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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Rob
10-10-2011
11:50 am
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you didnt mention anything about the bills in that write up. everything was about the eagles. o well. everyone can keep ignoring what the bills are doing good and always talk about what the other teams are doing wrong.
Patrick
10-10-2011
11:24 am
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Bogus non cover? really? Had denver finished out with orton, who you expected to play the whole game when making your predictions, they would have LOST BY 16!!!!
db
10-10-2011
11:02 am
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yeah, the chargers only outgained denver by 150 yards, bogus non-cover.
Lance
10-10-2011
10:24 am
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Well, I think I'll punch Mike Mularkey in the face if I ever run into him. By far the worst coordinator in the league. He went all out in the first two drives against the Packers by finally calling screens and slant routes but then remembered he's supposed to be as predictable as possible and to make the offense as unbalanced as humanly possible.
Wirst Coach ever
10-10-2011
10:22 am
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@Vince: yes, the Chargers won but WE lost (all the people who had money on the Broncos ATS).
And not running the ball on the first two downs at the own 20 with about 3 minutes left was incredibly stupid by Norv Turner. If Rivers doesn't complete the 3rd and 10 you give the red hot Tebow the ball with more than 3 minutes left. So this time Norv wasn't punished for his stupidity, but he eventually will. With Norv on the sideline the Chargers stand no chance whatsoever against a well-coached team in the playoffs. Mark my words!
Ron
10-10-2011
09:35 am
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Has anyone noticed that referee Jerome Boger sounds like he took lessons from Emmitt Smith on how to debacle the english language?
Help!
10-10-2011
08:09 am
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"Matt Cassel really deserves a lot of credit for this win."
What the hell did you do with Walter?! Walter would never write something positive about Matt Cassel. Someone call the FBI and put in for a missing persons for Walter.
Mark Hogan
10-10-2011
07:15 am
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Come on Walt!!! T he refs had a stake in this game???? Be more professional!!
Lucas
10-10-2011
06:11 am
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It's finally Tebow time! What should've happened 4 and a half weeks ago is finally here. Finally my Broncos have a shot at winning some ball games. Finally!
Vince
10-10-2011
05:29 am
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What was the second bogus personal foul? And the one that 'left the announcers befuddled' actually was legit. The ref announced "Hit on a defenseless receiver." When CBS showed the replay, at the top of the screen, you could just barely see Vincent Jackson, turned around and watching the pass to Floyd I think it was, and you could see a safety come from behind him and drill him to the ground, hitting him in the back. I think it was #26 on Denver. But I don't recall the other personal foul you're speaking of.
@Wirst Coach ever: I tend to agree that Norv Turner isn't a good coach, but what are you talking about? The Chargers won, last time I checked. If you're referring to why the Broncos lost the Chargers game, how could it have been Turner's playcalling? Orton was a much more obvious target.
Wirst Coach ever
10-10-2011
04:22 am
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Hi Walt,
Just wanted to point out the main reason why we lost the Chargers game - the atrocious play calling by Norv Turner. With around 3 minutes left for no reason whatsoever he decided to throw the ball twice on the first two downs instead of running it to keep the clock going. Of course both passes were incomplete. Only because of this absolute horrible play calling the Chargers were forced to try the filed goal instead of just running down the clock. I'm really looking forward to unloading against Norv Turner in the playoffs, when his idiotic play calling once again will kill the Chargers.
Dear Dan
10-10-2011
03:58 am
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Technically they had 1 but it was offset by another Denver Personal foul
Refs Suck
10-10-2011
03:57 am
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I'm glad I wasn't the only one watching the Broncos and seeing all those phantom calls. 2 personal fours that were not there FML.
On the plus side looks like Orton will ride the bench now, its #TebowTime. When Tebow was on the field the Broncos technically won. 14-6. Imagine if tebow had played the whole time. I would be fine with Orton if he showed that he actually wanted to play. But honestly to me it looks as though he just wants to get paid. Tebow is a gamer and has someting that Orton doesn't leadership and a passion for the game.
Dan
10-10-2011
02:29 am
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San Diego had 0 penalties on them
nycsportzfan
10-04-2011
08:13 am
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Whats up with Shady mccoy getting 9carries? The guys one of the best in the league and your giving goal line carries to Scmitt and ronnie brown? It cracks me up when teams call on guys who stink to much to be starters the ball in crucial situations LOL Why would u not give the ball to your best player every time u get close to the endzone? If i was Shady i would be heated!
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