Week 20 NFL Game Recaps
Patriots 23, Ravens 20
Of course, Cundiff shouldn't have been in that position anyway because Joe Flacco threw a game-winning touchdown to Lee Evans two plays earlier. Unfortunately for Baltimore, Evans couldn't hang on to the football, as Sterling Moore, who was on the practice squad earlier in the year, knocked the ball out of his hands. Moore saved the season for Tom Brady, who has now tied John Elway for most Super Bowl appearances (5) and Joe Montana for most playoff victories (16). If Brady wins in two weeks, it's an easy argument to say that he's the best quarterback in NFL history.
Brady will obviously need to play better in the Super Bowl because his defense isn't good enough to carry the team. If Moore doesn't knock the ball out of Evans' hands, the Patriots would have surrendered a game-winning drive to Joe freaking Flacco. That says it all.
Flacco deserves a ton of credit for this near-victory because he was handicapped by Cam Cameron's atrocious play-calling. Cameron decided to run the ball on first down on the opening three drives, putting Flacco in second-and-long each time. The Ravens consequently had to punt on all three occasions.
Cameron's play-calling would improve, but he really screwed up on the penultimate drive of the fourth quarter. He had Ray Rice run a draw on 3rd-and-3 on the New England 30 - a down in which the Ravens couldn't lose yardage no matter what. Rice was tackled three yards behind the line of scrimmage, forcing Baltimore to go for it on 4th-and-6. Flacco would throw incomplete because of pressure.
If I'm Cameron, I'm sending Cundiff a gift basket (and perhaps a suitcase full of money) because if the kicker doesn't whiff on that field goal, Cameron would have been the easy scapegoat.
Ed Dickson, meanwhile, really struggled. He had a big drop and was guilty of a crucial false start in the fourth quarter.
Giants 20, 49ers 17
Seriously, how big was Ginn's knee injury? If he's in the game, the 49ers don't muff a punt and fumble a return in overtime. You really have to feel for Kyle Williams. Unlike Billy Cundiff, Williams' main job isn't returning punts. He was in the game because Ginn was hurt. That doesn't excuse his two crucial mistakes that led to 10 New York points, but if you're comparing Williams to Cundiff, it's no contest. The kicker was more responsible.
Manning went 32-of-58 for 316 yards and two touchdowns. That's an impressive stat line considering the immense pressure he was under. He seldom had time in the pocket and took six sacks (2.5 from Ray McDonald). San Francisco's defense definitely came to play.
As for Alex Smith, he was 12-of-26 for 196 yards and two scores. He made a couple of great throws to Vernon Davis, but two things stick out to me. First, he had an open Kyle Williams downfield for a long touchdown in the second quarter, but overthrew him by about five yards. Second, Smith couldn't convert a third down to save his life. He was 1-of-13 in those situations, with the only positive result coming right at the very end of regulation when the Giants allowed him to complete a pass well short of the end zone.
I don't want you to think that Smith is a lost cause or anything. He made great strides this year, and it wouldn't be fair to dismiss him because of this loss, especially after his late-game heroics versus New Orleans. He deserves a chance with more than one weapon to throw to. Vernon Davis was a monster again (3-112, 2 TDs), but no other Niner receiver or tight end did anything. Michael Crabtree caught one ball for three
My playoff 2011 NFL Power Rankings, will be posted Monday morning.
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Miguel
01-14-2013
07:57 pm
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Walt:
You don't have to look for candidates for the Jerks of the Week column elswhere. Take a look to your mirror! 0-4 makes you the obvious candidate this week.
Atwood
01-14-2013
02:08 pm
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Jo you are very ignorant if you think that John Fox would've let Peyton run that last play. Fox is the most conservative coach in the NFL Do you really think that Payton wanted to knee the ball then go to halftime and end the game into overtime? John Fox lost the game for Denver not anybody else
jo
01-14-2013
12:52 pm
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peyton manning was avg. at best. when denver was trying to run out clock and 3rd and 7 y run it? u no peyton woulda been wanted to pass and fox wouldnt have said no so im guessing that peyton had no confidence. a 1st down seals it
#1 Seahawk Fan in NJ
01-14-2013
12:14 pm
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How about the other great commentary moments?
A 16 point lead is a 3 score game Later, if Seattle kicks a field goal to get it to within 17 points - they will only be down by two scores The best was - the final Seahawk drive - suggesting they kick a field goal with 45 seconds left and try an onside kick
Can anybody decipher this?
01-14-2013
11:39 am
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NFL Picks (Week 19, 2012): 0-4 (-$550)
NFL Picks (2012): 128-145-7 (-$5,910)
Aj
01-14-2013
11:13 am
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I am going to thumbs up my own comment
Tom Brady
01-14-2013
10:41 am
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Looking forward to your excuses & bad picks next week Walt.
Oh & Baltimore, it's payback time. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CzQuArTJfIQ No replacement refs are gonna save you this time!
Fading Walt
01-14-2013
09:39 am
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7-1 picking against Walt. I LOVE YOU WALT!
Rodrigo
01-14-2013
07:58 am
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Peyton Manning played amazing until his second interception? What game were you watching? He led the offense to 21 points and his 3 turnovers turned into 17 points for the Ravens. Had he been "amazing" before the pick, the game wouldn't even have gone into overtime.
Hmmm
01-14-2013
04:05 am
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I wonder if John Fox was watching when the Falcons managed to get in FG range with only 30 secs to play with to win the game...
JC
01-13-2013
11:09 pm
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Missed FG opps for Seattle I guess are easy to second guess, but the feel of the game at the time I understood the urgency. It's not like you can predict a team overcoming a 20 point 4th quarter deficit to where those issues mattered. I think Lynch took himself out do to the foot injury on the 3rd and 4th & 1 downs that failed, and on the last plays of the half, I thought Wilson should have spiked it and saved that timeout. The pressure happened so fast he couldn't get rid of the ball, that's why you save a timeout even giving up a down. Not having Clemons or Jason Jones for an already weak road pass rush group was the big difference. A half dozen 30-50 yard bombs on a dime can't always be broken up by Sherman
Baker
01-13-2013
09:36 pm
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We may see more officiating go Baltimore's way in the AFC title game. The league is losing one of it's media darlings in Ray Lewis and I wouldn't be surprised if they were trying some backroom dealings to send him off on a high note.
NBA Officials?
01-13-2013
07:33 pm
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The only call that went Denver's way was the illegal hands to the face, but it wasn't even a fumble anyway. I actually thought that the no tuck rule call was correct, however, that play never would have happened had the refs not called the worst holding penalty I've ever seen on 3rd and 1. There was definitely something going on in that game.
Again
01-13-2013
04:30 pm
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Walter cries buckets and makes sure we never forget any special teams touchdowns go against his picks. When the Broncos lose, he complains about the officiating and completely ignores the fact that they were only in that game because of TWO special teams TDs...
Ken Snizzlefist
01-13-2013
02:38 pm
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I don't know why I keep coming here...habit I guess. The only thing worse than the picks are the terrible and whiny excuses.
The jokes used to be funny but at this point Walt is trying way to hard. Does ANYONE actually read them anymore? Seriously. It's usually one paragraph of analysis and a half a page of lame and tired jokes. At least the mock drafts are still pretty good. |
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