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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Andrew S
12-12-2011
07:06 pm
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Cliff Avril jumping offside wasn't "inexplicable." The ball was already on the 2 yard line and there were 9 seconds left, everyone for the Vikings was at the line ready to snap the ball. If he waits a split second he sacks Webb before he spikes the ball and the game is over. It was really close, it was a no risk/high reward play mostly because there was still 9!!! seconds on the clock. If there were like 1 or 2 then, yes I would say dumb, but it would have been a hero play had he timed it properly.
LMFAO
12-12-2011
03:37 pm
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People still blaming Flacco's mistakes on every single other person they can possibly find. It's all just too hilarious. The fact that he "threaded" a ball where the most defenders were is the whole point. He had other options that weren't being double/triple covered.
And if he didn't like any of those options... taking a knee and settling for a field goal is much better than trying to squeeze a pass into that kind of coverage and turning the ball over.
Felton
12-12-2011
02:46 pm
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Tennessee's last 4 games:
17-23 23-17 23-17 17-22
LOL
12-12-2011
01:14 pm
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Jason Pierre Paul was on the Pro Bowl ballot on sunday when i checked
klunge
12-12-2011
11:29 am
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The assertion that Webb's fumble occured because he got facemasked it not true, watch the video before coming up with sweeping statements like this. The ball was already out of his hands prior to the penalty.
Regardless, the Lions have been subjected to more bogus calls & non-calls than anyone over the last couple seasons so to those who aren't inclined to forgive, that's OK because we aren't sorry.
Mike
12-12-2011
09:40 am
xxx.xxx.xxx4.31
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Flacco's pick wasn't a bad red zone decision. It was one of the loveliest passes he's ever thrown, he threaded a tiny needle between two defenders to Boldin, but he didn't even try to catch it (took his eyes off the ball cuz he was scared of the defender over the top). If he even gets his hands on it at all it's not a pick. That one's all on Boldin's complete lack of effort. The guy has some serious alligator arms this year.
Hey Walt!
12-11-2011
08:45 pm
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Remember to breath while choking down Tebow's dick this week.
@ jack and Lou
12-09-2011
06:39 pm
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You guys should know by now that it's always a fluke when Walt loses a bet.
Jack
12-09-2011
03:42 pm
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You can't be serious. McCoy got within a half a yard of the end zone and Cleveland blew an easy TD chance there, and then Massaquoi dropped a TD later in the 1st half. Pittsburgh is lucky they WON, let alone covered 14 points!
Lou
12-09-2011
01:10 pm
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Hey Walt, don't forget that McCoy should've scored a TD in that opening drive where he was down at like an inch from the goal line, so I wouldn't necessarily agree that Pitt should've covered easily.
chuckster
12-09-2011
12:27 pm
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@Walter: Tough break on the Steelers last night. Should have covered easily. You also mistakenly have put zero loss on that game for yourself, if I'm not mistaken 2 units with a loss should come out to -$220. Hope you can turn it around this Sunday buddy. Congrats on the small winner with the Under call. UNDER was the play last night, hands down.
The Only Jags Fan
12-09-2011
11:30 am
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@Wesley C, I always tuned in every Friday expecting Link to go Roethlisberger on the Princess.
Gong Kong
12-09-2011
10:52 am
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Browns are truly a "Factory of Sadness"
WRs are trash, no RB to speak of, QB is weak armed, and coaching is absolutely pathetic. Shurmur should have never been hired and now should be fired, but it won't happen for another year. Compare him to Harbaugh or any other good young coach. Its sad. No brains, no fire, no x's and o's advantage, no crazy Martz like factor, no nothing, no advantage anywhere as a Head Coach. Sad Sad Sad Sad Sad Sad
Brandon
12-06-2011
03:07 pm
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Hey Walt, can you please stop having Greg Cox do the recaps for the 49ers games? He's boring and somehow even less knowledgeable about football than you.
Joe
12-06-2011
02:18 pm
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"But I doubt the stubborn fools on ESPN... will want to give Tebow any sort of credit for this victory."
Are you KIDDING me? Have you watched ESPN for 10 seconds in the past two months? They won't shut up about him. They do NOTHING but give Tebow credit for everything that happens on the field. |
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