Wednesday, October 16, 2019

By The Pigskin Of Our Teeth, Week 5: Distance Yourself

MY EYES! MY EYES! THE GOGGLES DO NOTHING! The Seahawks offensive line is reverting to the bad old days of Tom Cable. This fumble is... in bounds? They called it out? Rams challenge. Call REVERSED, and the ref gives a solid explanation as to why the Rams couldn't advance it afterwards. This camera shot makes this field goal look a lot longer than 47 yards. It's still good. Here's Aaron Donald again to kill every Seahawk in the building.




Rams starting to feed Gurley here.




Field goal is good. 6-0 Rams. Wilson finds Will Dissly, who has somehow become their best pass-catcher this season, alone for a big gain. TYLER LOCKETT! TOUCHDOWN. How did he even catch that? Aikman and the replay show great coverage by the Rams, but that throw was nuts. I was sure he was throwing it away. 7-6 Seahawks. They call this an incomplete pass. Which is fine, I guess. Wilson without a lot of time to throw on this drive, either. Both Donald and 26 tried not to hit him mid-slide and Donald fell on top of him anyway. The Rams almost blocked that punt. Wilson runs away from Dexter Fowler and buys about three more seconds before hitting Lockett for 17 yards. Wilson runs a play fake and throws a lob to DK Metcalf, who walks into the end zone. Woods is open for 16 yards. Kupp with his first catch. Gurley fumbles and the Seahawks have it. Carson grinds for yards. Again, Wilson makes a great throw to a spot where only a well-covered Dissly can catch it. That 53-0 home record with a four-point or greater lead since 2012 is a sick stat. Seahawks considering a 4th and 1 from the Rams 29 after Carson gets stuffed on third. They try to draw the Rams offsides, which  never works. Bad snap on the field goal and the kick goes wide right.




Rams speeding down the field. Dump roughing the passer call on Ziggy Ansah gives the Rams a first down. Thirteen seconds left and a time out. Touchdown Kupp!




Rams kick the extra point for some reason. 14-13 Seahawks at halftime. Goff to Gerald Everett for 30! They don't use the tight ends often, but when they do, it always seems to be important. Gurley blasts into the end zone and the Rams lead. Seahawks punt pins the Rams at their own 1 and they can't escape. Goff's third down pass was almost intercepted (and that was after he almost took a safety on 2nd.) Screen to Damon Moore, who jukes Marcus Peters (who's having a rough game) and scores. Rams coming back right away with a big play to Cooks. Surprisingly terrible tackling by the Seahawks on this Everett catch and run. This won't be a touchdown, but it's first and goal from the Seahawks' 1. (Buck thought Everett scored and was a little surprised the Rams didn't challenge.) Gurley again. Rams line up to go for two. Goff keeps it on a draw from the shotgun and it's called good. Replay looks like his knee is down before he reaches the ball across the goal line. Call correctly reversed. Seahawks line up Rashad Penny wide, he gets interfered with, and still makes the catch down the sideline.




Wilson's scramble come sup short of the first down , and it doesn't matter because of offensive holding. Field goal is good. Cooks beats Shaqueill Griffin's coverage for 26 yards, but now he's down. Seahawks claim OPI and challenge this for... some reason. Call stands. Goff finds Kupp on 3rd and 18. Aikman spots that he had Everett open underneath. Woods is ruled out of bounds in the end zone — and it's correct, as his elbow hits on the sideline. This is a bad challenge, McVay. Call stands.




Goff overthrows Kupp in the end zone. Field goal is good. A dubious roughing the passer call on Clay Matthews? THAT'S never happened before. Big run by Carson gets the Seahawks inside the 10. Seahawks go for it on 4th and goal from the 5. Wilson scrambles and floats one to a wide-open Carson, who juggles it before catching it! Talib came off him to stop Wilson from running into the end zone. Two-point try fails. 30-29 Seahawks with 2:21 left. Cooks not back. Goff got lucky that pass to Woods wasn't intercepted. The next pass is almost intercepted. Seahawks challenge, and I don't think that hit the ground. Yeah, this is a pick. Call REVERSED. Rams' defense holds, despite Peters getting away with the old five-yard face mask.




That's a good punt. Rams have no time outs. Woods converts 3rd and 1 and gets out of bounds. Everett gets to the Seahawks' 30. Ball comes out, but he's ruled down. 36 seconds left. Rams have two incompletions and a delay of game penalty. Everett gains nine yards. Zeuerlein on for a 44-yard attempt. JUST missed it! (Seahawks 30, Rams 29)

Signal Finder: NYJ @ PHI, MIN @ NYG, BAL @ PIT (end), CHI vs OAK (end), JAX  @ CAR (end), GB @ DAL




Craig James starting at cornerback for the Eagles despite Sidney Jones being in the graphic. You thought the Eagles had first-quarter struggles. Graham with a SACK. Eagles take over near midfield. Lot of running early by the Eagles. That's not just a bad snap, that's one of the worst snaps I've ever seen. New dad Jason Kelce needs sleep, clearly. Wentz does well to recover it and then throw it away but near Hollins so grounding isn't called. Howard carries to the goal line, then across it on the next play. Le'Veon Bell is the Jets' only real chance. Jets go for it on 4th and 1. Falk passes but Nate Gerry intercepts it! Touchdown! Post-score penalty will be enforced on the kickoff but it's already 14-0. I don't know why you don't give Bell the ball there but I'm not Adam Gase.







Franklin Field B-roll for... some reason. Orlando Scandrick is back, and he comes on a blitz and deflects this pass. Sanders somehow ends up being covered by a defensive end on a 36-yard pass play.




Eagles go for it on 4th and 5 from the Jets 36. Jets rush and it's incomplete. Douglas almost gets an interception. Jets stay on the field for 4th and 4. Now the field goal team is on for a 55-yard attempt. Not even close to the goalposts. Wentz throws a little high to Ertz, who was actually pretty decently covered. Ertz does NOT get the first down, for the first time all season. Jamal Adams is probably the Jets' best player and definitely their best guy on defense. He's the one guy I'd avoid. Punt pins the Jets inside the 10. The Jets manage to have two illegal blocks on the same play that lost four yards. That's the Jets' second delay of game penalty on the last two drives. Gannon points out how high the play clock is at the Linc in relation to other stadiums. You can see it there; it's up above the end zone video boards. Wentz wanted to go deep there but he ran out of time. Fans want Pederson to challenge missed pass interference on this Agholor play. Call STANDS because the pass hadn't been thrown yet.




This Jets offense can't do anything. Another sack! Meanwhile, the Eagles commit back-to-back penalties to end up in 2nd and 30. Robby Anderson makes a catch for a first down, which seems notable. Luke Falk can't get rid of it fast enough. Ruling is changed to an incomplete pass. Falk throws into traffic and it's tipped and picked off by McLeod.




Sanders goes inside after this catch to get the first down instead of going out of bounds. On the next play, he does go out of bounds. Wentz goes to Ertz and I need to see when his knee hits. That's close. Even Ertz wasn't sure. Call STANDS. Mike Trout's here because of course he is. 21-0 Eagles at the half.




Wentz ducks a sack and somehow gets that pass away, and a good catch by Ertz against tight coverage for 21 yards. Remember what I said earlier about Jamal Adams? Eagles going for it on 4th and 1 from the Jets 40. Quarterback sneak appears to work. It does NOT. What was that spot? Bell finds a little space and picks up a first down. Graham with another sack. Is that three for him today? It's four for the Eagles, who only had three up to this point. Ertz gets 14 yards on 2nd and 18, then Wentz finds Agholor for 20 on 3rd and 4. They've run more screens to Jeffery than usual. Eagles just running over the Jets now. Field goal is good. 24-0. Vinny Curry with a sack. Jenkins runs through Demaryius Thomas to tackle Jamison Crowder. Fourth quarter starts with Thomas flat out dropping a pass. Man, he got washed quick. I still don't know what happened. Clement replacing an injured Sproles and the punt gets muffed! Jets ball! Replay shows the punt went off another Eagle's foot and Clement tried to recover it but failed. Vyncint Smith (yes, that is correct) on an end around for a touchdown! Two-point play fails. HASSAN RIDGEWAY with a sack. This Jets' offensive line is TRASH. Another sack? No! Scandrick picked Falk's pocket and he's gonna take it into the end zone! That may be the first play he's ever made. That's Bilal Powell's first carry of the season. Join the party, Daeshon Hall! You too, Josh Sweat! McCown in. David Fales in for the Jets as they show Falk heading into the medical tent. One more sack for good measure? Sure, why not. Fun fact: The Jets have never (0-11) beaten the Eagles. (Eagles 31, Jets 6)

What the hell, Patriots? Some awful tackling on that Sims touchdown. Brady's stat line is going to be incredibly misleading. (Patriots 33, Redskins 7)

Vikings get the ball first. Diggs with an early catch. I thought the Giants came a split second early on this blitz, but the Vikings pick it up and Cousins gets the ball to Thielen for a first down. Screen to Cook beats the blitz. Cousins gets sacked, which is hard to do against this defense. Vikings settle for three. Almost-Jet Anthony Barr sacks Jones, but defensive holding in the secondary (?) gives the Giants a first down. Gallman finds a hole and gains 12 yards against a 12-man defense. Giants pin the Vikings at their own 2. The Giants are missing four linebackers. Cousins finds Thielen for a first down. Feels like the Vikings are making a concerted effort to throw more than last week. Touchdown Thielen! 10-0 Vikings. Corey Ballentine returns the kickoff to midfield. John Hilliman (?) carries for the Giants, as we learn that Gallman is in the concussion protocol. Touchdown Giants. That's a great throw by Jones and a good job by rookie Darius Slayton bringing it in. The Vikings' offensive line still isn't great. Cousins goes for Diggs but rookie Deandre Baker does a good job fighting through Diggs's hands. Field goal goes off the upright and in. 13-7 Vikings. Great work by Thielen to read the traffic after this catch and turn it into a 44-yard gain. FOX keeps cutting off its replays. Cook fumbles! Giants ball! Peppers punched it out and saved a touchdown. Vikings fly through the Giants' alleged offensive line and get a safety. That play never had a chance. 18-7 Vikings at halftime after another field goal. Engram with a catch for a good gain. Shepard gets away from coverage and gets a first down. Jones misses him badly two plays later. That penalty won't help. The Vikings bottle up Engram, forcing fourth down. Field goal is good. Someone tackle Cook maybe. Touchdown Thielen.




Vikings challenge this catch. Call STANDS. This is Golden Tate's first action after a suspension. I think he was the fertility drug. I've lost track. Fullback Eli Penny getting some run out of necessity. Giant go for it on 4th and 2 from the 3. SACKED. Mike Hughes almost had an interception off a tipped pass. Jones with a laser to Shepard. The Giants also can't get out of their own way. They challenge a no-call for DPI on Hughes, but there's nothing there. Vikings starting to grind clock. Field goal is good. Sam Rosen shouts out Barr, who's been all over the field today making plays. And his interception will likely seal this game and help avenge their baseball brethren. (Vikings 28, Giants 10)

Oh, it's the 25th anniversary of both of these teams. (Panthers 34, Jaguars 27)

They brought the cart out for Mason Rudolph but it broke, so he had to be helped off by staff? What the hell, Steelers? We come in with the Steelers somehow up 23-20, but the Ravens have the ball and are already in field goal range with a minute left. Jackson has no open receivers and takes a sack. That's too long for Seth Roberts. Tucker hits from 48. We're tied. And we're going to overtime. Steelers win the toss but don't take the ball, which is interesting with an untested quarterback who I haven't even seen on the field. Defense holds and someone named Devlin Hodges has taken over for Rudolph. They show the hit that took Rudolph out and that's awful. Marlon Humphrey punches the ball out of Juju's hands, then recovers the loose ball that somehow doesn't bounce out of bounds. It's ruled a catch and fumble and the Ravens have it. All turnovers are reviewed. Call stands. Because of the turnover, the next score wins, and it'd be a 52-yarder for Tucker from where the ball is. Ravens run it three times. Tucker on. Is it going left? It comes back in and goes through! (Ravens 26, Steelers 23, OT)




That's at least the fifth one of those this season. Was this a revenge game? Because last time they played, four years ago, the Falcons dropped 48 on them. (Texans 53, Falcons 32)

How does this defense allow that to happen? How? Don't punt this to Cohen, dude. Sack! Raiders win and that's just embarrassing. (Raiders 24, Bears 21)

Packers start with the ball. Rodgers scramble is negated by offensive holding. Elliott slices through the Packers for 12. Pass goes off Cooper's hands and right to Jaire Alexander, who brings it back into Cowboys territory. Jones with a catch and run for a first down. Touchdown Jones. Maybe this will prove to the Packers that AARON JONES IS THEIR BEST BACK. Cooper makes the catch against Alexander this time. Tavon Austin with a big play. The Packers' new Smiths team up to sack Prescott and knock the Cowboys out of field goal range. Good catch on the sideline by the Packers' third tight end (!). Jimmy Graham blocking? Touchdown Jones! Cooper doing whatever he wants early. Dak throws another pick, this one to Chandon Sullivan, who may have been one of the Eagles' desperados last year. Good play by him to reach up and get that. Rodgers fumbles and the Cowboys pick it up. It'll be reviewed. Call is changed to an incomplete pass, so the Packers get to punt it away. Bush 43 in the house to help announce that the National Medal of Honor Museum will be built here. Darnell Savage gets his leg bent back uncomfortably. Preston Smith with a sack on third down. Aaron Jones is doing whatever he wants against this Cowboys defense.




Rodgers overthrows Allison but gets roughed. Graham gets taken down but not before getting a first down. Jones with a spin move to get seven. Another carry sets up first and goal from the 1. Jones gets stopped. Rodgers gets rushed and has to throw it away, then a third-down pass also falls incomplete. Have you learned NOTHING? Field goal is good, at least. Cooper wide open again and I think he may have Alexander spooked. Prescott gets hit and can't finish the throw. Brett Maher tries from 54. Wide right. Packers can't do anything. No idea why the Cowboys are running plays here. And it's halftime. Jones pulls a pass away from the defender and gets a first down. Rodgers finds Allison, who gets inside the Cowboys' 10. Darrius Shepherd gets a touchdown knocked out of his hands. Defensive holding. Jones gets to the corner and scores pretty easily. 24-0 and the Packers fans here are making themselves heard. Troy's been helping out at the Episcopal School in Dallas the last couple of weeks. Cooper goes out. Kevin King drops an interception and I'm not sure how. Zadarius Smith sacks Prescott again! The Packers' sacks today have all been perfectly timed. Dak throws short. Cowboys kick a field goal. That's a bad pass interference call on Anthony Brown. Garrett challenges. Call stands because these calls don't get overturned. Marcedes Lewis to the 10. Touchdown Jones! It's 31-3 and the Cowboys are getting clowned out here. Zadarius Smith down. Prescott gets hit and throws up a floater — that's caught by Gallup, who then wriggles free and scores! Packers do nothing. Cowboys challenge this Cooper incompletion, believing he was inbounds. Call REVERSED. Cowboys suddenly attacking deep. Interception! Wait, is this on the Packers? It is! Both of them are. Cowboys catch a break and Elliott scores on the next play. Packers again gain zero net yards and punt. And Dak immediately gets picked off by King, who dropped one earlier. That's the third one Prescott's thrown today and he's lucky it's not the fifth. Packers take two minutes to go nine yards and kick a field goal. Cooper slips two tackles and walks into the end zone for a 53-yard touchdown. 34-24 now.




It's easy for me to say this, but Jones would have been better off going down or just throwing it away rather than keep running and lose more yards. Now is this roughing the kicker or running into the kicker? That's very important here. If it's roughing, it's first down Packers and we're two more away from this being over. It's not. Cowboys ball. NOBODY liked that roughing the passer call. I didn't because Dak had started running and was running past the guy when he got slapped on the helmet. Field goal time. False start moves it back five yards. NO GOOD. That's that. (Packers 34, Cowboys 24)

Chiefs will have Sammy Watkins and the Colts get T.Y. Hilton back. Good to see Jack Doyle up and around after Burfict knocked him out last week.




Marlon Mack with some shifty moves in traffic to get to the Chiefs' 7. Mack touchdown is called back for a penalty, but Brissett rolls out, has to keep it, and does. Extra point is good. 7-3 Colts. Sideline pass to Travis Kelce is ruled incomplete, as he never had control. So how about this one? It's called a fumble on the field.




Call REVERSED. Incomplete pass. Mahomes crosses the field and throws a strike to Pringle in the end zone. That's interference. Field goal ties the game at 10. Rare three-and-out for the Chiefs. The Chiefs' defense remains its Achilles heel. Double handoff flea flicker? Doyle catches it but he's out of bounds, and Collinsworth says Brissett didn't see a wide open Deon Cain. Honey Badger interception! Hardiman juggles that pass and catches it eventually. Shady with a caravan off a screen pass. Fumble? Fumble! Scrum ensues and the Colts end up with the ball. Chiefs stand up on defense and force a punt. Anthony Sherman picks up 4th and 1 at midfield. Mahomes seems a little out of rhythm. Bashaud Breeland is getting used and abused. That's the third penalty on him already tonight. This is a catch. That'll help set up a field goal. It's good and the Colts lead. at halftime. Fourth holding penalty on Breeland. Hardiman gets interfered with on the sideline, but a later replay shows he may actually have been out of bounds when it happened. What is THIS? Is this an interception? I can't tell that it hits the ground or not. Call REVERSED. Incomplete.




But the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Chiefs still applies, so it's 4th and 17. Colts run a jet sweep on 3rd and 1 and get 12. Drive stalls and the Colts' punt puts the Chiefs at their own 1. Mahomes limps off after third down, and a Chiefs offensive lineman is just down. When's the last time the Chiefs had a scoreless quarter? Colts challenge pass interference. This will not be overturned. And it shouldn't, because there's nothing there, either. Fourth and 1 from the Chiefs' 38 for the Colts. They've made their last six of these. Mack takes it outside and make it seven. They're doing it again from the Chiefs' 27! They call their last time out with 11 minutes left in regulation. Brissett sneaks and I don't think he made it. He DID! Reich knows they need a touchdown here. (Indeed, NBC put up a win probability graphic, and the percentages dropped from 64 to 47 when kicking a field goal there.) Two minutes later... they kick the field goal anyway. 7:40 left. Turns out Cam Erving stepped on Mahomes's ankle earlier. Flags everywhere on this bomb to Hardiman. Offsetting penalties. How is it 3rd and 28. Pringle gets 2... 7! Chiefs going for it. Ex-Chief Justin Houston stops Williams in his tracks. And why is Damian Williams getting the carry there? This is the opposite of the Jets throwing to LeVeon Bell on fourth and 4.




When's the last time the Chiefs had a scoreless half? Because that's what we might be looking at. Mack carries the pile to the Chiefs' 12. 3:40 left. Viniatieri makes it 19-10. Steelers-Chargers next week, and a lot of people are surprised/disappointed it wasn't flexed out. Mahomes to Kelce to the Colts' 7. Crowd wants a flag but Kelce's never catching that. Mahomes is sacked. Now the Chiefs have to kick the field goal, but they get lucky with an injured Colts player, which stops the clock. Cart's out. Someone call the Steelers. Field goal is good. There hasn't been a successful onside kick yet this year. (They changed the rule last year and you can't load up one side anymore.) Kick goes right to Doyle.




(Colts 19, Chiefs 13)

Jerry Rice AND Jim Brown here. Browns win the toss and... TAKE THE BALL? Shocking! OBJ with the wide receiver pass to Jarvis Landry for 20 yards. They called this pass to Seals-Jones complete? He landed out of bounds, no? Oh, they didn't. OK. Matt Brieda gets the 49ers' first carry and HE IS GONE. 83 yards and waves goodbye to Damarious Randall at about the Browns' 35. Mayfield gets rushed and throws an interception to Richard Sherman. Niners almost fumble it right back. Mayfield overthrows Beckham on second down, then gets sacked on third down. Kittle takes a pitch (?) down the sideline. Goodwin on a reverse. Tevin Coleman with the carry. It's his first action since the opener. Brieda gets away from his defender and makes a diving catch in the end zone. Mayfield gets swarmed by the Niners' front four, and Nick Bosa forces a fumble. 49ers ball. Gould MISSES the field goal. Mayfield gets it to Landry for 25 yards. Two overthrows and the field goal team is on. Kick is good. Quick pass to Beckham gets the Browns back inside the 10 after a penalty. Pass to Calloway is low, he can't handle it, and it's intercepted! Nothing's gone right for the Browns tonight. That wasn't a "great" throw, Booger. But he does have to catch it. Coleman picks up 4th and 1. Then he finds a hole and scores after the two-minute warning. BIG PUNT RETURN. That pass was almost intercepted. 19 seconds left. Gould misses AGAIN. Bad snap (this is the 49ers' third snapper this season) and a rookie holder doesn't help either. Nick Bosa has destroyed everything in his path this half, and he mimes "planting the flag" as a reference to Mayfield doing it after beating Ohio State in Columbus. Garoppolo finds Kittle wide open for a 22-yard touchdown. He's their best pass catcher. How do you not cover him?




Kittle bounces off a defensive back and gets the first down. Field goal attempt is BLOCKED. Snap seemed a little high? The blocker came off the edge. Third quarter ends. Why does the score bug say 28-2? Ah, they've fixed it. Bosa sacks Mayfield for the fourth time tonight. Browns recover the fumble but this is what it's been. Beckham back to return this punt. He gets chased around and has the ball punched out of his grip. Gotta catch that. Gould makes a field goal and they cut to John Lynch applauding on the sideline. Nice troll job, camera guy. Sherman's joking with Lisa Salters about how she finally saw one of his interceptions. This is the 49th win for the 49ers on Monday night. (49ers 31, Browns 3)




RANKINGS:
TOP 4:
1. New England (5-0) — This is a defense year
2. Kansas City (4-1) — That was... strange
3. New Orleans (4-1) — Bridgewater plays big when needed
4. San Francisco (4-0) — This feels real

BOTTOM 4:
29. Cincinnati (0-5) — May actually be the Dolphins' biggest tank competition
30. N.Y. Jets (0-4) — They're as bad as I've heard
31. Miami (0-4) — UPDATE: I was right about the Florida Panthers last week
32. Washington (0-5) — Firing Jay won't change a thing


Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)