Robert Griffin III's first touchdown toss of his NFL career was bananas. But the play below is the one that made me scream like a little kid in the quiet NFL offices Sunday. It's the one I wrote down, thinking it was headed right here to our new weekly segment: Five Throws that explain the weekend.
RG3 knew when to throw and when to run against the New Orleans Saints. He looked to secondary receivers. He didn't try to do too much. Except when he absolutely had to.
A free rusher comes at Griffin on a bootleg. He pivots, changes directions, and throws to the opposite sideline. He makes a sensational play look way too easy.
Sometimes the preseason doesn't tell us much. But the Atlanta Falcons' blazing August carried over into September. There was no stopping Matt Ryan and Julio Jones in Kansas City. Note to defenses: If you leave Jones in single coverage near the goal line, this is what will happen. Too easy.
We know the Jacksonville Jaguars lost, but Blaine Gabberttook a huge step forward. The Jaguars offense is watchable. From Cecil Shorts to Marcedes Lewis to a silly grab by Laurent Robinson, Gabbert's receivers made plays for him Sunday in Minnesota.
With the game on the line, Gabbert came up with this touchdown toss. As losses go, this had to feel pretty good in Jacksonville.
We struggled whether to roll with a beautiful Mark Sanchezthrow or Kevin Kolb toss for this slot. Both maligned quarterbacks came up huge Sunday. We're going to highlight Kolb because he will receive less attention. He replaced John Skelton for one drive. He took the Arizona Cardinals for a touchdown on that one drive, making quick decisions and choosing the right matchup against one of the best defensive backfields in football.
Give the man his due.
We could show you just one Peyton Manning throw, but why bother when we have this nice highlight package. Let's face it: Manning's "special" night was the story of Week 1. This package doesn't show Manning showing off his arm strength on a very nice deep comeback pass.
But it's not Manning's arm that makes him so great. The two touchdown tosses here came from Manning recognizing where the Pittsburgh Steelers defense was coming from and exposing it. He had Pittsburgh guessing the entire second half.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.
