Sunday wasn’t just a great day in the world of baseball. Week four in the NFL provided us with several upsets, great fourth-quarter comebacks, and a look at an emerging force in the AFC.
Rock and Roll:
In Cleveland the Browns played host to the undefeated Chargers. At the end of the day the Chargers could no longer boast. Tim Couch engineered a touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter that led to the 20-16 victory. Couch was efficient all day, going 14-27 with 203 yards and no interceptions. The big story was the Browns’ defense that contained Doug Flutie all afternoon. Head coach Butch Davis’ crew held Flutie to only 149 yards passing, nine yards rushing, and zero touchdowns. Tough defense has been the story all year for the 3-1 Browns, with their only loss coming at the hands of Seattle in week one, 9-6. A three game winning streak has the Browns believing in themselves. With a game next week against Cincinnati, the Browns could be 4-1 when they meet Baltimore in week six to decide the division leader.
Tennessee Turmoil:
Speaking of Baltimore, on Sunday the 3-1 Ravens proved why they are still the favorites to repeat as Super Bowl champions with a convincing 26-7 victory over rival Tennessee. Baltimore jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the first half behind a 77-yard touchdown pass from Elvis Grbac to Qadry Ismail. In the second half Baltimore turned up the defensive pressure, holding Eddie George to a mere 26 yards rushing. On offense, the Ravens gave the ball to Terry Allen and let him run time off the clock. Allen, the replacement running back for the injured Jamal Lewis, finished with 108 rushing yards and one touchdown. After the game Shannon Sharpe talked about Allen’s performance, “We got a 40-year- old back who came off the street last week and rushed for 100 yards.” That’s a little bit of an exaggeration, but what do you expect from Sharpe? He also was quoted as saying, “It was supposed to be two heavyweights; one heavyweight showed up.” Right now the Ravens are being physically and verbally abusive. They had better start preparing for the Browns.
Snake Bitten:
In Philadelphia, the Eagles were burnt by Jake Plummer once again. With 1:04 left in the game and the Cardinals down 20-14 with no timeouts remaining, Plummer led his team 74 yards down the field for a touchdown. On fourth and ten, Plummer hit MarTay Jenkins for a 35-yard touchdown strike with nine seconds left in the game. This was the fifth time that Plummer has led his team to a fourth quarter come-from-behind victory over Philadelphia. The Arizona quarterback finished the game 18-32 with 238 yards and two touchdowns. The Eagles were stunned and it appeared as if they overlooked Arizona. Now a bye gives them two weeks to think about it.
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