MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2010
NFL WEEK 2 150
STAROFTHEDAY
Career touchdowns for Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss, who scored against the Jets. Also, Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco hit the 700- catch milestone and Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson passed 600.
39:13
Time of possession for Atlanta in its 41-7 victory against Arizona. The Falcons rushed 45 times for 221 yards, led by Jason Snelling’s 24 for 129 yards and two touchdowns in relief of starter Michael Turner.
Mistake-free Cutler leads Bears to a win, 2-0 start
Chicago quarterback Jay Cutler didn’t have the day’s highest passing output, but his sharp 21 of 29 performance in the Bears’ 27-20 victory over Dallas was punctuated by taking care of the ball. Cutler led the NFL in interceptions last season (his 26 were six more than the next worst) but under new offensive coordinator Mike Martz, Cutler’s only thrown one so far, and had none on Sunday. His quarterback rating was 136.7, and his clutch fade pass to Matt Forte sealed the win.
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BESTANDWORST Quite a day for young running backs ...
Philadelphia’s LeSean McCoy carried 16 times for 120 yards (a 7.5- yard per carry average) and three touchdowns against Detroit. . . . The Lions’ Jahvid Best had 9 catches for 154 yards and a TD, plus 17 carries for 78 yards. . . . Adrian Peterson carried 28 times for 145 yards and a TD for the Vikings. . . . Dallas’s Miles Austin had 10 catches for more than 140 yards for the second week in a row.
... but a cold day for quarterbacks
Brett Favre was far from sharp, completing 22 of 36 passes with three interceptions and no touchdowns. Favre also fumbled in
the end zone, recovered by the Dolphins for a touchdown in a 14-10 loss. . . . Tennessee’s Vince Young, Oakland’s Jason Campbell and Carolina’s Matt Moore were all benched for poor performance. . . . San Diego and Jacksonville combined for six interceptions.
“It’s extremely frustrating from a skill position set, but I think the linemen and the defense enjoy games like this.”
—Chad Ochocinco, Bengals wide receiver, after 15-10 win over Ravens
Sanchez leads Jets’ rally past Patriots
Defense stifles New England in second half
of AFC East triumph BY MARK MASKE
east rutherford, n.j.—Justwhen it seemed that they might be facing an early-season crisis, the New York Jets did something to justify all that Super Bowl talk about them — and by them — before the season. They scored 21 straight points to overcome a first-half deficit and beat the New England Patri- ots, 28-14, Sunday for their first win of the season. The Jets returned to their new stadi- um after a loss to the Baltimore Ravens
JETS 28 PATRIOTS 14
in their inaugural game at New Mead- owlands Stadium last Monday night, a game in which second-year quarterback Mark Sanchez and their offense looked overmatched. They fell behind again Sunday and
seemed headed for an 0-2 start when cornerback Darrelle Revis left the game with a hamstring injury after surrender- ing a one-handed touchdown catch by wide receiver Randy Moss that gave the Patriots a 14-7 lead in the finalminute of the first half. But the defense actually played better
in the second half without Revis. Cor- nerback Antonio Cromartie kept Moss in check and the Jets forced Patriots quarterback Tom Brady into three turn- overs. Cromartie and safety Brodney Pool had interceptions and linebacker Jason Taylor forced a fumble that the Jets recovered. “I think other people learned that this
team is a whole lot tougher than people think,” Jets Coach Rex Ryan said. “We don’t make excuses. We just go out and compete. . . .We’re back to beingwhowe think we are.” Sanchez passed for 220 yards and
three touchdowns. He threw a first-half touchdown to wide receiver Braylon Edwards and connected with wideout Jerricho Cotchery and tight end Dustin Keller in the second half. Tailback LaDainian Tomlinson ran for 76 yards and place kicker Nick Folk provided two field goals. “It didn’t really feel like a rebound,”
Sanchez said. “We just played smarter. . . It’s just toughwhen you lose that first game. It feels like you’re 0-10.” Brady threw for 248 yards on 20-for-
36 passing for the Patriots (1-1). Wide receiverWesWelker also had a first-half touchdown catch. “We couldn’t do anything in the
second half,” Brady said. “We had a hard time gaining yards. . .We couldn’t run it. We couldn’t throw it. We just sucked. That’s what it came down to. . .That was a very frustrating performance by all of us.” The Patriots were in control of the game early, with eight first downs and
104 yards in the first quarter to zero first downs and five yards for the Jets. The Patriots converted a fourth-and-one gamble by Coach Bill Belichick fromthe Jets 37-yard line on their opening drive. But Belichick opted for a field goal try
on fourth and one from the 14. Place kicker Stephen Gostkowski connected on the kick, but not before the play clock had expired. The Patriots received a delay-of-game penalty and were pushed back five yards, and Gostkowski pulled his 37-yard kick wide left. The Patriots moved in front the next
time they had the ball. Welker got open against Cromartie, and reached the ball over the goal line after catching Brady’s pass for a six-yard touchdown. The Jets’ offense got off to a bad start
when Sanchez appeared to throw a deflected interception on their opening play. But the play was ruled an incom- pletion after an instant-replay challenge by the Jets. They ended up punting on that possession, but scored a touchdown the next time they had the ball. Sanchez completed all seven of his passes on the drive, including a lob to Edwards for a 10-yard touchdown. The Patriots reclaimed the lead just
before halftime on Moss’s breathtaking catch. It was set up by a 46-yard catch and run by tight end Aaron Hernandez that gave the Patriots a first down at the Jets 34. Moss was one-on-one with Revis, runner-up for theNFL’s defensive player of the year award last season,who held out formost of training camp. Moss raced past Revis on a post
pattern. Brady put his pass in front of Moss, who reached up and made the catch with his right hand. Revis, who was limited in practices during theweek by a hamstring injury, grabbed the back of his left leg as the play ended. “It’s every-day work,” Moss said. “It’s
justmaking a play. I don’t care toomuch about it.We lost the game.” Folk’s 49-yard field goal as time
expired in the first half brought the Jets to 14-10. Just after the Jets announced in the third quarter that Revis would not return to the game, Cromartie covered Moss well on a deep pattern for an interception. The Jetsmoved fromtheir 3-yard line
to the Patriots 17, but the drive stalled there and Folk’s 36-yard field goal narrowed the deficit to 14-13. On the next possession, Tomlinson’s
31-yard run set up Sanchez’s two-yard touchdown pass to Cotchery. Sanchez connectedwith Edwards for a two-point conversion and the Jets led, 21-14.Ryan’s second successful replay challenge of the day gave the Jets an interception in the opening moments of the fourth quarter after Pool initially was ruled out of bounds. Apair of pass interference calls on the
Patriots helped the Jets on their way to Sanchez’s one-yard touchdown pass to Kellerwith justmore than sixminutes to play. “They’re a good team,” Moss said.
AL BELLO/GETTY IMAGES Fans’ acclaim comesMark Sanchez’s way after the Jets quarterback throws three touchdown passes to beat the Patriots.
Bears wrangle Cowboys for 2-0 start 27
BY JAIME ARON Tony Romo walked toward the locker
roomthinking about all themistakes the Dallas Cowboysmade and all the crucial plays they hadn’t, the 0-2 hole they’re in and the lack of an easy way out. With nothing else he could do about it
Sunday afternoon, Romo smacked his hand against a wall in frustration. Romo threw two weird interceptions
andwas far fromcrisp, his running game was absent and his defense failed to protect two early leads, letting Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears pull out a 27-20 victory Sunday. Despite all their woes, the Cowboys
had a chance to tie it midway through the fourth quarter when new kicker David Buehler badly pulled a 44-yard fieldgoal.AfterCutler stretchedthe lead, Romo began a quick rally that could’ve kept things close, then receiver Roy Williams lost a fumble fighting for extra yards. Now a club that’s hoping to end its season in the Super Bowl at Cowboys
BEARS COWBOYS 20
Stadium walks away from its home opener inthe same buildingmiredat0-2, its worst start since 2001 — the season Quincy Carter replaced Troy Aikman as quarterback. The problems are so wide- spread there doesn’t seemto be a quick- fix.
“We’ve got to do things better and we
need to figure out in a hurry how,” Romo said. Tight end Jason Witten left midway
through the fourth after slamming his head into the turf. Coach Wade Phillips would only sayWitten “got banged up to wherewe had to hold himout.” Pro Bowl cornerback Mike Jenkins hurt his right knee soon after and is scheduled to have anMRI examonMonday. “I think it is a crossroads right now,”
Phillips said. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he’s trying to be patient, with Buehler (who
“They’ve got a good scheme and they’re well coached. A little cocky and arrogant at times, but you’ve got to commend a team if they talk the talk and walk the walk.”
maskem@washpost.com
also missed a 34-yarder in the opener) and everyone else. “The best thing I can do right now is
not knee-jerk,” he said. However, Jones added, “I’m mad, I’m
upset, I’mvery frustrated and extremely disappointed.” Chicagowent froma narrowescape at
home against a lowly Detroit team that lost its quarterback in the second quar- ter to a convincing road win over a team that was expected to be among the best in the NFC. D.J. Moore had both interceptions,
Charles Tillman forced Williams’s fum- ble andRobbieGouldmade field goals of 38 and 40 yards as the Bears improved to 2-0 for the first time since their Super Bowl season in 2006. “Itwas a signature game,” coach Lovie
Smithsaid. “We justmadeplays through- out. . . . We’ve been saying what we are, which is a good football team, but you have to get wins to validate that.” Cutler was 21 of 29 for 277 yards. He
ended up getting sacked only once and didn’t have any interceptions. —Associated Press
MIKE STONE/REUTERS
Bears safety ChrisHarris (46) scoops up a fumble late in the fourth quarter caused when Cowboys wide receiver Roy Williams tried to stretch for extra yardage.
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