FSFL WEEK 3 REPORT
TWO UNBEATENS FALL, THREE REMAIN
Chiefs, Colts and Bills move to 3-0 as Ravens and Packers suffer first defeats
And then there were three!
Week 3 of Year 1 of the Franchise Stars Football League saw five teams enter with a 2-0 mark.
We knew at least one would fall, of course, as a pair of unbeatens locked up in Baltimore, where the surprising Ravens were hosting the Indianapolis Colts.
Each came in with a large share of fans not believing in either team's record, each having defeated the Texans - expected to be the league's worst team - while the Colts also downed the weak Jaguars and the Ravens had defeated a Bengals team not expected to be particularly strong (though they had upset Jim Brown and the Browns in Cleveland in Week 1).
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The Colts' defense stood out here, containing Ravens QB Tony Banks, who came in among the leaders at his position through the first two weeks, largely the byproduct of a near-400-yard performance against the Texans in Week 1.
The Ravens would amass only 194 yards of total offense against the Colts in a 17-3 Indianapolis win. Banks went 15-for-26 with 164 yards while Ray Rice, the leading rusher entering the game, was held to 47 yards on 16 carries.
Lydell Mitchell (right) carried 21 times for 99 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead the Colts attack, which chewed up 36 minutes of possession on the day.
"Blocking was great, D was awesome," Mitchell said afterward. "Big win. Keep sleepin' on us!"
The second team to fall was the Green Bay Packers, who won the FSFL Preseason Tournament before toppling the Bears and Falcons to open up the regular season.
But the Saints, who have as good a shot as anyone to take the weak NFC South, took control of this matchup at Lambeau Field with a 21-point third quarter, and held off a furious comeback attempt from Brett Favre and the Packers to hold on for the 35-28 victory.
The game was 14-13 at halftime, having started when Drew Brees (14-of-22, 193 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) hit George Rodgers out of the backfield on the dead run for a 64 yard TD pass.
Rodgers was terrific, carrying 17 times for 103 yards and another score. Danny Abromowicz later scored on a 22-yard reverse and Mark Ingram ran for a pair of scores to build a 35-13 lead entering the fourth.
Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., the Bills roared out to a 21-7 halftime lead but struggled to put Washington away as Joe Ferguson (23-of-37, 263 yards) threw a pair of touchdowns but also threw three interceptions that helped the Redskins stay in it.
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"Too many mistakes," Ferguson acknowledged afterward. "Can't let a good team hang around because of turnovers. I was lucky today."
Ferguson was picked off by Barry Wilburn midway through the 3rd quarter at the Bills' own 36, which started Wasington's rally, but the defense held them to a Dustin Hopkins 22 yard field goal to make it 21-10. Five minutes later, Wilburn got Ferguson - perhaps too locked in on Elbert Dubenion (9 catches, 94 yards, 2 TDs) - for a second time. But again, the Bills' defense stood tall, holding Washington to another Hopkins field goal.
After the Bills added a Scott Norwood field goal, Mike Thomas ran it in from 3 yards out for Washington with 6:18 to go to get it to 24-19, but the two-point conversion failed and the Redskins never got close enough again for a real shot as Jason Campbell's last second Hail Mary fell harmlessly to the ground.
O.J. Simpson carried 20 times for 102 yards and a score, while his counterpart, John Riggins, tallied 79 yards on 20 carries with a score of his own. Bruce Smith sacked Campbell three times for Buffalo.
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