Around The NFL: Brees Breaks Record, Megatron Excels, Dez Bryant Explodes
By Danny Cox
Week eight of the 2013 NFL season brought about some interesting headlines including an elite quarterback continuing to play like one, an elite wide receiver taking things to an even different level, and a young wide receiver showing his immaturity. With experience comes a certain level of play in the NFL, and it is something that needs to be learned.
Drew Brees throws five touchdowns in Saints rout of the Buffalo Bills
Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints are just one win away from matching last season's total, and there is still a lot of football left to play. With five touchdown passes in a 35-17 rout of the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, Brees also broke away from Peyton Manning to set a new NFL record.
Brees' five-touchdown game was the eighth of his career and put him above Peyton Manning, whom he was formerly tied with at seven. The thing is that single-player records are nice, but it is even better when teams play well as a whole. The Saints didn't necessarily play great on Sunday, and Brees knows that, but he is happy with the win.
"It's good when you can not play your best and make certain mistakes and still win like we did," Brees said.
Calvin Johnson makes it seem like he truly is a "robot in disguise" in slim win over Cowboys
Megatron had not just a great game on Sunday, but he has the second-best receiving game in the history of the NFL. Calvin Johnson came up just eight yards shy of breaking Flipper Anderson's single-game receiving record of 336 yards that was set way back in 1989.
Johnson did tie a league record with his fifth career 200-yard receiving game, and there is a very good chance that he is far from his last.
Making the win even sweeter, the Detroit Lions came from behind to defeat the Dallas Cowboys with a thrilling ending that included Matthew Stafford leaping over the line when everyone on the field thought he was going to spike it. While Megatron and the Lions were celebrating; the Cowboys and a young receiver were blowing up on the other side of the field.
Dez Bryant defends his explosive sideline rants due to his "passion"
While the Dallas Cowboys ended up losing a thriller to the Detroit Lions, wide receiver Dez Bryant was shown blowing up on multiple teammates on the sideline. He said that it wasn't anything negative and that his blow-ups merely were due to his passion for the game.
"My passion is always positive," said Bryant, who had three catches for 72 yards and two touchdowns on six targets in the loss. "It's always positive. It's going to remain the same way. I'm not saying anything wrong. I'm not saying anything bad. It's all positive. That's just what it is," said the receiver.
He added, "I'm the nicest person off the field. When I'm on the field, even when I look angry, it's still all good passion. It's all good passion. I feel like that's what we need. I'm going to remain the same way. I feel like I love this game. I love it. In order to win, you've got to be passionate about this game. You have to be. You've got to let that dog come out and just put it all out there on the line."
Bryant was shown yelling at Tony Romo, having a shouting match with Jason Witten, and being seriously spoken to by an injured DeMarcus Ware.
For more NFL news and updates, visit NFL Central.
Danny Cox knows a little something about the NFL, whether it means letting you know what penalty will come from the flag just thrown on the field or quickly spouting off who the Chicago Bears drafted in the first round of the 1987 draft (Jim Harbaugh). He plans on bringing you the best news, previews, recaps, and anything else that may come along with the exciting world of the National Football League. Danny is a freelance writer covering all things NFL. His work can be found on Examiner.com.
