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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Bronson
11-18-2011
06:17 pm
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Sure, Tebow sucks but you can't argue with results. He plays like crap for 95% of the game but to his credit he doesn't turn the ball over and comes through in the clutch. His future may not be at QB but I'm content watching his atrocious QB play/late game heroics until the magic wears off.
masaba
11-18-2011
04:24 pm
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From my vantage point, the Denver defense win this game. Great final drive by Tebow, but he didn't do much until then, whereas the D played lights out all game.
I'm not a Tebow hater, just like to see credit where it is due.
KS
11-18-2011
01:48 pm
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I would like to point out that you correctly picked both Denver to cover and the under. Pretty sure those guys at waltersucks had you in the Walter's Falters for your picks (they had the Jets and the over). Quite amazing that it looks like it has disappeared from that section though...maybe you should have a Walter's Falters Falters section?
EDward
11-18-2011
12:45 pm
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How much fun was that? Seeing "Fat Pig twin Rex's" defense look stupid is great any time but especially when Tebow runs right around Revis and Butthead when everybody knows that's exactly what he's going to do when you blitz him...GREAT!
Lucas
11-18-2011
12:09 pm
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Hey Walt, are we going to get a retraction or something from you regarding Von Miller?
To quote you: "However, he won't be nearly as effective as he would have been in a 3-4." From your draft blog: "And I never said Von Miller can't play in a 4-3. He absolutely can. It's just that his pass-rushing talents will be wasted in the 4-3, and he won't be as effective as he would in the 3-4." 4-3 in Denver and Von Miller has 9.5 sacks through 10 games. He seems just as effective as in the 4-3 as he would be in the 3-4. Looks like you owe Foxy an apology.
Matt
11-18-2011
10:32 am
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Remember when people were saying Ordinary Orton gave them the best chance to win? lol. That was cute.
ben
11-18-2011
10:30 am
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denvers defence has been playing lights out. John Fox got his guy in vonn miller. 10 tackles, 1.5 sacks and a fumble, thats a stat line that wins you games and he does this every week. Its going to be scary how good miller is going to be in 5 years.
Atyamomshouse
11-18-2011
05:49 am
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damn walt...tebow's nuts must be fun to ride because YOUR ALWAYS ON THEM....
everyone who knows football
11-18-2011
04:01 am
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walt ur losing it buddy, no wonder your picks are so bad, von miller and sanchez won this game for denver
Props to Denver's Defense
11-18-2011
03:51 am
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Here's a novel idea. How about we give credit to the guys who really won the game for Denver? The entire defense deserves a round of applause. They dominated Sanchez in the second half (not that it's difficult to do) and scored as many TD's for the Broncos as Tebow and the offense did.
NB4 Tebow Obsession
11-18-2011
03:40 am
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And pray for him? He needs it? Really?
Why does he need people to pray for him? He's playing in the NFL making lots of money. He's living his dream. Is the legit criticism to much for him to take? Is he thin skinned to the point that people saying bad things about his game is giving him a complex? Now if he were fueled by prayer like some Super Jesus Robot then that'd be a reason to pray for him. In fact that'd make him awesome. I'd be a Super Robot Tebow jersey.
NB4 Tebow Obsession
11-18-2011
03:34 am
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I just got to laugh at the Tebow Defense Force. How dare people expect their QB to complete over 50% of his passes and throw for over 120 yards, HATER!
Most peoples problem with Tebow is that he's a mediocre QB who's more or less a less accurate Vince Young without the character concerns. It's an extremely small minority who dislike him as a person. This hater thing is a non-exsistent boogyman created so that Tebow defenders can shout down legitimate criticism of Tebow's game without actually needing to defend him. I usually like Walt's anlaysis, but he'll reach to make excuses for players he likes. That's the only explanation for this conspiricy theory he's come up with. If Fox was trying to make Tebow fail then why would he blow up his offense, when he's notorious FOR NOT changing his system to suit his players, and go to an option attack that hides Tebow's flaws?
NYBigBlue
11-18-2011
03:15 am
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To the Tim Tebow haters.....SUCK IT!!!
Why do people hate him? Because he is not ashamed of his faith? Even Rich Eisen after the game said "Is he for real?" And Marshall Faulk basically laughed at him too. Big props to Deion and Michael Irvin for backing him on being "real". I don't believe for a minute that his faith is an act to get attention. I've heard people compare him to the Pharisees. Those people are fools. He is doing God's will and you have to admire his courage in the midst of all this hate. People are prowling like lions hoping he will say or do something "un-christian" so they can discredit him. Pray for him. He needs it. And thank you Walter! I don't always agree with you, but I have gained some valuable insight from you this year. I have 105 wins now in my pool at work and some of that credit goes to you. Roll on my man! To the Walter haters....SUCK IT!!!
Tom P
11-16-2011
02:27 am
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There is backup fullback Korey Hall...
Sproles Hall Ingram and Thomas... too bad they all don't play for the Browns, that would be hilarious.
Alex
11-15-2011
12:23 am
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The game meant absolutely nothing to the Giants? Guess they will breeze thru the next three weeks PHI, @ NO, GB before their first meeting with a surging Dallas squad that plays Sisters of the Poor, Poly Tech, and Iowa Central the next three weeks. Such clown analysis.
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