Friday, November 15, 2019

By The Pigskin Of Our Teeth, Week 10: Cold Blooded

YOU ARE LOOKING PLAUSIBLY LIVE. Thanks, Brent.



Chargers ball first. Gordon was in the backfield, but Ekeler was lined up outside and he goes down the seam for 18 yards. Rivers gets sacked, then throws a pass to Keenan Allen that gets deflected and intercepted by Karl Joseph, but pass interference is called and it won't count. Gruden challenges this incompletion, saying it's a fumble. He's mad about it, and he's also wrong. Call STANDS. Gruden now 0-for-7 on challenges. Buck points out that not only was Rivers' arm coming forward, but nobody recovered the ball. Interception! Throw sails on Rivers and Eric Harris returns it 59 yards to the Chargers' 31! Field goal is good. Harris intercepts Rivers AGAIN, and he's gonna score! Replay shows the intended receiver fell down. This Raiders punt is infested with flags. Ultimately, it's Chargers ball at the 23. Second quarter begins with a Gordon spin move on 3rd and 1 that doesn't work. Chargers going for it. They give it to the fullback, Derek Watt (yes, of those Watts) and he picks it up. The Chargers have noticeably thrown no more than one pass since the pick-six. That's a generous spot on that third-down pass to Allen. Rivers almost gets picked a third time on a bad decision (inside slant) that gets deflected into the air. Another incompletion. Who is calling these plays? This one ALSO gets deflected but Hunter Henry catches it in the back of the end zone. That didn't have to be that difficult. Chargers get the ball back and Gordon takes a quick pass for 25 yards out of bounds. Harris picks off Rivers AGAIN, but the Raiders were offsides. Touchdown Gordon and the Chargers suddenly lead. Raiders pick up 4th and 1 from the Chargers' 41. Now it's 3rd and 1 from the 9 and Aikman thinks Gruden also sees this as four-down territory. FULLBACK WHEEL ROUTE for a touchdown, and the penalty's against the Chargers. (This time THEY were offsides.) It's under review. They're not showing the announcements of the reviews anymore. I wonder why that is. Call stands, by the way. 17-14 Raiders at halftime. Still not sure how Hunter Renfrow ended up on the Raiders instead of the Patriots. Hey, a Darren Waller sighting that gets the Raiders into the end zone. Carr runs around for nine seconds before finally throwing the ball away. Gruden wanted a time out before that play but no one saw him call it.


Field goal is good. "Holy Roller" highlight is shown. Joey Bosa with this first play of the night. Carlson misses left from 53. Weird look back at all the old dual-use stadiums that will no longer exist once the Raiders leave.



Rivers overthrows Patton. On their next possession, he completes basically the same pass to Mike Williams, who juggles it before being tackled. Nice run by Gordon. Chargers can't get closer and Badgley makes a field goal. Is this the Keenan Allen drive? It is! Twenty-three yard catch gets nullified by a penalty? Let's go for 26! Touchdown Ekeler and the Chargers retake the lead with 4:10 left.



Carr overthrows the end zone. Big hole for Jacobs. Touchdown Raiders! MISSED the extra point! Chargers have all three time outs left. Feels like Rivers has been awful tonight. Raiders get hit with a holding call on another near-pick.



Good no-call on the following play when the players' feet get tangled up. Interception by Joseph and that one WILL count. Pressure by Max Crosby, who's been living in Rivers' face all game. The Raiders are a game back in the AFC West, which is wild. (Raiders 26, Chargers 24)

Signal Finder: DET @ CHI, KC @ TEN (end), BUF @ CLE (end), NYG @ NYJ, CAR @ GB, LAR @ PIT (end)

This early slate is DIRE. Especially without Stafford here, who's missing his first start after 136 straight and may be out a while with a bad back. Jeff Driskel will start and the Lions will get the ball first. Driskel was drafted by the Red Sox in 2013 and should probably be playing baseball. Lions DRIVING already. Driskel misses a double-teamed Golladay. Field goal is good. Trubisky rolls right but Burton can't stay inbounds. Lions pull an okey-doke on 4th and 1 near midfield, keeping the offense on the field initially, then rushing the punt team on so the Bears can't adjust, then pinning them at their own 4. Driskel's been... OK so far? While the Bears still can't manage to do anything on offense. THIRD AND 27. Good job, everyone. Pass to Golladay goes off his fingers, then he almost catches it (and prevents an interception in the process.) Prater gonna try this from 54. GOOD. That's the first points in this game after seven punts.







TOUCHDOWN BEARS. I have no idea who this dude is that caught that pass. Maybe that's the key? Also you'll notice no deep passes on that drive. Lions run the ball instead of trying a Hail Mary. Does Driskel not have an arm? 7-6 Bears at halftime.




Trubisky hits Robinson with a great throw. He targets Robinson again and two flags come out, and Darius Slay gets called for interference. Swing pass to Cohen and he scores. Driskel doesn't see the defender and gets picked off. Reverse to Taylor Gabriel gets nothing. Perfect throw to Gabriel gets six points. 20-6 Bears. This feels more like a soccer match than a football game with both of these offenses only occasionally doing something that ends up mattering. After six punts, Golladay beats the defense and Driskel hits him downfield. Touchdown! Lions convert 4th and 1, but Golladay gets called for OPI, making it 4th and 11 with 2:18 left. Golladay can't hold it. Bears punt it back and the Lions get the ball at their own 10. Driskel to Hockenson almost to midfield. Refs looking at this catch. I don't think I can overturn it. Call STANDS. Driskel throws to Golladay but he's nowhere near the sideline, and they have to kill the clock on third down. Fourth and 7. Bears call time. Driskel goes past the line of scrimmage so this won't matter. It's incomplete anyway. crosses off Lions (Bears 20, Lions 13)

Mahomes back. Interception? This is the best game of Tannehill's career, full stop. Ten seconds gives the Chiefs time to get closer. Hardman gets four and gets out of bounds. Butker on for a 52-yarder. BLOCKED! TITANS WIN. (Titans 35, Chiefs 32)




Bell IS active for the Jets. Fake to Bell and Darnold keeps it for a touchdown! The CFL playoffs start this weekend and those are likely to be better games. Jones gets sacked, but Barkley somehow ends up with the ball and he loses even more yards. Darnold makes a tough throw while in the grasp and finds Anderson for a first down. He hits Crowder in space, and he makes two moves and finds the end zone. The Giants' defense will cure any offense — the Jets already have 14 and they average 12 per game.Rhett Ellison, starting for Evan Engram, gets 31 after a Jones rollout. The Jets defense will make a lot of offenses look good, too. How about one also missing two starting linemen and its best receiver? LET'S FIND OUT. Jets jump offsides twice. Touchdown Slayton. Jets run an almost-too-perfect flea flicker but Darnold overthrows Smith. Just noticed Nate Solder's not at left tackle for the Giants. It just happened, as Kenny reports that he's gone into the medical tent. Jones drops the snap and throws it away. Jones to Slayton for a touchdown. That guy's made some plays this year. They go for two (?) and don't convert. Odd decision there. Jets keep a 14-13 lead. Two minute warning. Giants rush to the line on 4th and 1 and sneak it. I don't think he got there. He didn't. I don't mind it. This may be the last game they have a chance to win this season. Jets take over with three time outs and 1:54. Who called these plays? 30 seconds come off the clock and it's fourth down. They try a 54-yarder with Sam Ficken, but he misses left. The Giants, fittingly, fail to capitalize and can't even keep the punt out of the end zone. Jets kneel and go into halftime. Jamal Adams just takes the ball out of Jones's hands and jogs into the end zone! You don't trade that dude. Somebody calls you asking for him, you hang up. (After however long it takes to stop laughing, of course.) Golden Tate teaks a screen 61 yards to the house. 49-48 is in play here. Tate catches the two-point conversion pass but he pushed off. Rosas misses another extra point! Slayton powers through a tackle to convert a 3rd and 11. Tate, on an inside route, breaks a tackle and scores to give the Giants the lead. Two-point try is good. 27-21 Giants. Darnold with a lot of running room on 3rd and 7. Ficken from 53 is GOOD. Darnold to Crowder for 25 to end the third quarter. I suppose it's a good sign that Baker was able to stay with Anderson long enough to interfere with him. First and goal at the 1. Touchdown Bell and the Jets retake the lead. 45-44 remains in play. The Giants have gotten nothing out of Barkley today, by the way. Jets tack on another field goal. Giants get one first down and punt. Bell stopped on third and short. Jets challenging this spot for... some reason. This isn't even close. What are these guys talking about? Call STANDS. Giants are out of time outs with 4:23 left? Stellar coaching here. Is this another fumble by Jones? They call it an incompletion, but the Jets challenge. Call CONFIRMED. (Jets 34, Giants 27)




And they tried EVERYTHING. This was nuts. Kitchens is so far in over his head it's sad. I legitimately feel bad for the dude.




9-9 and one field goal. It's what this matchup deserves. Bills going for it on 4th and 4 from the Browns' 36? No, they're trying to draw them offsides. I hate this because it absolutely never works. Hauschka from 53. NO GOOD!! Catalon: "There's still hope in Cleveland." There really isn't, though. (Browns 19, Bills 16)

That spin move into an incompletion by Kyle Allen caps off the most stylish three-and-out you'll ever see. Did Lazard catch this? Buck didn't think so at first, but Aikman's not sure he didn't have control. It's called incomplete and the Packers don't challenge. D.J. Moore gets wide open and gets to the Packers' 15. Allen to Samuel for a touchdown. Johnson interferes unnecessarily with Adams. Was that even catchable? Rodgers runs out of time but finds Lazard on 3rd and 9. Is it raining there? Looks like it. Adams picks one out of the air. Yeah, not sure if it's rain or snow flurries but something's coming down. Jones runs up the middle for a touchdown. Allen escapes a sack and scrambles for seven. Field goal is good. Rodgers lucky that bomb wasn't intercepted. I really don't know about this OPI on Lazard. That's... that is snow, friends. Fumble? Packers have it. Yep, Allen fumbled. Rodgers throws it into a very tight spot and Adams does well to catch it. Rodgers slides at the 1. Lot of Panthers holding people on that play. Refs had their choice of three. Jones is... NOT in. Elbow was down. This time he is but I'm not sure about this one, either. They give it to him and it's 14-10 Packers. This is a... touchback. Buck and Aikman recall that the latter had a chance to be a Packer, but they beat the Cowboys in the last game of the 1988 season, giving Dallas the No. 1 pick. That wasn't grounding, was it? Don't like this roughing the passer call on Gerald McCoy, either. He did all he could to not land on Rodgers (who caught the flag!).



(Schlereth didn't have a game to work this week because nobody played.) Graham gets open deep in the middle of the field and that's a 48-yard pass play. Touchdown Graham but did he get both feet down?




I don't think he did. Call is reversed. Field goal is good but the Panthers jumped offside? The Packers take the points off the board and send the offense out with two seconds left. Handoff to Williams and McCoy DETONATES him. Packers get nothing and that feels just.









14-10 at the half. Panthers open the second half with a big sack. Adams gets behind the defense for a 38-yard pass play. Jones gets free and runs for 27. Jones makes one cut and that'll be an easy touchdown. D.J. Moore seems to have improved his hands. McCaffrey fumbles but a lineman recovers. Olsen with a play on the sideline. Interception by Tramon Williams! Allen made a bad decision with that throw, and actually Adrian Amos should have picked it but it wen off his hands and Williams caught it before it hit the ground.




Jamal Williams comes back with two big runs. How the hell did they miss Adams getting tackled in the end zone? And why would the Panthers accept the offensive holding penalty that was called? Rodgers gets sacked on 3rd and 20. Crosby misses from 52, but the Panthers get flagged for moving four guys at once and ending up with someone lined up over the center, which is illegal. Crosby hits from 47. I'm not sure how long the Panthers can ride McCaffrey into playoff contention. The other guys are going to have to take steps forward. Touchdown McCaffrey! Panthers go for two but the pass is broken up. Why did they do that? Is there less time left than I think there is? (I do wonder if not having their regular kicker is a factor here.) Lot of Olsen on this drive, and he's made two very tough catches. Fourth and 10 here. D.J. Moore comes back to the ball and gets the first down. Packers line up offsides.. and that'll be a first down at the 2-yard line! Eight seconds left. This is two plays. Incomplete. Last chance. They give it to McCaffrey... and he does NOT make it. They'll review this but I don't see this changing. He's short! Game over! (Packers 24, Panthers 16)

To Pittsburgh! Tipped... and intercepted by Minkah Fitzpatrick! Still not sure why you trade the 11th overall pick in his second season during a rebuild, but whatever. Meanwhile, the Rams are actually in some trouble. (Steelers 17, Rams 12)

Yes to Cooper, but no to Thielen. Maher already trying a 57-yarder for some reason. Not even close. It's good to see Dalvin Cook staying upright. That catch by Rudolph in the back of the end zone! Al and Cris aren't sure Cousins wasn't throwing it away. Cowboys' second drive goes nowhere. Cook doing a lot early for the Vikings, both running and receiving. Touchdown Rudolph! 14-0 Vikings and Cousins is dealing.




Mike Hughes, starting for Trae Waynes, steps in front of Cooper and almost had an interception. Cowboys decide to punt on 4th and 4 from the Vikings' 40. OK then.




Vikings blowing holes in the Cowboys' defense for Cook and Maddison. Every time they've cut to Elliott on the Cowboys' bench he's looked absolutely blitzed. Dak's pocket completely falls apart. Well done by Cooper to keep his feet inbounds and pick up 3rd and 12. The Cowboys get Michael Gallup on a linebacker against a blitz and he easily beats Eric Kendricks to the end zone. Cousins fumble? No. This is a forward, and therefore incomplete, pass. Crowd boos the reversal of the touchdown but that one was obvious. Jarwin comes up with a big play. Cobb with a touchdown! Let's check the flag. Vikings were offsides. Tie game. This Diggs play gets reversed on review to a catch (it was called incomplete.) Are they in field goal range? Bailey's kick is good and the Vikings lead 17-14 at halftime. Cowboys want intentional grounding on that blown-up screen, but it was blown up because someone on the Cowboys grabbed Cook. That's the only way they've stopped him, so. Bailey makes it 20-14 and I'm not sure it's been mentioned that he's an ex-Cowboy. Cooper with another nutty sideline catch.





And he just did it again for a touchdown! Dude's foot control is nuts. Cowboys have no answer for the Vikings' run game. Touchdown Maddison? Review puts him down at the half-yard line. Penalty pushes the Vikings back. Fourth and goal and the Vikings have a decision to make, and they'd better get on with making it, as the play clock will run out before the third quarter ends. They pitch it to Cook, who scores! Rudolph catches the two-point pass to make it 28-21. Dak throws kinda sidearm across his body and Cooper catches it. Defensive holding negates a two-man sack. Cobb finds a spot under the zone and catches it, then takes it to the Vikings' 5. Defense holds and the Cowboys kick it. Cowboys get the ball back with 2:05 left, and a Witten catch gets us to the two-minute warning. This will sound strange but I don't like giving it to Elliott on third and 2 with how ineffective he's been and how well the wide receivers have played. Vikings call time out before 4th and 5 from their 14. Pass intended for Elliott, but it's broken up by Kendricks! Vikings take over. Cook almost fumbled the pitch! Jesus Christ! The Cowboys still had three timeouts and used them all on defense, so there are still 25 seconds left when they force the Vikings to punt. Austin calls for a fair catch (probably on orders) at the Cowboys' 46, even with 10-plus yards of open field in front of him. Two quick passes leave three seconds for a Hail Mary. Vikings don't blitz but the pass is intercepted in the end zone.




That's the biggest win of Kirk Cousins' career and I'm not exaggerating: He doesn't beat good teams. He doesn't win on the road. He doesn't win in prime time. This was all three. (Vikings 28, Cowboys 24)

No Kittle tonight. Garoppolo finds Kendrick Bourn on a cross. Interception is nullified by defensive holding. Did Sanders catch this? And if he did, is it a first down? Doesn't matter, as the Seahawks committed another penalty. Third down pass is a little too high for Goodwin. Chase McLaughlin kicking in place of Robbie Gould, who's got a quad injury. It's GOOD. Seahawks offensive line gets straight up owned on 3rd and 2. Deebo Samuel takes a short pass 25 yards. Coleman speeds through a big hole. Touchdown Bourn? Sure, why not. Replay of T.O.'s "signature" move. Bosa gave Wilson nowhere to go there, forcing a punt. Garoppolo fumbles. Touchdown Clowney! Lockett finds a small spot for a good punt return. Oh, what is THIS? Metcalf doesn't go out of bounds, but the ball gets ripped out of his hands. But 29 is out of bounds.




John Parry says that doesn't matter because the ball is still in play. This is insane. They are notably showing this review. Final decision is 49ers ball at their own 2.




Halftime. PROTECT THE FOOTBALL. 49ers recover at midfield. Garoppolo with time but no one open deep, and he has to check down and the Seahawks defense holds. They're going for it? Incomplete. The 49ers' defense has done a good job tonight of making sure Wilson can't escape when things break down. This is a first down. And that's an interception by Quadre Diggs! We have not seen Josh Gordon tonight but Diggs has already made an impact in his first game as a Seahawk. Wilson finally gets room to run and he turns second and long in to first and goal. He floats one to Hollister for a touchdown and the Seahawks lead despite having about 80 yards of offense. (It's actually 144 but about 60 of those were on the Metcalf catch that ended up with the 49ers getting the ball.) This helmet-to-helmet call on the Seahawks on Garoppolo is a little touchy, maybe?
Garoppolo fumbles AGAIN and the Seahawks recover! Who is he, Daniel Jones?




Carson blasts through and gets to the 1. Touchdown Carson! This game has flipped on its ass.
Wilson gets swallowed up and fumbles, but an offensive lineman picks it up. Then HE fumbles and DeForest Buckner has it? Touchdown 49ers! This is wild.




They go for two and it's complete to Bourn. Sherman gets away with pass interference. Then the Seahawks get flagged for hitting the punt returner. Trey Flowers drops another interception after Bourn almost drops the pass in the first place. McLaughlin ties the game with 6:17 left. Carson gets stopped initially, but cuts right and picks up a key 3rd and 1. Blair tosses Wilson down. How did he not get the facemask? THERE'S Josh Gordon. Two minute warning. Carson loses two on 3rd and 1. Seahawks GOING FOR IT? They call time out. Booger hates this decision, if that's what they eventually do.




Now Jason Myers come on for a 46-yarder. It's GOOD. K.J. Wright drops a game-ending pick. Then the Seahawks line up offside. Garoppolo's playing with fire here — Bobby Wagner should have picked that one off.




He dumps it off to Coleman twice, but he doesn't get out of bounds the second time, forcing the 49ers to use their last time out. Garoppolo completes to Sanders for eight yards and they spike it with six seconds left. McLaughlin from 47 to tie. BULLSEYE. OVERTIME. Wilson and Sherman are the captains? This may be the most contentious coin toss of all time. Oh, that's... Geno Smith? Why? Seahawks win the toss. Wilson hits Gordon in stride. I have no idea how he didn't get sacked there. They called him in the grasp? Wow. I don't even know who 17 is but he put a gross spin move after catching that pass on 3rd and 16. Not sure what they're looking at here. Looks like that last cut inside. He's still in. Hollister gets into the red zone. INTERCEPTION! WHAT. Greenlaw jumped up and took that pass, because if Hollister caught it, he's scoring. 49ers take over at the Seahawks' 49. Raheem Mostert getting some run in overtime. We're down to 3:20 and counting. This one's short.




McLaughlin time. (A fake would be absolutely wild here.) Not. Even. Close.




Wilson throws too high for Metcalf on 3rd and 2. NOW what with 1:57 left? Seahawks do punt it away. The last tie on MNF was in 1983, 20-20, Giants and ST. LOUIS Cardinals. Clutch play by Shaqueil Griffin to knock that deep ball down.







Seahawks get it back with 1:25 left. KYLE SHANAHAN CAN'T RUN OUT A CLOCK. Imagine giving Russell Wilson a running lane in overtime. That's good for 21 yards. The Niners still have a time out? Why? Carson keeps it and gets to the 24. Seahawks leisurely wait to kill the clock with four seconds.




Myers back on. 42 yards. It's GO—the 49ers called time out. This won't work. Let's try again. IT'S GOOD! Holy hell. (Seahawks 27, 49ers 24, OT)

RANKINGS:
TOP 4:
1. New England (8-1) — The lesson, as always...
2. Green Bay (8-2) — In their element(s)
3. Seattle (8-2) — Wilson probably is the MVP at the moment
4. San Francisco (8-1) — A loss that feels deserved

BOTTOM 4:
29. N.Y. Jets (2-7) — Battle for NYC was fought with spitballs
30. N.Y. Giants (2-8) — And thrown spitballs at that. Not even spit or launched
31. Washington (1-8) — Vaya con Dios, Dwayne Haskins
32. Cincinnati (0-9) — Just embarrassing
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