When three primetime games are on in the span of two days, there’s no better way to cover them than to include all of them in one article. This NFL triple primetime mayhem produced some interesting results.
This article will recap Sunday Night’s Colts-Broncos game, Monday’s Giants-Lions game, and Monday’s Chargers-Cardinals game.
Colts vs. Broncos
The first Sunday Night Football game of the season started off one-sided, but ended up becoming a terrific finish, ending up with Denver escaping 31-24 despite leading 24-0 at one point.
Peyton Manning threw three touchdown passes in three of Denver’s first four drives, ultimately completing 22 of 36 passes for 279 yards, 3 touchdowns, a quarterback rating of 79.8, and a passer rating of 111.9. He looked as accurate as ever.
Safe to say Peyton has aged like wine, but we can’t sell tight end Julius Thomas short. He had 7 receptions for 104 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 14.9 yards per catch. Not too far behind was newcomer Emanuel Sanders, who caught 6 passes for 77 yards and 12.8 yards per carry.
Defense was not a story for most of the game, and that allowed Andrew Luck and the Colts to make yet another comeback run. Luck threw 2 interceptions, but those were both tipped passes. Otherwise, Luck looked very sharp, showing off his mobility on a few plays and making the accurate throws necessary to bring Indianapolis back to life. He completed 35 of 53 passes for 370 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions for an 83.1 rate (also a 41.9 QBR).
Not one side for each team was perfect. Denver’s receivers continuously dropped passes in the second half, and Peyton himself misfired on a few attempts. The Colts defense simply got lucky on those plays, but at least they avoided penalties.
Ultimately, the Broncos defense came through in the end, with rookie corner Bradley Roby breaking up the last play of the game. He finished with 7 tackles (all solo) and 3 deflected passes. Despite not having the support of a run game (attempts, really) or the best coaching, Andrew Luck led a valiant comeback effort, one he usually has succeeded at in his young NFL career.
An entertaining game all the way through.
MVP: Peyton Manning
Giants vs. Lions
If you’re a Lions fan, this was an entertaining game from beginning to end. Quarterback Matthew Stafford silenced his critics (for now) and delivered a terrific performance, completing 22 of 32 passes for 346 yards, 2 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, a quarterback rating of 97.5 (highest among all week 1 QBs), and a rate of 125.3. Oh yeah, and add a rushing touchdown to that. Stafford looked poised in the pocket, and evaded pressure on his 2 touchdown throws with impressive results.
Of course, an impressive Lions performance is nothing without Megatron. Calvin Johnson caught 7 receptions for 164 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 23.4 yards per catch. Newcomer Golden Tate also proved his worth, supplying 6 receptions for 93 yards and 15.5 yards per carry. Both receivers did an excellent job of getting open long enough for Stafford to complete the throws, proving too much for the Giants defense.
Amazing what Stafford can do when he isn’t asked to do as much as he’s had to in the past.
But it was also a feast in the den for the Lion’s defense, which gave up only 197 yards of total offense. Strong safety Glover Quin and linebacker DeAndre Levy picked off Giants quarterback Eli Manning, who continued his struggles from 2013.
However, it was not all on Eli. The offensive line was terrible, not allowing any room for the run game or Eli to make accurate throws. Often times, Eli found himself in a pickle, forcing or underthrowing because of the pressure. On his touchdown drive, he looked good, and made some good throws that were ultimately dropped. But that didn’t help, as he completed only 18 of 33 passes for 163 yards, 1 touchdown, 2 interceptions, a quarterback rating of 27.8 and a rate of 53.0.
It was a painful day for the Giants offense and defense. Nothing seemed to be working for either side, and it’s a huge amount of pressure for Eli to be in.
Nevertheless, the Lions earned their first win over a Manning quarterback after going 0-6 prior.
MVP: Matthew Stafford
Chargers-Cardinals
Surprisingly, this was the more thrilling Monday Night Football game. The Cardinals came back from an 11-point deficit to steal a victory from the Chargers 18-17.
And it was led by quarterback Carson Palmer. Yes, Carson Palmer. You know, the guy that was great in 2005 and 2006 then seemingly fell off. He completed 24 of 37 passes for 304 yards, 2 touchdowns (both in the 4th quarter), 0 interceptions, and a passer rating of 108.4. It’s the best I have seen Palmer look in years. He looked calm and was accurate on most of his passes, and surprisingly scrambled effectively (29 rushing yards for 7.3 yards per carry), even at 35 years of age (seriously, where did this come from?). He ultimately led the game-winning drive as well. Palmer’s #1 guy, Michael Floyd, had a breakthrough performance as well, posting up 5 receptions for 119 yards and 23.8 yards per catch.
Running back Andre Ellington saw limited action, only getting 53 yards on 4.1 yards per carry. But it was a complete team effort all the way through, and the defense, though not spectacular, held San Diego long enough to get the win.
On the flip side, Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers played decent, but didn’t do enough to get San Diego a victory. He did continue his progress from 2013 by getting the ball out quickly, and made several great throws down the stretch (including a great fourth quarter pass to future Hall of Fame tight end Antonio Gates). Some were caught, while others were dropped. It was an inconsistent day for Rivers and the receivers, and the defense ultimately collapsed in the fourth quarter.
Rivers completed 21 of 36 passes for 238 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 interception, and a 75.9 rate. Definitely not up to the standards of his 2013 season, but something to work on.
It’s not the game we expected, but it was a terrific one all the way through. A great victory for the Cardinals. As icing on the cake, Kurt Warner was inducted into the Cardinals Ring of Honor.
MVP: Carson Palmer
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