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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a redskins fan
11-14-2011
08:32 pm
xxx.xxx.xxx.101
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grossman didnt throw "two horrendous picks" just one the other hankerson slipped on the timing route. i think grossman looked great but that could just because its comparison to the last few weeks.
KyleCleric
11-14-2011
01:05 pm
xxx.xxx.xxx7.43
(total posts: 1)
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The Pats have looked good on D in 5 of the 6 past weeks with the Steelers game being the sole exception (not tha Pats fans got to see it with the power failure).
you're retarted
11-14-2011
12:35 pm
xxx.xxx.xxx.130
(total posts: 1)
599
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so....let me get this straight...
" this contest meant absolutely nothing to the Giants" - if you're going with that lgic, this game meant even less to the 49ers. They had a 5 game division lead going in, the giants had a 2 game lead. "The Giants had a chance to hold their cushion in the East and stay on course for a No. 2 seed in the playoffs" - stay course for the #2 seed? packers: 8-0, 49ers: 7-1, Giants 6-2.....looks like they were on course for the #3 seed. "Still, even with a big edge in time of possessions (34:37 to 25:23) and no Gore to deal with, New York found a way to let this win slip away" - slip away.....right. They were outplayed in every aspect of the game except for the deep pass. Couldn't run, dominated on special teams, gave up 27 points to a "game manager". stop hating. niners are legit
Emmitt's Revenege
11-14-2011
10:15 am
xxx.xxx.xxx6.66
(total posts: 1)
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"They've lost all hope of landing Andrew Luck, and if they don't be careful"
I have most proper english so I be the one to cast first stone.... Take your licks Walt
Hahahaha
11-14-2011
10:01 am
xxx.xxx.xxx8.33
(total posts: 1)
170
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This game meant absolutely nothing to the Giants? Are you for real? The winner of the game to move into the #2 seed in the NFC and hold the tiebreaker over the other? Holding a 2-game lead over the Cowboys in the NFC East? Yeah, none of that meant anything to the Giants. I'm not even sure why they played their starters. Why won't anyone give the 49ers their due credit? They have an 8-1 record and have only played one opponent from the NFC West.
Please explain...
11-14-2011
09:54 am
xxx.xxx.xxx0.32
(total posts: 2)
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(Editor's Note: I don't want to take anything away from the 49ers because they're playing great football right now, but this contest meant absolutely nothing to the Giants.)
Absolutely nothing? So... the Giants don't care about a first round bye and home field advantage in the 2nd Round? This was a HUGE loss for them. Instead of tied with SF for the #2 seed they are now two back and SF has the tiebreaker. They have no chance to catch them now given the 49ers easy schedule going forward.
frett barve
11-14-2011
09:13 am
xxx.xxx.xxx4.57
(total posts: 1)
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Charlie's writeups are too long and clinical! Be more concise dude!
ben hardy
11-11-2011
11:03 pm
xxx.xxx.xxx.219
(total posts: 2)
27
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i just worked it out, its a game of thrones reference
ben hardy
11-11-2011
10:59 pm
xxx.xxx.xxx.219
(total posts: 2)
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why do you call phillip rivers "The bastard of the Trident"?
bigtrip
11-11-2011
12:13 pm
xxx.xxx.xxx2.60
(total posts: 1)
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I know the QB gets all the credit for wins and most of the blame when his team loses, but let's be fair. The Charger receivers can't get open. Gates looks to be either still hurt or washed up. And that OL is terrible. Palmer played all night and was only pressured 2 or 3 times. On those limited pressures he threw an int. and fumbled. If he would have faced the constant pressure that Rivers faced he may have turned the ball over 5 or 6 times. The game was decided by the OL's. The Raiders OL was much much better than the Chargers OL and the Raiders won.
Matt
11-11-2011
09:38 am
xxx.xxx.xxx2.43
(total posts: 4)
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Why do you assume that punt/pass rule will be changed? It's actually a great rule that makes perfect sense. The defender assumes the punt is happening so his mindset is going to be to just block and assault the gunner the entire way, which is what he is coached to do and should do. It's unfair if he is doing his job perfectly and a pass comes falling near him and he gets called for interference.
Basically, it's impossible for the defender to focus on the gunner and preventing him from getting downfield all the while looking back at the punter and worrying about a pass coming his way and getting flagged for interference.
@ Walt
11-11-2011
08:08 am
xxx.xxx.xxx00.9
(total posts: 1)
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"When a team fakes a punt and throws the ball downfield, pass interference will not be called on the two outside defenders who are actually trying to block a coverage man from getting downfield and might not even know the ball has been thrown."
Rule was added for before the 1997 season according to Wikipedia. Strangely enough I had just read this on Wednesday. When it happened I said to my friend 'that's not pass interference because Jammer is really defending the gunner in a punt formation'
Jared - Champaign, IL
11-08-2011
01:28 pm
xxx.xxx.xxx.223
(total posts: 1)
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How is no one talking about the officiating in the Bears-Eagles game? I'm neither a Bears nor an Eagles fan, but Philly got screwed over time after time.
The pass interference on the throw to Knox late, the bogus roughing the passer that gave the bears a first down on the three instead of fourth down on the six. There were a few others too that just left me shaking my head. Obviously the Eagles still had opportunities they didn't take advantage of, but the refs killed them.
someone was high
11-08-2011
01:51 am
xxx.xxx.xxx.174
(total posts: 1)
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On Pete Carroll's post game show, the interviewer discussed Tarvaris Jackson, and stated that "we aren't used to seeing Jackson throwing interceptions like that". I nearly died laughing LOL.
larry
11-07-2011
08:01 pm
xxx.xxx.xxx.177
(total posts: 2)
19
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eagles -9 bc bears suk
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