NFL WEEK 14, WHAT I SAW
We watched all or part of eleven games Sunday. We saw an unusual number of last second wins, in fact 7 of the 14 games played yesterday were decided on the last possession. Here's what I saw.
The Tebows win again with a lot of help from Marion Barber & the Bears.
Once again Tim Tebow stunk up the place for 3 1/2 quarters of football, but the Denver defense kept it close, holding the Caleb Hanie-led Chicago Bears to just 10-points. With under 4-minutes to play in the game, Tebow got hot. After a 3 for 16 passing performance up to that point, Tebow completed 18 of 24 for 190-yards in the 4th quarter & overtime. After a 10-yard TD pass to Demaryius Thomas with 2:08 remaining to close the margin to 10-7, the Broncos attempted an onside kick & should have recovered it, two Denver players ran into each other allowing the Bears to recover. The Denver 5-game winning streak appeared to be over. All the Bears needed to do was run the ball & stay in bounds, allowing the clock to run down to less than 20-secods. Unfortunately, Marion Barber ran wide & was knocked out of bounds stopping the clock on second down. After a short gain on third down the Bears punted with :56 left on the clock. Just enough for Tebow to get kicker Matt Prater in position to kick a 59-yard field goal to tie it at :02. The Bears won the overtime coin toss & quickly moved into field goal range, their kicker Robbie Gould had already boomed a 57-yarder. Marion Barber burst thru the left side & for a split second, appeared to be on the way to a touchdown when disaster struck, Wesley Woodyard knocked the ball out of his hand & it was recovered by Denver's Elvis Dumervil. Bears decide to play prevent defense, seemingly more concerned with Tebow running than passing. He completed 3 passes good for 28-yards & ran for another 6 leaving the ball at the Chicago 33. Enter Prater, 51-yard field goal right down the middle, Denver wins 13-10. Tebow helped his team win the game, but he wasn't the catalyst he'd been in previous come from behind wins. The Denver defense was rock solid & the Bears playcalling & defensive effort was a big part of why this game ended the way it did. But you cannot deny the commitment of this Denver team, they never get down, they never give up even after the failed onside attempt. After the game Brian Urlacher was asked what he thought of Tebow & he said, "He's a good running back." Well Brian, that running back passed your defense right out of the building, completing 18 of 24 isn't bear-type defense is it? Can Denver make it 7 in a row? New England visits next week.
Stick a fork in Dallas, they're done.
Another case of a team that helped their opponent beat them in crunch time. Giants' quarterback Eli Manning picked the Cowboys to pieces, throwing for 400-yards. Despite throwing a tipped interception with 6:35 left in the game & a 50-yard TD pass from Tony Romo to Dez Bryant to put Dallas out front 34-22, Manning & his Giants weren't deterred. They scored twice to go ahead 37-34 with less than a minute to play. But after the kickoff, we thought we were watching a replay of last Sunday's loss to Arizona. Three Romo completions for 51-yards got them to the Giants 29-yardline with 6-seconds left. Just like last week, Romo spiked the ball, stopping the clock. Kicker Dan Bailey would attempt a 47-yard field goal to send it to overtime but a split second before the snap, Giants' head coach Tom Coughlin called timeout, the ball was snapped the kick goes right thru the uprights....just like last Sunday. Time in, snap the ball, kick blocked by game MVP Jason Pierre-Paul, New York defensive end. The Giants now head home to play the last three games in their home stadium, the last one vs. the Cowboys. But it's over, Dallas won't recover from this second consecutive heart-breaking loss. They lost RB Demarco Murray to a fractured ankle in the first quarter, OLB & best pass rusher DeMarcus Ware injured his shoulder late in the 4th quarter & couldn't return to the game. Romo missed a wide open Miles Austin for what would have been a 75-yard game clinching touchdown. Big-mouth Rob Ryan's vaunted defense was ravaged for 510-yards on their homefield. And Dallas had no answer for Pierre-Paul, 8 tackles, 2 for loss, 2 sacks, 2 other QB hits, a forced fumble & a blocked field goal. Seeing owner Jerry Jones slamming his fist down on a bar in his box made me smile. One more thing, Eli Manning joined two of the game's elite by throwing his 14th 4th quarter touchdown. His is now tied with his brother Peyton & the great Johnny Unitas, who did it in a 12-game season.
Raheem Morris is toast in Tampa Bay as they surrender 41 unanswered points to Jacksonville.
Yeah, Jacksonville, 41 unanswered points. The Bucs jumped out 14-0, then went into self destruct mode. They turned the ball over seven times. They committed 12 penalties for 97-yards. I doubt Bucs head coach Raheem survives this.
Houston fans rejoice, you're finally in the playoffs with last second road win.
In one of my 3 Office Pool Picks losses, the Houston Texans scored a touchdown with :02 left to win 20-19. Houston clinched the division & their first playoff berth in the 10-year history of the franchise. Rookie 3rd team quarterback T.J. Yates threw a 6-yard bullet to wide receiver Kevin Walter for the game-winner. Yates threw for 300-yards & two touchdowns. The sparsely inhabited upper deck had nine fans about halfway up in the corner, it was Yates' family, all by their lonesome. It was fun watching their reactions during the winning drive. Houston moved the ball well but 4 turnovers stopped them from scoring too often. Now can Yates close the deal, win a playoff game?
Falcons might have saved their season with huge second half on the road.
Down 23-7 at half, the Atlanta Falcons were seeing their playoff hopes fading fast. But with a 24-0 second half led by Matt Ryan & Julio Jones, the Falcons stayed alive with a 31-23 win. As good as Cam Newton was in the first half, he was awful after intermission, finishing with a 19 for 39 completion day, 2 TD's but 2 second half picks. DeAngelo Williams had a 74-yard touchdown run in the 2nd quarter but was held to 5-yards on 4 2nd half carries. Atlanta QB Matt Ryan was superb throwing for 320-yards & four touchdowns. With Dallas & Chicago losing later in the day, the Falcons are in good shape for a wildcard playoff spot. It appears it might have been too exciting for Falcons coach Mike Smith who was taken to a Charlotte area hospital after suffering chest pains. He was cleared to fly home with the team.
Lions hang on for a 34-28 win with help from the refs.
The Detroit Lions have been a focal point of NFL officials for most of this season. Nearly $50K in fines from last week's game, Ndamukong Suh suspended before that but yesterday, the Lions got a huge helping hand from the officials to preserve their 6-point lead. After Christian Ponder threw his 3rd interception coach Leslie Frazier went to the backup, Joe Webb. Webb ran 65-yards for a score, he had 109-yards rushing for the game, in the 4th quarter he threw a touchdown to Toby Gerhart to pull the Vikings within 6-points. In the games' closing seconds, Minnesota was on Detroit's 2-yardline with time for one last play. Webb took the snap as Gunther Cunningham brought 7 blitzers, he rolled to his left, his facemask was obviously grabbed & he fumbled the ball. No flag. In a season where we've seen the quarterbacks around this league over-protected, here was a classic facemask call & no flag, game over. I'm not going to suggest Minnesota would've scored to win the game by one, but they should have had the ball at the 1-yardline with one untimed down. They weren't afforded that opportunity. No Suh, no Nick Fairly allowed the Adrian Peterson-less Vikings to run for 269-yards. Can the Lions get this turned around in time to clinch a wildcard spot?
Any questions????
Raiders blown out again, as their late season fade has officially begun.
Down 34-0 last Sunday at Miami, then down 34-0 again yesterday. The 31-0 halftime deficit was a franchise record. The Raiders are in full fade mode. Without RB Darren McFragile & two speedy WR's, the Raiders had to depend on Darius Heyward-Bey to drop the required number of passes for this ailing offense. Green Bay crushed Oakland 46-16. In a game that saw Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers head to the bench midway thru the 3rd quarter, it could have been a lot worse. Rodgers failed to have a game quarterback rating over 100 for the first time this season. The Packers feasted on four Carson Palmer interceptions & the usual 11 penalties, 7 of them pre-snap. Nice focus. The possible bad news for the Packers was a knee injury to leading receiver Greg Jennings. An MRI today will diagnose just how serious it is. WR Jordy Nelson caught another touchdown, he's scored in every home game this season. The best part of the Tebow story is it has allowed the Packers to fly under the radar somewhat in their quest for the perfect season. The Broncos are headlining every sports show, not the 13-0 Packers.
Cards Kevin Kolb suffers a concussion, Skelton leads them to win over Forty-Niners 21-19.
The Cardinals paid a king's ransom to trade for Kevin Kolb & sign him to a longterm deal. But it's backup John Skelton who is 5-1 as their quarterback. The combination of a very stingy defense & the Skelton-Larry Fitzgerald connection good for 149-yards lifted Arizona to a win over the NFC Western Division champs. The Niners roared up & down the field in the first half but were held to 4 David Akers' field goals. The Cards made the most of their opportunities with three Skelton TD passes. With their sixth win, they moved around Kansas City in the draft order. The Niners offense looked pretty anemic for the second time in three weeks, they will get an extreme test next Monday night as they get a visit from the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Saints hang on to 5-point win in Music City.
It took Drew Brees till the 4th quarter to throw a touchdown, but he put the Saints ahead with a spectacular 35-yard throw on a skinny post & then followed that with another TD pass to Colston, this one a 28-yarder about three minutes later. new Orleans appeared to be in the driver's seat, leading 22-10. Especially with Tennessee QB Matt Hasselback sidelined with a calf injury. But rookie jake Locker threw a 40-yard TD to Nate Washington to draw them with 5-points. Then in the closing minutes, Locker moved them to the New Orleans' 5-yardline & on the games' last play, Locker scrambled to his right & instead of throwing the ball into the endzone & hoping for a miracle, he took a sack. Huh?
Miami finally plays poorly, boy did they ever & the Patriots should be very concerned.
Miami had played so well the past 8-9 weeks, even as a 4-8 team. They did just about everything wrong after a blocked punt & Brandon Marshall touchdown put the Dolphins ahead 7-0. The roof caved in shortly after that. QB Matt Moore sustained a concussion, they tuned the ball over 3 times, left tackle Jake Long was injured & then there was the issue of pass protection. The Eagles recorded 9 sacks & 9 other QB knockdowns. Moore & J.P. Losman never really had a chance.
The New England Patriots should be concerned, in consecutive games, they've surrendered 353-passing yards to Indy's Dan Orlovsky & 301-yards to the Washington Redskins. This won't work against real NFL quarterbacks on real NFL playoff teams in real NFL playoff games.
I had this game on because there were only 4 late games, not worth discussing.
San Diego 37 Buffalo 10 Nuff said.
Don't forget the big radio broadcast tonight on KRMS brought to you by Old Kinderhook & the Trophy Room.
Heavy on the opinion, your phone calls & predict the score of the Monday Night game for a great prize package. 1150AM or 97.5FM here in Central Missouri. You can catch it on live internet stream or by podcast at krmsradio.com
The Tebows win again with a lot of help from Marion Barber & the Bears.
Once again Tim Tebow stunk up the place for 3 1/2 quarters of football, but the Denver defense kept it close, holding the Caleb Hanie-led Chicago Bears to just 10-points. With under 4-minutes to play in the game, Tebow got hot. After a 3 for 16 passing performance up to that point, Tebow completed 18 of 24 for 190-yards in the 4th quarter & overtime. After a 10-yard TD pass to Demaryius Thomas with 2:08 remaining to close the margin to 10-7, the Broncos attempted an onside kick & should have recovered it, two Denver players ran into each other allowing the Bears to recover. The Denver 5-game winning streak appeared to be over. All the Bears needed to do was run the ball & stay in bounds, allowing the clock to run down to less than 20-secods. Unfortunately, Marion Barber ran wide & was knocked out of bounds stopping the clock on second down. After a short gain on third down the Bears punted with :56 left on the clock. Just enough for Tebow to get kicker Matt Prater in position to kick a 59-yard field goal to tie it at :02. The Bears won the overtime coin toss & quickly moved into field goal range, their kicker Robbie Gould had already boomed a 57-yarder. Marion Barber burst thru the left side & for a split second, appeared to be on the way to a touchdown when disaster struck, Wesley Woodyard knocked the ball out of his hand & it was recovered by Denver's Elvis Dumervil. Bears decide to play prevent defense, seemingly more concerned with Tebow running than passing. He completed 3 passes good for 28-yards & ran for another 6 leaving the ball at the Chicago 33. Enter Prater, 51-yard field goal right down the middle, Denver wins 13-10. Tebow helped his team win the game, but he wasn't the catalyst he'd been in previous come from behind wins. The Denver defense was rock solid & the Bears playcalling & defensive effort was a big part of why this game ended the way it did. But you cannot deny the commitment of this Denver team, they never get down, they never give up even after the failed onside attempt. After the game Brian Urlacher was asked what he thought of Tebow & he said, "He's a good running back." Well Brian, that running back passed your defense right out of the building, completing 18 of 24 isn't bear-type defense is it? Can Denver make it 7 in a row? New England visits next week.
Stick a fork in Dallas, they're done.
Another case of a team that helped their opponent beat them in crunch time. Giants' quarterback Eli Manning picked the Cowboys to pieces, throwing for 400-yards. Despite throwing a tipped interception with 6:35 left in the game & a 50-yard TD pass from Tony Romo to Dez Bryant to put Dallas out front 34-22, Manning & his Giants weren't deterred. They scored twice to go ahead 37-34 with less than a minute to play. But after the kickoff, we thought we were watching a replay of last Sunday's loss to Arizona. Three Romo completions for 51-yards got them to the Giants 29-yardline with 6-seconds left. Just like last week, Romo spiked the ball, stopping the clock. Kicker Dan Bailey would attempt a 47-yard field goal to send it to overtime but a split second before the snap, Giants' head coach Tom Coughlin called timeout, the ball was snapped the kick goes right thru the uprights....just like last Sunday. Time in, snap the ball, kick blocked by game MVP Jason Pierre-Paul, New York defensive end. The Giants now head home to play the last three games in their home stadium, the last one vs. the Cowboys. But it's over, Dallas won't recover from this second consecutive heart-breaking loss. They lost RB Demarco Murray to a fractured ankle in the first quarter, OLB & best pass rusher DeMarcus Ware injured his shoulder late in the 4th quarter & couldn't return to the game. Romo missed a wide open Miles Austin for what would have been a 75-yard game clinching touchdown. Big-mouth Rob Ryan's vaunted defense was ravaged for 510-yards on their homefield. And Dallas had no answer for Pierre-Paul, 8 tackles, 2 for loss, 2 sacks, 2 other QB hits, a forced fumble & a blocked field goal. Seeing owner Jerry Jones slamming his fist down on a bar in his box made me smile. One more thing, Eli Manning joined two of the game's elite by throwing his 14th 4th quarter touchdown. His is now tied with his brother Peyton & the great Johnny Unitas, who did it in a 12-game season.
Raheem Morris is toast in Tampa Bay as they surrender 41 unanswered points to Jacksonville.
Yeah, Jacksonville, 41 unanswered points. The Bucs jumped out 14-0, then went into self destruct mode. They turned the ball over seven times. They committed 12 penalties for 97-yards. I doubt Bucs head coach Raheem survives this.
Houston fans rejoice, you're finally in the playoffs with last second road win.
In one of my 3 Office Pool Picks losses, the Houston Texans scored a touchdown with :02 left to win 20-19. Houston clinched the division & their first playoff berth in the 10-year history of the franchise. Rookie 3rd team quarterback T.J. Yates threw a 6-yard bullet to wide receiver Kevin Walter for the game-winner. Yates threw for 300-yards & two touchdowns. The sparsely inhabited upper deck had nine fans about halfway up in the corner, it was Yates' family, all by their lonesome. It was fun watching their reactions during the winning drive. Houston moved the ball well but 4 turnovers stopped them from scoring too often. Now can Yates close the deal, win a playoff game?
Falcons might have saved their season with huge second half on the road.
Down 23-7 at half, the Atlanta Falcons were seeing their playoff hopes fading fast. But with a 24-0 second half led by Matt Ryan & Julio Jones, the Falcons stayed alive with a 31-23 win. As good as Cam Newton was in the first half, he was awful after intermission, finishing with a 19 for 39 completion day, 2 TD's but 2 second half picks. DeAngelo Williams had a 74-yard touchdown run in the 2nd quarter but was held to 5-yards on 4 2nd half carries. Atlanta QB Matt Ryan was superb throwing for 320-yards & four touchdowns. With Dallas & Chicago losing later in the day, the Falcons are in good shape for a wildcard playoff spot. It appears it might have been too exciting for Falcons coach Mike Smith who was taken to a Charlotte area hospital after suffering chest pains. He was cleared to fly home with the team.
Lions hang on for a 34-28 win with help from the refs.
The Detroit Lions have been a focal point of NFL officials for most of this season. Nearly $50K in fines from last week's game, Ndamukong Suh suspended before that but yesterday, the Lions got a huge helping hand from the officials to preserve their 6-point lead. After Christian Ponder threw his 3rd interception coach Leslie Frazier went to the backup, Joe Webb. Webb ran 65-yards for a score, he had 109-yards rushing for the game, in the 4th quarter he threw a touchdown to Toby Gerhart to pull the Vikings within 6-points. In the games' closing seconds, Minnesota was on Detroit's 2-yardline with time for one last play. Webb took the snap as Gunther Cunningham brought 7 blitzers, he rolled to his left, his facemask was obviously grabbed & he fumbled the ball. No flag. In a season where we've seen the quarterbacks around this league over-protected, here was a classic facemask call & no flag, game over. I'm not going to suggest Minnesota would've scored to win the game by one, but they should have had the ball at the 1-yardline with one untimed down. They weren't afforded that opportunity. No Suh, no Nick Fairly allowed the Adrian Peterson-less Vikings to run for 269-yards. Can the Lions get this turned around in time to clinch a wildcard spot?
Any questions????
Raiders blown out again, as their late season fade has officially begun.
Down 34-0 last Sunday at Miami, then down 34-0 again yesterday. The 31-0 halftime deficit was a franchise record. The Raiders are in full fade mode. Without RB Darren McFragile & two speedy WR's, the Raiders had to depend on Darius Heyward-Bey to drop the required number of passes for this ailing offense. Green Bay crushed Oakland 46-16. In a game that saw Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers head to the bench midway thru the 3rd quarter, it could have been a lot worse. Rodgers failed to have a game quarterback rating over 100 for the first time this season. The Packers feasted on four Carson Palmer interceptions & the usual 11 penalties, 7 of them pre-snap. Nice focus. The possible bad news for the Packers was a knee injury to leading receiver Greg Jennings. An MRI today will diagnose just how serious it is. WR Jordy Nelson caught another touchdown, he's scored in every home game this season. The best part of the Tebow story is it has allowed the Packers to fly under the radar somewhat in their quest for the perfect season. The Broncos are headlining every sports show, not the 13-0 Packers.
Cards Kevin Kolb suffers a concussion, Skelton leads them to win over Forty-Niners 21-19.
The Cardinals paid a king's ransom to trade for Kevin Kolb & sign him to a longterm deal. But it's backup John Skelton who is 5-1 as their quarterback. The combination of a very stingy defense & the Skelton-Larry Fitzgerald connection good for 149-yards lifted Arizona to a win over the NFC Western Division champs. The Niners roared up & down the field in the first half but were held to 4 David Akers' field goals. The Cards made the most of their opportunities with three Skelton TD passes. With their sixth win, they moved around Kansas City in the draft order. The Niners offense looked pretty anemic for the second time in three weeks, they will get an extreme test next Monday night as they get a visit from the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Saints hang on to 5-point win in Music City.
It took Drew Brees till the 4th quarter to throw a touchdown, but he put the Saints ahead with a spectacular 35-yard throw on a skinny post & then followed that with another TD pass to Colston, this one a 28-yarder about three minutes later. new Orleans appeared to be in the driver's seat, leading 22-10. Especially with Tennessee QB Matt Hasselback sidelined with a calf injury. But rookie jake Locker threw a 40-yard TD to Nate Washington to draw them with 5-points. Then in the closing minutes, Locker moved them to the New Orleans' 5-yardline & on the games' last play, Locker scrambled to his right & instead of throwing the ball into the endzone & hoping for a miracle, he took a sack. Huh?
Miami finally plays poorly, boy did they ever & the Patriots should be very concerned.
Miami had played so well the past 8-9 weeks, even as a 4-8 team. They did just about everything wrong after a blocked punt & Brandon Marshall touchdown put the Dolphins ahead 7-0. The roof caved in shortly after that. QB Matt Moore sustained a concussion, they tuned the ball over 3 times, left tackle Jake Long was injured & then there was the issue of pass protection. The Eagles recorded 9 sacks & 9 other QB knockdowns. Moore & J.P. Losman never really had a chance.
The New England Patriots should be concerned, in consecutive games, they've surrendered 353-passing yards to Indy's Dan Orlovsky & 301-yards to the Washington Redskins. This won't work against real NFL quarterbacks on real NFL playoff teams in real NFL playoff games.
I had this game on because there were only 4 late games, not worth discussing.
San Diego 37 Buffalo 10 Nuff said.
Don't forget the big radio broadcast tonight on KRMS brought to you by Old Kinderhook & the Trophy Room.
Heavy on the opinion, your phone calls & predict the score of the Monday Night game for a great prize package. 1150AM or 97.5FM here in Central Missouri. You can catch it on live internet stream or by podcast at krmsradio.com
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