard-hitting environment in Seattle, firing a 26-yard touchdown strike to tight end Greg Olsen with 32 seconds remaining to lift the Panthers to a 27-23 win. And it was a well-deserved victory for a Panthers team that refused to back down in a battle that required more boxing gloves than receiver's gloves.
I thought the Panthers had the physical steel to pose a threat to Seattle and I said that if they were going to win, it would be a Greg Olsen game because the Seahawks struggle to cover the tight end down near the goal-line. But I still thought it would be a tough task.
As for the Seahawks, they get bogged down on offense far too often, especially in the fourth quarter. It happened in Cincinnati last week and it happened again on Sunday night. As a result, they're waking up this morning contemplating a tough road back to the Super Bowl from 2-4.
Same old story for Broncos
I picked the Cleveland Browns to pull off an upset against the undefeated Denver Broncos on Sunday night and they came pretty close. But Denver ended up riding out a familiar formula in their 26-23 overtime win.
It was defense and special teams all the way once more as Peyton Manning threw three interceptions, including one that was returned for a Cleveland touchdown by Karlos Dansby.
Manning is giving his all out on the field but there is very little gas left in the tank. He is running on fumes at the moment and shows just occasional glimpses of brilliance in a sea of struggle. Fortunately, the Broncos have the best defence in the league because he needs to be bailed out each week.
Coming into Sunday's game, Denver had the second-highest reliance on defence and special teams for their points. More than 57 per cent of Denver's points had come from those two units, which is an incredible statistic for a Manning-led team. And on Sunday, 20 of Denver's 26 points in Cleveland came on defence and special teams.
Interim head coach Dan Campbell took charge of the Miami Dolphins for the first time on Sunday night insisting he was "about to wake the sleeping giant." That may be quite a hyped-up statement but Campbell's Dolphins backed it up with a 38-10 win over Tennessee.
Miami played an aggressive, nasty and attacking style of American football that was missing under previous head coach, Joe Philbin. And a defence that was hamstrung by some bad play-calling was allowed to run free, recording five sacks in the first half.
The key will be to maintain this form in Miami. Teams often have a quick, knee-jerk reaction to a new coach but Campbell will be judged on how well he can get the Dolphins playing for the remainder of the season, not just this single one-sided contest. But he's certainly off to a good start.
Jets are for real
I think it's time for us all to take the New York Jets very seriously indeed as they improved to 4-1 on the season with a 34-20 victory over the Washington Redskins on Sunday.
Chris Ivory is running like a younger and more aggressive Marshawn Lynch and carried 20 times for 146 yards and a score. And let's not forget he went over 160 rushing yards at Wembley before the Jets went on their bye week.
The receiving duo of Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker is big and productive and the defence is one of the better units in the NFL. And let's give some credit to a guy who always seems to get mentioned last when we list the Jets' assets and that is quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. He is not going to wow you with his physical skills but he is simply getting the job done, throwing for two touchdowns and rushing for another on Sunday night. These Jets appear to be a complete team.
Steelers survive another week
When a team loses its star quarterback all we expect them to do is survive or find a way to be competitive until their main man returns. The Dallas Cowboys have failed on that front, going 0-3 with star man Tony Romo on the side lines. But the Pittsburgh Steelers have done more than just survive since Ben Roethlisberger went down with a knee injury.
The Steelers have won three and lost one with Big Ben out of action. And Sunday night's 25-13 victory over the previously-hot Arizona Cardinals was even more impressive as it came with third string quarterback Landry Jones at the helm following an injury to the ineffective Michael Vick.
Jones was so bad in the preseason that the Steelers went out and signed Vick for insurance behind Roethlisberger. So it was was somewhat ironic that Jones out-performed Vick on Sunday evening, throwing for 168 yards and two touchdowns.
The Steelers are now 4-2 on the season and when Big Ben returns and can start playing with receivers Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant, as well as key running back LeVeon Bell, Pittsburgh might be dark horse worth watching in the second half of the year.
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