NFL: Week 14

One of the craziest weeks of football, week 14 was kicked off with the Broncos-Raiders game. The highlight of the game was Peyton Manning’s decision to take a shot deep into the end zone, only to have his pass intercepted by Philip Adams and the Raiders score a touchdown. This was one of only scores until Heyward-Bey scored on a 56 yard pass in the late fourth quarter. The Broncos won the first game of the week 26-13.

As families settled onto their couches for Sunday night football, the Ravens and Redskins were getting geared up for the kickoff of the evening. Quite to the disappointment of Redskins fans, RG3 went down with an injured knee with just 16 seconds into the game and the Redskins down 8 points. Kirk Cousins was put in, and to the surprise of many, he led the offense to a touchdown and also a two point conversion rather than just a convert. This caused the Redskins to tie with the Ravens. Cousins pleasantly surprised Redskins fans to change their minds about him being nothing more than a rookie. The final score was in the Redskins’ favor, with the score 31-28.

The next game was the Cowboys vs. Bengals. Another surprising player in this week’s game was Tony Romo. With everyone doubting his ability and anticipating his retirement, Romo had turned up the heat during last 5 weeks. The game began with a moment of silence for Brown who died only the day before their game. Despite the emotional setback, the Cowboys won 20-19.

Following the emotional Cowboys-Bengals game was the Rams- Bills game. GIbson had a good game with 6 passes, but his big play was his last catch. Brandon Gibson saved the game for the Rams with a game winning touchdown catch made with only 48 seconds on the clock. The Rams won against the Bills 15-12.

Speaking of talented players, Nick Foles led the Eagles to victory against the Buccaneers by completing two passing and one rushing touchdowns. However, the object of interest was the speed of his rushing touchdown. Let’s just say a snail would probably have finished the touchdown faster than Foles. Thankfully, the Eagles didn’t sign him as the running quarterback because his true talent is passing. Thanks to Foles’ touchdowns the Eagles won 23-21.

Despite their defeat to the Falcons earlier this season, the Panthers came out on top this Sunday. The Panthers were fueled by the thought of revenge against Falcon’s player Matt Ryan who disrespected them after the Falcons victory earlier in the year. The Panthers dominated throughout the first 2 and a half quarters leading by 23 points. Gano and Newton were responsible for this edge. Gano made three field goals and Newton made a passing touchdown and an amazing 72 yard running touchdown. The saying, “Success is the best revenge,” was proved by the Panthers’ 30-20 victory over the Falcons.

Following the Panthers’ victory was the unexpected victory of the Cleveland Browns. This Sunday’s games was their third win in a row. The most spectacular event in this game was Rookie Travis Benjamin’s 93 yard punt return: the longest punt return in franchise history. Rewriting NFL history set in motion a number of plays resulting in the crushing defeat of the Chiefs. The Browns won with 30 points against the Chiefs’ 7 points.

Another in a series of surprises, the Chargers broke a four game losing streak against the Steelers. Steelers quarterback, Roethlisberger, sprained his shoulder and dislocated a rib  and lost to the Chargers on his first day back. The Chargers won the game 34-24, but it is still a long-shot for them to get in the playoffs.

The Colts- Titans games was another in a series of comebacks engineered by Andrew Luck. Luck brought the Colts back into the game from a 13 point deficit. The Colts won against the Titans 27-23.

Now for our local teams; Jets and Giants. After a relieving benching of Sanchez last game, Sanchez was back in this time. This time around Mark was told to hand off the ball 39 times to his running backs. Meanwhile Tim Tebow was warming the bench. The Jets won 17-10 against the Jaguars.

As for the Giants, they are doing much better than the Jets this season. After last weeks one point defeat, the Giants dominated 52-27 against the Saints. Eli Manning performing spectacularly, throwing four touchdown passes and proving that the Saints special teams unit is  as bad as its defense is. The Giants are creating hope for their fans and will hopefully continue to do so.

And that wraps up week 14 of the NFL. Some impressive talent was showcased and some ridiculous plays were carried out. But thats all in the spirit of American football. Let’s hope that week 15 turns out to be as eventful as week 14.

By Laya Manoj