The 15-Play Drive

15 thoughts on week-7 in the NFL...

1. No need to call him "Captain Cool", but the last QB opposing defenses want to see with the ball in his hands when the game's on the line is Eli Manning. Sunday marked the 22nd time in his career that Manning's led a game winning drive in the 4th quarter or overtime. Although I'm still having trouble grasping how Redskins' safety Madieu Williams and cornerback Josh Wilson allowed Victor Cruz to get behind them for a 77-yard TD reception with 1:13 to go.

2. Speaking of Cruz, he had a unique way of determining how much distance he'd put between himself and the Redskins' secondary on what proved to be the game winning TD. Following the victory, Cruz told me and Steve Torre on The Sunday Drive, he took a peek at the video board: "I caught it, looked up at the jumbo-tron, saw nobody behind me, and I did the rest."

3. Texans' quarterback Matt Schaub found it odd to be facing a Ravens' defense without Ray Lewis Sunday. Schaub joined The Sunday Drive after Houston's blowout win against Baltimore, and said: "It was weird not seeing him (Lewis)."

4. While Lewis and cornerback Lardarius Webb are gone, it was a triumphant return for Ravens' linebacker Terrell Suggs. The reigning defensive player of the year looked no worse for the wear in registering 4-tackles, a sack, and a deflected pass in his season debut.

5. On the subject of pass deflections, Texans' defensive end J.J. Watt is clearly the master. Watt tipped two more footballs Sunday, with one resulting in an interception. That's the 4th time this season Houston has picked off an opposing QB after Watt deflected a ball into the air. At this point, I'm waiting for Watt to start going Dikembe Mutombo and begin wagging his finger every time he gets his hand on a pass attempt.

6. How conservative was Tony Sparano's play calling late in the 4th quarter of Sunday's game against the Patriots....he made Mitt Romney look like a liberal. Tied at 23, and with the ball at the New England 18-yard line with 2:01 remaining, Sparano called back to back runs before allowing Mark Sanchez to actually attempt a pass on 3rd and 7. Sanchez was sacked, leading to a Nick Folk field goal. The entire drive took just 24-seconds off the clock, and left Tom Brady plenty of time to lead the Patriots on a game tying drive that forced overtime. On a day when Sanchez was feasting on the Patriots' secondary, it didn't make sense to pull the reins in when the Jets had the chance to go for the kill.

7. First the snow plow, then the tuck rule, now this...No guarantee it would have changed the outcome, but the Patriots absolutely got an extra second or two on Devin McCourty's fumbled kick return late in the 4th quarter. The clock started late, and stopped quickly. Instead of reaching the 2-minute warning, the Jets took possession with 2:01 to go, and the Patriots essentially got an extra timeout.

8. Not exactly a productive week-7 for two of the league's elite receivers, and no coincidence that neither of their teams scored more than 14-points. Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald was limited to 4-receptions for 29-yards by the Vikings, while the Bears held the Lions' Calvin Johnson to just 3-catches for 34-yards.

9. How can anyone tell if the Chargers' receivers are using Stickum when Philip Rivers is throwing the ball to the other team as much as his own?

10. In a game New Orleans won by just a touchdown, don't undervalue the play made by Malcolm Jenkins in the 3rd quarter against Tampa Bay. The Saints' safety ran down Buccaneers receiver Vincent Jackson at the 1-yard line after a 95-yard reception. New Orleans then stopped Tampa's offense on the next 4-plays to maintain a 28-21 lead.

11. The Todd Collins award of the week goes to Vikings' QB Christian Ponder. While Minnesota beat Arizona, Ponder took a step back in completing just 8 of 17-passes for 58-yards with a touchdown and 2-interceptions.

12. No need to air dirty laundry, but you're right Cam Newton...The Panthers have totally abandoned their running game. DeAngelo Williams has 50-carries in 6-games, or to put it another way, just 4-more rushing attempts than Newton. In a season where their second year QB is struggling, it would make sense for Carolina to lean on their rushing attack a little more. Instead, the Panthers are 25th in rushing attempts.

13. Leave it to the Bills underachieving defense to get Chris Johnson on track. Prior to Sunday's game in Buffalo, the Titans' running back had rushed for over 100-yards only once this season, and he'd been held under 25-yards 2-times. However, against the Bills, Johnson met little resistance on his way to 195-yards and 2-TD's on 19-carries. Not only was it his best game of the season, it was the most yards Johnson had run for in a single game since 2009.

14. This isn't how you get into the new owner's good graces. Browns' receiver Josh Gordon dropped what would've been an easy go ahead touchdown in the 4th quarter against the Colts Sunday, much to the dismay of Jimmy Haslam, who made no attempt to hide his displeasure.

15. Not sure he ever really lost it, but Aaron Rodgers definitely has his mojo back. The Packers' QB has thrown for 9-TD's and 0-INT's in Green Bay's last 2-games, both wins. In their first 5-games, Rodgers had 10-touchdown passes to go along with 4-interceptions, as part of a 2-3 start for the Packers.