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After a humiliating loss, 56-14 to the Atlanta Falcons, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers came into Pittsburgh looking to regain some dignity while trying to knock off the 2-1 Steelers. The Buccaneers took a 27-24 lead with seven seconds left in the game and did hold on to beat the Steelers. Now it’s time to look at three things learned from this game.

Mike Glennon has to be Tampa Bay’s Quarterback Going Forward

Anyone who has read any of my work lately or heard me on Monday Morning Huddle knows how I feel about the quarterback situation in Tampa Bay. Although Mike Glennon did not have the most spectacular game in the world, he did lead Tampa Bay to the win. After taking advantage of an early Pittsburgh turnover to score the first points of the game, a touchdown, Tampa Bay would only score ten total first half points while having a total of 64 yards of offense. However, Glennon and Tampa Bay looked much better in the second half with Glennon passing for 214 yards, and the touchdown that would give Tampa Bay the lead. On the season Glennon has 423 passing yards, three touchdowns, one interception that was not his fault, no fumbles and the team’s only win. Compare that to McCown who this season has 420 passing yards, two touchdowns, four interceptions, two fumbles and no wins.

Both Teams Need to Work on Penalties

The Pittsburgh Steelers had 13 penalties, most of which were of the 15-yard variety and some of which were for taunting and unsportsman-like conduct, which cost the team 125 yards. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers did not fare much better having nine penalties for which cost the team 50 yards. Three of Tampa Bay’s penalties were delay of game penalties due to miscommunication on the offensive line and the center’s inability to snap the ball in time. Both teams have to become more disciplined moving forward.

Pittsburgh Needs to Protect their Quarterback

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger took some punishing blows during the loss to Tampa Bay and looked like he may have injured himself at one point in the game. The Steelers offensive line did a better job in the second half but in the first half Roethlisberger was sacked five times for a total loss of 26 yards.

Other Notes:

Glennon threw an interception in the third quarter which was the result of an injury to rookie wide receiver Mike Evans. The injury was said to be a groin injury and looks to be nothing serious although Evans did not play in the fourth quarter.

Next on the schedule for Tampa Bay is a game with division foe the New Orleans Saints in New Orleans. Next on the schedule for Pittsburgh is a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Jacksonville.

Sometimes words do nothing more than harm an athlete’s ego. It is possible the words spoken by Miami Dolphins’ head coach Joe Philbin did nothing more than inspire quarterback Ryan Tannehill to play his best game of the early NFL season.

The 38-14 win over the Oakland Raiders in London proved these Dolphins have some life in them and more important, it showed Tannehill is still the best chance for this team to reach the playoffs. Earlier in the week, banter between the quarterback and coach led to a media swarm that depicted an angry coaching who called out his signal caller when the two could have met behind closed doors.

In the middle of a storm all week because his coach declined to endorse him as the starter, Tannehill threw for 278 yards and two touchdowns Sunday, leading the Miami Dolphins to a 38-14 victory over the Oakland Raiders at Wembley Stadium. This, according to the Associated Press.

Tannehill took advantage of a depleted Oakland defense to snap a two-game losing streak for the Dolphins (2-2).

The Raiders (0-4) scored on their opening drive but struggled after that. And starting quarterback Derek Carr was injured in the third quarter, replaced by third-stringer Matt McGloin.

Here is what we learned from Sunday’s win.

BETTER EFFICIENCY

This was Tannehill at his best.

Ryan Tannehill completed 17 of his 19 passes (89.5 percent) in the 1st half Sunday, the highest completion percentage in any half in his career (previous high was 85.7 percent in 2nd half of 2012 Week 15 game).

WHEN IT RAINS…

The Raiders (0-4) scored on their opening drive but struggled after that. And starting quarterback Derek Carr was injured in the third quarter, replaced by third-stringer Matt McGloin.

Oakland began the game without linebackers Nick Roach and Sio Moore, who were both inactive. Kaluka Maiava, who started in place of Moore, was then injured on the first Dolphins series, allowing Tannehill and his receivers to take even more advantage of the short pass.

Things got worse for the Raiders when Carr injured his left ankle and knee in the third quarter and was replaced by McGloin. Backup Matt Schaub did not make the trip to London.

On his second play, McGloin watched a bad snap fly by and then saw Finnegan snatch it up and run it in.

The Raiders have lost 10 straight dating to last season, putting the pressure on Coach Dennis Allen.

MORE FROM WEMBLEY

The Dolphins are now 1-1 at Wembley Stadium, the home of England's national soccer team. Miami lost the first regular-season NFL game played there in 2007, falling to the New York Giants 13-10.

Sunday's matchup was the first of three NFL games at Wembley this season. The Detroit Lions will face the Atlanta Falcons on Oct. 26, and the Dallas Cowboys will play the Jacksonville Jaguars on Nov. 9.

Don’t blame this one on rookie mistakes. This loss for the Jacksonville Jaguars turns to the defense and the inability to stop Philip Rivers.

For 30 minutes, rookie Blake Bortles used a short passing game and a partially alive running game to go into the half down only by the score of 17-14. There was hope and a belief that if the team and the fans back home could believe in the rookie, good things can happen.

But as we all know, there are two halves to play in a football game. Blake Bortles won the battle of getting through his first game with a modicum of success. Philip Rivers won the war, which meant another victory in the win column. And while the Jaguars used the second half of last week’s 44-17 loss to Washington as an audition for Bortles’ coming out party, this week was exiting and aggravating at the same time.

Here are three things we learned on Sunday.

CRY ME A RIVERS

The San Diego quarterback proved he is a top 10 quarterback in this league. The veteran overcame early opposition from the Jaguars defense (yes, they played well in the first half of the game). Then he took command of the game.

Rivers had at least 3 Pass TD in a game for the eighth time in the last two seasons, the second-most such games in the NFL behind Peyton Manning (13). He also was 4-of 4 with two touchdowns on throws traveling 15 or more yards downfield, including 3-of-3 targeting Eddie Royal. The last time Rivers had more than 4 deep completions in a game was Week 9 of last season (5 vs Redskins).

BORTLES WAS REAL

How can you be disappointed with the performance of Blake Bortles? In his first start of his NFL career, Bortles was 29 of 37 for 253 yards and a score. Yes, he had two interceptions, but the rookie was poised in and out of the pocket in the first half, moving around to create opportunities for his receivers. The athleticism allowed the team to show more pep in the running game, which scored its first touchdown since November of last years.

A striking blow to the team is Cecil Shorts appears to have aggravated his hamstring again on a post pattern in the second half.

SECONDARY CONCERNS

Please do not blame all of the Jaguars’ secondary issues on Dwayne Gratz being injured in this game or the fact the defense made lineup changes during the week to hopefully bring about better play. The first half, it looked as though it was working. The second half was a whole other story.

Rivers took advantage of a struggling Jaguars secondary to complete 29 of 39 passes for 377 yards and three touchdowns.

The Chargers outgained the Jaguars 407-319 and had 19 first downs to 21 for the Jaguars.

Looking at this on paper, it looked like the Atlanta Falcons would be able to go into Minnesota and beat a Vikings team that was starting a rookie quarterback with a rookie coach on the sideline. The Falcons – flying high from a 56-14 win last week. It was all a recipe for defeat.

For the Falcons.

Teddy Bridgewater and the Vikings offense outscored Atlanta, despite huge injuries to both teams.

Here is what we learned from Sunday’s game.

TEDDY IS THE (INJURED) MAN

Even injured, Teddy Bridgewater proved he could be the leader of this Vikings team.

The rookie passed for 317 yards and a key 2-point conversion before hurting his ankle in the fourth quarter, and the Vikings beat the Atlanta Falcons 41-28 on Sunday.

Bridgewater was 19 for 30 with no turnovers and ran five times for 27 yards and a score in his first career start, but his last carry was costly. His left foot rolled underneath him as he was sandwiched by two tacklers at the 1-yard line. Matt Asiata powered his way in on the next play for his third touchdown, and Bridgewater stayed in to zip a crisp pass to Rhett Ellison to push the lead to 35-28.

Bridgewater was back on the sideline before the end of the game, with Ponder the only healthy quarterback left on the active roster.

BIG YARDS, BIG RUNNING

The Vikings piled up 351 yards by halftime, a total higher than half of the teams in the league averaged per game over the first three weeks. Bridgewater dived head-first into the end zone to finish a 13-yard touchdown run for the first score of his career and a 21-14 lead in the second quarter.

Fellow rookie Jerick McKinnon of Georgia Southern, had a big day, too, running 18 times for 135 yards. But his touchdown run on the next drive was called back on replay review because he was down short of the goal line, and the Vikings had to settle for a field goal.

FALCONS BEAT UP IN LOSS

The scenario is reminiscent of 2013. The Falcons not only lost the game – but in the process suffered many injuries. Per atlantafalcons.com.

• Safety William Moore left the game in the first quarter with a shoulder injury. He was taken to the locker room and never returned. In the second half, Moore was officially announced as out for the game.
• Right guard Jon Asamoah left the game in the first half and his hand was being taped on the sideline. He was replaced by Gabe Carimi for two plays and then returned to his position and played the rest of the game.
• Left guard Justin Blalock came off the field gingerly a few plays after Asamoah left and was announced as having a back injury. He was announced as questionable to return but he did not return to the sideline or the game after being taken to the locker room.
• Right tackle Lamar Holmes left the game in the second half with an announced foot injury and was questionable to return. He did not return to the game. Carimi, who had been filling in for Blalock, was moved to right tackle and Peter Konz entered the game to play left guard.
• Center Joe Hawley went down and had to be carted from the field. He was announced as having a knee injury and did not return to the game. At this point, Konz was moved to center, Carimi returned to left guard and Toilolo played right tackle.
• Safety Kemal Ishmael left the game but his injury was never announced in the press box. He returned to the game in the fourth quarter.
• Punter Matt Bosher appeared to injure his right arm while making a special teams tackle, but he did not leave the game and he was not announced as having an injury.
• Wide receiver Devin Hester came off the field with an injury near the end of the game and the injury was not announced.

After a three game losing streak to The Cardinals, Bears and Cowboys, the 49ers were finally able to pull out a win,their first in the new Levi Stadium. The following three reasons contribute to why they were finally able to end their losing streak.

1. Frank Gore, back to his old self:

During one of the moments of the game where we wondered if Kaepernick could get back on balance, he throws across his body, down the feild to Gore who stood open nearly twenty yards away. Miraculously Gore is able to make the catch and run for a career-best 55 yard touchdown. As seen in games past, San Francisco is at their best when Gore is able to make plays like that one.

2. Phil Dawson finds the hole:

Another huge factor to the Niners sucess tonight came from twelve points made by Phil Dawson. One of the feild goals, kicked from over forty yards proved to be worthy of the slow motion replay. Dawson is able to find a hole between Eagles defenders, just wide enough for the football to pass through to make it through the goal posts. Dawson, a true veteran kicker is always essential to the 49ers success.

3. The half-time pep talk:

Up until this game, the 49ers had failed to score a touchdown in the second half. Who knows what Coach Harbaugh said during half-time, but something was said to boost the Niners confidence to keep on fighting for the win even though they trailed 21-13 at the half. Congratualtions to Gore, Stevie Johnson, and Kaepernick for showing the 49ers that they can still get things done in the second half.

We'll have to wait and see if the Niners can keep this momentum as they face Alex Smith and The Cheifs next Sunday.

After a humiliating loss, 56-14 to the Atlanta Falcons, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers came into Pittsburgh looking to regain some dignity while trying to knock off the 2-1 Steelers. The Buccaneers took a 27-24 lead with seven seconds left in the game and did hold on to beat the Steelers. Now it’s time to look at three things learned from this game.

Mike Glennon has to be Tampa Bay’s Quarterback Going Forward

Anyone who has read any of my work lately or heard me on Monday Morning Huddle knows how I feel about the quarterback situation in Tampa Bay. Although Mike Glennon did not have the most spectacular game in the world, he did lead Tampa Bay to the win. After taking advantage of an early Pittsburgh turnover to score the first points of the game, a touchdown, Tampa Bay would only score ten total first half points while having a total of 64 yards of offense. However, Glennon and Tampa Bay looked much better in the second half with Glennon passing for 214 yards, and the touchdown that would give Tampa Bay the lead. On the season Glennon has 423 passing yards, three touchdowns, one interception that was not his fault, no fumbles and the team’s only win. Compare that to McCown who this season has 420 passing yards, two touchdowns, four interceptions, two fumbles and no wins.

Both Teams Need to Work on Penalties

The Pittsburgh Steelers had 13 penalties, most of which were of the 15-yard variety and some of which were for taunting and unsportsman-like conduct, which cost the team 125 yards. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers did not fare much better having nine penalties for which cost the team 50 yards. Three of Tampa Bay’s penalties were delay of game penalties due to miscommunication on the offensive line and the center’s inability to snap the ball in time. Both teams have to become more disciplined moving forward.

Pittsburgh Needs to Protect their Quarterback

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger took some punishing blows during the loss to Tampa Bay and looked like he may have injured himself at one point in the game. The Steelers offensive line did a better job in the second half but in the first half Roethlisberger was sacked five times for a total loss of 26 yards.

Other Notes:

Glennon threw an interception in the third quarter which was the result of an injury to rookie wide receiver Mike Evans. The injury was said to be a groin injury and looks to be nothing serious although Evans did not play in the fourth quarter.

Next on the schedule for Tampa Bay is a game with division foe the New Orleans Saints in New Orleans. Next on the schedule for Pittsburgh is a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Jacksonville.

Sometimes words do nothing more than harm an athlete’s ego. It is possible the words spoken by Miami Dolphins’ head coach Joe Philbin did nothing more than inspire quarterback Ryan Tannehill to play his best game of the early NFL season.

The 38-14 win over the Oakland Raiders in London proved these Dolphins have some life in them and more important, it showed Tannehill is still the best chance for this team to reach the playoffs. Earlier in the week, banter between the quarterback and coach led to a media swarm that depicted an angry coaching who called out his signal caller when the two could have met behind closed doors.

In the middle of a storm all week because his coach declined to endorse him as the starter, Tannehill threw for 278 yards and two touchdowns Sunday, leading the Miami Dolphins to a 38-14 victory over the Oakland Raiders at Wembley Stadium. This, according to the Associated Press.

Tannehill took advantage of a depleted Oakland defense to snap a two-game losing streak for the Dolphins (2-2).

The Raiders (0-4) scored on their opening drive but struggled after that. And starting quarterback Derek Carr was injured in the third quarter, replaced by third-stringer Matt McGloin.

Here is what we learned from Sunday’s win.

BETTER EFFICIENCY

This was Tannehill at his best.

Ryan Tannehill completed 17 of his 19 passes (89.5 percent) in the 1st half Sunday, the highest completion percentage in any half in his career (previous high was 85.7 percent in 2nd half of 2012 Week 15 game).

WHEN IT RAINS…

The Raiders (0-4) scored on their opening drive but struggled after that. And starting quarterback Derek Carr was injured in the third quarter, replaced by third-stringer Matt McGloin.

Oakland began the game without linebackers Nick Roach and Sio Moore, who were both inactive. Kaluka Maiava, who started in place of Moore, was then injured on the first Dolphins series, allowing Tannehill and his receivers to take even more advantage of the short pass.

Things got worse for the Raiders when Carr injured his left ankle and knee in the third quarter and was replaced by McGloin. Backup Matt Schaub did not make the trip to London.

On his second play, McGloin watched a bad snap fly by and then saw Finnegan snatch it up and run it in.

The Raiders have lost 10 straight dating to last season, putting the pressure on Coach Dennis Allen.

MORE FROM WEMBLEY

The Dolphins are now 1-1 at Wembley Stadium, the home of England's national soccer team. Miami lost the first regular-season NFL game played there in 2007, falling to the New York Giants 13-10.

Sunday's matchup was the first of three NFL games at Wembley this season. The Detroit Lions will face the Atlanta Falcons on Oct. 26, and the Dallas Cowboys will play the Jacksonville Jaguars on Nov. 9.

Don’t blame this one on rookie mistakes. This loss for the Jacksonville Jaguars turns to the defense and the inability to stop Philip Rivers.

For 30 minutes, rookie Blake Bortles used a short passing game and a partially alive running game to go into the half down only by the score of 17-14. There was hope and a belief that if the team and the fans back home could believe in the rookie, good things can happen.

But as we all know, there are two halves to play in a football game. Blake Bortles won the battle of getting through his first game with a modicum of success. Philip Rivers won the war, which meant another victory in the win column. And while the Jaguars used the second half of last week’s 44-17 loss to Washington as an audition for Bortles’ coming out party, this week was exiting and aggravating at the same time.

Here are three things we learned on Sunday.

CRY ME A RIVERS

The San Diego quarterback proved he is a top 10 quarterback in this league. The veteran overcame early opposition from the Jaguars defense (yes, they played well in the first half of the game). Then he took command of the game.

Rivers had at least 3 Pass TD in a game for the eighth time in the last two seasons, the second-most such games in the NFL behind Peyton Manning (13). He also was 4-of 4 with two touchdowns on throws traveling 15 or more yards downfield, including 3-of-3 targeting Eddie Royal. The last time Rivers had more than 4 deep completions in a game was Week 9 of last season (5 vs Redskins).

BORTLES WAS REAL

How can you be disappointed with the performance of Blake Bortles? In his first start of his NFL career, Bortles was 29 of 37 for 253 yards and a score. Yes, he had two interceptions, but the rookie was poised in and out of the pocket in the first half, moving around to create opportunities for his receivers. The athleticism allowed the team to show more pep in the running game, which scored its first touchdown since November of last years.

A striking blow to the team is Cecil Shorts appears to have aggravated his hamstring again on a post pattern in the second half.

SECONDARY CONCERNS

Please do not blame all of the Jaguars’ secondary issues on Dwayne Gratz being injured in this game or the fact the defense made lineup changes during the week to hopefully bring about better play. The first half, it looked as though it was working. The second half was a whole other story.

Rivers took advantage of a struggling Jaguars secondary to complete 29 of 39 passes for 377 yards and three touchdowns.

The Chargers outgained the Jaguars 407-319 and had 19 first downs to 21 for the Jaguars.

Looking at this on paper, it looked like the Atlanta Falcons would be able to go into Minnesota and beat a Vikings team that was starting a rookie quarterback with a rookie coach on the sideline. The Falcons – flying high from a 56-14 win last week. It was all a recipe for defeat.

For the Falcons.

Teddy Bridgewater and the Vikings offense outscored Atlanta, despite huge injuries to both teams.

Here is what we learned from Sunday’s game.

TEDDY IS THE (INJURED) MAN

Even injured, Teddy Bridgewater proved he could be the leader of this Vikings team.

The rookie passed for 317 yards and a key 2-point conversion before hurting his ankle in the fourth quarter, and the Vikings beat the Atlanta Falcons 41-28 on Sunday.

Bridgewater was 19 for 30 with no turnovers and ran five times for 27 yards and a score in his first career start, but his last carry was costly. His left foot rolled underneath him as he was sandwiched by two tacklers at the 1-yard line. Matt Asiata powered his way in on the next play for his third touchdown, and Bridgewater stayed in to zip a crisp pass to Rhett Ellison to push the lead to 35-28.

Bridgewater was back on the sideline before the end of the game, with Ponder the only healthy quarterback left on the active roster.

BIG YARDS, BIG RUNNING

The Vikings piled up 351 yards by halftime, a total higher than half of the teams in the league averaged per game over the first three weeks. Bridgewater dived head-first into the end zone to finish a 13-yard touchdown run for the first score of his career and a 21-14 lead in the second quarter.

Fellow rookie Jerick McKinnon of Georgia Southern, had a big day, too, running 18 times for 135 yards. But his touchdown run on the next drive was called back on replay review because he was down short of the goal line, and the Vikings had to settle for a field goal.

FALCONS BEAT UP IN LOSS

The scenario is reminiscent of 2013. The Falcons not only lost the game – but in the process suffered many injuries. Per atlantafalcons.com.

• Safety William Moore left the game in the first quarter with a shoulder injury. He was taken to the locker room and never returned. In the second half, Moore was officially announced as out for the game.
• Right guard Jon Asamoah left the game in the first half and his hand was being taped on the sideline. He was replaced by Gabe Carimi for two plays and then returned to his position and played the rest of the game.
• Left guard Justin Blalock came off the field gingerly a few plays after Asamoah left and was announced as having a back injury. He was announced as questionable to return but he did not return to the sideline or the game after being taken to the locker room.
• Right tackle Lamar Holmes left the game in the second half with an announced foot injury and was questionable to return. He did not return to the game. Carimi, who had been filling in for Blalock, was moved to right tackle and Peter Konz entered the game to play left guard.
• Center Joe Hawley went down and had to be carted from the field. He was announced as having a knee injury and did not return to the game. At this point, Konz was moved to center, Carimi returned to left guard and Toilolo played right tackle.
• Safety Kemal Ishmael left the game but his injury was never announced in the press box. He returned to the game in the fourth quarter.
• Punter Matt Bosher appeared to injure his right arm while making a special teams tackle, but he did not leave the game and he was not announced as having an injury.
• Wide receiver Devin Hester came off the field with an injury near the end of the game and the injury was not announced.

After a three game losing streak to The Cardinals, Bears and Cowboys, the 49ers were finally able to pull out a win,their first in the new Levi Stadium. The following three reasons contribute to why they were finally able to end their losing streak.

1. Frank Gore, back to his old self:

During one of the moments of the game where we wondered if Kaepernick could get back on balance, he throws across his body, down the feild to Gore who stood open nearly twenty yards away. Miraculously Gore is able to make the catch and run for a career-best 55 yard touchdown. As seen in games past, San Francisco is at their best when Gore is able to make plays like that one.

2. Phil Dawson finds the hole:

Another huge factor to the Niners sucess tonight came from twelve points made by Phil Dawson. One of the feild goals, kicked from over forty yards proved to be worthy of the slow motion replay. Dawson is able to find a hole between Eagles defenders, just wide enough for the football to pass through to make it through the goal posts. Dawson, a true veteran kicker is always essential to the 49ers success.

3. The half-time pep talk:

Up until this game, the 49ers had failed to score a touchdown in the second half. Who knows what Coach Harbaugh said during half-time, but something was said to boost the Niners confidence to keep on fighting for the win even though they trailed 21-13 at the half. Congratualtions to Gore, Stevie Johnson, and Kaepernick for showing the 49ers that they can still get things done in the second half.

We'll have to wait and see if the Niners can keep this momentum as they face Alex Smith and The Cheifs next Sunday.

After a humiliating loss, 56-14 to the Atlanta Falcons, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers came into Pittsburgh looking to regain some dignity while trying to knock off the 2-1 Steelers. The Buccaneers took a 27-24 lead with seven seconds left in the game and did hold on to beat the Steelers. Now it’s time to look at three things learned from this game.

Mike Glennon has to be Tampa Bay’s Quarterback Going Forward

Anyone who has read any of my work lately or heard me on Monday Morning Huddle knows how I feel about the quarterback situation in Tampa Bay. Although Mike Glennon did not have the most spectacular game in the world, he did lead Tampa Bay to the win. After taking advantage of an early Pittsburgh turnover to score the first points of the game, a touchdown, Tampa Bay would only score ten total first half points while having a total of 64 yards of offense. However, Glennon and Tampa Bay looked much better in the second half with Glennon passing for 214 yards, and the touchdown that would give Tampa Bay the lead. On the season Glennon has 423 passing yards, three touchdowns, one interception that was not his fault, no fumbles and the team’s only win. Compare that to McCown who this season has 420 passing yards, two touchdowns, four interceptions, two fumbles and no wins.

Both Teams Need to Work on Penalties

The Pittsburgh Steelers had 13 penalties, most of which were of the 15-yard variety and some of which were for taunting and unsportsman-like conduct, which cost the team 125 yards. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers did not fare much better having nine penalties for which cost the team 50 yards. Three of Tampa Bay’s penalties were delay of game penalties due to miscommunication on the offensive line and the center’s inability to snap the ball in time. Both teams have to become more disciplined moving forward.

Pittsburgh Needs to Protect their Quarterback

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger took some punishing blows during the loss to Tampa Bay and looked like he may have injured himself at one point in the game. The Steelers offensive line did a better job in the second half but in the first half Roethlisberger was sacked five times for a total loss of 26 yards.

Other Notes:

Glennon threw an interception in the third quarter which was the result of an injury to rookie wide receiver Mike Evans. The injury was said to be a groin injury and looks to be nothing serious although Evans did not play in the fourth quarter.

Next on the schedule for Tampa Bay is a game with division foe the New Orleans Saints in New Orleans. Next on the schedule for Pittsburgh is a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Jacksonville.

Sometimes words do nothing more than harm an athlete’s ego. It is possible the words spoken by Miami Dolphins’ head coach Joe Philbin did nothing more than inspire quarterback Ryan Tannehill to play his best game of the early NFL season.

The 38-14 win over the Oakland Raiders in London proved these Dolphins have some life in them and more important, it showed Tannehill is still the best chance for this team to reach the playoffs. Earlier in the week, banter between the quarterback and coach led to a media swarm that depicted an angry coaching who called out his signal caller when the two could have met behind closed doors.

In the middle of a storm all week because his coach declined to endorse him as the starter, Tannehill threw for 278 yards and two touchdowns Sunday, leading the Miami Dolphins to a 38-14 victory over the Oakland Raiders at Wembley Stadium. This, according to the Associated Press.

Tannehill took advantage of a depleted Oakland defense to snap a two-game losing streak for the Dolphins (2-2).

The Raiders (0-4) scored on their opening drive but struggled after that. And starting quarterback Derek Carr was injured in the third quarter, replaced by third-stringer Matt McGloin.

Here is what we learned from Sunday’s win.

BETTER EFFICIENCY

This was Tannehill at his best.

Ryan Tannehill completed 17 of his 19 passes (89.5 percent) in the 1st half Sunday, the highest completion percentage in any half in his career (previous high was 85.7 percent in 2nd half of 2012 Week 15 game).

WHEN IT RAINS…

The Raiders (0-4) scored on their opening drive but struggled after that. And starting quarterback Derek Carr was injured in the third quarter, replaced by third-stringer Matt McGloin.

Oakland began the game without linebackers Nick Roach and Sio Moore, who were both inactive. Kaluka Maiava, who started in place of Moore, was then injured on the first Dolphins series, allowing Tannehill and his receivers to take even more advantage of the short pass.

Things got worse for the Raiders when Carr injured his left ankle and knee in the third quarter and was replaced by McGloin. Backup Matt Schaub did not make the trip to London.

On his second play, McGloin watched a bad snap fly by and then saw Finnegan snatch it up and run it in.

The Raiders have lost 10 straight dating to last season, putting the pressure on Coach Dennis Allen.

MORE FROM WEMBLEY

The Dolphins are now 1-1 at Wembley Stadium, the home of England's national soccer team. Miami lost the first regular-season NFL game played there in 2007, falling to the New York Giants 13-10.

Sunday's matchup was the first of three NFL games at Wembley this season. The Detroit Lions will face the Atlanta Falcons on Oct. 26, and the Dallas Cowboys will play the Jacksonville Jaguars on Nov. 9.

Don’t blame this one on rookie mistakes. This loss for the Jacksonville Jaguars turns to the defense and the inability to stop Philip Rivers.

For 30 minutes, rookie Blake Bortles used a short passing game and a partially alive running game to go into the half down only by the score of 17-14. There was hope and a belief that if the team and the fans back home could believe in the rookie, good things can happen.

But as we all know, there are two halves to play in a football game. Blake Bortles won the battle of getting through his first game with a modicum of success. Philip Rivers won the war, which meant another victory in the win column. And while the Jaguars used the second half of last week’s 44-17 loss to Washington as an audition for Bortles’ coming out party, this week was exiting and aggravating at the same time.

Here are three things we learned on Sunday.

CRY ME A RIVERS

The San Diego quarterback proved he is a top 10 quarterback in this league. The veteran overcame early opposition from the Jaguars defense (yes, they played well in the first half of the game). Then he took command of the game.

Rivers had at least 3 Pass TD in a game for the eighth time in the last two seasons, the second-most such games in the NFL behind Peyton Manning (13). He also was 4-of 4 with two touchdowns on throws traveling 15 or more yards downfield, including 3-of-3 targeting Eddie Royal. The last time Rivers had more than 4 deep completions in a game was Week 9 of last season (5 vs Redskins).

BORTLES WAS REAL

How can you be disappointed with the performance of Blake Bortles? In his first start of his NFL career, Bortles was 29 of 37 for 253 yards and a score. Yes, he had two interceptions, but the rookie was poised in and out of the pocket in the first half, moving around to create opportunities for his receivers. The athleticism allowed the team to show more pep in the running game, which scored its first touchdown since November of last years.

A striking blow to the team is Cecil Shorts appears to have aggravated his hamstring again on a post pattern in the second half.

SECONDARY CONCERNS

Please do not blame all of the Jaguars’ secondary issues on Dwayne Gratz being injured in this game or the fact the defense made lineup changes during the week to hopefully bring about better play. The first half, it looked as though it was working. The second half was a whole other story.

Rivers took advantage of a struggling Jaguars secondary to complete 29 of 39 passes for 377 yards and three touchdowns.

The Chargers outgained the Jaguars 407-319 and had 19 first downs to 21 for the Jaguars.

Looking at this on paper, it looked like the Atlanta Falcons would be able to go into Minnesota and beat a Vikings team that was starting a rookie quarterback with a rookie coach on the sideline. The Falcons – flying high from a 56-14 win last week. It was all a recipe for defeat.

For the Falcons.

Teddy Bridgewater and the Vikings offense outscored Atlanta, despite huge injuries to both teams.

Here is what we learned from Sunday’s game.

TEDDY IS THE (INJURED) MAN

Even injured, Teddy Bridgewater proved he could be the leader of this Vikings team.

The rookie passed for 317 yards and a key 2-point conversion before hurting his ankle in the fourth quarter, and the Vikings beat the Atlanta Falcons 41-28 on Sunday.

Bridgewater was 19 for 30 with no turnovers and ran five times for 27 yards and a score in his first career start, but his last carry was costly. His left foot rolled underneath him as he was sandwiched by two tacklers at the 1-yard line. Matt Asiata powered his way in on the next play for his third touchdown, and Bridgewater stayed in to zip a crisp pass to Rhett Ellison to push the lead to 35-28.

Bridgewater was back on the sideline before the end of the game, with Ponder the only healthy quarterback left on the active roster.

BIG YARDS, BIG RUNNING

The Vikings piled up 351 yards by halftime, a total higher than half of the teams in the league averaged per game over the first three weeks. Bridgewater dived head-first into the end zone to finish a 13-yard touchdown run for the first score of his career and a 21-14 lead in the second quarter.

Fellow rookie Jerick McKinnon of Georgia Southern, had a big day, too, running 18 times for 135 yards. But his touchdown run on the next drive was called back on replay review because he was down short of the goal line, and the Vikings had to settle for a field goal.

FALCONS BEAT UP IN LOSS

The scenario is reminiscent of 2013. The Falcons not only lost the game – but in the process suffered many injuries. Per atlantafalcons.com.

• Safety William Moore left the game in the first quarter with a shoulder injury. He was taken to the locker room and never returned. In the second half, Moore was officially announced as out for the game.
• Right guard Jon Asamoah left the game in the first half and his hand was being taped on the sideline. He was replaced by Gabe Carimi for two plays and then returned to his position and played the rest of the game.
• Left guard Justin Blalock came off the field gingerly a few plays after Asamoah left and was announced as having a back injury. He was announced as questionable to return but he did not return to the sideline or the game after being taken to the locker room.
• Right tackle Lamar Holmes left the game in the second half with an announced foot injury and was questionable to return. He did not return to the game. Carimi, who had been filling in for Blalock, was moved to right tackle and Peter Konz entered the game to play left guard.
• Center Joe Hawley went down and had to be carted from the field. He was announced as having a knee injury and did not return to the game. At this point, Konz was moved to center, Carimi returned to left guard and Toilolo played right tackle.
• Safety Kemal Ishmael left the game but his injury was never announced in the press box. He returned to the game in the fourth quarter.
• Punter Matt Bosher appeared to injure his right arm while making a special teams tackle, but he did not leave the game and he was not announced as having an injury.
• Wide receiver Devin Hester came off the field with an injury near the end of the game and the injury was not announced.

After a three game losing streak to The Cardinals, Bears and Cowboys, the 49ers were finally able to pull out a win,their first in the new Levi Stadium. The following three reasons contribute to why they were finally able to end their losing streak.

1. Frank Gore, back to his old self:

During one of the moments of the game where we wondered if Kaepernick could get back on balance, he throws across his body, down the feild to Gore who stood open nearly twenty yards away. Miraculously Gore is able to make the catch and run for a career-best 55 yard touchdown. As seen in games past, San Francisco is at their best when Gore is able to make plays like that one.

2. Phil Dawson finds the hole:

Another huge factor to the Niners sucess tonight came from twelve points made by Phil Dawson. One of the feild goals, kicked from over forty yards proved to be worthy of the slow motion replay. Dawson is able to find a hole between Eagles defenders, just wide enough for the football to pass through to make it through the goal posts. Dawson, a true veteran kicker is always essential to the 49ers success.

3. The half-time pep talk:

Up until this game, the 49ers had failed to score a touchdown in the second half. Who knows what Coach Harbaugh said during half-time, but something was said to boost the Niners confidence to keep on fighting for the win even though they trailed 21-13 at the half. Congratualtions to Gore, Stevie Johnson, and Kaepernick for showing the 49ers that they can still get things done in the second half.

We'll have to wait and see if the Niners can keep this momentum as they face Alex Smith and The Cheifs next Sunday.

After a humiliating loss, 56-14 to the Atlanta Falcons, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers came into Pittsburgh looking to regain some dignity while trying to knock off the 2-1 Steelers. The Buccaneers took a 27-24 lead with seven seconds left in the game and did hold on to beat the Steelers. Now it’s time to look at three things learned from this game.

Mike Glennon has to be Tampa Bay’s Quarterback Going Forward

Anyone who has read any of my work lately or heard me on Monday Morning Huddle knows how I feel about the quarterback situation in Tampa Bay. Although Mike Glennon did not have the most spectacular game in the world, he did lead Tampa Bay to the win. After taking advantage of an early Pittsburgh turnover to score the first points of the game, a touchdown, Tampa Bay would only score ten total first half points while having a total of 64 yards of offense. However, Glennon and Tampa Bay looked much better in the second half with Glennon passing for 214 yards, and the touchdown that would give Tampa Bay the lead. On the season Glennon has 423 passing yards, three touchdowns, one interception that was not his fault, no fumbles and the team’s only win. Compare that to McCown who this season has 420 passing yards, two touchdowns, four interceptions, two fumbles and no wins.

Both Teams Need to Work on Penalties

The Pittsburgh Steelers had 13 penalties, most of which were of the 15-yard variety and some of which were for taunting and unsportsman-like conduct, which cost the team 125 yards. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers did not fare much better having nine penalties for which cost the team 50 yards. Three of Tampa Bay’s penalties were delay of game penalties due to miscommunication on the offensive line and the center’s inability to snap the ball in time. Both teams have to become more disciplined moving forward.

Pittsburgh Needs to Protect their Quarterback

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger took some punishing blows during the loss to Tampa Bay and looked like he may have injured himself at one point in the game. The Steelers offensive line did a better job in the second half but in the first half Roethlisberger was sacked five times for a total loss of 26 yards.

Other Notes:

Glennon threw an interception in the third quarter which was the result of an injury to rookie wide receiver Mike Evans. The injury was said to be a groin injury and looks to be nothing serious although Evans did not play in the fourth quarter.

Next on the schedule for Tampa Bay is a game with division foe the New Orleans Saints in New Orleans. Next on the schedule for Pittsburgh is a game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Jacksonville.

Sometimes words do nothing more than harm an athlete’s ego. It is possible the words spoken by Miami Dolphins’ head coach Joe Philbin did nothing more than inspire quarterback Ryan Tannehill to play his best game of the early NFL season.

The 38-14 win over the Oakland Raiders in London proved these Dolphins have some life in them and more important, it showed Tannehill is still the best chance for this team to reach the playoffs. Earlier in the week, banter between the quarterback and coach led to a media swarm that depicted an angry coaching who called out his signal caller when the two could have met behind closed doors.

In the middle of a storm all week because his coach declined to endorse him as the starter, Tannehill threw for 278 yards and two touchdowns Sunday, leading the Miami Dolphins to a 38-14 victory over the Oakland Raiders at Wembley Stadium. This, according to the Associated Press.

Tannehill took advantage of a depleted Oakland defense to snap a two-game losing streak for the Dolphins (2-2).

The Raiders (0-4) scored on their opening drive but struggled after that. And starting quarterback Derek Carr was injured in the third quarter, replaced by third-stringer Matt McGloin.

Here is what we learned from Sunday’s win.

BETTER EFFICIENCY

This was Tannehill at his best.

Ryan Tannehill completed 17 of his 19 passes (89.5 percent) in the 1st half Sunday, the highest completion percentage in any half in his career (previous high was 85.7 percent in 2nd half of 2012 Week 15 game).

WHEN IT RAINS…

The Raiders (0-4) scored on their opening drive but struggled after that. And starting quarterback Derek Carr was injured in the third quarter, replaced by third-stringer Matt McGloin.

Oakland began the game without linebackers Nick Roach and Sio Moore, who were both inactive. Kaluka Maiava, who started in place of Moore, was then injured on the first Dolphins series, allowing Tannehill and his receivers to take even more advantage of the short pass.

Things got worse for the Raiders when Carr injured his left ankle and knee in the third quarter and was replaced by McGloin. Backup Matt Schaub did not make the trip to London.

On his second play, McGloin watched a bad snap fly by and then saw Finnegan snatch it up and run it in.

The Raiders have lost 10 straight dating to last season, putting the pressure on Coach Dennis Allen.

MORE FROM WEMBLEY

The Dolphins are now 1-1 at Wembley Stadium, the home of England's national soccer team. Miami lost the first regular-season NFL game played there in 2007, falling to the New York Giants 13-10.

Sunday's matchup was the first of three NFL games at Wembley this season. The Detroit Lions will face the Atlanta Falcons on Oct. 26, and the Dallas Cowboys will play the Jacksonville Jaguars on Nov. 9.

Don’t blame this one on rookie mistakes. This loss for the Jacksonville Jaguars turns to the defense and the inability to stop Philip Rivers.

For 30 minutes, rookie Blake Bortles used a short passing game and a partially alive running game to go into the half down only by the score of 17-14. There was hope and a belief that if the team and the fans back home could believe in the rookie, good things can happen.

But as we all know, there are two halves to play in a football game. Blake Bortles won the battle of getting through his first game with a modicum of success. Philip Rivers won the war, which meant another victory in the win column. And while the Jaguars used the second half of last week’s 44-17 loss to Washington as an audition for Bortles’ coming out party, this week was exiting and aggravating at the same time.

Here are three things we learned on Sunday.

CRY ME A RIVERS

The San Diego quarterback proved he is a top 10 quarterback in this league. The veteran overcame early opposition from the Jaguars defense (yes, they played well in the first half of the game). Then he took command of the game.

Rivers had at least 3 Pass TD in a game for the eighth time in the last two seasons, the second-most such games in the NFL behind Peyton Manning (13). He also was 4-of 4 with two touchdowns on throws traveling 15 or more yards downfield, including 3-of-3 targeting Eddie Royal. The last time Rivers had more than 4 deep completions in a game was Week 9 of last season (5 vs Redskins).

BORTLES WAS REAL

How can you be disappointed with the performance of Blake Bortles? In his first start of his NFL career, Bortles was 29 of 37 for 253 yards and a score. Yes, he had two interceptions, but the rookie was poised in and out of the pocket in the first half, moving around to create opportunities for his receivers. The athleticism allowed the team to show more pep in the running game, which scored its first touchdown since November of last years.

A striking blow to the team is Cecil Shorts appears to have aggravated his hamstring again on a post pattern in the second half.

SECONDARY CONCERNS

Please do not blame all of the Jaguars’ secondary issues on Dwayne Gratz being injured in this game or the fact the defense made lineup changes during the week to hopefully bring about better play. The first half, it looked as though it was working. The second half was a whole other story.

Rivers took advantage of a struggling Jaguars secondary to complete 29 of 39 passes for 377 yards and three touchdowns.

The Chargers outgained the Jaguars 407-319 and had 19 first downs to 21 for the Jaguars.

Looking at this on paper, it looked like the Atlanta Falcons would be able to go into Minnesota and beat a Vikings team that was starting a rookie quarterback with a rookie coach on the sideline. The Falcons – flying high from a 56-14 win last week. It was all a recipe for defeat.

For the Falcons.

Teddy Bridgewater and the Vikings offense outscored Atlanta, despite huge injuries to both teams.

Here is what we learned from Sunday’s game.

TEDDY IS THE (INJURED) MAN

Even injured, Teddy Bridgewater proved he could be the leader of this Vikings team.

The rookie passed for 317 yards and a key 2-point conversion before hurting his ankle in the fourth quarter, and the Vikings beat the Atlanta Falcons 41-28 on Sunday.

Bridgewater was 19 for 30 with no turnovers and ran five times for 27 yards and a score in his first career start, but his last carry was costly. His left foot rolled underneath him as he was sandwiched by two tacklers at the 1-yard line. Matt Asiata powered his way in on the next play for his third touchdown, and Bridgewater stayed in to zip a crisp pass to Rhett Ellison to push the lead to 35-28.

Bridgewater was back on the sideline before the end of the game, with Ponder the only healthy quarterback left on the active roster.

BIG YARDS, BIG RUNNING

The Vikings piled up 351 yards by halftime, a total higher than half of the teams in the league averaged per game over the first three weeks. Bridgewater dived head-first into the end zone to finish a 13-yard touchdown run for the first score of his career and a 21-14 lead in the second quarter.

Fellow rookie Jerick McKinnon of Georgia Southern, had a big day, too, running 18 times for 135 yards. But his touchdown run on the next drive was called back on replay review because he was down short of the goal line, and the Vikings had to settle for a field goal.

FALCONS BEAT UP IN LOSS

The scenario is reminiscent of 2013. The Falcons not only lost the game – but in the process suffered many injuries. Per atlantafalcons.com.

• Safety William Moore left the game in the first quarter with a shoulder injury. He was taken to the locker room and never returned. In the second half, Moore was officially announced as out for the game.
• Right guard Jon Asamoah left the game in the first half and his hand was being taped on the sideline. He was replaced by Gabe Carimi for two plays and then returned to his position and played the rest of the game.
• Left guard Justin Blalock came off the field gingerly a few plays after Asamoah left and was announced as having a back injury. He was announced as questionable to return but he did not return to the sideline or the game after being taken to the locker room.
• Right tackle Lamar Holmes left the game in the second half with an announced foot injury and was questionable to return. He did not return to the game. Carimi, who had been filling in for Blalock, was moved to right tackle and Peter Konz entered the game to play left guard.
• Center Joe Hawley went down and had to be carted from the field. He was announced as having a knee injury and did not return to the game. At this point, Konz was moved to center, Carimi returned to left guard and Toilolo played right tackle.
• Safety Kemal Ishmael left the game but his injury was never announced in the press box. He returned to the game in the fourth quarter.
• Punter Matt Bosher appeared to injure his right arm while making a special teams tackle, but he did not leave the game and he was not announced as having an injury.
• Wide receiver Devin Hester came off the field with an injury near the end of the game and the injury was not announced.

After a three game losing streak to The Cardinals, Bears and Cowboys, the 49ers were finally able to pull out a win,their first in the new Levi Stadium. The following three reasons contribute to why they were finally able to end their losing streak.

1. Frank Gore, back to his old self:

During one of the moments of the game where we wondered if Kaepernick could get back on balance, he throws across his body, down the feild to Gore who stood open nearly twenty yards away. Miraculously Gore is able to make the catch and run for a career-best 55 yard touchdown. As seen in games past, San Francisco is at their best when Gore is able to make plays like that one.

2. Phil Dawson finds the hole:

Another huge factor to the Niners sucess tonight came from twelve points made by Phil Dawson. One of the feild goals, kicked from over forty yards proved to be worthy of the slow motion replay. Dawson is able to find a hole between Eagles defenders, just wide enough for the football to pass through to make it through the goal posts. Dawson, a true veteran kicker is always essential to the 49ers success.

3. The half-time pep talk:

Up until this game, the 49ers had failed to score a touchdown in the second half. Who knows what Coach Harbaugh said during half-time, but something was said to boost the Niners confidence to keep on fighting for the win even though they trailed 21-13 at the half. Congratualtions to Gore, Stevie Johnson, and Kaepernick for showing the 49ers that they can still get things done in the second half.

We'll have to wait and see if the Niners can keep this momentum as they face Alex Smith and The Cheifs next Sunday.