NFL '06-Running Over the Competition

By Rhonda Reigstad

The offenses made the defenses look offensive in week 14. Record breakers and embarrassments are a few of the stories that made headlines.

Seattle Seahawks running back Shawn Alexander set the record for most touchdowns in a season last year with 28. Who would have thought it would last for only one year? One person and that person is San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson. He scored three times in their 48-20 victory over the Denver Broncos.

Right after scoring the record breaker, he was lifted off the field by his offensive lineman with the football in hand. Left guard Kris Dielman said, "He is a king and he should be treated like on. That is what a king gets." Of the 29 touchdowns he's gotten, three have been receiving and the rest have been on the ground.

"Once I got over the pylon, my initial thought was to bring every guy of the offensive unit over to share that moment," Tomlinson said. A guy who knows where to give credit where credit is due. If he isn't named Most Valuable Player in the league, something is horribly wrong.

Besides getting the record for touchdowns in a season-and there's three games left to play-he tied former Washington Redskins running back John Riggins record of seven straight multi-touchdown games which was set in 1983. He is two points shy of besting former Green Bay Packer Paul Hornung's single-season record of 176 points scored in 1960.

 Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer has said Tomlinson is one of the greatest players he's ever coached and that's saying a lot especially after he coached one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time in Joe Montana.

 Is it me or has déjà vu hit the Indianapolis Colts again? For the umpteenth year in a row, they start out strong and towards the end of the season, quarterback Peyton Manning and the rest of the team go down hill. Their game against the Jacksonville Jaguars started out bad and got worse.

 Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew ran for 166 yards (a career high) and two touchdowns and Fred Taylor added 131 yards. Jacksonville more than likely took home field advantage away from the Colts in a victory that surprised many.

Jacksonville 's rushing performance was the second best since the merger in 1970. They finished with 375 yards on the ground. The record was set by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2000 when they had 407 yards against the Denver Broncos. Jaguars defensive end Bobby McCray said, "I probably could have had 78 or so on two carries. They probably would have pulled me early to save me for next week."

The New Orleans Saints keep on having one of the best seasons in franchise history. Getting quarterback Drew Brees from San Diego has paid off big time. In a 42-17 victory over the Dallas Cowboys, he threw five touchdown passes and became the first visiting quarterback to throw that many against the Cowboys in "Big D".

 Saints running back Reggie Bush had a less than stellar performance but Deuce McAllister picked up 111 yards rushing on 21 carries. Even though Bush's numbers weren't the best, he should be a shoe in for Rookie of the Year honors.

 Like the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Seattle Seahawks have had their share of ups and downs one year removed from their Super Bowl appearance. They gave away their chance to clinch the NFC West title by losing to the Arizona Cardinals, 27-21. Turnovers were to blame as the Cardinals scored 14 points off Seattle fumbles. Cardinals running back Edgerrin James is starting to come around and quarterback Matt Leinart is settling in as he got his third victory in his last four starts.

Talk about a homecoming. Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young put on a show for Houston , the city he grew up six miles away from. Young scored the 39-yard winning touchdown in overtime to give them the victory, 26-20, his third comeback and fourth win in a row. For someone who started out the season slow, he's showing the entire league he's here to stay for a while.

 Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith returned to the city he helped win a Super Bowl and he had his way with the St. Louis Rams, winning 42-27. Rams quarterback Mark Bulger threw for over 300 yards but it wasn't enough to stop the Bears. Bears quarterback Rex Grossman bounced back from his horrific performance last week to keep the ball rolling for the back-to-back NFC North champions.

 Three weeks left to go in the season and there may be more records broken. It will be hard to say how long they will stay in the record books before someone else comes along and sets the bar higher.

 

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