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Unstoppable: Tom Brady looks to be back at his best
After an explosive and record-breaking opening week, the NFL rolled round again for Week 2 of the 2011 season. This weekend was more of the expected, not so many shocks or surprises, but Tom Brady yet again stole the headlines alongside the dependable Matt Ryan and the stupidly exciting prospect of Cam Newton.

Week 2 Highlight - Eagles @ Falcons

All eyes were on the Georgia Dome on Sunday night as Michael Vick returned as a starter to the Falcons, but he wouldn't even finish the game on the field and it wasn't the eagles who were to be the bird flying high by the end of the night.

Both Vick and Matt Ryan has very strong first quarters, almost identical as Vick looked to be concentrating on passing game.

Vick wasnt the only Eagle trying out another part of his game, wide-receiver DeSean Jackson showed his defensive capabilities blocking and preventing a fumble recovery heading for a touchdown in the second quarter with a lung-busting effort to chase back Defensive-End Ray Edwards.

Tony Gonzalez caught two TD passes, including an epic one hand take late in the second quarter. Another in the 3rd quarter put the Falcons 21-10 up and looking in a good position to go on to victory. The touchdowns also put Tight-End Gonzalez ahead of Terrell Owens into 5th on the NFL's all-time receivers list.

After this the Eagles finally stepped up a gear, with Jeremy Maclin diving through to make it 21-17.

After numerous turnovers, with fumbles and interceptions aplenty, LaSean McCoy ran through after good blocking again from Jackson to put the Eagles ahead 24-21.

A dangerous tackle from Dunta Robinson on Maclin threatened to turn the game sour, his helmet-first tackle has since earned him a $40,000 fine; he received a $50,000 fine last year with a tackle of Jackson.

However, the Eagles worst nightmare came true with two minutes left in the 3rd quarter, as Vick was taken down into his own player smashing his head causing him to suffer an expected concussion - Vick would never return to the game.

Despite this a hand off to McCoy by 2nd string QB Mike Kafka who came on to make his NFL debut put the Eagles 31-21 up and surely smelling victory.

Some sections of the crowd not donning the famous 'Vick 7' Atlanta jersey booed vick off when he was recieving treatment who then continued on to point at scoreboard mocking the home fans of the Georgia Dome.

Five minutes into the 4th quarter and the Falcons got a score back after previous attempts were flattened by flawless coverage from the Eagles' corner-backs. Matt Ryan running to the right set himself up for an easy pass to Ovie Mughelli after a great drive which didn't feature a single huddle; Eagles still lead 31-28.

The Falcons could smell blood and with momentum and confidence building, Michael Turner's rush for 61 yards with seven minutes on the clock. This set up another completed pass to Gonzalez on 3rd and 4 which proved to be a deciding play.

Turner then rushed in for 3-yard TD to put the Falcons back in front 35-31, and with 2:30 minutes left, Vick was still spitting blood and wasn't going to return. 

After a determined drive, the Eagles came very close to the red zone, but an incomplete pass to Maclin who couldn't hold onto it on 4th down and with 1:41 minutes left the Falcons would now surely take the game.

After the Falcons took 3 knees, DaSean Jackson was then stopped on an attempted kick-return and when a final hail mary was smacked away by the Falcons defence, an impressive 35-31 victory was made sure.

Overall, a very gutsy performance from Matt Ryan as he rose head and shoulders above the rest even with the match labelled as 'Vick's Game'. He took every advantage of Vicks injury and made it his game, but with Michael Vick on the field I feel the Eagles would of wrapped it up quite comfortably.
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Missed: The absence of star QB Peyton Manning is hitting the Colts hard

Oakland Raiders 35 Buffalo Bills 38

A topsy-turvy game finally came to an end with a Ryan Fitzpatrick touchdown pass to David Nelson with only 14 seconds left on the clock; this was after being 21-3 behind at half time.

Green Bay Packers 30 Carolina Panthers 23
Another heroic 400+ yard performance from rookie QB and eventual Superbowl MVP Cam Newton, but the class of Aaron Rodgers and the reigning Superbowl winners shone through.

Kansas City Chiefs 3 Detroit Lions 48
Matthew Stafford is making sure the Lions stay as realistic play-off contenders in a dominating performance, which in turn was there biggest victory in the franchise's history.

Cleveland Browns 27 Indianapolis Colts 19
Peyton Hillis rushed for two touchdowns as the absence of Peyton Manning grows stronger with the Superbowl XLIV winners looking almost unrecognisable with them falling to 0-2 for the first time since 1998.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24 Minnesota Vikings 20
A late rushing touchdown from LeGarrette Blount took the Buccaneers past Minnesota after being behind 17-0 at half-time.

Chicago Bears 13 New Orleans Saints 30
Drew Brees found his MVP edge as he threw for three touchdowns, and cut open a usually strong Bears defence.

Jacksonville Jaguars 3 New York Jets 32
The Jets cruised past the Jaguars on sunday, with Mark Sanchez throwing 2 TD's for 182 yards in an impressive offensive performance.

Seattle Seahawks 0 Pittsburgh Steelers 24
The Steelers hit back in style after an embarrassing defeat to fierce rivals the Ravens last week, brushing aside of the Seahawks at Heinz Field - Ben Roethlisberger threw for 298 yards for 1 TD

Baltimore Ravens 13 Tennessee Titans 26
Matt Hasselbeck continues his impressive starting form for his new team, as his home debut resulted in 358 passing yards for one TD with the Ravens taking two steps back after a big step forward in their opening victory over the Steelers.

Arizona Cardinals 21 Washington Redskins 22
A tight game decided by a field goal by Graham Gano with 1:45 minutes remaining saw the Redskins make it 2 wins out of 2.

Dallas Cowboys 27 San Francisco 49ers 24
The Cowboys and QB Tony Romo bounced back in dramatic fashion as even with a fractured rib, Romo threw to Jesse Holley for 77-yard completion in overtime - this resulted in a field goal to scrape victory past the 49ers.

Cincinnati Bengals 22 Denver Broncos 24
John Fox grabbed his first win as the Bronco's coach despite a resurgent effort from Bengals QB Andy Dalton.

Houston Texans 23 Miami Dolphins 13
Matt Schaub threw 2 TD's for 230 yards as the Texans made it 2-0 for the second year in a row - Running-back Ben Tate made it a second game in a row for rushing over 100 yards (11th player in history to so; first since Carnell Williams in 2005)

San Diego Chargers 21 New England Patriots 35
Tom Brady threw for 423 yards to put him over 900 yards in two games with him helping break more team records including the single-game team record (551 yards) and tieing for 3rd in the club's history for passing yards in a single game.

St Louis Rams 16 New York Giants 28
Linebacker Michael Boley scored a 65-yard fumble recovery to help the Giants defeat an under performing Rams, with St Louis offering too many mistakes to stand a chance on Monday night.


Players of the Week

Ryan Fitzpatrick (Bills), Cam Newton (Panthers), Aaron Rodgers (Packers), Matthew Stafford (Lions), Drew Brees (Saints), Ben Roethlisberger (Steelers), Matt Hasselbeck (Titans), Tony Romo (Cowboys), Andy Dalton (Bengals), Matt Schaub (Texans), Ben Tate (Texans), Tom Brady (Patriots)

Winner of the Week - Matt Ryan (Falcons)

I should probably have chosen Tom Brady for a second week but I concluded that regardless of the game against the Eagles being known as the 'Michael Vick show', Matt Ryan took as much punishment as Vick and came out as the victor with a career best of 4 TD throws.

Loser of the Week - Kerry Collins (Colts) 

Very risky and too old now to perform at the highest level, he should of gone out with his head high and declined the Colts' offer. He will be now known as the guy who couldn't replace Peyton Manning. 



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