I certainly wasn't expecting the Jets to beat the Chargers, but they did what they had to do: win the turnover battle (2 to 1) and play better defense. Actually I'm not sure the Jets played great defense, stats from ESPN:
| Plays | Total Yards | Yards/Play | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chargers | 60 | 344 | 5.7 |
| Jets | 63 | 262 | 4.2 |
The Chargers averaged 360.1 yards/game during the regular season, so they weren't too far off that pace. The Jets forced the Chargers into 6 punts and 3 FG attempts, and they allowed no play longer than 37 yards, so they did make the Chargers work. It would have been a lot better if the Chargers' All-Pro kicker Nate Kaeding hadn't missed all 3 FG attempts. Don't tell me making an opponent miss FGs is a skill. Sometimes it's just better to be lucky. The Jets did what they had to do to win, even if Kaeding helped them out. They kept the score low and made a couple big plays (former Badger S Jim Leonhard returned an INT back to the Chargers' 16 yard line (which became a TD), and the big 53 yard TD run from RB Shonn Greene) to win it.
I did expect the Vikings would win, but I didn't expect the Cowboys would suck. While the Cowboys had been avoiding turnovers and playing great defense lately, they didn't do either on Sunday, stats from ESPN:
| Plays | Total Yards | Yards/Play | Turnovers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowboys | 66 | 248 | 3.8 | 3 |
| Vikings | 60 | 323 | 5.4 | 0 |
The Vikings were held to under their regular season average of 379.6 yards/game, so most of the Cowboys' defense played well, but the big plays to WR Sidney Rice (6 rec. for 141 yards, 3 TDs) killed them. It's not a great free agent class for corners, so I wouldn't be surprised to see the Cowboys looking closely at the end of the 1st round for one. The Cowboys' defense also paled in comparison to the Vikings' defense. They did a great job putting pressure on QB Tony Romo and forcing turnovers. The Cowboys also suffered from Charger-like kicking problems (K Shaun Suisham missed 2 of 3 FG attempts). Despite how bad the Cowboys played, this didn't turn into a blowout until the 4th quarter. It was only 17-3 at the end of the 3rd quarter, and if Suisham had made his FGs, it would have been a manageable 17-9.