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Defenses score first three TDs in Week 7

It was not a good Sunday start for Sam Bradford and Jeff Fisher. (Bob Levey/Getty Images) When the offenses decide to catch up to the defenses on the NFL's
Doug Farrar|
Defenses score first three TDs in Week 7
Defenses score first three TDs in Week 7

It was not a good Sunday start for Sam Bradford and Jeff Fisher. (Bob Levey/Getty Images)

When the offenses decide to catch up to the defenses on the NFL's seventh Sunday of the 2013 season, I'm sure a lot of coaches will appreciate it. As it stands, the first three touchdowns of the day came from the defensive side of the ball.

We started with St. Louis Rams quarterback Sam Bradford, who threw a pick-six to Carolina Panthers defensive back Captain Munnerlyn on the first play of the game. With 14:54 left in the first quarter, Bradford tried to get one over to receiver Brian Quick, but the ball appeared to be deflected, and Munnerlyn caught a pop fly that he returned 45 yards for the quick score (GIF below courtesy of Turf Show Times):

The second pick-six of the day came from Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who telegraphed a pass to Brandon Gibson from his own 20 with 13:32 left in the first quarter of Miami's game against the Bills. Rookie slot corner Nickell Robey, who's been one of the better sub-package defensive backs in the league this year, jumped the route and returned the ball 19 yards for the touchdown.

Then, there was Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Mike Glennon, who fell apart against one of the Atlanta Falcons' many blitzes early in the game. He fumbled with 12:03 left in the first quarter, and Atlanta safety Thomas Decoud returned it 30 yards for yet another defensive score (GIF from The Big Lead):

Matt Schaub

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Doug Farrar
DOUG FARRAR

SI.com contributing NFL writer and Seattle resident Doug Farrar started writing about football locally in 2002, and became Football Outsiders' West Coast NFL guy in 2006. He was fascinated by FO's idea to combine Bill James with Dr. Z, and wrote for the site for six years. He wrote a game-tape column called "Cover-2" for a number of years, and contributed to six editions of "Pro Football Prospectus" and the "Football Outsiders Almanac." In 2009,  Doug was invited to join Yahoo Sports' NFL team, and covered Senior Bowls, scouting combines, Super Bowls, and all sorts of other things for Yahoo Sports and the Shutdown Corner blog through June, 2013. Doug received the proverbial offer he couldn't refuse from SI.com in 2013, and that was that. Doug has also written for the Seattle Times, the Washington Post, the New York Sun, FOX Sports, ESPN.com, and ESPN The Magazine.  He also makes regular appearances on several local and national radio shows, and has hosted several podcasts over the years. He counts Dan Jenkins, Thomas Boswell, Frank Deford, Ralph Wiley, Peter King, and Bill Simmons as the writers who made him want to do this for a living. In his rare off-time, Doug can be found reading, hiking, working out, searching for new Hendrix, Who, and MC5 bootlegs, and wondering if the Mariners will ever be good again.

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