Monday night's Cowboys-Eagles matchup lived up to the hype, as the two teams combined for 78 points and 717 yards in a back-and-forth shootout that ended with a defensive stop by Dallas. As if that weren't enough, Donovan McNabb and Tony Romo each sliced up the defenses with ease through the air, and rookie DeSean Jackson made both history and one of the dumbest plays of all time.
Jackson flipped the ball away a feet short of the goal line on what would've been a 61-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter. Luckily his blunder mattered little thanks to Brian Westbrook punching it into the end zone for one of his three scores. Stupidity aside, Jackson caught six passes for 110 yards to become the first receiver since 1940 to begin his career with back-to-back 100-yard games.
There were some other interesting milestones as well. Romo bounced back from ugly turnovers on consecutive snaps to top 300 yards for the 12th time in just 28 career starts, which amazingly puts him one short of Troy Aikman's team record. Terrell Owens made the 131st and 132nd touchdown grabs of his career, moving past Cris Carter into second place on the all-time list behind Jerry Rice (197).
McNabb threw his 175th career touchdown, tying the Eagles record held by Ron Jaworski, who looked on from the Monday Night Football booth while trying his best to put up with Tony Kornheiser's mute-inspiring commentary. Oh, and Felix Jones provided Dallas' first kickoff return touchdown in five years when the explosive rookie broke off a 98-yard runback in the opening quarter.
From a strictly fantasy point of view my biggest "takeaway" from the game is that McNabb has finally recovered fully from knee problems and looks like he did a few years ago, using his legs to enable big plays with his arm (until being sacked on the Eagles' final snap, of course). He's playing at a very high level so far and is doing so without both Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown, which bodes very well.
While Monday night's shootout becomes the leader in the clubhouse for Game of the Year, here are some other notes from around football .
* Darren McFadden ran through the Chiefs for 164 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries Sunday, but exited early with an injury for the second time in two career games. After tweaking his shoulder in his NFL debut, McFadden left Week 2 with a toe injury that's been described as the dreaded turf toe. Coach Lane Kiffin said Monday that the injury is a concern that may keep McFadden from practicing.
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Meanwhile, McFadden's big game came in part because Justin Fargas left early with an injury of his own. After lining up as a wide receiver, he went down like a ton of bricks mid-pattern and had to be carted off the field with a groin injury. He underwent an MRI exam Monday and the results aren't available yet as of this writing, but the odds are heavily against Fargas suiting up in Week 3.
That would leave Michael Bush backing up McFadden after totaling 90 yards and a score on 16 carries Sunday in the first extensive action of his career. If Fargas and McFadden are both out Bush would emerge as a solid RB3/FLEX option, but it sounds like McFadden has a good chance of playing. No team has run more often than the Raiders and they rank third in the league with 5.8 yards per carry.
* Speaking of toe injuries, LaDainian Tomlinson was in and out of Week 2 while totaling his fewest yards since mid-2005, but said afterward that his injured toe "is improving and healing." Tomlinson has stressed that he wants to avoid being examined by doctors, but if speculation about his having turf toe proves accurate he'll be dealing with it for a significant chunk of the season.
Tomlinson will get an extra day of rest this week thanks to the Chargers playing Monday night against the Jets, but his practice participation and status should be tracked very closely. With Tomlinson hobbled Darren Sproles took center stage Sunday and thrived, piling up 317 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns while looking like an even more compact Maurice Jones-Drew (if that's possible).
In addition to a 103-yard kickoff return, Sproles ran seven times for 53 yards and caught two passes for 72 yards. At 5-foot-6 and 180 pounds Sproles doesn't look capable of being an every-down back, but he's explosive enough to be at worst a RB3/FLEX option on even 12-15 touches if LT2 is unavailable. Amazingly quick and elusive in the open field, Sproles should be owned in all leagues.
Two-Minute Drill: Coach Jeff Fisher said Monday that Kerry Collins will stay the Titans' starter "until he struggles" before adding that Vince Young "is eventually going to be under center for us" . After getting some mop-up work in Week 1, first-round rookie Rashard Mendenhall played zero offensive snaps Sunday night while Willie Parker got 29 touches . Perhaps his goal of 140 catches wasn't so ridiculous after all: Brandon Marshall was targeted 20 times Sunday, hauling in 18 passes for the second-most in NFL history after sitting out Week 1 . Ricky Williams remains the Dolphins' starter, but coach Tony Sparano said Monday that Ronnie Brown will see increased action this week after essentially splitting time Sunday . Coach Rod Marinelli indicated Monday that Jon Kitna's job is safe despite having two picks returned for scores in Week 2 . Meanwhile, Roy Williams said Monday that he's "ticked off" about his role in the Mike Martz-less offense even though the Lions have chucked it 78 times in two games . Coach Brad Childress gave Tarvaris Jackson a vote of confidence, but then backed off that stance slightly during Monday afternoon's press conference.
Red Zone: Asked Monday about his Week 2 ankle injury, Michael Turner called it "nothing major" . While Ben Roethlisberger's shoulder injury may linger, it didn't stop him from uncorking several home-run balls Sunday night . Despite a so-so effort Sunday and a tough matchup looming against the Bears, Brian Griese will start again over Jeff Garcia (ankle) this week . According to coach Tony Dungy, Dallas Clark (knee) "could" resume practicing this week . Troy Smith (tonsillitis) has been cleared to resume football activities, but remains behind Todd Bouman and Joe Flacco on the depth chart . Sidney Rice (knee) said Monday that he's "pretty sore," but plans to suit up this week . Coach Marvin Lewis said Monday that Ben Utecht (chest) is "doubtful" to play Week 3 . According to coach Lane Kiffin, Javon Walker (hamstring) played sparingly Sunday because he "didn't look 100 percent in warm-ups" . Coach Scott Linehan said Monday that he plans to increase rookie Donnie Avery's role on offense "now that he's healthy."
