Still Perfect

• Aaron Rodgers’ streak of no interceptions at Lambeau Field finally came to an end on Sunday, which isn’t surprising considering the way the announcers have been hardcore trying to jinx him the last few weeks by bringing it up every two seconds. The streak lasted almost THREE calendar years and included 49 touchdowns and 586 pass attempts. And of course it came on a tipped pass.

• Rodgers decided to get it all out of his system and threw a second interception to the St. Louis Rams. It’s been five calendar years since that last happened at Lambeau.

• I hate to be a downer when the Green Bay Packers are 5-0, but Packers fans might have to get used to interceptions from Rodgers. Without Sideline Ninja to threaten the deep pass, defenders are able to sit on routes like Trumaine Johnson did on Rodgers’ second interceptions.

He ain't there to be eye candy... Well, he's not there
just to be eye candy.

• Datone Jones saved the Pack three points when he blocked a St. Louis field goal -- something he’s done in every single one of his seasons since 11th grade.

• Rookie cornerback Quinten Rollins got his first TWO career interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown.

The rarely see defensive rookie Lambeau Leap! It, er, needs a little work.

• Whoa, the defensive line looked good! So many strong performances -- Mike Daniels, Clay Matthews, BJ Raji, Jayrone Elliott. They made life tough for Rams quarterback Nick Foles, notching three sacks and 12 quarterback hits!

• My boy Sammy Shields also had a big day, breaking up several big plays.

• The injuries seemed to pile up, first losing right guard TJ Lang to a knee injury, linebacker Nick Perry to a shoulder injury, and nose tackle BJ Raji to a groin injury. The good news is that neither Lang’s nor Raji’s looks to be serious, but no word yet on Perry, who has had a previous injury on that shoulder.

• What an effort by JJ to keep his knees from touching the ground as he stretched out for his touchdown! I was glad to hear the announcers giving James Jones some love for this. This is beeeaaa-utiful.

• We need better tight ends.  

• Do you think this man’s only job is wiping off players’ visors? I wonder how I could apply for that job. It seems the perfect marriage of my desire to work with the Packers and my relevant skills.

• There was some sad news on Packers defensive back Sean Richardson this week. Richardson is done for the season after suffering a second major neck injury. This could very likely be the end of his career. Just retire and stay safe, buddy! If this does indeed end his career, that would make him the fourth Packer who suffered the same fate in recent years, along with Nick Collins, Jermichael Finley, and James Franklin.

• It was a good week for the draft of 1998.

Well, except for for Ryan Leaf. It's probably never a good week for Ryan Leaf.

• Charles Woodson (sigh) turned 39 earlier this week, and said all he wanted for his birthday was to intercept Peyton Manning. Woodson and Manning came into the league together and, after 18 years playing, Woodson had never managed to pick off Peyton … until Sunday! CHARLES WOODSON GOT HIS INTERCEPTION OF PEYTON!! NOT ONCE, BUT TWICE!!! WOOOO HOOOOOO!!!! Woodson is now 6th all-time in NFL history in career interceptions. Yay, Charles! IloveyoupleaseretireaPacker.

• You know who the only other man standing from the 1998 draft is? Mr. Matt. Hasselbeck. I mentioned last week how I’ve always had a soft spot for the former Green Bay backup QB and current Indianapolis Colts backup, who is universally liked around the league, and this week was a little more evidence as to why. Hasselbeck wasn’t feeling great before last week’s game. He started throwing up at halftime, completed -- and won -- the game, but continued to get worse. He ended up in the ER in the wee hours of Monday morning for a bacterial infection, missed all but one practice, and was receiving daily IVs, trying to get ready for on a short week (Yay Thursday Night Football). He kinda had to since starting quarterback Andrew Luck was close, but not quite ready to return from a shoulder injury (Yay Thursday Night Football). Hasselbeck balled out, as the cool people say, and led his team to a 27-20 victory over the division rival Houston Texans. Hasselbeck was 18-of-29 for 213 yards, two touchdowns, zero interceptions, zero sacks and a 107.4 passer rating.

Hasselbeck's brother tweeted this before the game. Awwwww.

• Colts head coach Chuck Pagano on Hasselbeck: “He was literally on his deathbed Monday and Tuesday.” [Side rant: I was going to hyperlink the above quote from Pagano to the dictionary definition of “literally” to snarkily point out his misuse of the word when I discovered, to my shock and horror, that both Dictionary.com and Merriam-Webster.com list “virtually” as an accepted definition for literally. Sorry, English Language; you had a good run.]

• As happy as I am for Matt Hasselbeck and the Colts, I do kinda feel for the 1-4 Texans. They had more yards, more first downs, more yards per play, more plays, and more time of possession, but also had more turnovers (2-0, including one in the last two minutes of the game) and more penalty yards (125!).

Poor JJ. Poor talented, millionaire JJ.

• What is Bill O’Brien doing in Houston? I know you have two backup quarterbacks and are forced to start one, but for the love, just stick with one! Brian Hoyer was named the starter, then was benched before the end of the first game. Ryan Mallett took over, playing Weeks 2, 3, and 4, the final in which he was benched/pulled during a blowout for Hoyer. Mallett started Thursday night’s game, got the wind knocked out of him and had sit down. Hoyer came in, played well, and stayed in, leaving Mallett to sulk on the sideline. Now O’Brien has named Hoyer the starter for Week 6, and they’ll “go from there.”

This won't have any negative effect on the team, I'm sure.

• I don’t think I could outbid Ford Motors, but I would seriously consider paying Denis Leary out of my own pocket to make him stop doing commercial voiceovers.

• A walk-off pick-six might be the most fun way to win a game. The Atlanta Falcons beat a surprisingly pesky Washington Redskins team by intercepting Kirk Cousins in overtime and returning it 59 yards for the game.

• Seattle lost in overtime on a banked-in field goal from the Cincinnati Bengals after leading by 17 points in the fourth quarter. Hah.

• This is so sad! New York Giants tight end Daniel Fells is in danger of having to have his foot amputated because of a dangerous staph infection. (The Giants can look to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an example of how not to handle this situation.) Get better soon, Daniel!

• Coaches need to tell their players to stop doing flips into the endzone. It’s so stupid to risk injury that way. It drives me crazy!

• “I can’t believe he did that -- actually, it’s Brandon Weeden. I can believe it.”

• The 1-4 Baltimore Ravens have now lost four games this season after leading in the fourth quarter.

• The Cleveland Browns’ Gary Barnidge wins for the craziest catch I’ve ever seen.

• Finally, after all the scandals of recent years, deflategate, and the controversial calls, the NFL really has a record they can be proud of.

• Well done, gentlemen.

• Oh, but wait. On the last day of the month, a Titans rookie came through and got himself arrested over a parking ticket. Amazing. The streak continues.

• Gosh, Greg Hardy is dumb. After missing all of last season and the first four games of this season due to an domestic violence incident, Hardy had one of the mind-boggling interviews I've ever seen. Many are upset over Hardy using the phrase “come out guns blazing” to describe how he was approaching his return, since the incident for which he was suspended involved throwing his girlfriend on a pile of guns and choking her. I have to say, however, that’s one of the less offensive things he said. Some of his gems include calling his suspension “the most awesome period of [his] life,” and talking about how hot his opponents’ wives are. Glad Greg learned his lesson.

• Headline: “Jay Cutler says he'll tough it out for injury-ravaged Bears.”

Teammates say, "Don't do us any favors, Jay. Please."

• What the heck, Chicago? The Bears failed to choke last week, then clawed their way from behind for a victory over the Kansas City Chiefs this week. Very un-Bearsian of them.

• There was, of course, a Jay Cutler highlight, though. Not content with giving the Kansas City Chiefs a safety when they tackled him in his own endzone, Cutler decided to fumble the ball to make sure they got six points for their efforts instead of just a measly two.

• The three Florida teams have a combined four wins -- and two of those only happened because they played each other.  

• The Arizona Cardinals have 59 points off of turnovers in five games.

• Say what you want about me, but I am undyingly loyal. I still believe in Matthew Stafford. Even when he’s 0-5 and getting benched after throwing three interceptions. The Detroit Lions are the only team left without a win. They really should be 1-4, since the refs stole a game from them last week, but I don’t know that that would make any Lions fans feel better.

It seems his wife his having trouble letting go, though.

• Peyton Manning is the only non-punter NFL player I’ve ever seen whose football pants are baggy.

• Cincinnati Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert had an awesome game on Sunday -- 90 yards, two touchdowns -- against Seattle’s shutdown safety Kam Chancellor. I loved him at Notre Dame and am so happy to see him coming back so well from a brutal elbow injury.

• Here’s San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Tomsula.

• And here is the perfect way to describe him. Spot on.

• Eli Manning threw a game-winning touchdown with 21 seconds left to lead the New York Giants over the San Francisco 49ers. Disappointing, yes, but we still got to see Eli throw a pick in the endzone shortly before half, leading to a quintessential Manning Face.

There's always a silver lining.

• Antonio Gates was a basketball player who never even played in a college football game. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the San Diego Chargers 13 years ago, and on Monday night, became just the second tight end in NFL history (after the great Anthony Gonzalez) to catch 100 touchdowns.

• We already had a Jordy Nelson picture, but another one never hurts.