Courtesy of DeSean Jackson
Atlanta Falcons Hats , Ryan Fitzpatrick rocked a pair of sunglasses and a partially zipped warmup jacket revealing a couple of gold chains and a large pendant resting on his chest."It's nothing," the Tampa Bay quarterback said of the garb after throwing four touchdown passes and topping 400 yards for the second straight week, leading the Buccaneers to a 27-21 victory over the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday."I think we just have to stay humble," Fitzpatrick added, a smile crossing his face. "We've got to make sure we know how to handle success and all those things. We can't change who we are."Filling in for suspended quarterback Jameis Winston, Fitzpatrick completed 27 of 33 passes for 402 yards and has the suddenly explosive Bucs off to a 2-0 start for the first time since 2010.Jackson scored on a 75-yard reception on the first play of the game, giving him three TDs in two games after having three all last season.O.J. Howard also had a 75-yard TD catch in the first half for Tampa Bay, which stunned New Orleans 48-40 on the road in its season opener."I think we just developed a lot of confidence in the offseason and through training camp with how we worked, and the way things were going, and the rapport with the guys," the 35-year-old Fitzpatrick said. "I think that confidence has carried over into the season."Nick Foles threw for 334 yards for the Eagles (1-1), who rallied from a 20-point, third-quarter deficit.The Super Bowl MVP's 2-yard TD pass to Nelson Agholor on fourth down trimmed Tampa Bay's lead to 27-21 with 2:46 remaining. Fitzpatrick didn't give the Eagles' injury-decimated offense a chance to finish the comeback."We didn't win every single game last year. I think people forget that," Foles said, trying to put the loss in perspective. "There's a lot of expectations for us, but we can't put that kind of pressure on ourselves."Fitzpatrick, a 14-year veteran and one of four players in NFL history to throw TD passes for seven franchises, produced a couple first downs on Tampa Bay's last possession to drain all but 19 seconds off the clock."We had our shots. I just feel like if we had got that ball back one more time, we would have a chance to try to win it," Eagles tackle Jason Peters said. "But we were pinned back there with 20 seconds left and we didn't have a lot of options."Chris Godwin and Mike Evans had TD receptions of 8 and 4 yards, respectively, for the Bucs. Jackson, who had two TD receptions before leaving the season opener with a concussion, finished with four catches for 129 yards.The Eagles opened the season with Foles throwing for just 117 yards in an 18-12 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.They drove 78 yards in 13 plays to pull even with Tampa Bay in the second quarter, only to watch Howard turn a short pass into another long TD by eluding two defenders and turning up the left sideline. Eagles cornerback Ronald Darby was unable to chase down the 6-foot-6, 251-pound tight end.Foles finished 35 of 48 with no interceptions. Corey Clement scored on a 15-yard run in the first half, and Jay Ajayi's 2-yard TD run began Philadelphia's rally from a 27-7 deficit.FITZMAGICFitzpatrick threw for a career-best 417 yards and four TDs in the season opener. He also ran for a touchdown against the Saints
Atlanta Falcons Hoodie , meaning he's thrown for 819 yards and accounted for nine TDs in two weeks. He improved to 4-1 as a starter in two seasons with the Bucs.TOUGH DAYPhiladelphia's defense, coming off sacking Matt Ryan four times and holding the Falcons quarterback to his lowest completion percentage in seven years, was torched for 271 yards passing and three touchdowns in the first half alone.Fletcher Cox and Nigel Bradham had sacks Sunday. The Eagles also forced two turnovers, including a second-half fumble that helped them stay in the game.INJURIESEagles: The Eagles were already without receiver Alshon Jeffery and running back Darren Sproles, and Foles' job got tougher when running back Jay Ajayi (back), receiver Mike Wallace (ankle) and tackle Jason Peters (quad) left in the first half. Ajayi returned at the start of the second half, finishing with 23 yards rushing on seven carries.Buccaneers: With Brent Grimes (groin) missing his second straight game and Vernon Hargreaves III (shoulder) on injured reserve after getting hurt at New Orleans, the Bucs played without both starting cornerbacks. Defensive tackle Beau Allen (foot) and safety Chris Conte (knee) left the game in the second half.FAST STARTThe Bucs, who haven't made the playoffs since 2007, are 2-0 for only the second time in 13 years. They also won their first two on the way to a 10-6 finish under former coach Raheem Morris in 2010.UP NEXTEagles: Host Indianapolis next Sunday.Buccaneers: Pittsburgh at home next Monday night, final game of Winston's suspension. As the calendar flipped to November, it looked like it was finally Utah’s time. Kyle Whittingham’s Utes have maybe been the most consistently solid team in the Pac-12 South; they are also the only team not to have won it.After a brilliant October that featured blowouts of Stanford, Arizona, and UCLA and an arm’s-length win over USC, everything was aligned properly. The South stunk, and Utah was up to 12th in S&P+. This was the year.On November 3, starting quarterback Tyler Huntley broke his collarbone and was lost for the season, and the Utes got blown out at Arizona State.On November 7 or so, starting running back and 1,000-yard rusher (already) Zack Moss aggravated a knee injury climbing into bed. He, too, was lost for the season.On November 10, Utah surged to a 13-0 lead against Oregon with backup quarterback Jason Shelley and backup running back Armand Shyne but watched that slowly fritter away. Oregon took a 25-22 lead with eight minutes left, and another late-season malaise — Utah fans’ biggest complaint about Whittingham is mediocre Novembers — appeared underway.The Utes responded to Oregon’s lead with a five-play, 60-yard drive that culminated in a Shelley touchdown. They tacked on a late field goal and survived, 32-25. And after two weeks from hell, they somehow remain the statistical favorites in the division from hell.There have been some spectacularly strange division races this year
Cheap Customized Atlanta Falcons Jerseys , and while some have wrapped up (Northwestern won the Big Ten West), and others have a clear leader (Pitt is in control of the ACC Coastal), the Pac-12 South remains as messy as ever.Three teams still have a shot. At 4-3 and holding a tie-breaker advantage over Utah, Arizona State controls its own destiny, needing only to beat Oregon on Saturday and Arizona the Saturday after to reach its second conference title game.According to S&P+, though, the Sun Devils are projected underdogs against Oregon and are in a virtual tossup against UA. Controlling your destiny only means so much if you’re unlikely to win out.There are, for all intents and purposes, four games in this race. Let’s see what S&P+ has to say about each.November 17: Arizona State at Oregon (S&P+ win probability: Oregon 54%)November 17: Utah at Colorado (Utah 78%)November 17: Arizona at Washington State (Wazzu 80%)November 24: Arizona State at Arizona (50%)It should be noted that S&P+ is not designed to take injuries into account, at least not before the team’s play is affected by the injuries. So while it is extremely confident in Utah’s chances of winning at a collapsing Colorado, maybe it should be a hair less confident, even if the Utes offense looked fine last Saturday.Even if you tamp down that 78 percent win probability, you only tamp it down so much (again, Colorado is lost in the woods at the moment), and win projections suggest Utah is still very much in the driver’s seat.Let’s look at the scenarios required for each team to win and the odds of each.Utah (65 percent)Beat Colorado and have ASU lose to either Arizona or Oregon (or both)Lose to Colorado but have ASU lose to both Arizona and Oregon and Arizona lose to WazzuArizona State (33 percent)Beat Oregon and ArizonaLose to Oregon, beat Arizona, have Colorado beat UtahBeat Oregon, lose to Arizona, have Colorado beat Utah and Wazzu beat ArizonaArizona (2 percent)Beat Washington State and Arizona State and have Utah lose to ColoradoHere are the odds of each potential combination:Pac-12 South ScenariosASU-UO winnerUU-CU winnerUA-WSU winnerASU-UA winnerS&P+ OddsSouth ChampASU-UO winnerUU-CU winnerUA-WSU winnerASU-UA winnerS&P+ OddsSouth ChampIf you believe that Utah’s win probability against Colorado is more like 70 percent because of the injuries, that changes the overall odds to Utah 60 percent, ASU 37 percent, Arizona three percent. And if you believe that Utah’s chances against Colorado are more like 60 percent (I do not), that tamps the Utes’ division odds down to about 55 percent. Regardless, if Utah handles its business in Boulder, the odds are good that ASU will lose one of the next two, and Whittingham will finally have his division title.
Courtesy of DeSean Jackson Atlanta Falcons Hats , Ryan Fitzpatrick rocked a pair of sunglasses and a partially zipped warmup jacket revealing a couple of gold chains and a large pendant resting on his chest."It's nothing," the Tampa Bay quarterback said of the garb after throwing four touchdown passes and topping 400 yards for the second straight week, leading the Buccaneers to a 27-21 victory over the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday."I think we just have to stay humble," Fitzpatrick added, a smile crossing his face. "We've got to make sure we know how to handle success and all those things. We can't change who we are."Filling in for suspended quarterback Jameis Winston, Fitzpatrick completed 27 of 33 passes for 402 yards and has the suddenly explosive Bucs off to a 2-0 start for the first time since 2010.Jackson scored on a 75-yard reception on the first play of the game, giving him three TDs in two games after having three all last season.O.J. Howard also had a 75-yard TD catch in the first half for Tampa Bay, which stunned New Orleans 48-40 on the road in its season opener."I think we just developed a lot of confidence in the offseason and through training camp with how we worked, and the way things were going, and the rapport with the guys," the 35-year-old Fitzpatrick said. "I think that confidence has carried over into the season."Nick Foles threw for 334 yards for the Eagles (1-1), who rallied from a 20-point, third-quarter deficit.The Super Bowl MVP's 2-yard TD pass to Nelson Agholor on fourth down trimmed Tampa Bay's lead to 27-21 with 2:46 remaining. Fitzpatrick didn't give the Eagles' injury-decimated offense a chance to finish the comeback."We didn't win every single game last year. I think people forget that," Foles said, trying to put the loss in perspective. "There's a lot of expectations for us, but we can't put that kind of pressure on ourselves."Fitzpatrick, a 14-year veteran and one of four players in NFL history to throw TD passes for seven franchises, produced a couple first downs on Tampa Bay's last possession to drain all but 19 seconds off the clock."We had our shots. I just feel like if we had got that ball back one more time, we would have a chance to try to win it," Eagles tackle Jason Peters said. "But we were pinned back there with 20 seconds left and we didn't have a lot of options."Chris Godwin and Mike Evans had TD receptions of 8 and 4 yards, respectively, for the Bucs. Jackson, who had two TD receptions before leaving the season opener with a concussion, finished with four catches for 129 yards.The Eagles opened the season with Foles throwing for just 117 yards in an 18-12 victory over the Atlanta Falcons.They drove 78 yards in 13 plays to pull even with Tampa Bay in the second quarter, only to watch Howard turn a short pass into another long TD by eluding two defenders and turning up the left sideline. Eagles cornerback Ronald Darby was unable to chase down the 6-foot-6, 251-pound tight end.Foles finished 35 of 48 with no interceptions. Corey Clement scored on a 15-yard run in the first half, and Jay Ajayi's 2-yard TD run began Philadelphia's rally from a 27-7 deficit.FITZMAGICFitzpatrick threw for a career-best 417 yards and four TDs in the season opener. He also ran for a touchdown against the Saints Atlanta Falcons Hoodie , meaning he's thrown for 819 yards and accounted for nine TDs in two weeks. He improved to 4-1 as a starter in two seasons with the Bucs.TOUGH DAYPhiladelphia's defense, coming off sacking Matt Ryan four times and holding the Falcons quarterback to his lowest completion percentage in seven years, was torched for 271 yards passing and three touchdowns in the first half alone.Fletcher Cox and Nigel Bradham had sacks Sunday. The Eagles also forced two turnovers, including a second-half fumble that helped them stay in the game.INJURIESEagles: The Eagles were already without receiver Alshon Jeffery and running back Darren Sproles, and Foles' job got tougher when running back Jay Ajayi (back), receiver Mike Wallace (ankle) and tackle Jason Peters (quad) left in the first half. Ajayi returned at the start of the second half, finishing with 23 yards rushing on seven carries.Buccaneers: With Brent Grimes (groin) missing his second straight game and Vernon Hargreaves III (shoulder) on injured reserve after getting hurt at New Orleans, the Bucs played without both starting cornerbacks. Defensive tackle Beau Allen (foot) and safety Chris Conte (knee) left the game in the second half.FAST STARTThe Bucs, who haven't made the playoffs since 2007, are 2-0 for only the second time in 13 years. They also won their first two on the way to a 10-6 finish under former coach Raheem Morris in 2010.UP NEXTEagles: Host Indianapolis next Sunday.Buccaneers: Pittsburgh at home next Monday night, final game of Winston's suspension. As the calendar flipped to November, it looked like it was finally Utah’s time. Kyle Whittingham’s Utes have maybe been the most consistently solid team in the Pac-12 South; they are also the only team not to have won it.After a brilliant October that featured blowouts of Stanford, Arizona, and UCLA and an arm’s-length win over USC, everything was aligned properly. The South stunk, and Utah was up to 12th in S&P+. This was the year.On November 3, starting quarterback Tyler Huntley broke his collarbone and was lost for the season, and the Utes got blown out at Arizona State.On November 7 or so, starting running back and 1,000-yard rusher (already) Zack Moss aggravated a knee injury climbing into bed. He, too, was lost for the season.On November 10, Utah surged to a 13-0 lead against Oregon with backup quarterback Jason Shelley and backup running back Armand Shyne but watched that slowly fritter away. Oregon took a 25-22 lead with eight minutes left, and another late-season malaise — Utah fans’ biggest complaint about Whittingham is mediocre Novembers — appeared underway.The Utes responded to Oregon’s lead with a five-play, 60-yard drive that culminated in a Shelley touchdown. They tacked on a late field goal and survived, 32-25. And after two weeks from hell, they somehow remain the statistical favorites in the division from hell.There have been some spectacularly strange division races this year Cheap Customized Atlanta Falcons Jerseys , and while some have wrapped up (Northwestern won the Big Ten West), and others have a clear leader (Pitt is in control of the ACC Coastal), the Pac-12 South remains as messy as ever.Three teams still have a shot. At 4-3 and holding a tie-breaker advantage over Utah, Arizona State controls its own destiny, needing only to beat Oregon on Saturday and Arizona the Saturday after to reach its second conference title game.According to S&P+, though, the Sun Devils are projected underdogs against Oregon and are in a virtual tossup against UA. Controlling your destiny only means so much if you’re unlikely to win out.There are, for all intents and purposes, four games in this race. Let’s see what S&P+ has to say about each.November 17: Arizona State at Oregon (S&P+ win probability: Oregon 54%)November 17: Utah at Colorado (Utah 78%)November 17: Arizona at Washington State (Wazzu 80%)November 24: Arizona State at Arizona (50%)It should be noted that S&P+ is not designed to take injuries into account, at least not before the team’s play is affected by the injuries. So while it is extremely confident in Utah’s chances of winning at a collapsing Colorado, maybe it should be a hair less confident, even if the Utes offense looked fine last Saturday.Even if you tamp down that 78 percent win probability, you only tamp it down so much (again, Colorado is lost in the woods at the moment), and win projections suggest Utah is still very much in the driver’s seat.Let’s look at the scenarios required for each team to win and the odds of each.Utah (65 percent)Beat Colorado and have ASU lose to either Arizona or Oregon (or both)Lose to Colorado but have ASU lose to both Arizona and Oregon and Arizona lose to WazzuArizona State (33 percent)Beat Oregon and ArizonaLose to Oregon, beat Arizona, have Colorado beat UtahBeat Oregon, lose to Arizona, have Colorado beat Utah and Wazzu beat ArizonaArizona (2 percent)Beat Washington State and Arizona State and have Utah lose to ColoradoHere are the odds of each potential combination:Pac-12 South ScenariosASU-UO winnerUU-CU winnerUA-WSU winnerASU-UA winnerS&P+ OddsSouth ChampASU-UO winnerUU-CU winnerUA-WSU winnerASU-UA winnerS&P+ OddsSouth ChampIf you believe that Utah’s win probability against Colorado is more like 70 percent because of the injuries, that changes the overall odds to Utah 60 percent, ASU 37 percent, Arizona three percent. And if you believe that Utah’s chances against Colorado are more like 60 percent (I do not), that tamps the Utes’ division odds down to about 55 percent. Regardless, if Utah handles its business in Boulder, the odds are good that ASU will lose one of the next two, and Whittingham will finally have his division title.