Donovan McNabb had a triumphant return to Philly.

You Can Go Home Again
Donovan McNabb got what in Philly amounts to a ticker tape parade. The longtime Eagle returned to the scene of his many triumphant moments and received a warm welcome, then proceeded to earn a key NFC East win with the Redskins’ 17–12 white-knuckler against the Eagles. It was far from a thing of beauty, though. The anticipated McNabb-Michael Vick matchup evaporated in the first quarter, when Vick was sandwiched between Redskin defenders and left with chest and rib injuries, and McNabb was little more than a caretaker, throwing for 125 yards and handing off to a potent set of running backs. “The relief I got was that this is over, that the whole hoopla and coming back to Philadelphia is over,” McNabb said. The win, ugly as it was, was a nice cherry on the sundae.

The Bears’ Offense Is Offensive
Chicago has O-line issues. Well, duh. Might as well say water’s wet. Nine first-half sacks? The line was leakier than the Titanic, post-iceberg. It didn’t help that they were protecting a guy who held onto the ball like it was the Hope diamond — that is, when he wasn’t fumbling it away. The Bears dropped a 110-yard, three-turnover, 10-sack deuce on an unsuspecting viewing public in a 17–3 loss to the Giants. It was perhaps the worst offensive performance in the history of the NFL, and there’s plenty of blame to throw around. Jay Cutler looked confused even before a concussion knocked him out of the game. The running backs went nowhere. The line was a sieve. “It’s fun to watch our defense when they are doing that,” said Giants QB Eli Manning, who was essentially free to take the night off while Osi Umenyiora and Justin Tuck (three sacks apiece) had their way with Cutler. Fun to watch unless you’re a fan of competent offensive football. So much for the genius of Mike Martz serving as a cure-all for what ails the Bears, who are the worst 3–1 team the NFL has seen in a while.

It’s Panic Time in San Fran
Their division is so bad that the 0–4 49ers aren’t out of it — but what a heartbreaking, character-testing start to the season. Even Mike Singletary might not be able to evangelize his way out of this hole. The Niners’ 16–14 loss to the Falcons was especially painful, as Nate Clements made what appeared to be a clinching interception, only to fumble it back to Atlanta on the return, giving the Birds new life and leading to a Matt Bryant field goal with six seconds left. Ever the optimist, Singletary tried the happy-talk postgame approach: “As much as it hurts right now, I’m excited,” he said. “There were positives that came from this.” The main one being that they still play in the NFC West.

Parity Reigns
Ladies and gentlemen, your lone unbeaten, the Kansas City Chiefs. Start popping that champagne, 1972 Miami Dolphins; your record is safe. The last time a 3–0 team stood as the final unbeaten? 1971. So is it parity, or just bad football? A little bit of both. The Jets and Packers are strong. The Ravens and Steelers are typically tough. The Colts are 2–2, but there’s no cause for alarm, yet. The Chargers looked like they found a groove in dismantling the Cardinals. But there’s plenty of bad football being played. Exhibit A: The NFC West, where only the 2–2 Rams have outscored their opponents, and you know that can’t last. For the first time, a 7–9 team could make the playoffs, and that won’t be good for the league. Parity’s one thing; mediocrity is something worse.  

Ravens-Steelers Is the NFL’s Best Rivalry
The Steelers were fighting for the improbable: a 4–0 record without Ben Roethlisberger. The Ravens were fighting for their second win at Heinz Field in 11 tries. The game, appropriately, was a fistfight, dominated by defense, with a late dose of offensive heroism from Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco. For the fifth consecutive time, these two played a regular-season game decided by four points or fewer, and the win was as sweet as it was hard-earned. “We found a way to beat them at their place,” said Ravens coach John Harbaugh. “That’s what makes it so special.”

Quick Hits
• Jeff Fisher’s conservatism has served him well over the years. Yesterday it cost him a game. Fisher took the ball out of Vince Young’s hot right hand, shutting down the playbook in the second half and allowing the Broncos to score the game’s final 10 points of their 26–20 win over the Titans. “This loss is unfortunately an example of just not being able to make the play at the end to close this game out, and that is exactly what happened,” Fisher said. No, the loss is the result of an offense that produced 46 second-half yards and only one first down in the fourth quarter.

• Arian Foster is this year’s breakout star. After serving a 23-minute suspension for undisclosed infractions, Foster rushed for 131 yards and a touchdown and caught three passes for 56 yards and another score in the Texans’ 31–24 win over the Raiders. Foster is the NFL’s leading rusher with 537 yards.

• Appropriate that in a week when we lost George Blanda, who played until he was 48, 46-year-old John Carney was the hero of the Saints’ 16–14 win over the Panthers, kicking three field goals, including the game-winning 25-yarder with 3:55 left.
 

By Charean Williams

Michael Vick has been better this season. He’s also been better than good.
In his career before this season, Vick had a 38–28–1 record, a 53.7 completion percentage, a 75.9 passer rating and averaged 6.7 yards per attempt.
This season, he is 2–0 as a starter, with a passer rating of 110.2, a completion percentage of 60.7, and he is averaging 8.4 yards per attempt. He has thrown six touchdowns and no interceptions.
Expected to be Kevin Kolb’s backup this season, Vick is starring.
“I always knew I could play better,” Vick said. “My decision-making has gotten better. I’m more in control of the offense. As the weeks go on, you get... more in sync. I felt good in the past throwing the football, but we throw more here so you get into a rhythm a little quicker. [My hot start is] kind of surprising, but at the same time, I always believed in myself and my abilities. I know what I can do if given the opportunity."
The Eagles traded Donovan McNabb to Washington in the offseason and handed Kolb the starting job. But Kolb suffered a concussion in the season opener, giving Vick his long-awaited second chance.
McNabb returns to Philadelphia on Sunday to play Vick, whom he mentored last season.  
“The Lord works in mysterious ways,” Vick said. “It’s crazy the way things happen. Sometimes things fall into place. I think everything happens for a reason. Everything I [saw] Don doing [last year] I tried to emulate. It was great playing with Donovan. Everything Andy [Reid] tells me to do, I do. I see how it’s paid off for Donovan and that’s why he’s been so successful. I want the same thing.”

Johnson making good
Derrick Johnson has made good on his second chance.
The Kansas City Chiefs linebacker was the subject of trade rumors last year when he got into Todd Haley’s doghouse. But Johnson worked his way out of it — literally — and now is starting again.
He has 25 tackles and a forced fumble for the undefeated Chiefs.
“[Starting] means a lot to me,” Johnson said in a telephone interview. “I have a lot of goals — team goals and personal goals — and one of those goals that I had to put on my list that I usually don’t is starting. I put on my list to work hard and to get that starting spot, and I got it. Now, I’m just trying to be a consistent player week in and week out and help this team win games. That’s the main thing: If I can help this team win games, then I’ve done my job.”
The Chiefs, then coached by Dick Vermeil, made the former University of Texas standout the 15th overall draft choice in 2005. Herman Edwards moved Johnson from outside linebacker to inside linebacker in 2008, hoping for more productivity.
Last season, Johnson wasn’t consistent enough for Haley and was benched. He started only three games and was inactive for one. When he did play, Johnson played mostly on passing downs.
Johnson, who started 58 of 59 games in his first four seasons, had taken starting for granted until he wasn’t.
“It was tough. It was real tough,” Johnson said. “I think I handled it really well. I was strong-minded the whole time. It actually developed me into a better person on and off the field, having gone through it.
“I’ve always started my whole life, going back to Pee Wee. Not starting was just uncomfortable; it was probably a little inconvenient for me. In life, you’ve got to take situations and make it positive. Even though I still wanted to play last year, I’m a much stronger player this year because of it. Everything’s worked out for the good.”
Johnson returned two interceptions for touchdowns in a season-ending victory over the Broncos, and then won a starting job over Demorrio Williams in training camp.
Johnson, 27, said he is in his “prime right now” and more prepared than ever to prove the Chiefs right about him. He has “Pro Bowl” on his to-do list for this season.


 

Fourth-and-short
• Since the NFL went to a 12-team playoff format in 1990, only three of the 103 teams that started 0–3 rebounded to make the playoffs. Those teams were the 1992 Chargers, the ’95 Lions and the ’98 Bills.
• Derek Anderson has targeted Larry Fitzgerald 34 times this season. Yet, Fitzgerald has only 12 catches.
• Texans running back Arian Foster has three 100-yard games in his four career starts. He has 456 yards this season.
• Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco has thrown 20 touchdowns and 18 interceptions in 18 career road games. His passer rating is 77.6.
• The Patriots are 2–7 in their past nine road games.
• The Jets’ original plan was to make Shonn Greene the lead back and work LaDainian Tomlinson into the rotation. But through three games, Tomlinson has 46 touches and Greene 32. The simple explanation is Tomlinson has done more with his chances. He is averaging 5.6 yards per carry, which is higher than his career best for a season, while Greene is averaging 3.5 yards per carry and has lost a fumble.
• Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan is 16–4 indoors.
• The Ravens led the NFL in fewest yards per carry last season. This season, they are allowing an average of 127.7 rushing yards per game and 4.7 yards per carry. They have allowed four runs of 20-plus yards.
• Anquan Boldin has instantly bonded with Joe Flacco in Baltimore. Boldin, acquired from the Cardinals in the off-season, has 13 more catches than any other Ravens receiver. He has become the fastest receiver in NFL history to reach 600 career catches, doing so in 98 games.
• A combined eight kickoff and punts have been returned for touchdowns this season. The Chargers have allowed three of those.
• Bills receiver Lee Evans has gone 24 games without a 100-yard receiving game. His highest yardage total in that 24-game stretch was the 80 yards he had in a 2008 game against the 49ers.
• Bears cornerback Charles Tillman has forced 22 fumbles in 101 NFL games.
• Cedric Benson has had 25 or more carries in nine games with the Bengals. Cincinnati has won all nine games. Marvin Lewis’ teams are 29–1 when he has a back carry it 25 or more times.
• Steelers receiver Hines Ward has caught a pass in 181 consecutive games, fifth on the all-time list. He is two behind Art Monk. Ward could reach No. 2 this season by passing Terrell Owens, whose streak ended at 185 last season, and Marvin Harrison (190). Jerry Rice holds the record at 274 games.
• Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton has passed for 1,078 yards, the fifth-highest total to start a season since 1960 through three weeks. Only Kurt Warner (1,221, 2000), Drew Bledsoe (1,166, 1994), Frank Tripucka (1,098, 1962) and Peyton Manning (1,080, 2000) had more.
• The Packers are 8–5 in the month of October since 2006, including a 4–3 record at home. Green Bay has five October games this season.
• The Texans are 8–4 in their past 12 road games, including 6–3 since the start of last season. They won at Washington in their only road game this season.
• The Raiders are on pace for 176 penalties for 1,547 yards, which would shatter all existing NFL penalty records.
• Charlie Batch is 4–1 as a starter with the Steelers since arriving as a backup in 2002. His only loss was to the Ravens in 2008.
• Bucs cornerback Aqib Talib, who was suspended for the season opener for violating the NFL’s conduct policy, has two interceptions this season but has allowed two touchdowns.
• Under Norv Turner, the Chargers are 6–8 in September and 27–10 in all subsequent months in the regular season.