The weather is getting colder, the contenders and pretenders are diverging, and again to quote John Randle, “This is when the big dogs come out.”
With that, here is the Week 15 NFL Recap.
Denver Broncos @ Houston Texans was the Thursday night game. A fairly evenly matched game was also fairly unremarkable in the sense that nothing good or bad came out of it. There were no spectacular or awful performances. After three quarters, the Texans led 17-13. In the 4th quarter, Sage Rosenfels connected with Andre Johnson to give Houston some breathing room. A 28 yard Johnson reception late in the game set up another touchdown, as the 7-7 Texans clung to slim hopes of making the playoffs for the first time in franchise history under former Broncos quarterback Gary Kubiak. As for the Broncos, at 6-8 they are all but eliminated. 31-13 Texans
Cincinnati Bengals @ San Francisco 49ers was the Saturday night game. Twice in the 1980s this game meant everything. Tonight it meant about 100% less than that. Nevertheless, as awful as a game between a pair of 4-9 teams can be, this one was well played. There were no turnovers, and the teams combined for only 4 penalties, three by Frisco. Shaun Hill made his first NFL start for the 49ers, and completed 21 of 28 passes, including a touchdown pass right before the half that put San Francisco up 14-10. Frank Gore ran for 138 yards, and the 49ers kept the ball for 36 minutes while converting 9 of 15 3rd downs, including a 3rd and 9 late in the game that allowed them to run out the clock. 20-13 49ers
New York Jets @ New England Patriots–Despite a Nor’easter that should remind everybody why the New England area is a horrid place to live, it was not snowing at game time. New England came in 13-0, yet with a chip on their shoulder. The Jets had come into New England last year in the snow and beaten them. Also, The Bellichick-Mangini feud coupled with the taping scandal was still fresh. New England actually had to punt on their first drive, but a fabulous special teams play forced the Jets to start at their own three yard line. After a run went nowhere, Kelly Clemens went back to pass from his own end zone, got rocked and driven into the turf. Worse, his pass was intercepted by Eugene Wilson for a 5 yard touchdown in the Thiesmann to Squirek tradition. Brad Smith replaced Clemens, and ran the option. Leon Washington took a pitchout for 49 yards. They tried it again, and lost 8 yards. On 3rd and 18, Chad Pennington was brought into the game. He threw a 17 yard pass. For some ridiculous and bizarre reason, Brad Smith then came in on 4th and 1, and his pass fell incomplete. 3 quarterbacks, -7 points.
The Patriots faced a 4th and 2 at the Jets 20 as the first quarter ended. Then to start the second quarter, they called a timeout before running a play. Brady ran for the first down himself. On 4th and 1 from the 8, Bellichick decided to gamble again. New England took another timeout. Instead, a 26 yard field goal was made to put the Patriots up 10-0 in a game where points were possibly expected to be at a premium. The 17 play drive lasted nearly 9 minutes. The Jets carousel continued as Pennington was brought back in, to no immediate avail.
After New England could not move the ball, Chris Hanson came into punt. He fumbled the snap, which appeared to be right in his hands. He tried to punt it anyway, and it was blocked and returned for a touchdown by Mike Nugent to get the Jets back in the game.The Patriots had run 36 plays to only 12 for the Jets, and led 10-2 in first downs. Yet the score was only 10-7. However, with just under 2 minutes left in the half, The Patriots blocked a punt themselves, starting their next possession at the New York three yard line, setting up a rushing touchdown and a 17-7 lead.
The second half was a slugfest, and with the Jets driving, the Patriots called a timeout on defense with 6 1/2 minutes left. Until the fourth quarter, the Jets had no third down conversions, but this sustained drive had them in the red zone. On 3rd and 1 form the 16, they tried a pass, which was incomplete. They then opted for the field goal, and the 33 yarded cut the gap to seven points. 17 plays and 7:40 off of the clock later, the Jets had hope. That hope was apparently dashed when Brady completed a bomb to Moss, setting up a field goal that put the game out of reach. Leon Washington did return the kickoff over 50 yards, and a 15 yard horse collar personal foul tacked on allowed the Jest to start at the New England 31. A touchdown pass was ruled bobbled and out of bounds, and a field goal attempt went wide, as the Patriots went to 14-0, locking up home field advantage throughout the playoffs. 20-10 Patriots
Atlanta Falcons @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers–While the Buccaneers remained a quiet 8-5 team looking to wrap up their division, the Falcons remained a team in turmoil, as Bobby Petrino abruptly resigned as coach to take the Arkansas job. Given his expertise is at the college level, some would say the Falcons would have been a good fit. Nevertheless, they are a pro franchise, technically. Ronde Barber returned an interception 29 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 Buccaneers lead.
This game also featured some history. The Buccaneers entered the league in1976, and in over 30 years, they had never…not one time…returned a kickoff for a touchdown. Well today it happened, and the 90 yard kickoff return by Micheal Spurlock after an Atlanta field goal ended one of the oddest football factoids. It propelled Tampa Bay to a 14-3 lead. Shannon Sharpe had the quote of the day when he stated that Atlanta challenged whether it really was the very first Tampa Bay kickoff return. It was, and Atlanta lost a timeout. Tampa continued to pour it on, leading 24-3 at the break. For some reason, the second half was played. The Bucs clinched their division. 37-3 Buccaneers
Green Bay Packers @ St. Louis Rams–On Green Bay’s opening drive, Ryan Grant ran it in from 2 yards out to put the Packers up 7-0. As terrible as the Rams have bee this year, they have had devastating injuries. Marc Bulger returned for this game, and his short touchdown pass to Torry Holt tied the game. Brett Favre came back with a short touchdown pass to put the Packers back up 14-7. After the Rams tied the game on a 46 yard touchdown run by Stephen Jackson, a Mason Crosby field goal gave the Packers their third lead of the game at 17-14. After a field goal extended the lead, Brett Favre threw a deep rainbow to Jennings for a touchdown and a 27-14 lead. Additionally, his next completion allowed him to pass Dan Marino for the all time passing yardage mark of 61,361. The 7 yard toss to Donald Driver capped a day of perfection. 33-14 Packers
Seattle Seahawks @ Carolina Panthers–The game was scoreless after 3 quarters, although it was less exciting than that. This was not weather induced. It was simply what it was. Carolina was starting their 4th string quarterback Matt Moore. A field goal put Carolina up 3-0 with 12:18 remaining in the game. With Seattle facing 4th and 1 at the Carolina 6, the Walrus opted for the tying field goal. From 23 yards out, the game was tied 3-3 with 8:23 left. Carolina went back up 6-3, but Seattle was driving at the 2 minute warning. Hasselbeck then got belted from the blind side by Thomas Davis, forcing a fumble that Carolina recovered with 1:38 left. It was the only turnover of the game, and it was the difference. One play and 18 seconds later, Deangelo Williams ran for 35 yards and a touchdown to put the Panthers up 13-3 to ice the game. A meaningless garbage touchdown at the end of the game was not enough to prevent Seattle’s five game winning streak from being snapped. Their loss allowed Dallas to earn a first round bye. Seattle had to wait to clinch the NFC Worst. 13-10 Panthers
Buffalo Bills @ Cleveland Browns–This was the blizzard game of the day. More importantly, the 7-6 Bills and the 8-5 Browns, after several years of futility, both had a serious shot at making the playoffs. Cleveland was only one game out in their division. A field goal had the Browns up 3-0, and in the second quarter a mistake possibly induced by the blizzard added to the total. Punting from near their own end zone, the snap sailed over Brian Moorman’s head. He smartly kicked the ball out of the back of the end zone for a safety and a 5-0 Browns lead. A field goal had Cleveland up 8-0. Neither team did much after that, although a punt with 6 minutes left pinned the Browns at their own 4 yard line. With 2 minutes left, facing 4th and 1 at the 48, Romeo Crennel decided not to gamble, punting it back. Trent Edwards moved the Bills down the field, and after converting 4th and 10, the Bills then faced 4th and 5 from the Browns 10 yard line with 15 seconds remaining. A completed pass was short of the first down, and the Browns held on, all but knocking the Bills out of contention. The Browns moved into a first place tie in their division. 8-0 Browns.
Tennessee Titans @ Kansas City Chiefs–Vince Young and Brodie Croyle both had a touchdown pass, as Kansas City led 14-10 in a game the Titans needed to keep their playoff hopes alive. After an exchange of field goals, Vince Young’s second touchdown pass to Roydell Williams had the Titans up 20-17 with 11 minutes left. Kansas City gotno closer. 26-17 Titans
Baltimore Ravens @ Miami Dolphins–The Dolphins had to be careful not to overlook Baltimore before their anticipated showdown with New England next week. Just kidding. While the Dolphins have failed to win all year in 13 tries, a win today was not an insane thought given that the Ravens came in having lost 7 straight after a 4-2 start. Shockingly, it was an ugly game, and with the Ravens leading 6-3, a Kyle Boller touchdown pass had the Ravens up 13-3 at the break. The Dolphins tied the game 13-13 in the fourth quarter, and actually took the lead 16-13 with 2 minutes remaining.
Kyle Boller got injured, and Troy Smith saw his first NFL action with the 2 minute drill against an 0-13 team being the introduction. Smith moved the Ravens down the field, and faced 3rd and goal at the 10 with 17 seconds left. A completed pass appeared to be a touchdown, but was ruled out of bounds inside the one yard line with 12 seconds left. Billick decided to go for the field goal, tying the game 16-16. The players wanted to go for it, but Billick ordered the kick. The Ravens got the ball first in overtime, but Matt Stover’s kick indoors from 44 yards out was no good. The Dolphins had life. Jason Taylor had blocked a Stover kick earlier, as the Ravens could not put the game away. A quick slant pass from Cleo Lemon to Greg Camarillo turned into daylight, a foot race, and a 64 yard touchdown. The Dolphins stopped the bleeding. They needed an extra quarter to do it, but they happily rendered their game against New England meaningless. The 1972 Dolphins have yet to pop their champagne corks, and the 2007 Dolphins certainly did not, but the 1976 Bucs did. The Ravens lost their eighth straight, and the Dolphins had a win. 22-16 Dolphins, OT
Arizona Cardinals @ New Orleans Saints–A pair of 6-7 teams came in clinging to playoff life, and Kurt Warner and Drew Brees put on an aerial show. Warner threw three touchdown passes, while Brees was 26 of 30 with two touchdown passes.The Saints led 21-14 at the intermission. Brees kept firing in the second half, putting the Saints up 28-14. Warner responded, bringing the Cardinals within 28-21. A field goal gave the Saints some breathing room, but the Cardinals added a field goal of their own to close the gap. They would get no closer. The Saints were still alive, and the Cardinals were not. 31-24 Saints
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Pittsburgh Steelers–This was the snow game of the day, as flurries came down. The field was completely visible, as play seemed undisturbed. A pair of 9-4 teams known for hard nosed running and defense squared off. Josh Scobee kicked a field goal to put the Jaguars up 3-0. Roethlisberger then threw a pass into traffic that was deflected at least once, and somehow caught for a touchdown by Heath Miller, putting the Steelers up 7-3. A David Garrard touchdown pass just before the half had the Jags up 10-7. The snow worsened in the second half, but a time consuming drive culminated in another Garrard touchdown pass. Although the placeholder fumbled the snap on the extra point, Jacksonville still led 16-7.
On their next possession, Garrard, unaware of the snowy conditions, threw a deep ball for another touchdown pass. The 55 yard rainbow to Dennis Northcutt put the Jaguars up 22-7. The extra point attempt was way wide, the only flaw in Jacksonville’s game up to this point. Yet when Garrard threw an interception, a Roethlisberer toss to Hines Ward had the gap narrowed to 8 points with 13 minutes remaining. The 2 missed extra points loomed large. Pittsburgh then scored again, and the 2 point conversion tied the game 22-22 with 5 1/2 minutes left. Fred Taylor ran it in with 1:57 left to put the Jaguars up 29-22. Facing 4th and 7, Roethlisberger threw a pass that went just near the marker, but was ruled short. The Jaguars moved to 10-4, and Pittsburgh fell into a first place tie with Cleveland. 29-22 Jaguars
Philadelphia Eagles @ Dallas Cowboys–After 28 minutes, the Cowboys led 3-0, with the only notable play being a 15 yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Philly kicker A.J. Feeley while he was on the sidelines. He walked past the area where players are allowed to walk, accidentally bumping into an official. Yes, that was the highlight of the first half up to that point. However, a Lito Shepherd interception of Tony Romo was followed by a 28 yard Donovon McNabb Run, which led to a short McNabb touchdown pass to Reggie Brown. Philly led 7-3 at the break.
A Dallas field goal made it a one point game, and early in the fourth, Philly moved inside the Dallas 5 yard line. The drive bogged down, and a field goal had the Eagles up 10-6 with 13 1/2 minutes left. With 4:09 left, the Cowboys faced 4th and 2 at their own 41. They took a timeout, and decided to go for it, at which point Romo completed a 4 yard pass to Jason Witten. Yet the next play Romo was sacked for a 9 yard loss, and the following play Romo was intercepted by Brian Dawkins with 2:50 left. It was Romo’s 3rd pick on the day. After Dallas used their timeouts, Philly faced 3rd and 9.
Bryan Westbrook then broke trough for a first down, and had a clear sprint to the end zone. In a very bizarre but incredibly heads up play, Westbrook turned around, and instead of scoring, deliberately fell down at the one yard line. Theoretically, had Westbrook scored, Philly would have had a 17-6 lead. Yet Dallas could have scored, and recovered an onsides kick. By making the unselfish decision to foregoe a touchdown and just fall down. Philly had first down, with Dallas out of timeouts. McNabb kneeled on the ball 3 times to run out the clock. Was Westbrook point shaving? Doubtful. Andy Reid was even caught by surprise. Westbrook showed intelligence that many coaches do not even possess. Dallas still held the tie breaker over Green Bay, but the NFC was now going down to the wire for home field. 10-6 Eagles
Detroit Lions @ San Diego Chargers–The Chargers are Norvelous, but at least they have Ladanian Tomlinson. The lions have memories of a 6-2 start before futility, or as Detroit fans call it, reality, set in, with five straight losses. A pair of Tomlinson touchdowns propelled the Chargers, and an interception gave San Diego a 27-0 first half lead. The Chargers led 34-7 at the half, which concluded with John Kitna throwing a hail mary that was caught one yard short of the end zone. NFL rules required the Lions come out of the locker room for the second half. Billy Volek came in, as Rivers and Tomlinson headed to the bench. The CHargers, despite a 1-3 start, clinched the AFC West. 51-14 Chargers
Indianapolis Colts @ Oakland Raiders
For more on the game of the day, go to www.justblogbaby.com
The Colts scored a field goal on their first drive, and after the Raiders went nowhere, a 90 yard punt return by a player appropriately named T.J. Rushing had the colts off to a 10-0 lead. The Raiders managed to get to the Colts 40 on their next possession, when on 4th and 1, Lame Kiffin called a sweep that went nowhere. The Colts then drove down the field again, and at the end of the first quarter, they faced a 4th and goal at the Oakland one. A play action pass looked like a touchdown, but a prefect defensive play by Thomas Howard preserved the goal line stand. The Raiders were 99 yards away, with Jim Plunkett and Cliff Branch still retired. Josh McCown led the Raiders on a monster drive. The Raiders went 99 yards in 20 plays, eating 12 minutes off of the clock. The Colts were one yard from being up 17-0, and instead the Raiders only trailed 10-7 with 3 minutes left in the half.
For some inexplicable reason, despite McCown’s 99 yard drive, JaMarcus Russell started the second half. The Colts took over on their next drive, and again got to the Oakland one yard line. Again a goal line stand took place, and this time, Tony Dungy opted for the field goal, which put the Colts up 13-7. After an exchange of punts, Josh McCown came back in the game, and with tough running from Justin Fargas, were driving as the fourth quarter began. After eating up over 6 1/2 minutes, Justin Fargas rammed it in from 2 yards out on 3rd and goal to put the Raiders up 14-13 with 10 1/2 minutes left. Peyton Manning then threw a 20 yard touchdown pass to Anthony Gonzalez. The 2 point conversion put the Colts up 21-14 with 4:49 left.
Chris Carr, who could been returning kicks well all day, brought the ensuing kickoff back past the 40 yard line. At the 2 minutes warning, the Raiders had 3rd and 10 at the Colts 17 yard line. They had all 3 timeouts left. A 4th down pass fell incomplete, as blatant defensive pass interference against Jerry Porter was not called. The Raiders did not get the ball back, as the Colts clinched a first round bye. Since they cannot get the # 1 seed, the debate will be to rest everybody or play the starters. As for the Raiders, they are scratching and clawing, and have another high draft pick. 21-14 Colts
Washington Redskins @ New York Giants was the Sunday night game. The Redskins started Todd Collins, who last started a game a decade ago, when he subbed for Jim Kelly in Buffalo. Facing stiff winds, Collins had zero yards passing the first quarter. Eli Manning fared virtually no better, with 13 yards passing. A 50 yard field goal attempt was a gamble by Joe Gibbs that paid off, giving the Redskins a 3-0 lead after one quarter. Collins finally completed his first pass a couple minutes into the second quarter, a 35 yarder to Santana Moss. On the next play, he completed a 30 yarder to Yoder. A 31 yard field goal had Washington up 6-0. When a punt pinned the Giants at their own 4 yard line, Manning threw a strike to Sinorice Moss that would have been a first down had Moss not moved around to get more yards. He gave away the first down, and the Giants punted again. The Redskins moved the ball, and on 3rd and 9 from the Giants 14, the draw play was worked to perfection as Ladell Betts rambled 14 yards for a score, giving Washington a 13-0 lead with 3 minutes left in the half. With everything going right for the Redskins, Safety Landry took an idiotic penalty. On 3rd and 21, he had a beautiful hit that broke up a pass, which would have forced 4th down had he not been called for taunting afterwards. Instead of punting, the Giants ended up kicking a field goal, closing the gap to 13-3. Todd Collins then kept faking passes and handing off to Clinton Portis, and the Giants kept falling for it. The drive bogged down at the eight yard line, but a 28 yard field goal had the Redskins up 16-3 at the half. When Washington took the opening half kickoff and drive down the field in only three minutes, the touchdown made the score 22-3, all but effectively ending the game. The Giants still have the inside track for the playoffs, and the Redskins still need plenty of breaks. However, the Giants play New England in the final game, and a difficult game in Buffalo before that. It will be a mad scramble to January.
As for Todd Collins, as much as John Madden and I hate the phrase “managing the game,” Todd Collins did that. He was 8 for 25, but made no mistakes. As for Eli Manning, he had 34 incompletions, the most in a game since 1967. One of them was a dropped deep pass to a wide open receiver that was a gift touchdown that slipped away. A missed field goal later on hurt as well. The swirling winds hurt the Giants, but the Redskins played in it as well, and much better. 22-10 Redskins
Chicago Bears @ Minnesota Vikings was the Monday night game. This was a truly ugly game, with the Vikings turning the ball over four times. The Bears started Kyle Orton at quarterback. Both teams have a running back named Adrian Peterson. Additionally, Brad Childress is bald, probably from tearing his hair out after each turnover. A battle of field goals had the Bears up 6-3, and a touchdown pass by Orton put the Bears up 13-3. A miscue on the ensuing kickoff allowed the Vikings to kick a field goal before halftime. In the 3rd quarter, a short pass led to a 71 yard gain down to the one yard line. Peterson barreled over for a touchdown, but the extra point was hooked wide. In the 4th quarter, Tarvaris Jackson led the Vikings down the field for the go ahead touchdown, and the 2 point conversion had Minnesota up by 7. The Bears had one final shot, but with 90 seconds left, Orton decided to go for all the marbles in one big bite. His bomb was intercepted by Darren Sharper, snuffing out any rally. The Vikings have won five in a row, and at 8-6 are the # 6 seed. They control their own destiny, but several teams at 7-7 are waiting for them to stumble. 20-13 Vikings
eric
Please tell me you took my advice to take those long 11. Oh so close.