In a jumbled week six that saw records fall, beasts tumble and Brett Favre stay true to his old game-winning self, a few perennial victors returned to their past dominance, convincingly establishing themselves as the teams to beaten in their respective conferences.
One such team the is New England Patriots, who posted a dominant 59-0 victory Sunday that had many wondering if they were back to their 2007 form or if the Tennessee Titans were just that bad. This game was over before it even started. Tom Brady, who had been fairly average throughout the first five weeks of the 2009 season, exploded for the Patriots' win.
Brady finished the day 29 for 34, passing for 380 yards and six touchdowns. But most impressively, Brady did it all in just over a half. The Patriots quarterback threw an NFL-record five touchdowns in the second quarter alone, and after throwing for another score on the Patriots' first drive of the second half, was given the rest of the afternoon off. Backup quarterback Brian Hoyer then proceeded to go nine for 11 for 52 yards and a rushing touchdown.
On a snowy day that normally would not be conducive to an aerial attack, the Patriots dominated an injury-depleted Titans team that, at 0-6, is effectively done. New England certainly reasserted itself as one of the top teams in the league — and reminded the world how scary it can be when Brady and wide receiver Randy Moss are on the same page. The game also confirmed just how horrendous Tennessee is this year.
The Titans now have to start looking ahead to 2010. The only thing they can can do with this year is find out what backup quarterback Vince Young has to offer. Young is in a contract year, and the Titans front office needs to decide whether they want to retain him in 2010 or go in another direction. Current starter Kerry Collins turned in another poor performance, finishing the day 2-for-12 for minus-seven yards and two interceptions and a pathetic quarterback rating of 4.9. This game might just spell the end of Collins' career in the NFL, just like it did for the Titans' chances at repeating last year's 13-3 run.
In the NFC, the New Orleans Saints established themselves as the best team in the league, but do not be deceived by their 48-27 victory over the New York Giants. Sunday's showdown between the Saints and the Giants was labeled by most as the biggest matchup of season's first half, but it's fair to say that the final result was not what most expected.
The Saints dominated the Giants from the first drive of the game, thanks largely to the efforts of quarterback Drew Brees. Brees picked the Giants' secondary apart, going 23 for 30 for 369 yards and four touchdowns. In particular, Brees preyed on backup safety C.C. Brown and exposed gaping holes in the Giants' secondary throughout the entire game.
Seven different Saints found the end zone on Sunday, and the defense forced Giants quarterback Eli Manning into one interception and one lost fumble. While the Saints proved that they are the cream of the crop in the NFC, the Giants did not show up at the Superdome.
New York's highly regarded defensive front-four didn't even come close to Brees all afternoon, and as a result, the Saints quarterback was able to sit back and pick apart a depleted Giants' secondary. New York has been able to hide their injury issues against the cupcakes of the NFL — the Kansas City Chiefs, Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers — but against the Saints it became obvious that they need to get healthy if they want to win the bigger games.
The Giants weren't the only ones who suffered from losing; the NFC East took a tumble in reputation as well. Though the division has been regarded as the deepest and strongest in the NFL, after this week, that notion has effectively been dispelled. Aside from the Giants, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Redskins enjoyed their own respective abysmal performances on Sunday.
The Redskins have been in a downward spiral since week one, but the team finally hit rock bottom after their 14-6 loss to the Chiefs. The Redskins had the softest schedule possible throughout the first six weeks of the season — every team they faced entered the game with a winless record — yet they still managed to come out with a 2-4 ledger.
Washington's two victories have been three-point squeakers against the winless St. Louis Rams and the Buccaneers. Starting quarterback Jason Campbell was benched at halftime during Sunday's game, and after the loss, general manager Vinny Cerrato and head coach Jim Zorn met and decided that Zorn would be relieved of his offensive play calling duties.
The Redskins' organization is in shambles and it all starts at the top with owner Daniel Snyder and Cerrato. Earlier in the week, anonymous Redskins players asked that Snyder give Zorn some public support, but after the team's latest blunder, the Redskins' trigger happy owner has no reason to follow through on that request.
Meanwhile, the Eagles missed out on a key opportunity to gain some ground on the Giants in the race for the NFC East crown. The Eagles laid an egg in what was supposed to be a blowout victory over the Raiders. Last weekend against Tampa Bay, the Eagles found the end zone four times in Donovan McNabb's return to the field, but on Sunday they could not score a single touchdown against a weak Raiders defense. The 13-9 loss dropped Philadelphia to 3-2, and they are now tied with the Dallas Cowboys, who had a bye in Week Six, for second place in the NFC East.
With the East powerhouses clearly out of the picture for now, the Saints have established themselves as the class of the NFC. And with the Patriots quickly finding their form in the AFC, a Nov. 30 date in the Superdome between the two squads could be a preview of the Super Bowl.
