WILD, WILD, WILDCARD WEEKEND FINISH AS THE TEBOWS BEAT PITTSBURGH 29-23 IN OVERTIME
Anybody see that finish coming? I'll admit I had visions of a 52-yard winning field goal by Pittsburgh's Shaun Suisham as time ran out. I told Linda after Jerricho Cotchery's touchdown reception to tie the game Denver would punt the ball & Ben Roethlisberger would have sufficient time to get them in field goal range. Pittsburgh came oh so close, reaching Denver's 45-yard line with 29-seconds remaining. Five or six more yards & they could run the clock down for the field goal attempt. But it didn't happen, Denver's secondary stood tall one last time & Roethlisberger had the ball punched out by Elvis Dumervil & by the time the Steelers recovered, they were on their own 44, with just 18-seconds left after calling their final timeout. He was sacked before he could launch a Hail Mary & we were off to overtime.
This was unchartered territory, the new overtime rules have been in effect since the 2011 post season, but never had the chance to use them. Steeler captain James Farrior chose "Tails" but it came up heads, so Denver got the ball to begin O.T. For the umteenth time in this game, the kickoff resulted in a touchback, so Denver would start at their twenty. One play was all it took for Tim Tebow to throw a 20-yard strike to WR Damaryius Thomas who took it the remaining 60-yards for the game-winning score. It was over that quick, one play. Pittsburgh defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau had used his safeties closer & closer to the line of scrimmage as the game wore on, stifling the Bronco run game. In the chess match between coordinators, Denver's Mike McCoy came up huge going for a big play on 1st down. Safeties Ryan Mundy & Troy Polamalu were too close & a perfect pass by Tebow to Thomas & it was off to the races. McCoy adjusted on the fly as this game wore on, like a good coordinator is supposed to do, but he beat LeBeau more than anyone could foresee & the Broncos move on while the heavily favored Steelers go home. For the first time since 2000, all four home teams won on Wildcard weekend. For the second postseason in a row, a division winner played a team that had won 4 more games & beat them.
Tim Tebow celebrates the winning score in overtime. Denver Post
Yes, Pittsburgh apologists can say they were shorthanded because of all the injuries & that part is true. But I can't remember Dick LeBeau being out-coached in a playoff game like he was today. Long time readers here know I think more of Steelers' coach Mike Tomlin than about anybody in the entire league, but Mike's team is getting old. He's had offensive tackle issues for three seasons & hasn't rectified the problem. He has a number of players who are past their prime & when they break down, Tomlin no longer has a bench deep in talent. Oh, he still has the core of a very competitive playoff team, but he has depth issues that need to be addressed beginning now.
As for Denver, the Tebow magic was back in the second quarter. After managing just 8-yards of total offense in period #1, their quarterback threw for a score, ran for another & led the Broncos to 2 field goals in just 15-minutes. But after leading 20-6 at half, the magic went away, Pittsburgh clawed their way back into the game before finally tying it on Cotchery's catch with 3:48 left in the game. But like a bolt of lightning, the first play from scrimmage in overtime turned Denver Colorado into party central. So can the Tebows go to New England next Saturday night & avenge their 41-23 home loss to the Patriots? I seriously doubt it, but I gave them absolutely zero chance to win today & look what happened.
I was wrong about the last game, but right on the other three this weekend. I liked the Giants a lot & after a very weird first half, they took control to defeat the Atlanta Falcons 24-2. Two??? Yes, they recorded a second quarter safety when Eli Manning was flagged for intentional grounding in the endzone. That's all the Falcons could muster. This is their third playoff loss in the past four years. The Mike Smith/Matt Ryan led Falcons haven't shown much in their playoff games. With an offense laden with high draft picks & regular season success, they stunk up the place with 247-yards of total offense. The Giants out-rushed them 172-64. I said in my preview to this game, I loved the Giant DE's(Pierre-Paul, Umenyiora & Tuck) against the Falcon tackles. They recorded 14 tackles, two sacks & 5 QB knockdowns. I was also very high on the Giant WR's & they produced big time, Hicks, Cruz & Manningham caught 12 passes for 205-yards & 3 touchdowns. Eli Manning, passing from a clean pocket most of the afternoon, continued his late season hot streak.
Hakkem Nicks celebrates after scoring on a 72-yard touchdown pass, his 2nd of the day.
So now we have the top-4 seeds in both conferences alive for the next round. I think the NFC games are the better matchups, New Orleans at San Francisco & the G-Men at Green Bay. The Packers defense has it's problems & a red-hot Giants team could make trouble for them. Green Bay won a 38-35 squeaker over New York in week 13, but the Giants beat the Pack in the NFC Championship game back in 2007, at Lambeau Field. Jim Harbaugh coaches his very first playoff game against another red-hot offense led by Drew Brees. Sorry, but I'm probably going to poo-poo the Houston Texans trip to Baltimore & Denver's chances at New England, but I'll give you my official picks on Friday.
I told you on Friday Todd Haley was heading back to Arizona as the offensive coordinator. It's going to happen within a couple of days.
In other coaching notes, Tampa plans to interview four veteran NFL head coaches. Marty Schottenheimer, Wade Phillips, Mike Sherman & Brad Childress. Really, that's the new direction of this troubled franchise?
Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams will need a new contract or he will be peddling his services elsewhere. The team hasn't approached his agent for any talks. When & if the Saints end their playoff run, be it next week or after winning the Super Bowl(my preseason pick), Williams just might land in St. Louis with Jeff Fisher, his best buddy. Williams was Fishers defensive coordinator with the Titans for 4 seasons.
It's Monday, that means it's time for "Rich's Football Report" on KRMS radio at 6PM. This week's "Predict the Score Contest" will feature your best guesses on the final score of tonight's BCS Championship game between LSU & Alabama. There's two free rounds of golf at Old Kinderhook(good for 1 yr) & a $25 gift card for the Trophy Room for the winning prediction. It's wall-to-wall football plus your phone calls, looking forward to it.
This was unchartered territory, the new overtime rules have been in effect since the 2011 post season, but never had the chance to use them. Steeler captain James Farrior chose "Tails" but it came up heads, so Denver got the ball to begin O.T. For the umteenth time in this game, the kickoff resulted in a touchback, so Denver would start at their twenty. One play was all it took for Tim Tebow to throw a 20-yard strike to WR Damaryius Thomas who took it the remaining 60-yards for the game-winning score. It was over that quick, one play. Pittsburgh defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau had used his safeties closer & closer to the line of scrimmage as the game wore on, stifling the Bronco run game. In the chess match between coordinators, Denver's Mike McCoy came up huge going for a big play on 1st down. Safeties Ryan Mundy & Troy Polamalu were too close & a perfect pass by Tebow to Thomas & it was off to the races. McCoy adjusted on the fly as this game wore on, like a good coordinator is supposed to do, but he beat LeBeau more than anyone could foresee & the Broncos move on while the heavily favored Steelers go home. For the first time since 2000, all four home teams won on Wildcard weekend. For the second postseason in a row, a division winner played a team that had won 4 more games & beat them.
Tim Tebow celebrates the winning score in overtime. Denver Post
Yes, Pittsburgh apologists can say they were shorthanded because of all the injuries & that part is true. But I can't remember Dick LeBeau being out-coached in a playoff game like he was today. Long time readers here know I think more of Steelers' coach Mike Tomlin than about anybody in the entire league, but Mike's team is getting old. He's had offensive tackle issues for three seasons & hasn't rectified the problem. He has a number of players who are past their prime & when they break down, Tomlin no longer has a bench deep in talent. Oh, he still has the core of a very competitive playoff team, but he has depth issues that need to be addressed beginning now.
As for Denver, the Tebow magic was back in the second quarter. After managing just 8-yards of total offense in period #1, their quarterback threw for a score, ran for another & led the Broncos to 2 field goals in just 15-minutes. But after leading 20-6 at half, the magic went away, Pittsburgh clawed their way back into the game before finally tying it on Cotchery's catch with 3:48 left in the game. But like a bolt of lightning, the first play from scrimmage in overtime turned Denver Colorado into party central. So can the Tebows go to New England next Saturday night & avenge their 41-23 home loss to the Patriots? I seriously doubt it, but I gave them absolutely zero chance to win today & look what happened.
I was wrong about the last game, but right on the other three this weekend. I liked the Giants a lot & after a very weird first half, they took control to defeat the Atlanta Falcons 24-2. Two??? Yes, they recorded a second quarter safety when Eli Manning was flagged for intentional grounding in the endzone. That's all the Falcons could muster. This is their third playoff loss in the past four years. The Mike Smith/Matt Ryan led Falcons haven't shown much in their playoff games. With an offense laden with high draft picks & regular season success, they stunk up the place with 247-yards of total offense. The Giants out-rushed them 172-64. I said in my preview to this game, I loved the Giant DE's(Pierre-Paul, Umenyiora & Tuck) against the Falcon tackles. They recorded 14 tackles, two sacks & 5 QB knockdowns. I was also very high on the Giant WR's & they produced big time, Hicks, Cruz & Manningham caught 12 passes for 205-yards & 3 touchdowns. Eli Manning, passing from a clean pocket most of the afternoon, continued his late season hot streak.
Hakkem Nicks celebrates after scoring on a 72-yard touchdown pass, his 2nd of the day.
So now we have the top-4 seeds in both conferences alive for the next round. I think the NFC games are the better matchups, New Orleans at San Francisco & the G-Men at Green Bay. The Packers defense has it's problems & a red-hot Giants team could make trouble for them. Green Bay won a 38-35 squeaker over New York in week 13, but the Giants beat the Pack in the NFC Championship game back in 2007, at Lambeau Field. Jim Harbaugh coaches his very first playoff game against another red-hot offense led by Drew Brees. Sorry, but I'm probably going to poo-poo the Houston Texans trip to Baltimore & Denver's chances at New England, but I'll give you my official picks on Friday.
I told you on Friday Todd Haley was heading back to Arizona as the offensive coordinator. It's going to happen within a couple of days.
In other coaching notes, Tampa plans to interview four veteran NFL head coaches. Marty Schottenheimer, Wade Phillips, Mike Sherman & Brad Childress. Really, that's the new direction of this troubled franchise?
Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams will need a new contract or he will be peddling his services elsewhere. The team hasn't approached his agent for any talks. When & if the Saints end their playoff run, be it next week or after winning the Super Bowl(my preseason pick), Williams just might land in St. Louis with Jeff Fisher, his best buddy. Williams was Fishers defensive coordinator with the Titans for 4 seasons.
It's Monday, that means it's time for "Rich's Football Report" on KRMS radio at 6PM. This week's "Predict the Score Contest" will feature your best guesses on the final score of tonight's BCS Championship game between LSU & Alabama. There's two free rounds of golf at Old Kinderhook(good for 1 yr) & a $25 gift card for the Trophy Room for the winning prediction. It's wall-to-wall football plus your phone calls, looking forward to it.
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