Top 3 Games From Week 5 Of The 2013 NFL Season
By Danny Cox
Sunday's action brought about a lot of great plays, big-time scores, two undefeated teams getting their first losses, and three more staying perfect. The New England Patriots saw their first loss of the season come about, thanks to the Cincinnati Bengals. The Kansas City Chiefs held off a rally by the Tennessee Titans to stay perfect.
But, there were still three more perfect teams when Sunday began.
Indianapolis Colts 34 – Seattle Seahawks 28
Second-year quarterback Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks were looking like the team to beat in the NFC, but the Indianapolis Colts ended up beating them. Early on, the Seahawks were up 12-0, but soon fell behind as the Colts stormed back to lead 14-12 early in the second quarter.
Seattle then led 28-23 going into the fourth quarter, and the Seahawks were looking to stay perfect. That was when Andrew Luck took over and ran two long drives in the final 15 minutes to take the lead with Donald Brown's touchdown run and a field goal that gave them the final margin.
The Colts weren't going to give up, but they wanted the Seahawks to give up on the idea of a perfect season.
New Orleans Saints 26 – Chicago Bears 18
With Seattle's loss, the Saints are the lone undefeated team in the NFC and they have easily proved that this is no fluke. Home wins against the Atlanta Falcons and Miami Dolphins combined with a road victory over the Chicago Bears show that Drew Brees and the Saints are in line for an NFC South crown and possible return to the Super Bowl.
There are two huge reasons that the Saints are so successful this season, and no, it's not Drew Brees or Sean Payton, even though they are big reasons.
Tight end Jimmy Graham and the defense are why these Saints are not only looking like current champions, but better than their Super Bowl-winning team. Graham racked up his fourth consecutive 100-yard game against the Bears to tie an NFL record. New Orleans defense hounded Jay Cutler and picked up three sacks and another turnover.
Eight of Chicago's points came in garbage time, and this game was not nearly as close as the score indicates.
Denver Broncos 51 – Dallas Cowboys 48
No one expected this game to have the fourth most combined points in NFL history, but it certainly did that and had much more. Together, the Cowboys and Broncos racked up over 1,000 yards of total offense and they can thank Tony Romo (506 passing yards) and Peyton Manning (414 yards) for the majority of it all.
The game was back and forth with the Cowboys taking a big lead early on. Denver then stormed back to take the lead into halftime. The second half saw the two teams trade scores before Dallas went up 48-41 with over seven minutes left. Knowshon Moreno was eventually able to run it in from one yard out and tie the game at 48.
Romo and the Cowboys had over two and a half minutes to get in position for a score to win the game, but the quarterback threw an ill-advised pass and saw it intercepted deep in their own territory. Manning got the Broncos into position and Matt Prater hit a 28-yard field goal for a 51-48 win.
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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.