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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Steve
12-19-2011
07:51 pm
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Check out www.BlairHattonPicks.com for the MNF Pick, and College Bowl games starting tomorrow night!!
bitterjetsfan
12-19-2011
04:26 pm
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I hope that Tanny gets taken to task for the piss poor state that he has left the Jets OL in this season.
Joe Flacco is a bum
12-19-2011
11:53 am
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J Flack nearly sabotaged EVERYTHING for me. I dont have him but because he sucks, my Ray Rice didnt get a chance for handoffs and San Diego didn't have to pass the ball that often to my Vincent Jackson. Antonio Brown vs. Mike Wallace. How will it end?!
Carlos
12-19-2011
11:05 am
xxx.xxx.xxx9.50
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brees/saints are better than rodgers/packers without greg jennings...
Jesse
12-19-2011
10:19 am
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Walter you obviously don't watch the games. You just read off the drive charts on some other website and put it on yours.
Steve
12-19-2011
05:10 am
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Complete redesign to the site! Viewing all NFL Picks under one tab now! College bowl picks being added...head to www.BlairHattonPicks.com
chuckster
12-16-2011
07:27 pm
xxx.xxx.xxx.200
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@Walter: Great call on the Falcons game. I couldn't pull the trigger even when the birds were -11. Put them in first level of a 5 team 14 point teaser. 4 more to go!! Good luck to all going forward.
klunge
12-16-2011
10:31 am
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Thank you Roddy White! You picked a great time to start realizing your potential. (That's not sarcasm) I squeaked into my playoffs as a wild card because my high picks like Roddy tanked the first half but picked it up just in time the second half. Keep it up!!!
To better odds
12-16-2011
03:56 am
xxx.xxx.xxx.203
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So He doesn't go off of current records when he does his mock draft. He does it by power rankings. so if the Bucs are higher in the power rankings then they draft later. Look at his power rankings, they are above the Panthers still
Elisabeth constantine
12-14-2011
08:54 pm
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Better Odds
12-13-2011
05:34 pm
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I'm gonna post this here because I think it a better chance for you to see this post, Walt. A slight note for your Mock Drafts, the Panthers beat the Bucs. They currently have the same record so that puts the Bucs picking ahead of the Panthers. Might want to change your draft order.
Pete
12-13-2011
04:23 pm
xxx.xxx.xxx0.85
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Where's our monday night recap?
I'd like to see some discussion of BEAST MODE.
Bone
12-13-2011
10:36 am
xxx.xxx.xxx2.34
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Week 15:
Phillip Rivers at home vs. Baltimore (TU) or Cam Newton vs. a stingy Houston D in Texas (TD). THANKS!
brady
12-13-2011
02:49 am
xxx.xxx.xxx.217
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yo guys, what do you think for week 15-
Ryan Matthews v Baltimore run def... (TU) Donald Brown v Tennessee run def... (TD) appreciate any input thx. PEACE
BEASTMODE!
12-13-2011
01:07 am
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