Week 7 Report: Shipley Sprints His Way to First NFL TD

Jordan Shipley has arrived.

Shipley caught a short pass and showed off his speed, sprinting his way down the sideline for a 64-yard TD (video), the first of his rookie career.

Shipley’s 6 catches for 131 yards is also a career-best, and comes weeks after suffering a concussion in Week 4.

Teammate Cedric Benson carried the ball 20 times for 70 yards and caught one pass for 6 yards but fumbled in the 4th quarter, leading to an Atlanta TD late in the game.

Fellow RB Jamaal Charles and Derrick Johnson continued with their high performing season.

JC carrying the ball 15 times for 71 yards and a 4-yard TD up the middle (video) in the 1st quarter. JC currently leads Kansas City in rushing and total yards (11th in the NFL) and ranks top of the league in yards per carry (6.0).

Meanwhile, DJ recorded the 3rd pick-six of his career, this time swiping pass in the 3rd quarter and returning it 15 yards for a momentum-changing score (video).

With 3 tackles this week, DJ continues to lead his team in tackles and is putting together the best season of his career, which might have something to do with his contract ending at the end of the year.

Colt McCoy started just his second game of his rookie career and led his Cleveland team to a road victory over New Orleans. Colt completed just 9 of 16 passes for 74 yards but threw no picks. Colt’s best play was actually a 13-yard trick-play reception from RB Peyton Hills.

Phil Dawson played a big role in Colt’s first victory by racking up 12 points, with 3 FGs and 3 XPs. Dawson now has 1,000 career points.

Vince Young spent the week on the sidelines after suffering a sprained knee last week. VY warmed up before the game but his streak of 16 straight starts ended.

With no VY connection, Bo Scaife caught just 3 passes for 7 yards.

On the defensive side, Michael Griffin intercepted a pass in the 2nd quarter and ran it back 38 yards (video). Griffin is tied for second in the league with 4 INTs this season.

Fellow DB Earl Thomas also grabbed his 4th INT of the season (video) and added 3 tackles.

Brian Orakpo had 3 tackles and 2 sacks, giving him 7 sacks on the season. Orakpo is 3rd in the NFL in that category, sitting just 1.5 sacks behind league-leader Clay Matthews.

David Thomas caught 3 passes for 33 yards, including an 11-yard TD reception in the 4th quarter (video).

Other Noteworthy Performances:

Tim Crowder – 1 tackle
Ricky Williams – 11 carries for 48 yards
Quentin Jammer – 3 tackles
Cory Redding – 1 tackle
Shaun Rogers – 1 tackle
Roy Miller – 3 tackles
Aaron Ross – 1 tackle
Michael Huff – 3 tackles, 1 forced fumble