Week 18 NFL Game Recaps
Texans 31, Bengals 10
The Bengals also went three-and-out to start because Andy Dalton missed a wide-open Cedric Benson on a 3rd-and-2. It was clear at that point that the team to quit making dumb, mental errors would be the one to prevail. And that was Houston.
Cincinnati continuously shot itself in the foot. Marvin Lewis had one of the worst challenges of all time in the first half when he threw a red flag to review a spot that would have been the difference between 3rd-and-1 and 1st-and-10. It's not like the extra inch he wanted would have prevented a punting situation; he lost the challenge and then promptly moved the chains on the next play. This was a big deal because Lewis challenged again later in the first half. He lost that one as well, giving him no reviews after intermission.
The Bengals also wasted a timeout on the third play of the third quarter because Dalton couldn't hear the play. Houston's crowd did a great job of getting up for its first playoff contest with this new franchise.
Dalton had an up-and-down performance overall. He made some nice throws, and his yardage figures don't account for a 50-yard pass-interference penalty to A.J. Green, who beat Glover Quin. However, Dalton missed some open receivers downfield, and the aforementioned third pick was poorly thrown to Danieal Manning.
First of all, Hammond looked like a clown. Like an actual clown. I don't know what his makeup artists were thinking or trying to hide. Forum member FTM commented, "Is Tom Hammond a puppet from Team America? That is not a human face."
His commentary was more comical, as he mispronounced players' names all night, from Glover Quin to Danieal Manning. He even called Matt Schaub "Matt Shoob." Fortunately, Hammond is done doing football for the year, as he'll be moving on to the boring Olympics next week.
Saints 45, Lions 28
Apparently not. Different game, same result. We can now confirm the Saints are 17 points better than the Lions.
The Saints, however, got their act together in the second half. Brees was unstoppable, going 33-of-43 for 466 yards and three touchdowns. The team didn't even punt. In fact, New Orleans set a playoff record for most net yards in a single game with 626.
Of course, it didn't help the Lions' cause that they continuously blew coverages and whiffed on tackles. It's amazing how many times Brees' targets were open downfield. And I know Detroit struggled versus the run all year, but making Pierre Thomas (8-66, TD) and Chris Ivory (13-47) look like Beast Mode was inexcusable. Thomas also caught six balls for 55 receiving yards.
Giants 24, Falcons 2
Atlanta was 0-for-3 in short yardage in this contest. They went for it on fourth-and-inches on the New York 25 on the first play of the second quarter of a scoreless game. They tried to sneak it, but failed. Luckily, they were still able to establish a lead on an ensuing safety in which Eli Manning was whistled for intentional grounding in his own end zone.
The other two miscues were much more damaging. Down 10-2 at the end of the third quarter, Atlanta attempted another another sneak from the Giants' 20. Ryan was stuffed, and the entire Falcon sideline reportedly was completely deflated. Three plays later, Manning hit Hakeem Nicks for a 72-yard touchdown, blowing this contest open.
Michael Turner was stuffed on 3rd-and-1 on the ensuing possession. The Falcons had to punt, and New York would find the end zone a few minutes later.
The two New York scores put the game out of reach, but you have to wonder what would have happened if Atlanta opted for the field goals. With two successful kicks, the team would have trailed 10-8, and the players wouldn't have been sulking on the bench.
Remember when I said that Atlanta could have been down 10-8 with two kicks? Well, if Smith used a timeout and his team was able to drive down to field-goal range, the Falcons could have led 11-10 at the end of the third quarter. It's amazing how significant inept coaching decisions can be in an NFL game.
Despite the drops, White still caught five balls for 52 yards. Julio Jones was better statistically (7-64). Poor Tony Gonzalez, who still hasn't won a playoff game in his Hall-of-Fame career, had just four grabs for 44 yards.
1. As I tweeted (@walterfootball), "Congratulations to FOX for the first ever commercial-one play-commercial-punt-commercial series."
Seriously, I can't believe FOX pull this. We often see commercial-kickoff-commercial, but I don't ever recall seeing two plays sandwiched in between three ad breaks.
2. I also tweeted this in the fourth quarter: "Since 1989, only one team has ever finished with 2 points in a game. That was the 1993 Bengals, who lost to the Patriots, 7-2."
Well, you can now add the Falcons into that dubious category.
3. My senior editor pointed out that at one point during the second half, Troy Aikman said, "Matt Ryan incompleted it."
What's up with the grammar issues from all the 90s Cowboy players?
Broncos 29, Steelers 23
No one gave Denver a chance. Bill Simmons, whom I'm a fan of, called the Broncos the worst team to ever make the playoffs. Cris Carter and Keyshawn Johnson predictably called for a Pittsburgh blowout. Several ESPN and CBS analysts stubbornly opined that they wouldn't even score a touchdown.
That certainly looked like the case when Denver mustered just eight yards of offense in the first quarter. Offensive coordinator Mike McCoy had some of the worst and most predictable play-calling I had ever seen. He called for runs on all three first downs in the opening period, and Tebow was in second-and-long as a result each time.
Things really changed after that though. Just a bit, right? Tim Tebow, whom many suggested could be benched in favor of Brady Quinn because he had struggled the past two weeks, completed many deep, accurate bombs downfield. He had just five completions at halftime, but four of them were for 30, 40, 58 and 41 yards. Not included in that were a Demaryius Thomas drop inside the 5-yard line and an Eric Decker 21-yard apparent catch that was overturned after a Pittsburgh challenge.
The Broncos led throughout, beginning in the second quarter, but it looked like they might lose this playoff battle late in the fourth quarter and overtime. The ironic thing was it would have been everyone's fault but Tebow's. Willis McGahee (19-61) fumbled at midfield prior to Pittsburgh's game-tying drive. The defense struggled to stop a hobbled Ben Roethlisberger, including Champ Bailey, who dropped an interception that went right through his hands right before Big Ben hit Jerricho Cotchery for the tying score.
I was so frustrated on the forums that I half-joked that the Pittsburgh players were idiots for calling tails during the overtime coin toss because it was clear the ref had a two-headed coin.
My playoff 2011 NFL Power Rankings, will be posted Monday morning.
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Spraynard
01-21-2013
09:31 pm
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After every Ravens playoff win Walt has done nothing but make excuses for why the other team dropped the ball and lost rather than why the Ravens won. Ever think that beating Luck then going on the road to beat Manning and then going on the road again to beat Brady might just mean something else is going on besides the opponents messing up? Give credit where credit is due and stop making excuses.
Big C
01-21-2013
08:45 pm
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I hate to say I told you so, but I did tell you so. The Patriots offense is such a gimmicky, tricky-dicky system that thrives on mistakes and mis alignment. I knew the 2nd half was going to be a problem for the Patriots when they threw every razzle-dazzle play in the book at the Ravens in the 1st half. Plus they aren't build for the physical game the Ravens were going to play. You're damn right Brady quit, he threw that ball away and still got hit. If he'd have kept running, not only would Ngata have stopped him short (uhh he's way faster than Brady) but I promise his night would have ended right there. But this was going to happen. The Ravens have a lot of Talent and the Patriots have a lot of tricks and play in a weak division.
Josh
01-21-2013
05:53 pm
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Even if Brady had gotten the 4 yards, Haloti would have made him pay for it. They were still behind, and they wouldn't be able to come back anyway with a flattened Brady.
Ridley
01-21-2013
04:28 pm
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Ridley lowered his head to deliver the hit/run over Pollard, though....
Zach
01-21-2013
03:09 pm
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The patriots got a few lucky calls
The hit on pitta over the middle: if that wasnt a hit on a defenseless receiver then I don't know what is, if that was Bernard pollard instead of mayo there would have been 9 flag on the field. Ed Reed also got hit on a fair catch and there was no call there. But we're on to the Super Bowl Go ravens! Ps Walt that was a very short recap in which you talked about what the patriots Didnt do rather than what the ravens did do.
f**ing retards
01-21-2013
12:11 pm
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I'm mad because walter is horrible but I comment every week on every single one of his awful articles. I only come to this site to make fun of walter because I have nothing better to do with my life. I hate his analysis and he has nothing good to say...yet here I am...ebonnnnyyyyy and ivooorrryyyyy
AMD
01-21-2013
10:53 am
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Give the Ravens defense the credit it deserves Walter. They beat Manning and Brady on the road in consecutive playoff games. Admittedly this is not the dominant Ravens defense we have seen much of the past decade, but they still got it done when it mattered most.
New England averaged 35 points a game. Baltimore SHUT THEM OUT at home in the second half.
Run-DMG
01-21-2013
10:06 am
xxx.xxx.xxx4.11
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It's time to trade Peytom Branning. He completely melts down come playoff time nowadays.
Sampetra
01-21-2013
09:58 am
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@ Run-DMG
There was nothing dirty about the hit on Ridley. Hard hit? Yes. Dirty? No.
Run-DMG
01-21-2013
09:39 am
xxx.xxx.xxx4.11
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Pollard needs to be suspended before he ends someone's career or kills them. He's not a monster; he's a dirty punk.
Sherm13
01-21-2013
08:52 am
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On what planet is Patrick Ching's injury considered "key"?
He is terrible, a penalty machine on special teams an is behind Gregory and Wilson on the depth chart. Chung will be gone anyway after the season and has been completely useless this year.
Jimmy the Duke
01-21-2013
03:29 am
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So I wonder what the over-under is going to be on the number of times analysts say "Harbowl" over the next two weeks? even if it is 4 million Id still bet on over...
Adam C
01-20-2013
11:46 pm
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That NFC Championship was mostly due to the 49ers defense not Colin Kaepernick.
Walter's Ravens Patriots Recap
01-20-2013
11:31 pm
xxx.xxx.xxx1.43
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The Ravens are clearly the worst team in football. Look at all the things that had to happen for them to win.
-- The officiating sucked. The Patriots were flagged for 4 penalties. If it was called properly the Ravens would have had 190 yards worth. -- The instant replay was also flawed. Clearly the Patriots never really turned the ball over, these should have been overturned. -- The weather was clearly a factor. Tom Brady was clearly out of his element. -- 2 of Baltimore's 3 touchdowns should not have counted because I bet on New England, but Vegas rigged the game anyway. -- Finally, aliens changed the outcome by using mind control on Bill Belichick. Basically the Ravens suck and should have lost about 48-2. Next week they will lose by at least that much.
Stupid Articles
01-14-2013
11:26 pm
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Ravens-Broncos analysis summary - Officiating went ravens way (boy, who didn't expect that from Walt), Flacco's big day was only because of Bailey (he is not the only DB on the field you know)
^ More BS excuses from "I bet against the ravens again" Walt |
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