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2010 NFL Week 19 Game Recaps

Steelers 31, Ravens 24

Joe Flacco still can't beat Ben Roethlisberger. In the six meetings between the two quarterbacks, Big Ben is an unblemished 6-0.

This one was probably the toughest for Roethlisberger. Baltimore held a 21-7 lead, but self-destructed in the third quarter. In four drives, the team went fumble, three-and-out, interception and fumble. Pittsburgh was up by a field goal in the blink of an eye.

Flacco had a chance at the very end, however. In the team's penultimate drive, Anquan Boldin dropped a touchdown after a bogus holding call wiped out a punt return for a score. On the ensuing possession, T.J. Houshmandzadeh dropped a first-down conversion on what would be the final play of the game for the visitor.

As Adam Schefter cleverly tweeted, "Newly-acquired WRs Anquan Boldin and T.J. Houshmandzadeh were supposed to be the difference for the Ravens. They were."

Flacco was just 16-of-30 for 125 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Though Baltimore scored 24 points, Flacco had very little to do with it. Fourteen points came via Roethlisberger and Rashard Mendenhall lost fumbles. In fact, the Ravens had just 94 yards through three quarters (compared to Pittsburgh's 199).

Ray Rice, who was responsible for one of the third-quarter fumbles, had only 19 touches. He didn't enjoy any success on the ground (12-32, TD) but was predictably very effective in the passing game. One has to wonder what Cam Cameron was thinking by not giving the ball enough to his best player.

Roethlisberger was heavily pressured in this game (6 sacks), so he played remarkably well considering how many defenders were in his face the entire afternoon. Big Ben went 19-of-32 for 226 yards and two touchdowns, which includes a clutch 3rd-and-19 conversion late in the fourth quarter to set up the game-winning touchdown.

Mendenhall had that decisive score. He found the end zone twice, but struggled to find room against the Ravens' front (20-46).

Packers 48, Falcons 21

Wow. I had a good feeling the Packers would win - they were a five-unit pick of mine - but I did not expect this. Green Bay absolutely dominated this game, and the 48-21 result doesn't even indicate how lopsided this matchup was.

The Packers outgained the Falcons, 442-194. All of Atlanta's touchdowns were bogus; the first came off a Greg Jennings fumble. The second was a kickoff returned for a touchdown. And the third came in garbage time. As great as Aaron Rodgers was, the defense was a major part of why this was a massive blowout.

Matt Ryan had no chance. He was sacked five times and intercepted twice by Tramondous Williams (one returned for a score). Ryan finished 20-of-29 for 186 yards, one touchdown, the two picks and a lost fumble. Atlanta's front office will need to add weapons around Ryan this offseason; aside from Roddy White, he has nothing.

And that includes Tony Gonzalez. He's done. The one bad thing about watching Green Bay win was witnessing the end of Tony Gonzalez's career. Gonzalez, a complete shell of his former self, caught just one pass for seven yards. Though he'll be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, Gonzalez has never won a playoff game.

The Falcons became the third No. 1 seed in the NFC to lose in the divisional round in the past four years. The previous two No. 1 seeds - 2007 Cowboys, 2008 Giants - failed to make the playoffs the following season.

As for the Packers, Rodgers was nearly perfect. He went 31-of-36 for 366 yards and four touchdowns (3 pass, 1 rush). Rodgers now has 12 touchdowns in his first three playoff starts - the most by any quarterback in such a span; the previous record-holder was Daryle Lamonica (10).

Rodgers converted third downs all night, showcasing his trademark ability to elude pass-rushers in the pocket and extend plays. Troy Aikman said that Rodgers would be his first choice at quarterback if he were starting a franchise from scratch.

Three Packers had at least six receptions: Greg Jennings (8-101), Jordy Nelson (8-79, TD) and Donald Driver (6-76). Jennings had what seemed like a key fumble that resulted in a Falcons touchdown in the first quarter, but the Packers were so unstoppable on offense - they didn't punt once - that it didn't matter whatsoever.

James Starks didn't post pretty stats (25-66), but ran really effectively. Starks is very talented and should be Green Bay's starting running back entering the 2011 NFL season.

The worst moment in the NFL season occurred after the third quarter in this contest: the announcement of the Punt, Pass and Kick winners. My reaction on the forums when I realized that I'd have to endure this:

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Not the punt pass and kick winners AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH OH GOD MAKE IT STOP MAAKEEEEEEEEEEEE ITTTTTTTTT STOOOOOOOOOOOOPPPPPPPPPPP

Bears 35, Seahawks 24

The Chiefs were exposed as a fraud last week. The Falcons' supposed homefield advantage at the Georgia Dome was similarly revealed as a farce on Saturday. Unfortunately for my January NFL Pick of the Month, we couldn't go three for three.

The Chicago Bears will live for another week, thanks to the Seahawks completely beating themselves in every facet of this game. Seattle dropped a whopping seven passes in the first half (Mike Williams 3, Cameron Morrah 1, Golden Tate 1, Brandon Stokley 1, Ben Obomanu 1). Make it eight drops if you count Jordan Babineaux's failed attempt at an interception in the first quarter.

Jay Cutler tossed the ball right to Babineaux, who couldn't come up with the turnover and perhaps subsequent touchdown. That was the turning point of the game - well, one of the two - because Chicago scored a touchdown a couple of plays later to make it 14-0.

The other turning point was John Carlson's concussion on the second drive of the game. Carlson was a major part of the offensive game plan, and his absence was huge for the Seahawks, who couldn't move the chains whatsoever until the fourth quarter. In fact, Morrah, Carlson's replacement, had a huge drop later on that same possession.

Matt Hasselbeck went 26-of-46 for 258 yards and three touchdowns. Those numbers could have been even better if it weren't for all those drops (he had two more by Mike Williams in the second half).

Despite a horrendous regular season, Hasselbeck has stepped up and performed well in the playoffs. The Seahawks should bring him back while they groom Charlie Whitehurst or another young signal-caller.

As for the other quarterback, Cutler went 15-of-28 for 274 yards and four touchdowns (2 pass, 2 rush). However, it could have been much worse for Cutler. He had that aforementioned dropped interception in the end zone. He also fumbled, which was fortunately recovered by his own lineman. Additionally, Cutler tossed a couple of sketchy passes that had a chance of being picked off.

Cutler's offensive line played a lot better than most people thought it would. It's unclear though if this was just a result of Seattle sucking or not; remember, the Packers sacked Cutler six times in the season finale, so the city of Chicago should wait a while before throwing a parade for its offensive front.

The line thrived in both pass protection and run blocking. The Seahawks couldn't stop Matt Forte (25-80) or Chester Taylor (11-44, TD), negating opportunities for Cutler to screw up. Seattle consequently also had problems containing Greg Olsen (3-113, TD), as the athletic tight end beat Lawyer Milloy for the game's opening score.

Jets 28, Patriots 21

I'm really speechless. I can't believe the Patriots lost. I thought this game would be close - I had the Jets covering - but I never thought that New York had a chance to win this game.

But this is why the NFL playoffs are great. You never really know what to expect. I'd go off on a tangent about how great a college football playoff system would be, but I'm really not in the mood. Blame Pete Carroll and those stupid Seattle receivers, but I digress.

The Patriots just looked complacent the entire evening. They showed no sense of urgency until there were about four minutes left and they realized, "Ah crap, we might actually lose this thing." New England just took the Jets lightly, and can you blame them? A 45-3 victory over the same team would do that.

Still though, I'm a bit surprised that Tom Brady played so stoically. A week ago, Rex Ryan called Brady "overrated" and a product of Bill Belichick's system. I thought we'd see a furious Brady against the Jets. In fact, this is why I didn't make the Jets a multi-unit selection. Brady generally plays with a big chip on his shoulder, but he just looked like he didn't care.

Note that I don't want to make it sound like it's all on Brady. He went 29-of-45 for 299 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He took five sacks and had to hurry a lot of his throws. The play-calling was abysmal as well. But Brady just seemed off.

Fortunately for Brady, he'll get over this one pretty quickly. As Ted Berg tweeted, "Tom Brady's going to be thinking about this one tonight, when he's sleeping with a supermodel atop piles of money."

Having said all that, I don't want to take anything away from the Jets. Ryan came up with an unbelievable game plan. He undoubtedly locked himself in a room after that 45-3 defeat and worked tediously to come up with a solution for the New England offense. Well done, Rex.

Mark Sanchez also deserves a ton of credit. Some of his early throws were off the mark, but he settled in and finished the game brilliantly, going 16-of-25 for 194 yards and three touchdowns. Sanchez's score to Santonio Holmes (3-20, TD) was a thing of beauty, and I'm still not sure how Holmes got his knee down inbounds.

A strong running game helped Sanchez. Shonn Greene (17-76, TD) and LaDainian Tomlinson (10-43) trampled their second straight opponent, as the Jets' offensive line pushed around New England's defensive front.

For more, check out my updated 2010 NFL Power Rankings, which will be posted Monday morning.

Miguel 01-14-2013 07:57 pm xxx.xxx.xxx.170 (total posts: 1)

Walt:
You don't have to look for candidates for the Jerks of the Week column elswhere. Take a look to your mirror!
0-4 makes you the obvious candidate this week.

Atwood 01-14-2013 02:08 pm xxx.xxx.xxx1.57 (total posts: 1)

Jo you are very ignorant if you think that John Fox would've let Peyton run that last play. Fox is the most conservative coach in the NFL Do you really think that Payton wanted to knee the ball then go to halftime and end the game into overtime? John Fox lost the game for Denver not anybody else

jo 01-14-2013 12:52 pm xxx.xxx.xxx.200 (total posts: 6)

peyton manning was avg. at best. when denver was trying to run out clock and 3rd and 7 y run it? u no peyton woulda been wanted to pass and fox wouldnt have said no so im guessing that peyton had no confidence. a 1st down seals it

#1 Seahawk Fan in NJ 01-14-2013 12:14 pm xxx.xxx.xxx.140 (total posts: 6)

How about the other great commentary moments?

A 16 point lead is a 3 score game

Later, if Seattle kicks a field goal to get it to within 17 points - they will only be down by two scores

The best was - the final Seahawk drive - suggesting they kick a field goal with 45 seconds left and try an onside kick

Can anybody decipher this? 01-14-2013 11:39 am xxx.xxx.xxx.134 (total posts: 1)

NFL Picks (Week 19, 2012): 0-4 (-$550)

NFL Picks (2012): 128-145-7 (-$5,910)

Aj 01-14-2013 11:13 am xxx.xxx.xxx41.2 (total posts: 1)

176

206

I am going to thumbs up my own comment

Tom Brady 01-14-2013 10:41 am xxx.xxx.xxx.216 (total posts: 2)

Looking forward to your excuses & bad picks next week Walt.

Oh & Baltimore, it's payback time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzQuArTJfIQ

No replacement refs are gonna save you this time!

Fading Walt 01-14-2013 09:39 am xxx.xxx.xxx.253 (total posts: 1)

7-1 picking against Walt. I LOVE YOU WALT!

Rodrigo 01-14-2013 07:58 am xxx.xxx.xxx.178 (total posts: 1)

Peyton Manning played amazing until his second interception? What game were you watching? He led the offense to 21 points and his 3 turnovers turned into 17 points for the Ravens. Had he been "amazing" before the pick, the game wouldn't even have gone into overtime.

Hmmm 01-14-2013 04:05 am xxx.xxx.xxx7.20 (total posts: 6)

114

I wonder if John Fox was watching when the Falcons managed to get in FG range with only 30 secs to play with to win the game...

JC 01-13-2013 11:09 pm xxx.xxx.xxx1.57 (total posts: 2)

Missed FG opps for Seattle I guess are easy to second guess, but the feel of the game at the time I understood the urgency. It's not like you can predict a team overcoming a 20 point 4th quarter deficit to where those issues mattered. I think Lynch took himself out do to the foot injury on the 3rd and 4th & 1 downs that failed, and on the last plays of the half, I thought Wilson should have spiked it and saved that timeout. The pressure happened so fast he couldn't get rid of the ball, that's why you save a timeout even giving up a down. Not having Clemons or Jason Jones for an already weak road pass rush group was the big difference. A half dozen 30-50 yard bombs on a dime can't always be broken up by Sherman

Baker 01-13-2013 09:36 pm xxx.xxx.xxx2.66 (total posts: 1)

We may see more officiating go Baltimore's way in the AFC title game. The league is losing one of it's media darlings in Ray Lewis and I wouldn't be surprised if they were trying some backroom dealings to send him off on a high note.

NBA Officials? 01-13-2013 07:33 pm xxx.xxx.xxx.204 (total posts: 1)

108

The only call that went Denver's way was the illegal hands to the face, but it wasn't even a fumble anyway. I actually thought that the no tuck rule call was correct, however, that play never would have happened had the refs not called the worst holding penalty I've ever seen on 3rd and 1. There was definitely something going on in that game.

Again 01-13-2013 04:30 pm xxx.xxx.xxx2.27 (total posts: 2)

Walter cries buckets and makes sure we never forget any special teams touchdowns go against his picks. When the Broncos lose, he complains about the officiating and completely ignores the fact that they were only in that game because of TWO special teams TDs...

Ken Snizzlefist 01-13-2013 02:38 pm xxx.xxx.xxx.171 (total posts: 1)

129

I don't know why I keep coming here...habit I guess. The only thing worse than the picks are the terrible and whiny excuses.

The jokes used to be funny but at this point Walt is trying way to hard. Does ANYONE actually read them anymore? Seriously. It's usually one paragraph of analysis and a half a page of lame and tired jokes.

At least the mock drafts are still pretty good.

Pages: 1 2 3 45 6 7 ...60 61

2013 Fantasy Football Rankings - May 25

2013 NBA Mock Draft - May 22

2014 NFL Mock Draft - May 21

Charlie's 2014 NFL Mock Draft - May 20

NFL Picks - Feb. 3

2012: Live 2012 NFL Draft Blog - April 26
2012 NFL Week 1 Recap - Sept. 10
2012 NFL Week 2 Recap - Sept. 17
2012 NFL Week 3 Recap - Sept. 24
2012 NFL Week 4 Recap - Oct. 1
2012 NFL Week 5 Recap - Oct. 8
2012 NFL Week 6 Recap - Oct. 15
2012 NFL Week 7 Recap - Oct. 22
2012 NFL Week 8 Recap - Oct. 29
2012 NFL Week 9 Recap - Nov. 5
2012 NFL Week 10 Recap - Nov. 12
2012 NFL Week 11 Recap - Nov. 19
2012 NFL Week 12 Recap - Nov. 26
2012 NFL Week 13 Recap - Dec. 3
2012 NFL Week 14 Recap - Dec. 10
2012 NFL Week 15 Recap - Dec. 17
2012 NFL Week 16 Recap - Dec. 24
2012 NFL Week 17 Recap - Dec. 31
2012 NFL Week 18 Recap - Jan. 7
2012 NFL Week 19 Recap - Jan. 14
2012 NFL Week 20 Recap - Jan. 21
Super Bowl XLVII Recap - Feb. 4
Super Bowl XLVII Live Blog - Feb. 4

2011: Live 2011 NFL Draft Blog - April 28
2011 NFL Week 1 Recap - Sept. 12
2011 NFL Week 2 Recap - Sept. 19
2011 NFL Week 3 Recap - Sept. 26
2011 NFL Week 4 Recap - Oct. 3
2011 NFL Week 5 Recap - Oct. 10
2011 NFL Week 6 Recap - Oct. 17
2011 NFL Week 7 Recap - Oct. 24
2011 NFL Week 8 Recap - Oct. 31
2011 NFL Week 9 Recap - Nov. 7
2011 NFL Week 10 Recap - Nov. 14
2011 NFL Week 11 Recap - Nov. 21
2011 NFL Week 12 Recap - Nov. 28
2011 NFL Week 13 Recap - Dec. 5
2011 NFL Week 14 Recap - Dec. 12
2011 NFL Week 15 Recap - Dec. 19
2011 NFL Week 16 Recap - Dec. 26
2011 NFL Week 17 Recap - Jan. 2
2011 NFL Week 18 Recap - Jan. 9
2011 NFL Week 19 Recap - Jan. 16
2011 NFL Week 20 Recap - Jan. 23
Super Bowl XLVI Live Blog - Feb. 6

2010: Live 2010 NFL Draft Blog - April 22
2010 Hall of Fame Game Live Blog - Aug. 8
2010 NFL Kickoff Live Blog - Sept. 9
2010 NFL Week 1 Review - Sept. 13
2010 NFL Week 2 Review - Sept. 20
2010 NFL Week 3 Review - Sept. 27
2010 NFL Week 4 Review - Oct. 4
2010 NFL Week 5 Review - Oct. 11
2010 NFL Week 6 Review - Oct. 18
2010 NFL Week 7 Review - Oct. 25
2010 NFL Week 8 Review - Nov. 1
2010 NFL Week 9 Review - Nov. 8
2010 NFL Week 10 Review - Nov. 15
2010 NFL Week 11 Review - Nov. 22
2010 NFL Week 12 Review - Nov. 29
2010 NFL Week 13 Review - Dec. 6
2010 NFL Week 14 Review - Dec. 13
2010 NFL Week 15 Review - Dec. 20
2010 NFL Week 16 Review - Dec. 27
2010 NFL Week 17 Review - Jan. 3
2010 NFL Week 18 Review - Jan. 10
2010 NFL Week 19 Review - Jan. 17
2010 NFL Week 19 Review - Jan. 24
Super Bowl XLV Live Blog - Feb. 6

2009: Live 2009 NFL Draft Blog - April 25
2009 Hall of Fame Game Live Blog - Aug. 10
2009 NFL Kickoff Live Blog - Sept. 10
2009 NFL Week 1 Review - Sept. 14
2009 NFL Week 2 Review - Sept. 21
2009 NFL Week 3 Review - Sept. 28
2009 NFL Week 4 Review - Oct. 5
2009 NFL Week 5 Review - Oct. 12
2009 NFL Week 6 Review - Oct. 19
2009 NFL Week 7 Review - Oct. 26
2009 NFL Week 8 Review - Nov. 2
2009 NFL Week 9 Review - Nov. 9
2009 NFL Week 10 Review - Nov. 16
2009 NFL Week 11 Review - Nov. 23
2009 NFL Week 12 Review - Nov. 30
2009 NFL Week 13 Review - Dec. 6
2009 NFL Week 14 Review - Dec. 13
2009 NFL Week 15 Review - Dec. 20
2009 NFL Week 16 Review - Dec. 27
2009 NFL Week 17 Review - Jan. 4
2009 NFL Week 18 Review - Jan. 11
2009 NFL Week 19 Review - Jan. 18
2009 NFL Week 20 Review - Jan. 25
Super Bowl XLIV Live Blog - Feb. 7

2008: Live 2008 NFL Draft Blog - April 26
2008 NFL Kickoff Blog - Sept. 4
NFL Week 1 Review - Sept. 8
NFL Week 2 Review - Sept. 15
NFL Week 3 Review - Sept. 22
NFL Week 4 Review - Sept. 29
NFL Week 5 Review - Oct. 6
NFL Week 6 Review - Oct. 13
NFL Week 7 Review - Oct. 20
NFL Week 8 Review - Oct. 27
NFL Week 9 Review - Nov. 3
NFL Week 10 Review - Nov. 10
NFL Week 11 Review - Nov. 17
NFL Week 12 Review - Nov. 24
NFL Week 13 Review - Dec. 1
NFL Week 14 Review - Dec. 8
NFL Week 15 Review - Dec. 15
NFL Week 16 Review - Dec. 22
NFL Week 17 Review - Dec. 29
NFL Wild Card Playoffs Review - Jan. 4
NFL Divisional Playoffs Review - Jan. 11
NFL Championship Sunday Review - Jan. 19
Super Bowl XLIII Live Blog

2007: NFL Draft: Day 1 Review Blog - April 28
Quarterback Rankings - June 25
NFL Kickoff Blog - Sept. 6
Chief Carl Has Lost a Step - Sept. 9
The NFL Cheated the Patriots - Sept. 16
NFL Week 3 Wrap-Up - Sept. 23
NFL Week 4 Wrap-Up - Sept. 30
NFL Week 5 Wrap-Up - Oct. 7
NFL Week 6 Wrap-Up - Oct. 14
NFL Week 7 Wrap-Up - Oct. 21
NFL Week 8 Wrap-Up - Oct. 28
NFL Week 9 Wrap-Up - Nov. 4
NFL Week 10 Wrap-Up - Nov. 11
NFL Week 11 Wrap-Up - Nov. 18
NFL Week 12 Wrap-Up - Nov. 25
NFL Week 13 Wrap-Up - Dec. 2
NFL Week 14 Wrap-Up - Dec. 9
NFL Week 15 Wrap-Up - Dec. 16
NFL Week 16 Wrap-Up - Dec. 23
NFL Week 17 Wrap-Up - Dec. 30
NFL Week 18 Wrap-Up - Jan. 6
NFL Week 19 Wrap-Up - Jan. 13
2008 Championship Sunday Diary - Jan. 20
Super Bowl XLII Live Blog - Feb. 3

2010 NFL Week 19 Game Recaps

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