Monday night’s showdown between the Seattle Seahawks and the Green Bay Packers was a defensive gridlock, but the final score was dictated by the officials’ divisive decision to grant the Seahawks the 14-12 victory at CentruyLink Field.

Green Bay was able to drive down the field in the 4th quarter starting at their own 19, and Cedric Benson punched in a score from the one yard line to go up 12-7. They did not convert the two point conversion. On that drive, on 3rd and 2 from Seattle’s 47 yard line the officials called a pass interference on Kam Chancellor against Jermichael Finely, which extended the Packers drive, and did not seem to be a penalty.

The Packers were able to maintain the Seahawks on the ensuing drive. Green Bay regained possession after a failed 4th and 3rd conversion on Green Bay’s seven yard line. On the first play,  Cedric Benson was pushed backwards, and fumbled the ball. Packers center Jeff Saturday recovered the ball. Green Bay was only able to kill 57 seconds and punted the ball back to Seattle around midfield.

Russell Wilson drove the Seahawks to Green Bay’s 24 yard line. On 4th and 10, Wilson chucked the ball in the end-zone to Golden Tate, but cornerback M.D Jennings seemed to have intercepted the ball and had possession. However, the official ran over and called it a touchdown. The play was reviewed and stood, granting the Seahawks the victory. Beyond frustrated, the Packers left the field. However, 11 players needed to come back on the field to line up for the extra point conversion.

This catch has spurred a vast amount of controversy, especially because it was the obvious wrong call and the replacement officials are dictating the results of key games. According to the NFL rule book, Rule 8, Section 1, Article 3, Item 5: Simultaneous Catch states:

“ If a pass is caught simultaneously by two eligible opponents, and both players retain it, the ball belongs to the passers. It is not a simultaneous catch if a player gains control first and an opponent subsequently gains joint control.”

While looking at the review, its is clear that Jennings had possession of the ball and brought the ball to his chest, while Tate only had one hand on it. Furthermore before Tate made a play on the ball he blatantly pushed Sam Shields down to the ground, another missed call.

Several NFL, and sports analysts tweeted there reactions regarding the call. Steven A. Smith tweeted, “If the NFL wants to maintain any credibility whatsoever, it should OVERTURN this decision IMMEDIATELY. This game should be awarded to GB.” Prior to that Smith tweeted on the officiating saying, “That’s it! I’m done. CLEARLY AN INTERCEPTION. The NFL should be ashamed of itself for allowing this officiating to regress to this point.”

This has been the most controversial call of the season, and brings up the question, when will the NFL reach into their pockets and bring back the real officials?

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Adam Vinatieri made a field goal to put the Indianapolis Colts ahead by one point with 56 seconds left in the fourth. Given Blaine Gabbert’s tremendous struggles all afternoon long, virtually everyone in the building thought it was over.

To no surprise, that may have even included a number of his Jacksonville Jaguars teammates, as well.

In an AFC South showdown that the Colts (1-2) were less than a minute away from winning, the Jaguars (1-2) instead ended up leaving Lucas Oil Stadium with a 22-17 victory that completely shattered the hearts of Andrew Luck along with the rest of Indianapolis.

Only eleven seconds after the snap of the first play from scrimmage following Vinatieri’s clutch field goal, which just barely snuck through the left upright, Cecil Shorts III had just dove across the goal line while being tackled, finishing off an 80 yard catch and run up the middle of the field to give the Jags the eventual winning score.

“I told the guys going out onto the field, ‘We’re going to win. Right here, right now,’” said Gabbert. “We happened to get the right look for the play that was called. We just went with it.”

By the time the play was over the venue had instantly gone from jubilant to punched-in-the-stomach shocked. No one donning royal blue was able to process what had just taken place.

The game-winning touchdown pass was Gabbert’s only scoring throw of the game, and also just his tenth and final completion. He netted only 155 yards through the air on the day.

“This one’s going to sit in the pit of their stomachs for quite some time,” said Colts head coach Chuck Pagano of his players. “Obviously, we’re going to have to get over it and move on and get better from here.”

Pro start number three was another success for Luck, with the exception of how the final score turned out. Luck threw for 313 yards and two touchdowns. His interception with less than seven minutes remaining in the third quarter would set up a 47 yard field goal by Jacksonville kicker Josh Scobee that cut the Indianapolis lead to 14-13 a few minutes later.

After taking an early 3-0 lead on the game’s opening possession, the Jags did not find themselves back in the driver’s seat until the 11:02 mark of the fourth quarter thanks to a 26 yard field goal by Scobee.

Two first half touchdown passes by Luck – a 40 yarder toward the right sideline to rookie receiver T.Y. Hilton and a 4 yard slant to running back Mewelde Moore helped the Colts establish a 14-3 advantage going into halftime.

Maurice Jones-Drew broke a 59 yard untouched rush to the right and took it all the way for the score early in the third to bring Jacksonville within four. He had an unstoppable day, recording 177 yards on 28 carries.

On the ensuing Colts possession, receiver Austin Collie, who suffered a concussion in the preseason and has had three in total dating back to the 2010 regular season, took a hard hit over the middle after making his first catch of the season and then had to be carted off the field with a knee injury.

Trailing 16-14 inside of five minutes to go in the fourth, Vinatieri just missed a 36 yard field goal wide left following an inexplicable delay of game penalty that appeared to make all the difference on the attempt.

The Colts found themselves on their own 35 with no timeouts at their disposal shortly after Shorts III’s late touchdown. Luck was able to get them all the way down to the Jacksonville 26 yard line, but a final jump ball for Reggie Wayne in the end zone was knocked away to conclude the ball game.

No matter how wild it was, Jacksonville will certainly take the win.

“This win is close to the top,” said Jaguars cornerback Rashean Mathis. “That was pretty much a ‘Hail Mary’, but it was great.”

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The only thing the Houston Texans (3-0) did wrong on Sunday was not allow quarterback Matt Schaub to go home with his entire left ear intact. Other than that, they took care of business the way they had it planned all week.

On a high hit handed out by Denver linebacker Joe Mays, which warranted a flag, Schaub severely cut his left ear and had to come out of the game for a play. It turned out that a chunk of the lobe actually fell off.

“I felt fine,” Schaub said. “I just lost a piece of my ear. I was bleeding and my helmet came off. So, I had to come out for a play, but I was fine.”

Schaub threw for 290 yards and four touchdowns, Arian Foster tallied 105 yards on 25 carries and the Texans held on late to clinch their third consecutive win to open the season, defeating Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos (1-2) on the road, 31-25.

“We knew that we had to try to get the ball downfield because they had a lot of people committed to the run,” said Texans head coach Gary Kubiak. “We did what we had to do to win, convinced them that we had to make some big plays and they did.”

Houston responded to Denver’s quick five points at the outset with a 60 yard Andre Johnson touchdown to gain a 7-5 lead at the 6:38 mark of the first quarter.

They never trailed again from that point on.

A three yard touchdown pass to Foster and 52 yard strike to receiver Kevin Walter later, the Texans had extended to a 21-5 advantage less than midway through the second quarter.

By halftime the Broncos were not done, though, as they were able to cut it to a 10 point game with two field goals before entering the locker room.

A dominant third quarter by the Texans in which they outscored the Broncos 10-0 put a considerable amount of distance between the two at 31-11.

It appeared to be over, but Manning, as he has always done, would not go down without swinging.

Manning found his old battery mate from his Indianapolis days, Brandon Stokley, for 38 yards and a touchdown to trim the deficit to 31-18 with just under 10 minutes remaining in the fourth.

Another Manning touchdown pass with exactly three minutes left to go gave the Broncos an opportunity to win the game if they could find a way to come up with a much needed stop.

But that didn’t happen, as Schaub found Johnson down the left sideline on a critical 3rd and 5 in Houston territory. They were eventually forced to punt, but by that time the Broncos were left on their 14 yard line with just 20 seconds on the clock.

They tried to pull off a lateral-laced miracle as the clock struck zero, but to no avail.

“Second week in a row we lost by six points,” said Broncos head coach John Fox. “It’s the second week in a row we started very slowly. Different side of the ball this time.”

“We have to learn from this game, address it, be honest, everybody needs to be accountable and try to improve forward,” Manning said. “It’s not the ideal situation. Everybody would love to be 3-0. That’s not the way it is right now.”

While Manning and his new crew are still trying to find themselves, Schaub and the Texans just keep rolling along, even if pieces of body parts are literally being torn off.

Said Kubiak of Schaub’s performance, “Boy, he played like a champ today.”

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Sunday’s showdown between the Detroit Lions (1-2) and Tennessee Titans (1-2) in Nashville ended up turning into a good old fashioned shootout. One which needed an extra 8:25 to decide a winner.

And at the end of the day, it was the Titans who found themselves on top, 44-41, in what was probably the wildest game the day had to offer.

“Both of us looked at each other and said, ‘We’ve never been through something like this in our lives,’” said Titans head coach Mike Munchak of his counterpart Jim Schwartz. “It’s hard to put in words what to say about that. We both could’ve won in so many ways.”

Titans quarterback Jake Locker threw for 378 yards and two touchdowns while completing 29 of 42 passes and leading his team to their first win of the season.

Tennessee, who was previously winless, went into halftime with a 20-9 lead over a Lions team that is anything but a pushover.

After only seven points were scored in the third quarter via a one yard Mikel Leshoure rushing touchdown, the fourth quarter saw scoring come from left and right in every which way, through offense, defense and special teams.

A total of 46 points were scored in the final period of regulation.

Brandon Pettigrew’s fumble at the Tennessee 28 yard line with the Lions trailing 34-27 with about three minutes remaining in the fourth was recovered by Tennessee cornerback Alterraun Verner and run back 72 yards for a touchdown and what undoubtedly appeared at the moment to be the final dagger.

But Lions backup quarterback Shaun Hill had other plans.

Matthew Stafford, the Lions starting quarterback, did not return to the field due to injury following Pettigrew’s fumble. He had an outstanding day nonetheless, going 33/42 through the air for 278 yards and a touchdown.

Hill suddenly found himself thrown into a game trailing two touchdowns with just 1:16 left on the clock. He would put together an 80 yard touchdown drive in just 58 seconds, which ended with a 3 yard scoring toss to Calvin Johnson, who had yet another monster performance with 164 yards on 10 receptions to go with that touchdown grab.

Detroit successfully recovered the ensuing onside kick, and was stationed at the Titans 46 yard line with just 18 seconds remaining.

Hill’s prayer on second down was answered downfield by receiver Titus Young, as he hauled in a touchdown that set up the game-tying extra point as time expired.

Locker remained composed, however, and put Tennessee in position to take a 44-41 lead with 10:36 left in overtime.

Schwartz wanted to end it once the Lions made their way all the way down to the Tennessee seven. It would be a decision that would come back to bite him, as Hill attempted to scramble for the first down on fourth and one, but lost a yard and came up short to seal the victory for the Titans.

The play did undergo a booth review and was upheld, ending the madness.

Trying to somehow put everything into words, Munchak said, “I can honestly say, 30 years being around the NFL, I never saw anything close to what we experienced in this game, the highs and the lows, both sides of the ball.”

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The Minnesota Vikings pulled off the unthinkable, upsetting the 2-0 San Francisco 49ers 24-13 at the Mall of America Field.

Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder continues to play well for Minnesota, completing 21 of 35 passes for 198 yards, and two touchdowns in their upset victory. Percy Harvin led the Vikings in receiving, catching nine passes for 89 yards. Harvin was also featured in the backfield, having one carry for nine yards. Minnesota had an effective day running the ball against one of the NFL’s best defenses. The Vikings ran for a total of 146 yards and scored once on the ground. This was the first time the 49ers gave up over 100 yards rushing this season.

Adrian Peterson led the running attack with 25 carries for 86 yards. Quarterback Christian Ponder scrambled seven times for 33 yards, including his 23 yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Vikings tight end Kyle Rudolph caught five passes for 36 yards and two touchdowns. Rudolph has already matched last seasons’ three touchdown total just three games into the 2012 season, and seems to be a key target for Christian Ponder and the Minnesota offense. The Vikings’ offensive line contained the ferocious 49ers blitz and did not allow them to sack Ponder once.

Alex Smith completed 24 of 35 passes for 204 yards, one touchdown, one fumble and one interception in Sunday’s loss. Smith’s lone interception ended his franchise record 249-throw streak without an interception. Smith’s favorite receiver was Mario Manningham, who caught five passes for 56 yards. Tight end Vernon Davis also caught five passes for 53 yards. In addition, 49ers veteran wide receiver Randy Moss caught three passes for 27 yards against his old squad. Frank Gore led the 49ers in rushing with 12 carries for 63 yards, and caught one pass for nine yards along with one fumble loss.

Although not being able to stop Christian Ponder, the 49ers’ defense was well led by linebacker NaVorro Bowman. Bowman had a career-high 18 tackles. Patrick Willis also contributed, with 10 tackles.  The 49ers will look to bounce back from this shocking upset next week against the New York Jets. The Vikings are looking to continue playing well, and will be on the road against division rival the Detroit Lions.

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In what was expected to be a tough match-up on the road for the New York Giants, especially while missing key members on offense such as Hakeem Nicks, Ahmad Bradshaw, David Diehl and Domenik Hixon, turned into the Giants defeating the Carolina Panthers 36-7.

Giants running back Andre Brown continues to make a name for himself  after his performance last night against the Panthers. The Giants could not have asked for more from their back up running back. Brown had 20 carries for 113 yards and two touchdowns.

At wide receiver, four-year player Ramses Barden started in place for the injured Nicks. Barden lead all receivers, with 9 receptions for 138 yards. Barden’s performance could have landed him a spot to see the field more often.

Giants tight-end Martellus Bennett caught 6 receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown. This is Bennett’s third consecutive game with at least one touchdown. Astonishing enough, the last time Bennett scored a touchdown in three consecutive games was back in 2008 when he was with the Dallas Cowboys.

Eli Manning was extremely efficient Thursday night, completing 27 of 35 passes for 288 yards and one touchdown. Eli had a quarterback ratting of 110.2, his highest rating of the season. His 77.1% completion percentage was a season best thus far. Manning was able to enjoy the victory and watch the final minutes of the game from the sideline.

Another key factor in Thursday’s victory was the Giants defense. Although struggling in the secondary because of injury, they were able to force Cam Newton to throw three interceptions. In addition, the Panthers put the ball on the ground two times; both times, the Giants were able to recover and regain possession. The Giants limited Newton to 242 passing yards and only 6 carries for 6 yards on the ground. Newton had a quarterback rating of 40.6, a career worst for the 2nd year star. The Giants were also able to maintain the rest of the Panthers high powered running threats, only giving up 60 yards on 20 attempts.

Panthers back-up quarterback Derek Anderson took over when the game was out of reach, with less than a minute to play.

The Giants have some much needed rest to catch up on with their upcoming schedule. New York will be traveling to Philadelphia to take on the Eagles Sunday September 30.

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After kicking off the season on the road against the Green Bay Packers, the 49ers played their first home game of the season against another NFC North opponent, the Detroit Lions. The 49ers defeated the Lions 27-19, to improve 2-0 on the season and have many analyst debating are the 49ers the best team in football?

Quarterback Alex Smith; lead the Niners, completing 20 of 31 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns. Both touchdowns were caught by athletic tight-end, Vernon Davis; who also had 5 receptions for 73 yards. San Fran’s running back, Frank Gore also contributed to the victory with his 17 carries for 89 yards and a touchdown. Fourth year wide receiver, Michael Crabtree had a solid game catching 6 passes for 67 yards. Smith has been very impressive lately and has shown a vast amount of improvement since his earlier years in the NFL. Even though, starting off the season 2-0, Smith stated in the post-game press conference, “There is a lot of room for improvement.”

San Francisco’s tenacious, hard-hitting defense was led by linebacker Patrick Willis, who tallied up a total of 9 tackles. 49ers defense also forced Lions quarterback, Matthew Stafford to throw his 4th interception of the year. Stafford struggled against the Niners secondary and only completed 19 of 32 passes for 230 yards and one touchdown. Stafford’s lone touchdown pass was too tight end Brandon Pettigrew. Star receiver Calvin Johnson was held to 8 receptions and 94 yards.

This is Johnson’s 2nd consecutive game without a touchdown. Kevin Smith was the Lions main running threat in Sunday night’s performance carrying the ball 16 times for 53 yards. Stafford and the Detroit offense have yet to find their rhythm this season and seem to be a bit out of sync. “I don’t think as an offense we’ve hit our stride yet,” Stafford said while addressing the press.

The Niners will be on the road for their next game, Sunday September 23 against another NFC north squad the, Minnesota Vikings. San Francisco will look to continue to take advantage of the mistakes their defense forces upon opponents. As for the Detroit Lions they will be heading south September 23 against a winless Tennessee Titans team and hope to get their offense to finally be as explosive as it was last season.

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Unlike the case in their season opener last week, the Houston Texans (2-0) had no problem whatsoever getting off to a quick start. Houston relentlessly imposed their will on their AFC South rival – the Jacksonville Jaguars (0-2) – throughout a 27-7 Week 2 victory on Sunday down in North Florida.

Quarterback Matt Schaub didn’t throw a touchdown and the defense only forced one turnover, but none of those factors prevented the Texans from putting up 10 points the first quarter, seven in the second and the third and three more in the fourth.

Domination on the ground propelled Houston from start to finish, as running back Arian Foster totaled 110 yards and one touchdown on 28 carries. As if that wasn’t enough, his backup, Ben Tate, complemented him with 12 attempts, 74 yards and two trips to the endzone of his own. Foster’s one yard touchdown run with 15 seconds remaining in the first quarter capped off a six-play, 42-yard drive to extend the Texans 3-0 lead to 10-0. Tate’s first touchdown came from eight yards out a little more than halfway through the second quarter to make it a 17-0 Houston advantage. He would go on to add a two yard scoring rush late in the third, pushing the Texans further ahead, 24-7, following Jacksonville’s only points of the day, which came on a five yard touchdown pass by Blaine Gabbert to Maurice Jones-Drew.

Gabbert had a day he’d certainly like to forget, completing just seven of 19 passes. However, he made sure to hold his Jaguars teammates accountable as well. “We killed ourselves,” said Gabbert. “We were 0 for 9 on third down, just a lack of execution. Had a bunch of mental mistakes. We just shot ourselves in the foot. And you can’t win football games in the NFL by doing that.”

Jaguars first year head coach Mike Mularkey removed Gabbert in the fourth quarter for precautionary reasons due to a “strain in the back of his leg.” Jones-Drew, Jacksonville’s main offensive weapon and last year’s league rushing leader, finished with a mere 60 yards on 12 carries.

“All of it was weird,” Jaguars defensive end Jeremy Mincey said. “We’ve got to fight. We’re not in too big a hole. We’ve got to climb out of that hole and pull it together.”

Houston added a fourth quarter field goal to give themselves a 27-7 lead – the same score they would win by. The Texans dominated on both sides of the ball, outgaining Jacksonville 411 to 117 in yardage. “We were mad that we started slow last game so we came out here with a mission, a goal, to start fast,” said Texans defensive end J.J. Watt. “Two 20-point wins the first two weeks? That’s what you’re supposed to do. If we can just stay focused on our goals, we should be fine.”

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The Cincinnati Bengals hosted the Cleveland Browns in what proved to be one of the most exciting games in Week 2 as the Bengals emerged victorious over their AFC North counterparts, 34-27.

Cincinnati got off to the perfect start as cornerback Adam Jones returned a punt for an 81-yard touchdown and gave them the opening score of the game. Both sides seemed tentative in the first quarter and a field goal from Phil Dawson for the Browns was the only other score.

The game exploded into life in the second quarter with Cincinnati striking first, quarterback Andy Dalton finding A. J. Green for a 10-yard touchdown pass. Cleveland struck back quickly, however, with rookie running back Trent Richardson putting his disappointing performance last week against the Philadelphia Eagles behind him and rushed for a 32-yard touchdown.

Mike Nugent then added a field goal for Cincinnati and ensured they took a lead of seven points into the halftime break.

Dalton continued his good form early in the second half, once again throwing a touchdown pass, this time to Brandon Tate for 44 yards as the Bengals threatened to take control of the game. Cleveland needed a quick score to get them back into the game and Richardson stepped up once more. Fellow rookie Brandon Weeden and Richardson connected on a 23-yard touchdown pass, cutting the Bengals’ lead back to seven points.

Both teams shared a touchdown and field goal apiece in the fourth quarter, Cincinnati striking first through a 50-yard touchdown from Andrew Hawkins, followed by a 24-yard touchdown for Greg Little.

Dalton (24/31, 318 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT) looked much more composed this week against the Browns than he did in Week 1 against the Baltimore Ravens, but it was losing quarterback Weeden (26/37, 322 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT) who perhaps made the biggest improvement from his performance a week ago, where he had looked abysmal.

Richardson had also disappointed for Cleveland last week, but put on a much improved show this week, rushing for 109 yards and one touchdown from 19 carries, as well as making 36 yards in the passing game and going over for a further touchdown.

The Bengals offense looked impressive in this victory over the Browns, but they will need to replicate this kind of performance against the likes of the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Ravens if they are to become a force to be reckoned with in the AFC North.

Cincinnati will look to improve their record to 2-1 next week as they visit the Washington Redskins, whilst Cleveland will be desperate for their first win of the season as they play host to the Buffalo Bills.

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A six yard touchdown reception by Minnesota Vikings tight end Kevin Rudolph changed everything. Before the Indianapolis Colts could blink, they had blown the 20-6 lead that they had extended to with 7:06 remaining in the fourth quarter, and the Vikings were an extra point away from tying the score by the time the clock read 31 seconds.

With two timeouts at their arsenal, a decision had to be made by Indianapolis. Take the safe route and play for overtime, or give rookie quarterback Andrew Luck no other choice than to grow up at that very moment and lead his team to their first win of the season and the first of his career.

Head coach Chuck Pagano chose the latter, and two 20 yard completions, an offside penalty, 18 seconds, a 53 yard Adam Vinatieri field goal and a 23-20 thriller of a victory later, everyone at Lucas Oil Stadium was more than thankful that he had so much faith in Luck in a situation that would send jitters up the spine of any rookie quarterback.

“It’s just amazing that the guy’s able to go out there and do the things he does as a rookie,” said Pagano. “He certainly had to put the ball on them, and he did.”

After a Week 1 losing performance in Chicago where he was picked off three times by the Bears, Luck rebounded in fine fashion, as he threw for two touchdowns, no interceptions and 224 yards on 20/31 passing on Sunday afternoon in his last-minute winning debut before the hometown crowd.

Minnesota took an early first quarter lead with a 51 yard field goal on the initial possession of the game. Luck wasted no time in responding, and led a 13 play, 6 minute, 59 second drive of 80 yards that ended in a three yard touchdown pass which was zipped into rookie tight end Dwayne Allen at the goal line to give the Colts a 7-3 lead with less than a minute to go in the opening quarter.

By the time the two minute warning had come and gone, both teams had exchanged two more field goals, and a three and out gave Indianapolis the ball at their own 35 yard line ahead 10-6 with 71 seconds remaining in the first half.

On that drive Luck would bring the Colts down to the Minnesota 30 yard line and float a perfect pass between three Vikings defenders into the hands of veteran receiver Reggie Wayne for a touchdown as the clock ticked down to only seven seconds until halftime.

Luck stood in the pocket and took a solid hit just before the release, allowing his team to enter the locker room with a two score lead at 17-6.

Vikings second year quarterback Christian Ponder brought Minnesota all the way back with two fourth quarter touchdown passes after a 45 yard Vinatieri third quarter field goal made it 20-6 Indianapolis.

But in the end, Luck understood the magnitude of the moment, and he did anything but shy away from it.

“Kid’s got poise,” said Wayne of Luck. “Got some winning blood in his veins.”

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Eli Manning and the New York Giants were at first down by two scores, but a 25 point 4th quarter comeback allowed the Giants to defeat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 41-34.

Manning was off to an extremely shaky start and threw three interceptions in the first half, including his last interception with less than a minute left, resulting in a Buccaneers’ pick six to go ahead 24-13. However, Manning kept his composure and finished off the game, throwing for over 500 yards and three touchdowns.

Giants wideout Hakeem Nicks was questionable for today’s game because of a foot injury, but that did not seem evident in his performance. Nicks caught 10 passes for 199 yards and one touchdown. Giants receiver Victor Cruz had a big day catching 11 passes for 179 yards and one touchdown.

Tampa Bay took advantage of the Giants weak secondary throughout the game. Josh Freeman completed 15 of 28 passes for 243 yards and threw two touchdowns along with two interceptions. Wideout Vincent Jackson caught 5 passes for 128 yards and one touchdown. Wideout Mike Williams caught 3 passes for 59 yards, and scored a touchdown with less than two minutes left to tie the game.

Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw did not see much action after exiting the game in the 2nd quarter with a neck injury. Third year running back Andre Brown handled most of the snaps at running back for the rest of the game. Brown had 13 carries for 71 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown for the Giants with 31 seconds left.

After scoring the go ahead touchdown, the Giants kicked back off to the Buccaneers, giving them an attempt to tie the game. Tampa started their drive on their own 36 yard line, and Freeman and Jackson connected for 19 yards moving up to the Giants 45 yard line. The following play, Freeman connected with Mike Williams all the way down to the Giants’ 16. However, the play was reviewed by officials because Williams did not maintain possession and was overturned, negating the big gain. With about 12 seconds remaining, Freeman dropped back, overthrew intended receiver Dallas Clark and was intercepted by Giants linebacker Michael Boley to end the game.

Eli and the Giants offense came out for one more play to kneel it and solidify the win. At the end of the game, controversy spurred as Giants coach Tom Coughlin confronted Buccaneers coach Greg Schiano evidently upset about something.

The Giants could have easily breezed past the Buccaneers if they would have converted on their red-zone possessions. The Giants settled for four field goals in the red-zone rather than punching in touchdown scores. New York will be back in action this upcoming Thursday against the Carolina Panthers.

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A bad tempered affair at Lincoln Financial Field between the Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens ended in a hard fought 24-23 victory for the home side. An explosive passing game from the Eagles was too much for the Baltimore defense to contain, as their offense failed to keep up their form from their Week 1 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Given Michael Vick’s poor performance the previous week against the Cleveland Browns, most people were expecting LeSean McCoy to be used extensively on Philadelphia’s opening drive. Head Coach Andy Reid had different plans, however, and Vick looked in tremendous form early on, finding receivers in space and marching the Eagles down the field. He finally came undone when he had to escape the pocket due to pressure and fired a pass into the hands of safety Bernard Pollard in the end zone.

The Eagles were able to open the scoring shortly after, when Trent Cole stripped the ball from Joe Flacco on the quarterbacks own 15-yard line and regained possession for Philadelphia. This time the Eagles decided to run the football and McCoy went over untouched from one yard out.

Baltimore hit back quickly though, as their new no-huddle offense had the Philadelphia defense on the back foot, with the Eagles unable to substitute their defensive personnel as much as they would like. The drive culminated in a rare rushing touchdown for fullback Vonta Leach after some impressive blocking from his offensive line.

The Ravens took the lead early in the second quarter following another effective drive involving large doses of running back Ray Rice, and Flacco found Jacoby Jones, who ran an excellent route to beat cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha for a 21-yard pass. Rookie kicker Justin Tucker later extended the Baltimore’s lead, knocking over a kick from 56 yards, which ties him for a franchise record as well as bettering any successful kick he made in College Football, leaving the score at 17-7 to Baltimore at the half.

The third quarter saw a Vick-inspired comeback for the Eagles,  as Philadelphia quickly leveled the score at 17-17. Jeremy Maclin was found by Vick in the end zone after the quarterback rolled out of the pocket and showed great composure to still hit the waiting Maclin, and a field goal shortly after tied the game.

The Ravens offense struggled consistently throughout the third and fourth quarters, but two further field goals from Tucker put Baltimore back into the lead as time began to become an issue in the game.

Almost in identical fashion to his performance last week at Cleveland, Vick once again led his team downfield with just under two minutes left in the game, rushed for a 1-yard touchdown himself and give Philadelphia a lead that they would not surrender on Baltimore’s final drive of the game.

It was a game of two halves from the Baltimore offense, who looked in great shape during the first half in their no-huddle offense, but were poor in the second half, failing to utilize their fast paced offense. Flacco’s development towards becoming an elite quarterback certainly took a step backwards in the second half, and the Ravens had to rely on Rice to consistently earn them yards in both the rushing and passing games.

Philadelphia showed flashes of brilliance in the passing game, but Reid will be worried with the amount of turnovers they have committed in their opening two games. A very banged up offensive line will also be a worry as he hopes to hear good news on injuries to both King Dunlap and Jason Kelce.

Baltimore will now face the prospect of avenging their AFC Championship loss to the New England Patriots next week, whilst the Eagles will make the long trip to Arizona to play the Cardinals.

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A highly anticipated offensive shoot-out at Lambeau Field turned into a  defensive gridlock on Thursday night. The Green Bay Packers defense had a huge target on their back following their weak performance in Week 1 against the 49ers. In Thursday nights rivalry game against the Chicago Bears, the Packers defense completely shut down the Bears explosive offense to earn an encouraging 23-10 victory.

The rampant defense of the Packers held the Bears to just 168 total yards. Jay Cutler was completely flustered by Green Bay’s aggressive defense, only throwing for 126 yards and one touchdown, whilst also giving up four interceptions. Cutler was also sacked seven times, and is now 0-3 at Lambeau Field. Green Bay also limited Chicago’s run game, especially after Matt Forte left the game in the 3rd quarter with an ankle injury.

Packers linebacker, Clay Matthews, had seven tackles, and 3.5 sacks. Matthews has already matched the amount of sacks he had last year in the first two games of the season, and should continue to harass quarterbacks all season. The secondary also shone with Tramon Williams picking up two interceptions, whilst Charles Woodson and rookie Jerron McMillian also both picked off Cutler. The Packers secondary was also able to lock-up Bears star wideout Brandon Marshall, and limited him to two receptions for 24 yards. Marshall had a touchdown opportunity in the 3rd quarter however, but was not able to hang onto the ball.

Interestingly enough, Green Bay’s punter, Tim Masthay, threw a touchdown pass before Aaron Rodgers. In the second quarter, on a fake field goal, Masthay pitched the ball to Tom Crabtree who followed his blockers all the way for seven. Rodgers finally threw his first and only touchdown pass of the game in the fourth quarter to veteran wideout Donald Driver. Rodgers finished the game completing 22 of 32 passes for 219 yards, one touchdown and one interception. In addition, the Packers run game proved to be far more effective than in Week 1, as they rushed for a total of 106 yards, and Cedric Benson lead the team with 20 carries for 81 yards. Benson also had four receptions for 35 yards.

Green Bay has now extended their winning streak against the Bears to five games. The Packers handled the pressure of an expectant home crowd extremely well to earn their first win of the season. Green Bay will be on the road for their next game, a tough clash with the Seattle Seahawks on September 24th. The Bears will be back at Soldier Field, September 23rd, against the St.Louis Rams.

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The Houston Texans were able to overcome a sluggish start in a big way during Sunday’s home and season opener at Reliant Stadium against the Miami Dolphins. A 24 point second quarter explosion following a scoreless first quarter paved the road toward a rather easy 30-10 win for the defending AFC South champions.

“I liked the way we were able to work through our uneasiness early in the game and be a darn good football team there in the second quarter,” said Texans head coach Gary Kubiak.

Houston quarterback Matt Schaub, who announced after the game that he had agreed to a four year, $62 million contract extension through the 2016 season, completed 20 of 31 passes for 266 yards and one touchdown in his first game back after fracturing his right foot back in Week 10 of last season.

With his previous contract due to expire at the conclusion of this season, Schaub stated, “I’m excited for it to be done and over with so every ounce of focus and energy can be directed to this season.”

Wide receiver Andre Johnson and running back Arian Foster, Houston’s other two offensive stars, made eight catches for 119 yards and one touchdown, and had 79 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries, respectively.

But it was the Texans stingy defense that was the big story. After surrendering a field goal late in the first quarter to fall behind 3-0 to the Dolphins, lead by rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who was selected 8^th overall in this summer’s draft, the Texans did not allow another score until a 72 yard punt return touchdown by Marcus Thigpen during the beginning stages of the second half.

And considering that those points came on special teams, it was exactly the type of day the Texans defense was hoping for.

Tannehill threw three interceptions in his NFL debut, which led to Houston’s scoring outburst in the second quarter. But even in spite of his struggles, he refused to focus solely on the negatives of his performance.

“I felt like we hurt ourselves more than they really just stopped us,” said Tannehill, who threw for 219 yards on 20 of 36 passing. “That’s a good defense. So being able to move the ball on a good defense like that gives us some confidence. Obviously, we have to fix a lot of things and eliminate those turnovers. But I think it gives us a look at what we could be if we played to our full potential.”

Tannehill’s three picks all came within the final eight minutes of the first half. The first was recorded by cornerback Johnathan Joseph at midfield and returned to the Miami 14 yard-line, setting up a 35 yard game-tying field goal by Shayne Graham. Linebacker Brian Cushing’s interception a couple minutes later near midfield would eventually lead to a 14 yard touchdown run by Foster, which gave the Texans the lead for good. Kareem Jackson, another Texans cornerback, was the final defender to intercept Tannehill at the Miami 30 with less than two minutes remaining in the half. After a 26 yard defensive pass interference penalty, Foster punched in his second touchdown of the afternoon from two yards out.

It was smooth sailing in the second half, as the Texans rolled to their first win of the year in what they believe can be a truly special season for them.

Houston travels to Jacksonville next week to take on a division rival in the Jaguars, while the Dolphins will host the Oakland Raiders in their home opener.

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The Chicago Bears made several offseason moves to improve offensively, including reuniting wide receiver Brandon Marshall and quarterback Jay Cutler, and adding more running back depth with the addition of Michael Bush. Both were important aspects in their 41-21 victory over a rebuilding Indianapolis Colts team/organization.

Bears fans held their breaths early after Jay Cutler was intercepted by linebacker Jerrell Freeman and scored to give the Colts their only lead of the day. However, the Bears offensive finally settled down and routed the Colts defense. Cutler threw for 333 yards, completing 21 of 35 passes for two touchdowns and one interception. Cutler and his number one wide out, Marshall made it seem they never stopped playing together. Marshall had nine receptions for 119 yards and one touchdown. Cutler targeted Marshall 15 times, several times in which were effective and others very risky passes into double coverage.

However, once the Colts began to attempt to cover Marshall better, Cutler began to spread the love. Rookie wide out, Alshon Jeffery caught three passes for 80 yards and also scored a touchdown. Jeffery will be a big target for Cutler especially when defenses are keen on covering Marshall. In addition, wide out Earl Bennett caught three passes for 50 yards.

As for Chicago’s run game, their duo consisting of Matt Forte and Michael Bush were also on point. Forte had 16 carries for 80 yards and one touchdown. Forte also caught three passes for 40 yards. As for Bush, he had 12 carries for 42 yards and punched in two goal line touchdowns. The Bears offense compiled 428 total yards, which thus far is in the top five for performances during the first week.

Defensively, the Bears forced five total turnovers, three interceptions and two fumbles. Cornerback Tim Jennings had two interceptions, and safety Chris Conte has one interception. Cornerback Kelvin Hayden and defensive lineman Julius Peppers had fumble recoveries.

Indianapolis rookie quarterback, Andrew Luck will want to forget about his first NFL start. Luck completed 23 of 45 passes for 309 yards, one touchdown, and threw three interceptions. In Luck’s defense he was up against a tough Bears “D”, but was very “unlucky.” Luck’s favorite receiver Sunday was veteran, Reggie Wayne. Wayne caught nine passes for 135 yards, and was targeted 18 times. Also rookie tight end, Coby Fleener had a busy day catching six passes for 82 yards. Fleener and Luck have a past history after playing together at Stanford University.

Chicago will be back in action on short rest, Thursday, Sept. 13^th at Lambeau Field against divisional rivals Green Bay Packers. Alex Smith had a fairly easy time passing the ball against the Packers weak secondary, Jay Cutler and the Bears offense could light up the score board once again come week two.

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Last season’s top two National Football Conference playoff seeds, the Green Bay Packers and the San Francisco 49ers, clashed to kick off their regular season at Lambeau Field on Sept. 9.

Green Bay was off to a slow start offensively, much of it caused by a tenacious defense from the 49ers. Towards the end of the first quarter, 49ers kicker David Akers nailed a 40-yard field goal to take the lead, forcing the Packers to punt. On their ensuing drive, 49ers quarterback Alex Smith connected with veteran wide receiver Randy Moss for a 14-yard touchdown, which brought their lead to 10-0.

Aaron Rodgers and the Packers answered back on the following drive starting at their own 20 yard-line. Rodgers began to run the “no huddle shotgun” offense and slowly marched down the field. On first and 15 on the 49ers 16 yard-line Rodgers dropped back and went to connect with tight end Jermichael Finley, but was held up by 49ers safety back Dashon Goldson, which resulted in defensive pass interference. As a result, on the next play Rodgers snapped the ball quickly and zipped it right into the arms of tight end Finley to cut the lead 10-7.

The 49ers ended the half with two boots from Akers. His first field goal from 43 yards, his second field goal from 63 yards, which tied an NFL record and gave the 49ers a 16-7 lead at the half.

In the second half, the Niners capitalized once again after forcing the Packers to a three and out on their first possession. On third and four inside the Packers 5 yard-line, Smith connected with tight end Vernon Davis and brought the 49ers’ score to 23-7, while the Packers remained scoreless.

Packers wide receiver/explosive punt returner Randall Cobb found the outside hole during the fourth quarter and sprinted 75 yards into the end zone. An initial flag thrown for an illegal block in the back, however, was overruled by another official, one of many controversial and surprising calls of the game. Rodgers and wide out Jordy Nelson connected for a two-point conversion to make it one possession game.

The Niners defense came up big down in the stretch with about eight minutes left as Rodgers misread the defensive coverage, went to throw short over the middle to wide receiver Greg Jennings and was intercepted by linebacker NaVorro Bowman instead. Following the interception on their first play just outside of Green Bay’s 20 yard-line, running back Frank Gore bounced to the outside and scored to put his team up 30-15.

The Packers bounced back quickly and fiercely. Rodgers connected with James Jones to cut the deficit back to an eight-point game. The Packers defense on the following drive finally made an important stop, giving the ball back to their offensive with plenty of time. Unfortunately, last season’s MVP, Rodgers, and his Packer offense were unsuccessful and were stopped on four and 10 on the Niners 45 yard-line. Alex Smith brought his offense back onto the field, and with two consecutive kneels solidified the 30-22 victory. Smith finished the game completing 20 of 26 passes for 211 yards and two touchdowns.

Rodgers completed 30 of 44 passes for 303 yards also for two touchdowns and one interception. The Packers will have a short rest, but will be back on the field Thursday, Sept. 13 against divisional rivals the Chicago Bears.

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The Cleveland Browns kicked off an important season in their ongoing process of building a playoff caliber team by entertaining Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday afternoon. A ferocious defensive effort from the visiting Eagles saw them pick up a hard fought 17-16 victory, which will be all the more heartbreaking for Cleveland fans considering how close they came to upsetting the odds and recording the win themselves.

The Browns got off to a good start in the match as Phil Dawson connected with a 43-yard field goal, before Craig Robertson picked off Vick in the Eagles next drive. Despite having taken the advantage early on in the game, neither Brandon Weeden nor Trent Richardson were able to make a significant impact in the first half. Weeden threw two interceptions in the second quarter, while Richardson was only able to put up 25 yards from 11 carries in the first half, mainly due to the uncompromising defense of DeMeco Ryans.

The Cleveland defense was keeping the Browns in the game during the first half, with Vick under constant pressure and unable to connect regularly with the likes of DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin. The Philadelphia offensive line did, however, manage to give their quarterback good protection late in the second quarter. Vick stayed in the pocket and found Maclin in the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown pass which, along with an earlier field goal, gave the Eagles a 10-3 lead at the half.

Both quarterbacks struggled in the third quarter, with Vick throwing two further interceptions and Weeden adding another to his own tally. The Browns were able to add two further field goals in the late third and early fourth quarter, thanks to interceptions by the Cleveland secondary, narrowing the Philadelphia lead to just one point.

Things went from bad to worse for Vick then, however, as D’Qwell Jackson picked off his pass on the Eagles 27-yard line and returned it for a touchdown, giving the Browns a six point lead with just over 10 minutes left to play in the final quarter.

A long drive late in the quarter by the Eagles resulted in a first and goal on the three yard line at the two minute warning. After a run by Bryce Brown, which culminated in a one yard loss, Vick threw a touchdown pass to tight end Clay Harbor. The extra point was good and Philadelphia once more regained the lead, leaving Weeden a difficult task with just over a minute left to play.

Unfortunately for Weeden and the Browns, any attempt to rescue the game was cut short as the quarterback was intercepted by Kurt Coleman, and the Eagles were able to safely see out the game.

This will be a game for rookies Weeden (12/35, 118 yards, 0 TDs, 4 INT) and Richardson (19 carries, 39 yards) to forget, as their personal performances do not do justice to how close and competitive this game was. Although Richardson’s performance could be attributed to his recent lack of practice due to injury, all but the most optimistic of Cleveland fans will be casting wary glances in the direction of Weeden, the franchise’s 17^th starting quarterback since 1999.

The Eagles weren’t without their own problems, specifically the pressure exerted on Vick by the opposing defense, and the offensive line will have to work hard to rectify this issue. Vick himself wasn’t terrible (29/56, 317 yards, 2 TDs, 4 INT) but the four interceptions he threw are a worry for Head Coach Andy Reid.

Both teams face challenging matches next week, with the Browns visiting divisional rivals the Cincinnati Bengals, while Philadelphia hosts the Baltimore Ravens. The Browns and Eagles will have to take much better care of the ball in those games if they are to stand any chance of beating two teams who both made it to the playoffs last season.

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The Detroit Lions welcomed the youngest team in the NFL, the St. Louis Rams, to kick off their season at Ford Field.

The opening drive of the game for Detroit started at their own 20 yard-line. Matthew Stafford helped drive the Lions down to the Rams own three yard-line. On first down, Stafford dropped back and was picked off by rookie Janoris Jenkins who returned the interception 34 yards. On the Rams ensuing drive, rookie kicker, Greg  Zuerlein, hit a 48 yard field goal to give the Rams an early 3-0 lead. Luckily for the Lions, they answered back quickly with a score of their own, Joique Bell rushed for a one-yard touchdown to regain the lead 7-3.

Unable to respond, the Rams gave the Lions the ball back after a three and out. Similar to their first drive, Stafford dropped back on St. Louis’ 16 yard-line, and was intercepted by Jo-Lonn Dunbar.  Once again, the Rams took advantage after forcing a second interception, and kicker Zuerlein hit 29 yard field goal to cut the deficit to 7-6. Stafford jogged back onto the field to help regain the lead for the Lions. On first and 10, running the no huddle offense, Stafford dropped back into Shotgun formation and looked to connect with wideout Calvin Johnson, and again, Stafford was picked off by Rams defensive back Cortland Finnegan who returned it for a touchdown, giving the Rams a 13-7 lead. Before the end of the first half, Lions kicker, Jason Hanson kicked a 42 yard field goal through the uprights to go into the half down 13-10.

In a low scoring third quarter, Hanson tied the game up after hitting a 45 yard field goal. After forcing the Lions to punt, the Rams regained possession at Detroit’s 47 yard-line. Onsecond and nine from Detroit’s 23, in Shotgun, Sam Bradford dropped back and connected with wideout Brandon Gibson for a 23 yard touchdown, sending the Rams back ahead, 20-13.

With 9:45 remaining in the fourth quarter, Stafford did a good job of leading his offense down the field. On the Rams 5 yard line, running back Kevin Smith punched in a five yard touchdown run to tie the game back up. The Rams rookie kicker answered back on the ensuing drive with a 46 yard field goal to regain the lead 23-20 with less than two minutes left.

Starting at their own 20 yard-line, Stafford connected with wideout Calvin Johnson for a 20 yard completion.  The quarterback continued to strategically move the ball down field for the Lions. Once again, on second and seven, Stafford connected with Johnson for an 18 yard completion up the middle. Stafford quickly brought the offense to the line to spike the ball and stop the clock. On second and five, Stafford dropped back and found running back Kevin Smith wide open for an easy completion and a  27-23 victory.

Although throwing three first half interceptions, Stafford stayed focused when it mattered most and threw his only touchdown pass to win the game. The Lions will have any even tougher matchup next week on the road against the San Francisco 49ers.

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Minnesota opened up their season with an overtime victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars 26-23. Viking fans were extremely excited to welcome back a healthy Adrian Peterson after he suffered a gruesome knee injury towards the end of last season.

Peterson made his presence known with his quick explosive cuts in and out of Jacksonville’s defense. Peterson had 17 carries for 84 yards and two touchdowns for the Vikings. Peterson punched in both of his touchdowns inside the Jaguars 5 yard-line.

Quarterback Christian Ponder ran the offense with much more authority compared to his rookie season. Although losing one fumble, Ponder completed 20 of 27 passes for 270 yards and had a 105.5 passer rating. Ponder connected with wideout Percy Harvin 6 times for 84 yards. Harvin was also featured at running back and had 5 carries for 20 yards.

As for the Jaguars, 2nd year quarterback Blaine Gabbert also stood behind center with the tons of confidence he lacked last season. Gabbert completed 23 of 39 passes for 260 yards and two touchdowns, including one touchdown with 20 seconds left in the 4th to wideout Cecil Shorts that gave the Jaguars a short lived 23-20 lead. Gabbert also connected with tight end Marcedes Lewis for a one yard touchdown pass in the 2nd quarter. Lewis finished the game with 5 receptions for 52 yards and a touchdown.

Running back Maurice Jones-Drew, who sat out all preseason, was also effective offensively for the Jaguars. Jones carried the ball 19 times for 77 yards.

However, Vikings rookie kicker Blair Walsh, was definitely Sunday’s MVP. Walsh was 4/4 including a 55 yard bomb that tied the game 23-23 at the end of regulation to force overtime. Walsh was not done there: in overtime, Walsh hit a 38 yard field goal through the uprights to earn the Vikings the victory. Walsh’s other two field goals were from 20 yards and 42 yards out. Walsh was drafted in the 6th round out of the University of Georgia.

Defensively the Vikings were led by their linebacking core. Linebacker Chad Greenway led the team with 13 tackles, including 9 solo tackles. Linebacker Erin Henderson also had a great game grappling up 10 tackles, 6 which were solo, and one sack.

The Vikings will be back in action next Sunday, September 16 on the road against Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts.

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On a night that NFL fans worldwide have been waiting all offseason for, the drama began a lot earlier than expected when the Cleveland Browns made a bold move for the third pick in the draft, giving up their fourth pick, as well as their fifth and seventh-round picks, to the Minnesota Vikings with less than an hour left till the beginning of the draft.

The night began with Roger Goodell arriving at the podium to announce that the Indianapolis Colts were on the clock, and was soon returning to do the same for the Washington Redskins who had the second overall pick. The Colts and Redskins drafted Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III respectively in two of the most widely expected draft choices in recent years.

The Browns then took Alabama running back Trent Richardson with the third overall pick that they acquired from the Vikings less than an hour before, arguably largely due to rumors that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were willing to trade up for Richardson. The Vikings still managed to get their man, despite dropping down the draft, taking Matt Kalil with the fifth pick.

The Jacksonville Jaguars traded their seventh overall pick and an additional fourth-round to the Buccaneers to move up and take wide receiver Justin Blackmon, before the Dallas Cowboys made unexpected waves to grab the sixth pick, trading their 14th pick as well as their second-rounder to the St Louis Rams. The Cowboys bolstered their under strength secondary with the selection of elite cornerback prospect Morris Claiborne.

With much of the early frenzy subsided, the Buccaneers and Miami Dolphins surprised no one with their drafting of Alabama’s Mark Barron and Texas A&M’s Ryan Tannehill respectively, both teams filling trouble positions for them over the last few seasons.

Many had the Carolina Panthers taking either a cornerback or wide receiver with their ninth-overall pick, but they selected Luke Kuechly to strengthen their group of linebackers and consequently allowed the Buffalo Bills to pick up Stephon Gilmore, the highly talented corner out of South Carolina, with the 10th pick of the draft.

Defensive tackle Dontari Poe was next off the board, taking recently retired Kelly Gregg’s place at the Kansas City Chief’s. Poe’s selection was somewhat of a surprise, with most predicting Fletcher Cox to be the top nose tackle in the draft. The Philadelphia Eagles, a team in dire need of a nose tackle, saw this as too good of an opportunity to turn down and traded the Seattle Seahawks for the 12th pick, allowing them to acquire Cox.

The Arizona Cardinals briefly bucked the trend of drafting defensive tackles with the acquisition Notre Dame’s Michael Floyd, much to the satisfaction of receiver Larry Fitzgerald, but the Rams returned to the defensive line by selecting Michael Brockers. The rush on defensive linesman seemed to get to the Seahawks who were picking at 15, as they shocked a lot of people when they drafted Bruce Irvin out of West Virginia, considered by many to be a third-round pick.

The New York Jets will be hoping that they have solved their need for a genuine pass-rusher with the addition of Quinton Coples whilst the Cincinnati Bengals took Alabama corner Dre Kirkpatrick with their initial pick in the first round. The San Diego Chargers improved their inconsistent defense with the addition of versatile linebacker Melvin Ingram who is one of the premiere pass rushers in this years’ draft class.

The Chicago Bears continued the run on defensive players with the 19th pick, selecting Shea McClellin to help out Julius Peppers on pressuring the quarterback. Baylor product Kendall Wright became the third wide receiver to be taken in the 2012 NFL Draft with the Tennessee Titans picking him up, whilst the New England Patriots, perhaps unsettled by the declining number of top class defensive ends, traded up to the 21st pick with the Bengals and took Chandler Jones out of Syracuse.

The Browns then used their second pick of the first-round to draft 29-year old quarterback Brandon Weeden, casting serious doubt on the confidence the Browns have in their current incumbent, Colt McCoy. The selection of a quarterback seemed to spark teams’ protective instincts, as both the Detroit Lions and Pittsburgh Steelers drafting offensive linesmen, with Riley Reiff moving to Detroit and David DeCastro to Pittsburgh.

The Patriots proceeded to trade up for the second time in the draft already, trading with the Denver Broncos and allowing them to bring in Dont’a Hightower to aid what is a quickly improving defense.  The Houston Texans and Green Bay Packers then took the last true pass rushers in the first round with Mercilus Whitney and Nick Perry respectively, either side of the Bengals selecting Kevin Zeitler with the 27th pick.

The Vikings then returned to the first round, giving up their second and third-round picks for the Baltimore Ravens’ 29th pick and consequently selected safety Harrison Smith out of Notre Dame. The San Francisco 49ers surprised some by taking A. J. Jenkins before the Buccaneers traded up to 31st pick, with the Broncos, like the Ravens, moving out of the first round. The Buccaneers then took running back Doug Martin with the pick before the New York Giants finished off the first round with the selection of David Wilson from Virginia Tech.

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