NFL Early Games week 8

A very close to even split today between morning and afternoon. There are six games in the morning, beginning with....

The New York Giants hosting the Miami Dolphins. Miami was first to score with a 1 yard Steve Slaton touchdown run, and Dan Carpenter added on the extra point. New York got some back with a Lawrence Tynes field goal of 25 yards. The Dolphins extended their lead with a touchdown rush by Matt Moore, running 1 yard to cross the line, and Carpenter added another PAT to open up the second quarter scoring. The Giants pulled back with an Eli Manning touchdown pass of 7 yards, finding the hands of Mario Manningham, and Tynes made the extra point. This made the halftime score 14-10 Miami. The Dolphins got back to work in the third quarter with a Carpenter field goal from 40 yards out. New York replied with Tynes booting a 29 yard field goal. The Giants gained a 20-17 lead as Manning found Victor Cruz for a 25 yard touchdown reception, and Tynes tacked on the extra point. This would be the final, moving New York up to 5-2, and Miami falls to 0-7.

Heading southwest to Houston, where the Texans welcome the Jacksonville Jaguars. Houston broke through first with a 2 yard Matt Schaub touchdown rush, and Neil Rackers applied the extra point. Jacksonville tied it in the second quarter as Blaine Gabbert threw 5 yards to Jason Hill for a touchdown, and Josh Scobee added the extra point. The tie at 7 would last through halftime. The Texans took the lead in the third quarter with a Schaub touchdown pass to Joel Dreessen, a 7 yard play finished off with a Rackers extra point. Houston made it 21-7 with a 4 yard touchdown run by Arian Foster, capped off by a Rackers PAT. The Jaguars pulled back a bit with Maurice Jones-Drew running 2 yards for a touchdown, and Scobee's extra point put them within a touchdown. The Texans put it out of reach late with a field goal of 39 yards by Rackers for a 24-14 final score. Houston goes to 5-3 and Jacksonville falls to 2-6.

Continuing back toward the Atlantic coast, where the Baltimore Raven host the Arizona Cardinals. Arizona got the first point on a 32 yard Jay Feely field goal. Baltimore tied it in the second quarter on a Billy Cundiff field goal from 26 yards out. The Cardinals retook the lead with a 1 yard rush by Beanie Wells for a touchdown, and Feely had the extra point. Arizona turned to special teams for the next touchdown, making it 17-3 with Patrick Peterson returning a punt 82 yards. Feely topped it off with the extra point. The Cardinals remained relentless, as Kevin Kolb found Early Doucet for 10 yards and a touchdown, and Feely made yet another PAT. The Ravens made it 24-6 on a Cundiff field goal of 47 yards just before halftime, and the score stayed the same through the end of the quarter. Baltimore cut further into the deficit with a Ray Rice touchdown rush, his 1 yard play iced off with a Cundiff extra point. The Ravens pulled closer on another 1 yard rush by Rice for a touchdown, and Cundiff's extra point left the score at 24-20. Baltimore took the lead as Rice ran 3 yard this time for a hat trick of touchdowns, and Cundiff had the extra point to make it 27-24. The Cardinals opened the parachutes with a Feely field goal of 45 yards. The Ravens took the game on the last play by a 30-27 score as Cundiff nailed a 25 yard field goal for the win, improving them to 5-2 and pushing Arizona to 1-6.

To the Midwest, where the St. Louis Rams welcome the New Orleans Saints. St. Louis opened the scoring in the second quarter with a Josh Brown field goal of 38 yards. The Rams made it 10-0 with Steven Jackson rushing 3 yards to score a touchdown, and Brown tacked on the extra point. St. Louis got another touchdown as A.J. Feeley passed to Brandon Lloyd for 8 yards and a touchdown, with Brown's extra point making it 17-0 at halftime. The Rams continued the beatdown in the third quarter with a 3 yard Jackson touchdown run, and Brown added another PAT. New Orleans finally got on the board as Feeley fumbled and Jonathan Vilma recovered it and ran it in for a touchdown. John Kasay was there for the extra point. The Saints showed more signs of life as Pierre Thomas ran 3 yards for a touchdown, and Kasay applied another extra point. St. Louis put the nail in the coffin as Darian Stewart picked off Brees and took it 27 yards for a touchdown, with Brown's extra point leaving the score at 31-14. New Orleans got another touchdown to tally in the too little, too late column, as Brees tossed an 8 yard pass to Lance Moore for the score, and Kasay added the extra point for a 31-21 final. The Saints fell to 5-3 while the Rams finally got a win to move to 1-6.

East again, with the Carolina Panthers hosting the Minnesota Vikings. Minnesota drew first blood with a 10 yard Percy Harvin touchdown run, and Ryan Longwell was called on to make the extra point. Carolina tied it with a 1 yard touchdown connection between Cam Newton and Jeremy Shockey, and Olindo Mare handled the PAT. The Panthers took the lead on a 39 yard touchdown pass from Newton to Greg Olsen, and Mare made another extra point. The Vikings tied it at 14 just before the half with a Christian Ponder touchdown pass to Adrian Peterson, a 19 yard connection, and Longwell made the extra point. This tie was taken into the locker rooms. Carolina regained the lead in the third quarter on Newton's 22 yard touchdown pass to Steve Smith, and Mare had another extra point. Minnesota retied it with Peterson running 9 yards for a touchdown, and Longwell making another extra point. The Vikings took a narrow lead on a Longwell field goal of 31 yards, for a 24-21 score. This held up as a final as Mare missed a 31 yard field goal to tie the game, and Minnesota improved to 2-6 while dropping Carolina down to 2-6 as well.

Lastly for the first wave, the Tennessee Titans host the Indianapolis Colts. Tennessee took an early lead with a Rob Bironas field goal from 51 yards. The Titans added on with a second quarter special teams touchdown, blocking a Pat McAfee punt, recovered and returned to the end zone by Jason McCourty for the score. Bironas added on the extra point. Tennessee made it 13-0 with Bironas nailing a field goal of 50 yards. The Titans continued to pour it on as Nate Washington ran 3 yards for a touchdown, and Bironas made the extra point. The score at the half was 20-0. Indianapolis found the scoreboard in the third quarter with Adam Vinatieri kicking a 22 yard field goal. The Colts made it 20-10 in the fourth quarter with Donald Brown running 4 yards for a touchdown and Vinatieri added on a PAT. Tennessee regained control as Matt Hasselbeck threw 14 yards to Washington, good for a touchdown, and Bironas made it 27-10 with the extra point. This was the final, moving the Titans up to 4-3 and pushing Indianapolis to 0-8.