Week 4 has 1 Game Left

The score at the end of the Sunday games is 10-3 for me and 9-4 for Mardi. As there was only one disagreement this week, it all came down to that one game. And what an exciting finish that was. The full week score and season score will be posted when I make my predictions for Week 5.

Houston had a nice game at home against a weak (on offense at least) Oakland team. From the start Houston dominated the game defensively. Oakland was limited to 165 yards of total offense. Of that, Houston allowed only 45 yards rushing. JeMarcus Russell had another bad day going 12-33 for 120 yards. Oakland did managed to sack Matt Shaub (11/22 with 224 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) a total 4 times. Houston also put together another 100+ yard rushing day between Steve Slaton (21 carries for 65 yards) and Ryan Moats (15 carries for 56 yards). While it didn't exactly build on last week, I'll take it. Defensively Houston keyed on the running game, holding Darren McFadden to -3 yards on 6 carries. It's been a long time since we saw Houston play with this much intensity on defense. This is going to be needed when Houston visits Arizona next week. Kudos this week go to the starting Linebackers for Houston, who were key in shutting down the Oakland running game. The Houston offense dominated the Oakland defense in the first half. In the 2nd half, however, Coach Gary Kubiak was more concerned with chewing up clock in the 2nd half than he was with scoring. Since Houston won, this line of thinking probably won't face too much scrutiny, but Houston may have been better off sticking with the first half game-plan for at least the entire 3rd quarter in order to give the offensive starters a rest for next Sunday.

Jacksonville just dominated Tennesse, winning 37-17. I honestly thought Tennessee would at least make this competitive. New England and Baltimore took it down to the wire, with New England coming out winning 27-21. Cleveland almost pulled out the upset in their loss to Cincinnati 23-20 in overtime (Cincinnati scored with only 4 seconds left in OT). Who would've thought that Miami would pull out the win on trick plays? The Dallas/Denver game came down to the wire. I know that Mardi wasn't the only one who was heartbroken over the final incomplete pass that sealed the game for Denver. Pittsburgh got off to an explosive start but San Diego kept it interesting in the 2nd half by getting within 1 touchdown late in the game. With their backs to the wall Pittsburgh was able to pull out the victory.

Houston remains in the 3rd place in the AFC South behind Jacksonville due to division play. Minnesota remains Number 1 in the NFC North pending the outcome of the Monday game (although I have picked them to win). The play of the day goes to New Orleans Safety Darren Sharper for the interception and 99-yard touchdown return against the New York Jets. I didn't see anything really boneheaded in today's highlights or any of the other games I watched.

I'll make my comments on the Minnesota game when my predictions are made for Week 5. What does Mardi think about Week 4 action?