Monday, October 12, 2020

By The Pigskin Of Our Teeth, Week 4: Turn and Split

Mark Rypien's nephew is STARTING. Joe Flacco is ACTIVE. It's THURSDAY NIGHT.

Both Brett AND Mark have played against Brady, as Brett entered the game late on Sunday. There's no good reason Mekhi Becton isn't automatically starting for the Jets. He's their best player! Frank Gore with the catch. Whistle blew before the ball came out, refs say. Broncos lost Jurrell Casey on Sunday. Broncos blitz, Darnold somehow survives it and takes off. Four Broncos miss tackles. TOUCHDOWN. My God. 46 yards. Buck: "That's gotta make Vic Fangio sick."



Good run and good blocking for Gordon to get 15. KJ Hamler tries to one-hand this pass and gets mugged in midair. Good throw to Tim Patrick for 21. Jets sniff out a screen, forcing a field goal try. It's good. Alexander Johnson gets Darnold this time (he's the one who  missed the blitz on the touchdown run.) A little surprised they didn't throw a flag. Big run by Gore, but it'll come back because of offensive holding. Darnold walks off the field, and Flacco is in. Aikman discusses his broken collarbone and suspects that's what's happened here.


Jeudy wins a jump ball and walks the last five yards for a touchdown! Ball went through Desir's hands, reminding you that the Jets haven't had a corner worth a damn since Darrelle Revis's prime. Darnold back on the sideline and throwing. He's back in on 3rd and 5. And he gets sacked.

Alec Ogletree slugs Garrett Bolles and gets caught. Desir with a great sideline interception. Are his feet in? Yeah, that's a great shot of the dirt on the field kicking up. A Jets WR named Smith wearing #16? They bring Brad back? Who dis? Receiver Cager goes down and grabs his hamstring.


Field goal from 46 goes left, but there's a flag. Unnecessary roughness on the Broncos gives the Jets a first down. Ficken tries again from 26 and this one's good. Tied at 10. Rypien's made some quality throws tonight. Gordon can't score from the 1-foot line. Or maybe he did? Refs say touchdown. Jamison Crowder's still in the league? (No. He's a Jet.) Two straight catches for him. Ficken hits from 38. Broncos' first drive of the second half ends in a punt. How was that pass interference? Darnold can't complete a pass (and why are you throwing to Frank Gore here?) and the Jets kick another field goal.


Gordon rips off a 15-yard run. Rypien throwing with confidence, hitting Fant for a first down. That's a STRIKE to Patrick for a touchdown. Another sack for the Broncos. This is a RETURN. The punter took him out or that would have been a touchdown. McManus connects from 54. 27-16 Broncos.



I honestly don't remember the MetLife surface being this notorious. What's going on down there? Oh wow, we almost had a BIG MAN INTERCEPTION but an offensive lineman knocked it our of his hands. Intercepted! Desir! Touchdown!


Rookie mistake by Rypien — there were three guys around Jeudy. Jets go for two to tie it. Incomplete. Rypien throws another pick. Broncos challenge the spot on this Crowder catch. Aikman acknowledges all the second-guessing that will come out of this regardless of the outcome. They move it back and re-measure... and it's short. So that reverses the call, it's fourth and 1, and the Jets send the field goal team out. It's good and the Jets lead. Rypien is sacked, but Quinnen Williams gets called for a face mask. Rypien overthrows Deshaun Hamilton in the end zone (and it looked like Hamilton just didn't reach for the ball soon enough), but finds Patrick on the next play for 31. Gordon with a bad drop. McManus field goal puts the Broncos back on top. Bausby almost got that interception. Chubb sacks Darnold on 4th and 3! Two minutes left and that's probably it. Gordon gets a great block (from Rypien!) and takes it 43 yards for a touchdown. That's definitely it. LOL they're plugging the FOX TNF debut next week as a Super Bowl rematch (as it's Brady and the Bucs visiting Nick Foles, who's now the Bears starter.) What the hell is going on? Why isn't this game over yet? Rypien just got pasted. Joe and Troy straight up roasting Gase for using his time outs down nine. "Thursday night slop." Fangio not even pretending to want to shake hands with Gase. (Broncos 37, Jets 28)

Signal Finder: CLE @ DAL, BAL @ WSH, LAC @ TB (end), BUF @ LV

Landry to Beckham for a touchdown! OK THEN. Prescott to new starting tight end Dalton Schultz for 25 yards. Touchdown CeeDee Lamb, who torched the "coverage" so badly he had to slow down and back up to catch the pass. Elliott helped pick up the blitz on that one. Lamb catches a deflection. Denzel Ward pastes the tight end Schultz, forcing a drop. Touchdown Cooper.


Beckham takes the pitch 23 yards, then Burkhardt notes that he has two career touchdown passes himself. Chubb down, holding his knee two plays later. These teams can't stop committing penalties. Mayfield to Beckham for 16 to get into the red zone. Touchdown Beckham! We're tied. Myles Garrett forces a fumble. Browns have it! They're rolling Mayfield out a LOT. Kareem Hunt powers through tackles and gets to the 1. Burkhardt isn't convinced Hunt was down, but Moose thinks his shoulder hit the ground. Touchdown to Hooper! Elliott starts the next drive with a nice run, but he fumbles at the end and the Browns recover! "D'Ernest"? OK then. Tough catch by Landry here, juggling it before securing it on his way down. Big run by the Browns' fourth running back. Touchdown Hunt. Dak's hard count fools the Cowboys and they end up punting. Browns don't throw to the sideline for some reason and Cody Parkey is back. 37-yarder ends the half. Landry gets swallowed up, makes the catch, and spins away from Trevon Diggs.Two plays later Diggs gets called for a face mask. Hunt runs for 14 and a touchdown! The Cowboys are getting dismantled on the ground. Burkhardt talks up offensive line coach Bill Callahan, who's always brought strong running games to his teams.  They finally get a stop on defense and that's a pretty good punt return by Lamb. Ronnie Harrison drops an interception. Schultz can't get away from Phillips on 3rd and 10, forcing a fourth down. Cowboys go for it and Phillips knocks down the pass. Browns take over, then get a free first down on an unnecessary roughness call. Hunt for 11. Hooper can't make the first down and Parkey comes on again. It's good! 41-14 (!!) Browns. The Cowboys are kin dof putting the lie to Burkhardt's statement earlier that Elliott's not really part of this offense. Touchdown Elliott. Or... not, as the ball's at the 1, whereas two-point conversions are run from the 2. After realizing it, Burkhardt is told that they did get a first down. They're still not sure how he didn't score. Pollard gets it on third and goal. They convert the two-point try, putting them down... 19. (41-22.) Prescott fires downfield to Schultz, who takes a hit, bounces off and goes into the end zone. 6:31 left. They go for two again, and Prescott picks it up on a keeper. Cowboys using their time outs? Mayfield badly overthrows Beckham on third down and the clock stops. That drive took only 15 seconds. Punt is short, but the Cowboys field it and lose yards. Prescott hasn't missed on this drive and the Browns are melting down. Prescott runs through tackles and gets to the 4. Cooper almost makes a ridiculous one-handed catch on a ball that Burkhardt wonders may have been intended for Lamb. Touchdown Lamb! Two point conversion is good and it's a three-point game! What you got, Browns? Onside kick? Why? Browns get it at midfield. Beckham almost gets buried on a double reverse, then gets a block, accelerates, and scores! THAT'S WHAT YOU GOT. Extra point is BLOCKED, but it goes into the end zone and the Browns fall on it. There's also a flag. Officials discuss it. The Cowboys were offside on the block, then they touched the ball, making it live. That's TWO points instead of one and it's 49-38.



True facts. 49 to 47. Back to the game and the Cowboys are back in desperation mode. There's Gallup. There's Cooper. Two minute warning. Note that they still have a time out. Prescott goes to the end zone, but the throw is high and almost intercepted.  Prescott tries it again and Ward DOES pick it off. Is this real? I'm not sure. But there are trends emerging. And if this does turn out to be real, this is where it started. (Browns 49, Cowboys 38)

Washington's backup return man limps into the locker room. Yes, backup return man. That's a hit. Ball's out! Ravens have it! Jackson rolls out and finds Hollywood, who makes a move and gets... to the 1. Touchdown Ingram. Washington replaced all of its running backs in the span of about three weeks and this rookie Antonio Gibson looks like a good one. Hopkins tries a 54-yarder. No good! Jackson keeps it on a draw. He's into space! Blocking. Touchdown! 50 yards! He held the ball up to celebrate but pulled it back in after seeing Darby, then breaks Darby's tackle at the end. I would also like to see a Ravens team 50-yard dash race. Quick pass to Gibson, who takes it 40 yards. He scores four plays later. Ravens picking on Washington's safeties. Mark Andrews goes across the field and Jackson eventually finds him. Touchdown Ravens. Jackson with a bad pass that Kendall Fuller picks off. Boykin never saw the ball. Some confusion as Rivera starts to run a play with five seconds left, but the whistle blows. Hopkins hits from 43 to end the half.


The Ravens continue to pick on the middle of Washington's defense. Andrews splits the defenders and hauls in his second touchdown catch of the day. McLaurin showing up big for Washington on this drive, picking up a 4th and 2. That sack puts Washington in 2nd and goal... from the 34. Good job, everyone. Haskins finds McKissick for nine to get to the 17. Offense stays on the field. Announcers disagree on this, with Catalon saying Washington should have kicked the field goal. This isn't even close. Stopped at the 9. Third and 11 and Jackson finds Snead, but he comes up a yard short. Tucker comes on and makes it. Washington drive ends and RGIII is on with 4:24 left. Harbaugh straight trolling with this move. Great leaping interception by Fuller. Haskins goes deep to McLaurin and it's caught at the 2! Sneak doesn't work. The next one does. Onside kick doesn't work because 2020.

(Ravens 31, Washington 17)


And there's Herbert's first mistake. And it looks like it'll be his last one today. (Buccaneers 38, Chargers 31)

So since Cam Newton appears to have been the only positive test on the Patriots, Patriots-Chiefs was moved to an early Monday night slot, Monday Night Football was pushed back a half-hour, and this becomes the big late national game. Bills get the ball first. Stefon Diggs is going to add so much to this offense. Like, here: Someone named Gabriel Davis beats the coverage and has an easy touchdown catch.


Levi Wallace can't haul in a pick off a deflection and now he's hurt. Carlson hits a 54-yarder to put the Raiders on the board. First quarter ends. Is that our first Masters promo of the year? Abram back on the field for the Raiders. Allen almost gets Beasley killed but that's a touchdown. Raiders missing Ruggs, Bryan Edwards, AND Trent Brown. Agholor 49-yard touchdown is called back by an illegal formation penalty. This is followed up with a very low throw that Agholor somehow catches. He makes another catch to get the Raiders into the red zone. Raiders settle for three. Archuleta elaborates on what I said last week: He can't remember a quarterback as raw as Allen was improving as much as he has. Spero Dedes adds that accuracy, his biggest improvement, is usually the least likely attribute to improve over time. Allen flings it out as he's being brought down, and Diggs makes a leaping catch. It's not enough for a first down, though, and the Bills kick a field goal as Allen heads for the locker room. Jacobs struggling to get traction. Josh Norman's a Bill? Why? Allen back on the sideline. That's the longest catch Witten's made in years. Carr to Waller to the 2. Carr spikes it. Touchdown Witten in the back of the end zone. Carr saw him late — he was open the whole time. 17-13 Bills at halftime. Jacobs with a good gain off of a pitch. Maybe that'll help. Gruden not happy that the drive ends, but the field goal puts the Raiders in the lead. Bills hand it to a receiver on fourth and 1 and get 13. Raiders eventually force a punt. Touchback. LOL the graphic for Patriots-Chiefs has Belichick instead of any Patriots player. Carr gets sacked. Ball comes out, but they say he was already down. Raiders punt. That's a good return. That catch by John Brown though! He reached out and caught it off the deflection. He thinks it's a touchdown. McDermott challenges. His second foot comes down in the end zone and the ball appears to break the plane. Call STANDS as the third quarter ends. After a LONG walk, Allen sneaks for the score. Raiders challenge this incompletion to Waller and get a reversal. Waller FUMBLES. Josh Norman? What? OK then, making me look like an idiot. DIGGS! 49 yards! Singletary finishes the drive off. (Bills 30, Raiders 23)


Al and Cris are masked, as per Santa Clara county regulations. 49ers getting Kittle and Deebo Samuel back. Eagles get the ball first. Jordan Mailata starting at left tackle. Pocket collapses and Wentz throws short of Sanders. Mullens overthrows Juszczyk, who would have scored easily if he hadn't. Kittle makes his first catch for 9 yards, but he needed 10. Lane Johnson already heading to the locker room. The Eagles' screen game is no longer working. Wentz throws on the run and finds Ward for a first down. This is an interception, isn't it? Christ.


Barnett and Hargrave get to Mullens. At least the defense held up. Ward also returning punts despite starting. Johnson back in. Wentz lofts one to Rodgers but Tartt breaks it up. That ball hung up there because Wentz had to make sure it got over Ziggy Ansah. 49ers blitz and Wentz spots Sanders in space. He gets to the 49ers' 11. Wentz fakes the option to Scott and takes it in himself. Cris says the Giants ran the exact same play last week. They're going for two here? They run play action and pass it to a wide-open Ertz. I don't get that but it worked. Kittle could kill the Eagles by himself. Double reverse to Samuel, which you have to expect, as they do this with him a LOT. They run the same play, but with Kittle. Screen to Aiyuk, who gets some blocks and then hurdles Epps to score. Slay went down during the play. Eagles go three and out again.



Kittle makes three guys miss before they being him down. Genard Avery with a sack.



Ertz just runs through people after taking this screen pass. Are they going to do something with Hurts in these situations or nah? False start squanders a third and 1 at midfield. Wentz ends up throwing it away. Kittle gets free and takes it 39 yards. Interception! That's McLeod, and the Eagles' first this season. Travis Fulghum catches his first-ever(?) pass. Hightower gets across midfield at the two-minute warning. Bad snap loses 17 yards. Then a sack. They just let Hurts keep it on 3rd and 34. 49ers get out of their own end but can't do anything before halftime.



McKinnon the early star of this opening drive, allowing Al to talk about how he's missed the last two years with knee injuries. Shovel pass to Wilson gets 11. Feels like the 49ers have gotten 11-15 yards on every play on this drive. Touchdown Kittle and that was entirely too easy. Al recaps the action as Heat-Lakers Game 3 just ended. Richard Rodgers with some solid yards after that catch. 49ers stack the box and Wentz flips it to Rodgers on 3rd and 1. Sanders can't handle a low throw. Wentz is chased out of the pocket and dives for the first down. Except the replay shows he stepped out of bounds short of the mark. 49ers challenge. Call REVERSED. Fourth and 1 and the Eagles are going for it. They eventually sneak it after some formation shifting and pick it up. Two Sanders runs get another first down. Offensive line can't hold up and whole Wentz doesn't get sacked, he has to rush all of those throws. Field goal is good. Kittle's 10th catch ends the third quarter. Josh Sweat sacks Mullens. Al tells us of the schedule changes and that Nantz and Romo are still in Kansas City pining for burnt ends. Cris: "So Romo's gonna do Monday night after all." Al breaks. Mullens throws too high for Bourne. LeBlanc forces a fumble? Yes! Eagles ball. He got it with his helmet! That's hilarious. They pitch it to Hurts, who was going to pass it back to Wentz, but he was covered, so Hurts just took it himself for four yards. Pass to Sanders comes up short. Fourth and 4 from the Niners' 37. Eagles throw a slant to Hightower and he converts it. Reverse to Ward goes nowhere. Wentz sprints out and throws a garbage pass that Scott catches, but there are two flags down. Defensive holding gives the Eagles a first down. Too much Hurts on this drive, as he fumbles the snap. Wentz lofts one to Fulghum... for a touchdown!

Extra point is good and it's 18-14. Pick-six! That's Alex Singleton, a former CFL star who usually only plays special teams. C.J. Beathard now in at quarterback. That seems rash, Kyle. Beathard's leading a drive here. 7 of 7 for 62. Sacked by Ridgeway. Beathard finds Aiyuk for a first down at the Eagles' 4. He badly overthrows Aiyuk in the end zone. Bourne makes the catch and stretches the ball for the touchdown. Oh, his knee's down. Officials change the call. McKinnon takes it in for an actual touchdown. 49ers go for two but Kittle drops it! Collinsworth wonders if Beathard could have taken that himself. It's 25-20 with 2:02 left. McAuley pops on to say that McKinnon should have been called for leading with the helmet but that never gets called on offensive players. Gould just said something to the officials. What are they planning? Eagles call time out, because the 49ers have options here: kick it deep, onside, Al was wondering if Gould was going to drop-kick it (he then points out that Gould doesn't do kickoffs, which is why all of this is notable) They try to skip it and it goes right to Richard Rodgers. Wentz takes the sack and the Eagles have to punt. Fair catch at the 12. Trent Williams, who hasn't had a great night, gets hit with a false start. Niners get to the Eagles' 45. The umpire's down! Graham ran into him.



They add five seconds to the clock, so there's 34 left. Beathard throws it away under pressure. Graham hits him on third down as he throws. Seven seconds. Hail Mary time. KNOCK IT DOWN! Eagles win! That end zone was packed. Kittle, Bourne, Samuel... that felt lucky. My God. They're in first place!


(Eagles 25, 49ers 20)



Brian Hoyer, NOT Jarret Stidham, starts for the Patriots at quarterback. And he's in a 3-0 hole that only isn't 7-0 because Mahomes and Watkins couldn't connect in the end zone. Three and out. GREAT. Hill muffs the Pats' punt on their next drive, but fortunately it goes out of bounds. Edwards-Helaire makes teh catch and gets the Chiefs out of their own end. Sammy Watkins sighting! Deep shot to Kelce for 25. Edwards-Helaire up the middle for 13. Drive dies after the false start on Eric Fisher and Butker hits from 39. Juan Thornhill picks off Hoyer! Two plays later, Watkins fumbles and the Patriots get it right back! Not sure why the Chiefs used a challenge... it's a first down regardless of where the tight end went down. Rex Burkhead makes an appearance. Folk field goal is good. Romo's wondering what's taking so long to call the penalty on this Harris run, and they pick the flag up. "Exactly." Good run by Burkhead. Folk field goal is good and it's 6-3. FUMBLE. Patriots pick it up. Wait, why are the Chiefs punting? They called it an incomplete pass? Romo is incredulous, while Nantz and Belichick seem confused. What happened? We come back from commercial and we find out that Mahomes was called in the grasp, making it a sack. Romo hates it. Steratore comes on and says that Tony Corrente should have announced what the ruling was, and that had Belichick challenged, they would have had the discretion to look at it even though the whistle blew. Nantz points out that after Calhoun gets the ball (it never hit the ground), Corrente points down, and that Belichick may have thought he was calling Calhoun down, not Mahomes. First offensive penalty this year against the Pats. They get the first down anyway. White gets 9 on 3rd and 6. This is Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz's son at center. Pass to White to the Chiefs' 14. Ten seconds left. Hoyer drops back, gets pressured, and Frank Clark sacks him! The half ends and they get NOTHING. That never happens to the Patriots and Hoyer's been around long enough to know better. 6-3 Chiefs at halftime.




Only JB, Cowher, and Simms are in the studio, as I think Boomer still does color for MNF on the radio. They talk about O'Brien's firing. Replay of the end of the half, and Hoyer signals for a time out when the Patriots didn't have any left. That's a good punt. The Patriots are saying it went off Hardman. I don't think it did. Chiefs start at their own 11. The Chiefs let Hoyer run for eight yards. Cut them all. Edelman helps every quarterback. Big time throw by Hoyer to Jamere Byrd for 25! Hoyer drops back on third down and fumbles! Chiefs ball! Wow. Mahomes finds Hill over the middle. Romo: "It's just a matter of time." He misses Kelce over the middle, then finds him down the sideline on the next play, and Kelce brings it inside and gets to the Pats' 20. That's 45 yards. Edwards-Helaire spins for the next five of 10 yards.


Screen to Hill... touchdown Chiefs! He hit the pylon with the ball and it knocked it out, but it still counts. Stidham in at quarterback. Mathieu picks him of fin the end zone, but he also interfered with N'Keal Harry in the field of play. Pats ball at the 8. Touchdown Harry! Dangerous throw by Mahomes into traffic falls incomplete. Jackson almost intercepted it and Hill almost caught it. Mahomes takes off and gets the first down, then goes out of bounds at the 20. Edwards-Helaire goes out at the 5. Jet sweep to Hardman. Touchdown! What? It goes through Edelman's hands and Mathieu has it! Touchdown Chiefs! Stidham sneaks on 4th and short and gets it. Pats have the ball at the Chiefs' 43 with 3:40 left. Stidham airmails this one and Fenton intercepts it.


This was a FAST game. (Chiefs 26, Patriots 10)

Little later start tonight. Levy says the Packers hope to maybe have fans for November 1 against the Vikings. Packers' D already talking trash. Ridley can't make a tough catch and the Falcons punt. That's not pass interference. Refs pick the flag up. Big run by Aaron Jones and the Packers are at the 8. Falcons completely lose Jones and he shrugs walking into the end zone. Ryan just misses Ridley again on third down. Packers put all three running backs in formation and throw downfield to Jamal Williams. Rodgers gets his free play and he hits Shepherd in the middle of the field. Shepherd makes a sliding catch at the goal line but doesn't get in. Packers go for it and Jamal Williams gets STUFFED. Julio Jones with his first catch. Gurley gets eight. That's anew franchise record for catches for Jones. Ryan escapes a sack and finds Jones over the middle on 3rd and 9. Falcons now face a fourth and 2 at the Packers' 11. They go for it, line up in the Wildcat with Ryan split out wide, and the Packers call time out. Ryan ends up having an easy run for the first down. Falcons settle for three after all that. That was 20 plays and it took more than 10 minutes. That's how you lose games. Rodgers finds MVS over the middle. Kazee down after offsetting penalties. Non-contact; that's rarely good. Packers take over and Rodgers hits Williams on a wheel route. Touchdown! Extra point is missed. 13-3. Packers force a punt. Rodgers escapes pressure and finds Williams in the middle of the field, and he works his way toward the sideline. Another pass to Williams comes up short of the first down. Fourth and two, I'd roll Rodgers out. They don't but he finds Malik Taylor for the first down. Rodgers to Tonyan again for the score. That was Rodgers' 200th touchdown pass at Lambeau, fifth-best all-time at one venue. (He's 14 behind Favre, for the record.) And now the Packers have used all four of their running backs. Rodgers throws a bomb but Isaiah Oliver breaks it up. That's only the Packers' sixth punt this season. No more Julio Jones tonight, apparently. Someone named Zaccheus makes a miracle catch off a deflection on a pass Ryan threw into triple coverage. How that wasn't picked off I'll never know. Gurley bounces a run outside and goes out of bounds at the 7. Touchdown Gurley. Falcons' new kicker Fry misses the extra point. Where's Koo? Groin strain, Levy says after the break. I can see how that would make it hard to kick. Touchdown to Tonyan AGAIN. That was QUICK. He was tackled and got up? And the defender didn't follow him?


Za'Darius Smith roughs Ryan to keep the drive going. Whoa, first and goal? Gurley goes left, gets a block from Ryan, and scores.

Crosby makes a field goal. 30-16 with 5:55 left. Feels like Ryan's thrown to everyone except Ridley since those first two misses. Riddick just read my mind. Ryan goes down but falls on his own fumble. Ridley drops it in the end zone on fourth down! Not a great throw by Ryan, and Adrian Amos was bearing down on Ridley. Still, though. At least the Falcons didn't blow a double-digit lead! Baby steps. (Packers 30, Falcons 16)

RANKINGS:
TOP 4:
1. Kansas City (4-0) — There are gonna be slugfests
2. Seattle (4-0) — Is Russ the first quarter MVP?
3. Green Bay (4-0) — Speaking of drafting quarterback you won't use...
4. Buffalo (4-0) — Yes, really

BOTTOM 4:
29. Detroit (1-3) — Maybe just don't bother taking the lead next time
30. Jacksonville (1-3) — Wait, Doug Marrone's still the coach?
31. N.Y. Giants (0-4) — They're somehow worse
32. N.Y. Jets (0-4) — Who's their best player? Anyone?

Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)