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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Sense
11-28-2011
05:46 am
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Hey Nonsense, the Broncos recap was written by Charlie Campbell, not Walt. Labeling people who point out that Tebow wins despite his flaws does you no cretit.
Nonsense?
11-28-2011
04:37 am
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Hey Walt, your Teboner is showing.
Tebow sucks as a passer, that's common sense. Thus far he's proven that he can hand the ball off and not lose games for his team, also he can win if his defense holds his opponents to under 17 points. G.O.A.T status i'm sure. Labeling people who point out the obvious as "haters" does you no credit.
Matt Moore Good?
11-25-2011
07:18 pm
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No, just no. He missed open recievers all game, and on that Brandon Marshall throw he massively underthrew the ball and if not for Brandon Marshall making an amazing catch that pass is incomplete.
He's a backup QB a best who looks good because the guy before him was Chad Henne. If the Dolphins really try to roll with him as a starter they'll remain in the purgatory of being a 7 to 9 win team for longer. If they've got a chance to get a franchise QB they need to take it.
Doug
11-25-2011
07:02 pm
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I keep seeing people spout of these ridiculous conspiracy theories. What is the NFL's motivation in wanting to keep Green Bay undefeated?
Take the Ewing conspiracy theory. Though ridiculous, the NBA would have motivation to give the Knicks the first pick, because having a visible star in the biggest market in the league is a positive. How does the NFL benefit from the Packers being undefeated? I need more of a reason than you're rooting against Green Bay and you don't like the calls.
Kev
11-25-2011
11:51 am
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That officiating in the Packers-Lions game was a complete joke. I hate conspiracies but I'm honestly starting to think the refs are trying to help the Packers go 16-0. Every time the Packers get in trouble there's some BS pass interference or roughing the passer call. Last weeks Bucs-Packers game was the exact same way. The Bucs corners were getting called for next to nothing while Charles Woodson was mugging receivers all day long. It's absolutely ridiculous.
Tony
11-25-2011
01:46 am
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Hey Walt, error in your Pack/Lions review.
"The killer, however, happened after the Lions forced the Lions into a field goal in the third quarter."
JT
11-22-2011
03:41 am
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Phillip Rivers is the Lebron James of the NFL. Amazing gifted talent that chokes when the pressure becomes too much!
db
11-21-2011
11:27 pm
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lol @ the panthers being the "right" side. you're right, there was NO WAY carolina's stingy defense could possibly give up 5 td passes to one of the most explosive offenses in the league. I mean who could have seen that coming?
larry
11-21-2011
03:24 pm
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panther's loss was FUKKKKKKKKKKED up. sorry walter, i had that one too.
Jason
11-21-2011
01:56 pm
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Hey walt thanks for the craptastic picks this week..I will say this at least looking at how much money you lost makes me feel better about losing 600 this week.
Denver Phin Phan
11-21-2011
01:51 pm
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Maybe I was right after ripping Walt about his preseason fish prediction. He said they'd "give up" on their "lame duck" coach. They've anyting but given up. Turning around an 0-7 start shows a lot of heart, even if they're playing themselves out of the Luckstakes. But after what I saw of Luck this weekend against Oregon, he's way overrated and should be behind Barkley in the mock drafts...
Nick B
11-20-2011
07:42 pm
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Greg Cox's game recaps suck! Walter and Charlies are 10x better!
chuckster
11-19-2011
07:31 pm
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Great call Walter!! I believe your bad karma is just about over. That Panthers pick? Ballsy brother!!!!
PhillyGreen
11-18-2011
09:34 pm
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Yea Tebow and all the other poor Christians suffer from so much persecution in this country. Give me a break dude. If he was praying to Allah after TD's you might be on to something.
Tebow has a crappy throwing motion and unorthodox style yet gets ridiculous amounts of coverage on ESPN. The more coverage someone undeservingly gets, the more haters he will have.
NYBigBlue
11-18-2011
07:02 pm
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We all know Tebow is not a very good QB. I certainly wouldn't take him over Eli. There's absolutely nothing wrong with criticizing his play, and it is easy to criticize. I don't think everyone that criticizes him is a hater. But if you don't think there are a lot of people out there that mock him for his faith, you aren't paying attention. People have mocked him since college. He does not need prayer so he can score more touchdowns or be able to throw the ball effectively, he needs prayer to help keep him grounded, stay true to the faith, and to continue to be courageous even in adversity. A lot of people would love to see him falter. Those are the haters I refer to. There are a lot of people in this country that despise Christianity. And they would love nothing more than for Tim Tebow to be discredited. He obviously doesn't have thin skin. He's been through this in college. But, he is on a much, much bigger stage now.
A prayer fueled super Jesus robot? Interesting concept. And you guys are right about Denver's defense. They were awesome. Although, I'm not sure how much of that was the Jets just sucking. |
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