The New England Patriots stand alone as the NFL’s top ranked team at 6-1 following their 28-18 win over the Minnesota Vikings. The Green Bay Packers helped the Pats reclaim the AFC East in the process, defeating the New York Jets 9-0 at the Meadowlands. Scheduled Bye week teams on Halloween included the Atlanta Falcons, Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles and Baltimore Ravens. The Monday night contest featured the Indianapolis Colts earning the top spot in the AFC South after handling their division rival Houston Texans 30-17 at Lucas Oil Stadium. Check all NFL Week 8 scores below! Sunday, October 31, 2010 Miami Dolphins 22, Cincinnati Bengals 14 – Dan Carpenter kicked in five field goals as the Dolphins defense shut down Cincinnati in the second half to win by eight. Jacksonville Jaguars 35, Dallas Cowboys 17 – David Garrard threw for 260 yards and four TD’s from 17 passes completed. Detroit Lions 37, Washington Redskins 25 – Rex Grossman replaced Donovan McNabb in the fourth quarter and proceeded to fumble the game winning touchdown for Detroit. Kansas City Chiefs 13, Buffalo Bills 10 – Ryan Succop split the uprights from 35 yards out as time expired in OT to keep the Bills winless.   (more)

The New England Patriots will likely pay visit to the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving Day, as the New York Jets just recently accepted an offer to host the night event at the Meadowlands. The Pats and Jets are the only two scheduled AFC teams to face Detroit in 2010. With the Jets arranged to play the final game of the holiday, New England in turn should be matched up with the Lions. The Patriots last played Detroit on Thanksgiving in 2002, where Tedy Bruschi came up with a 27-yard INT for six to lead his squad to a 20-12 victory. Cornerback Leigh Bodden hopes to revamp his holiday success with a win this time around after falling to the Tennessee Titans 47-10 in 2008 as a member of the Lions. “Growing up as a kid, you watch that game and you want to play on Thanksgiving,” said Bodden. “I got to do it, but it wasn’t that great in Detroit. Hopefully if we play them this Thanksgiving, I can be on the winning end of it.”

Aaron Rodgers started off the Turkey Day festivities in style, throwing for 348 yards and three touchdowns from 28 passes completed as the Green Bay Packers went on to demolish the Detroit Lions 34-12 yesterday at Ford Field in Detroit. The Lions first found themselves in good position just seconds into the game, after recovering a fumble in the opening kickoff. From there QB Matthew Stafford connected with Calvin Johnson for the lay-up TD from a yard away. WR Donald Driver was awarded game MVP rights with seven receptions for 142 yards and a touchdown. Rodgers found it easier to locate his receivers yesterday due the improvements in Green Bay’s offensive line. “There were a couple times when I held the ball for 4 or 5 seconds — maybe more,” said Rodgers. “When you have that kind of time with the kind of players that we have, we feel like we’re going to make plays.” The struggling Lions will move on to face the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, Devember 6th as the Packers continue to fight for playoff contention the following day against the Baltimore Ravens.  The second NFL event of the day showcased the Dallas Cowboys at home outplaying the Oakland Raiders 24-7. Dallas notched the first score of the game with a field goal in the first quarter. Felix Jones added the pressure with a 46 yard kick return 1:12 into the second.  QB Tony Romo later hooked up with Miles Austin and Roy Williams for six apiece to really solidify the win. “I think we have a lot to prove — just for this season, though,” said Romo. “I don’t think any other season has any bearing whatsoever. For us, it’s strictly about right now and this next game. We’ll go from there.” Oakland is scheduled to play the Pittsburgh Steelers next Sunday as the Cowboys travel east to meet the New York Giants. The evening contest featured the Denver Broncos offense working early and often against a frustrated Giants team at Mile High Stadium. New York, after starting the season 5-0 have now lost their last five of six games, pushing them back to third place behind the Eagles and Cowboys in the NFC East Division standings. “We didn’t have any tempo and we didn’t make any plays,” said Giants coach Tom Coughlin. “We keep talking about winning the physical battle and controlling the line of scrimmage. We thought this would be the night and it wasn’t.” Broncos QB Kyle Orton had trouble finding the end zone, forcing kicker Matt Prater to keep busy during the holiday with four field goals. This marks Denver’s first November victory, standing one game behind the San Diego Chargers in the AFC West. They will next matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday.

The 3rd Week of 2009 NFL action had us all on the edge of our seats this Sunday.  Brett Favre pulled out some late game heroics to prove he is still a more than capable QB.  The Detroit Lions beat out the Washington Redskins to earn their first win since December of 2007.  The New England Patriots were able to redeem themselves after a dismal week 2 with a win over Matt Ryan and Atlanta Falcons.  The Colts, Broncos, Saints, Ravens, Giants, Jets, and Vikings have all posted undefeated records thus far.  Scores are listed below. Sunday, September 27, 2009 Detroit Lions 19, Washington Redskins 14 – Rookie QB Matthew Stafford notched his first NFL win and helped his squad snap their 19-game losing streak.  Green Bay Packers 36, St. Louis Rams 17- The Packers came up with 13 points in the fourth quarter to coast past St. Louis by 19. Minnesota Vikings 27, San Francisco 49ers 24 – Brett Favre connected with Greg Lewis for the go-ahead TD to win by 3. New England Patriots 26, Atlanta Falcons 10 – Pats RB Fred Taylor rushed for 205 yards with a TD from his 21 carries. Tennessee Titans 17, New York Jets 24 - The Jets scored 14 points in the first quarter as their top ranked D held Tennessee to 17 total game points. Philadelphia Eagles 34, Kansas City Chiefs 14 – Michael Vick was productive yet quite in his debut for The Eagles. QB Kevin Kolb did the majority of the work for Philadelphia, racking up 327 yards passing with 2 TD’s. New York Giants 24, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 0 – The G-Men were able to hold the winless Bucs to zero total points as they scored every quarter. Baltimore Ravens 34, Cleveland Browns 3 – The Ravens jumped out scoring 20 first half points and allowed just one Browns field goal that took place in the fourth. Jacksonville Jaguars 31, Houston Texans 24 – Jacksonville QB David Garrard threw for 214 yards from 18 completed passes.  Maurice Jones-Drew contributed with 3 TD’s from his 23 carries and 119 yards. Seattle Seahawks 19, Chicago Bears 25 - Jay Cutler threw for 3 TD’s including the go-ahead late game score in the remaining minutes. New Orleans Saints 27, Buffalo Bills 7 – New Orleans scored 17 fourth quarter points to Buffalo’s 7 total to win by 20. Pittsburgh Steelers 20, Cincinnati Bengals 23 - Bengals QB Carson Palmer marched his men down field for a last minute TD to earn their second win of the season. Denver Broncos 23, Oakland Raiders 3 – Kyle Orton kept Denver undefeated with 157 passing yards and 1 TD from 13 completed passes. San Diego Chargers 23, Miami Dolphins 13 – The Chargers dominated Miami with 20 second half points. Indianapolis Colts 31, Arizona Cardinals – Veteran QB Peyton Manning threw for 379 yards and 4 TD’s (3 in the second quarter). Monday, September 28, 2009 Dallas Cowboys 21, Carolina Panthers 7 – The Panthers took the initial 7-0 lead to end the first half, but were silenced for the rest of the game as Dallas marched on to earn 21 points and claim their first W at the new Cowboy Stadium.

Rookie Detroit Lions QB Matthew Stafford has not started out exactly how he envisioned.  For his first two NFL starts he threw five interceptions, tying Carolina Panthers Jake Delhomme for most in the league.  The 0-2 Lions have completed just one passing TD so far this season. Coach Jim Schwartz remains optimistic about their situation and with no hesitation has decided to stick with his young quarterback.  “I’m not going to put ourselves past this week when it comes to that. I have a lot of confidence in Matt’s ability, not only as a player, but his ability to lead this team and his ability to help us win,” said Schwartz. “I think he’s going to be our quarterback, he is our quarterback, and we’re all going to be very happy with him as a quarterback.” The 2008 0-16 Lions selected Stafford in the draft over Mark Sanchez, who is currently 2-0 with the New York Jets and assuming the starting QB role quite well.  Detroit fans can see light in the issue through past players and organizations.  Peyton Manning threw six interceptions and two TD’s in his first two weeks with the Indianapolis Colts in 1998. Cowboys legend Troy Aikman got picked four times and threw one TD to start. Stafford is still very young and has a lot to look forward to in the NFL.  No one said it would be easy, but there is still hope for the Detroit Lions.  They will next square off against the Washington Redskins this Sunday at 1:00 pm.  Look for the best Detroit Lions ticket deals right here!

The Quarterback controversy continues, as Detroit Lions coaches Steve Mariucci and Mike Martz have just announced that they will start veteran QB Daunte Culpepper for their upcoming preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts this Saturday.  “We’re going to do what’s best for our club,” said Schwartz. “We’re going to do what’s best for the guy that we drafted, not what somebody outside of the building says and not what worked best for another player. Every player is different.”  The guy they drafted is Matthew Stafford; the first overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft fresh out of the University of Georgia. Colts franchise-player Peyton Manning threw his two cents in the other day, saying Stafford will reach full potential only through getting time on the field.  Culpepper is planned to finish up into the second quarter before Stafford takes over.  “As a competitor, I always want to play,” said Stafford. “But I’m ready to do whatever they want me to do.” The Lions are scheduled to take on the Buffalo Bills for their last preseason game before squaring off against the New Orleans Saints at the Louisiana Superdome on Sunday, September 13th.  Their home opener will be against the Minnesota Vikings (Culpepper’s former team) the following week on September 20th.  The Vikings are currently in somewhat of a controversy themselves between quarterbacks Brett Favre and Tavaris Jackson.  Head coach Brad Childress has named Favre as the assumed starter, despite the locker rooms divided opinions in regards to what’s best for the team. Detroit Lions regular season tickets are now available!

The 10-1 Tennessee Titans will face the 0-11 Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving. The Lions, a turkey-day football staple, have struggled mightily this season. Despite a solid season so far from young gun Calvin Johnson (48 catches for 905 yards, 18.9 avg per, 8 tds) the Lions have been plagued by injuries.  Quarterback John Kitna’s season ended early, and second-string QB went down with a thumb injury, and the previously-retired Daunte Culpepper was ineffective as a replacement. To add insult to injury, Culpepper’s replacement Drew Stanton left the last Lions game with a concussion. Despite losing their last game, Tennessee has lived up to the name of Titans this season. The Titans have bested the Jaguars (twice), Vikings, Ravens, Colts, Packers, and have only lost to the steaking New York Jets. Veteran QB Kerry Collins has has helped lead Tennessee to their best start in team history. The Titans are currently tied with the New York Giants for the best record in the NFL at 10-1. Tennessee Titans tickets are available for every game this season!

Troy Brown of the New England Patriots announced his retirment this week. Brown who hasn’t played this year and only played in one game in 2007 has played his entire 15 year career with the Patriots. He leaves as the team record holder for receptions with 557. New York Giants WR Plaxico Burress was suspended by the team for missing practice this week without notifying the team ahead of time. Burress will also pay fines of over $235,000. Burress is appealing the decision and is anxious to return to the practice field. Coach Coughlin is not concerned that the incident will be distracting for the team. The Detroit Lions fired President Matt Millen this week. Millen was largely viewed as a disappointment for the Lions. In his seven years with the team the Lions posted a 31-84 record. Vince Young is working his way back from a knee injury. Once healthy the Titans plan to keep him as the back up to QB Kerry Collins.