Game Reviews
Re-Focused: Jets @ Dolphins, Week 17
The last spot in the AFC playoffs was still in reach for the NY Jets, but to get there they needed to win and have some help. They were taking on a Miami Dolphins team that just came off a second-half collapse against the Patriots. The Dolphins, out of the playoffs themselves, would surely have liked nothing more than to keep their rivals from advancing.
The game turned out to be a defensive battle, with the teams combining for less than 600 yards, but the deciding factor was a few drive-killing turnovers from the Jets. After another Super bowl promise by Rex Ryan, the Jets ended up not even making the playoffs. I think there is going to be some major changes in New York for next year because this group of players has proven they can’t get it done. Let’s take a look at some of the notable standouts in this game.
Re-Focused: Bills @ Patriots, Week 17
A win is a win, but sometimes it can raise more questions than you’d like.
Sure the New England Patriots are rolling into the playoffs as the number one seeds in the AFC, but after another slow start, and an at times disjointed display, they’re not exactly creating the same widespread fear as they did 12 months ago.
Perhaps that will stand them in good stead, because if they’re going to be ready for the Baltimore and Pittsburgh’s of this world there’s plenty of work to be done. That shouldn’t take away from a good come-from-behind victory against a Buffalo Bills team that made progress this year, but is too short on talent or depth to overcome injuries to key players and a collection of mistakes (a seemingly weekly occurrence).
Here’s some of the key performers from Week 17 when Buffalo faced New England.
Re-Focused: Ravens @ Bengals, Week 17
The AFC North can definitely claim to be the best division in football this year, sending three teams to the playoffs for the first time–the Pittsburgh Steelers and the two teams who met on Sunday: the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals.
In the end, the Bengals didn’t need to win the game as the roars of celebration ringing round Paul Brown stadium during the Bengals’ failed final drive signaled that the Broncos has lost. That being said, it’s disappointing to see them slip up against better opposition once again, not ideal heading into the playoffs.
The Ravens managed to banish their road woes to finish the season 4-4 away from M&T Bank Stadium, but the win meant they clinched the division and No. 2 seed in the AFC, meaning they’ll need to win one game on the road at most, to reach the Super Bowl. The game didn’t feature much in the way of dominant performances but there were still plenty of talking points. Here’s a look at the key performances from this matchup. Read the rest of this entry »
Re-Focused: Lions @ Packers, Week 17
So this is a game that the Packers didn’t care about; they’d simply rest their big names, run the ball at every opportunity, just take the loss and move on? Yeah right.
Matt Flynn is a free agent in February and he and the coaches had other ideas about giving up a 22 year home winning streak against the Lions. Instead they gave him the opportunity to shop his wares to all the NFL teams struggling at the QB position and condemn the Lions to the playoff gig no one wants; away to the offensive juggernaut of the New Orleans Saints. Matthew Stafford together with Calvin Johnson played about as well as you can but still came up short in a game that had plenty of interest for interested parties and neutral fans alike. Here’s what I thought of some of the key players:
Re-Focused: Bears @ Vikings, Week 17
The final regular season week of the 2011 season saw the Chicago Bears travel to face the Minnesota Vikings in a divisional game that meant…nothing. This was precisely the kind of game the NFL had hoped to avoid by moving divisional games to the end of the season, and in truth, it worked in this game.
Two teams with nothing more than draft position to play for found themselves fighting tooth and nail for the win, and characteristically it was the mistakes, rather than the impressive play, that wound up being decisive. The Vikings were in danger of landing a torpedo into the side of their draft position until the final drive ended with a badly overthrown pass from Joe Webb, in for the injured Christian Ponder once more.
For Chicago the game seemed to center around thrusting Jared Allen towards Michael Strahan’s single-season sack record, and then doing everything humanly possible to prevent him getting one more to break it. In the end he fell just a half sack short of the record.
Re-Focused: 49ers @ Rams, Week 17
Job done for the San Francisco 49ers.
The end result was slightly less comfortable than it both should and might have been for the position they got themselves into, but they got that crucial bye week and at least one home playoff game on their first visit in a decade. The 49ers pushed the envelope giving extensive play to some backups and the Rams pushed them all the way with a late comeback, but at the end of the day, the 49ers have earned two weeks off.
For the St Louis Rams, this was a fine effort in what was–if you believe the reports–the final game for head coach Steve Spagnuolo. While some fine performances almost gave them another upset win over a playoff team, the Rams’ shortcomings on offense and defense bit them again. Once the uncertainty over the future of their head coach and general manager are decided, attention will turn to free agency and the draft. How to turn around the fortunes of a team that hasn’t had a winning season 2003? Read the rest of this entry »
Re-Focused: Falcons @ Saints, Week 16
While the score was flattering, the result was correct and that was really all that mattered, although I got the distinct impression, towards the end, Marino’s yardage record was almost as important. I can see why you’d do it though; the fans wanted it, beneath all the humble rhetoric so did the team and getting it out of the way now allows everyone to move onto Week 17 without anything hanging over them. A bye, of course, would be welcome but that’s unlikely with the 49ers only needing a win at the Rams to secure an extra week of rest.
For the Falcons this was always going to be difficult, having to win away at the Saints and then need more help to win the NFC South. At least they came away knowing their quarterback was in rhythm but they’ll need to up there play in many areas if they are going to avoid being one and done in two weeks time.
Re-Focused – Raiders @ Chiefs, Week 16
Things often get ugly when these teams get together—okay, in any game in which the Raiders are involved this season—but the Raiders and Chiefs apparently took that trend as a challenge in this game. This season’s most penalized team (Oakland) playing the team with the NFL record for penalties in a season (Kansas City) kept Mike Carey and crew extra alert and perhaps a little less judicious in letting the laundry fly at Arrowhead. The officials had a bit of difficulty spotting the first flag thrown, but it was probably easier when the 26th flag hit the grass.
Mistakes and missed opportunities were the theme of the game, although the quality of play did improve after a first half that included 18 of the 26 penalties. Each team had one particularly painful penalty in the first half. Read the rest of this entry »
Re-Focused: 49ers @ Seahawks, Week 16
The Seahawks where looking to keep their playoff hopes alive by knocking off division rival San Francisco, but the 49ers had different plans. As they did in Week 1, the 49ers were looking to punish Seattle into submission and crush any hope of playoff glory.
Seattle is a much-improved football team since the last time these two met. The Seahawks were riding the highs of an impressive running game and a defense keen on taking the ball away from their opponent, but a lack of takeaways and pressure caught up to them in this one.
As for the 49ers, they just keep on winning. Every week it’s the same thing, stout defense and ball control on offense. The 49ers are still looking to lock up that first round bye with a final victory in Week 17. Read the rest of this entry »
Re-Focused: Vikings @ Redskins, Week 16
Nobody except diehard fans of both teams and fantasy football owners watched this Christmas Eve showdown at FedEx Field between the two win Minnesota Vikings and the five win Washington Redskins.
The Vikings were able to pull a victory out of this shootout, which saw their starting QB Christian Ponder and starting RB Adrian Peterson get injured on consecutive plays. Despite the win, one of their worst seasons in franchise history continues with the news that Peterson tore an ACL and MCL and his availability for the start of next season is in doubt. They can at least fall back on great performances from backups Toby Gerhart and QB Joe Webb.
The Redskins, dealing with injuries and still missing their starting LT and TE coming into this game, continued their good offensive streak, but once again Rex Grossman’s turnovers (a pick and a fumble) helped seal their fate. The story of the game though was the complete inability of their defense to adjust to Webb stepping into the starting lineup.
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