Friday, January 29, 2021

By The Pigskin Of Our Teeth: New Starts, Old Ends


Packers turning up the speed. Rodgers finds St. Brown, who breaks a tackle and gets inside the 5. The flag is that he caught the Rams with 12 men on the field, turning it into a free play. Rams defense holds and the Packers kick a field goal. Talk of Goff's glove. Rams are sticking to the middle of the field in the passing game so far. Rams face a 4th and 1 from the Packers' 21. Commotion on both sides and the Rams eventually call time out. Then they false start and end up settling for a field goal, which they didn't want to do in the first place.


Jamal Williams getting some carries earlier than usual. Jones breaks a tackle and picks up eight and a first down. Are those snowflakes? About 9,000 people are here. Aaron Donald and a Packers lineman get into it. Rodgers finds Lazard on a quick slant to set up first and goal. Williams surges to the 1. Touchdown Adams on a play where they motion him across the field, then right back across before the snap. Ramsey couldn't catch up to him and the other defender didn't pick him up. 14 plays, 10-3 Packers.


Zadarius Smith stunts inside and takes down Goff. Big pickup by Jones on a Rodgers checkdown, and he breaks another tackle on the way. Good catch by MVS. Jones run is brought back by offensive holding. Williams converts 3rd and 2. Announcers bring up Rodgers' upcoming Jeopardy guest-hosting gig. Third and goal from the 1. Play fake, Rodgers pup fakes, scrambles, and ends up keeping it and taking it in himself! Bad snap on the extra point keeps it 16-3. Akers finds a hole for a nice run. Burkhardt mentions that it's warm today for January in Green Bay and I notice that the snow's not sticking. Two minute warning already. Reynolds brings in a low throw from Goff and he gets inside the Packers' 20. Touchdown Van Jefferson, who's replacing the injured Kupp. Rodgers scrambles away from pressure and finds Tonyan, who worked his way open, inside the Rams' 30. Hill ALMOST has an interception in the end zone but it goes through his hands. Another pass is broken up by Johnson. Field goal makes it 19-10 Packers at halftime.


Jones fights off two tacklers with stiff-arms and picks up 60 on the first play of the second half. Later he spins and backs his way into the end zone. They go for two here but the pass is broken up. Goff is sacked on 3rd and 7. Where's Aaron Donald?


And the Packers are doing whatever they want on offense. Rodgers misses Brown downfield. Holding wipes out another big Williams run. Darius Williams breaks up a deep ball for Valdes-Scantling, forcing the Packers' first punt today.


Rams already in panic mode? That Goff scramble is the first run of this drive. Direct snap to Akers gets nothing. Packers jump offsides. Touchdown Akers! Rams go for two and get it. Kenny Clark sacks Goff. A.J. Dillon loses the ball, but it bounces to Rodgers and he salvages three yards. Rodgers goes deep to Lazard, WHO CATCHES IT! TOUCHDOWN. They've missed a couple of those but that one hit, and it probably ended this game. Akers picks up four on 3rd and 2. Screen to Woods loses three yards. Goff is sacked on fourth down and the Packers take over. Pass to Tonyan gets 12. Williams gets two first downs on the ground. Packers are gonna run out the clock.


This'll be Rodgers' first NFC title game at home? Huh. (Packers 32, Rams 18)

Ravens open with three straight runs, all of which get big yards. Three more runs follow, including two by Jackson. First pass is a short completion to Snead. Ravens go for it on 4th and 1 and get stopped, but the Bills were offside. Bills bring everyone and sack Jackson back at the 40. Dobbins drops the pass. Tucker CLANGS? Welp. Goodell in the house. Allen overthrows Diggs by a good 15 yards. Unusually poor punt by Koch gives the Bills the ball at around the Ravens' 38. That's some good acting by Allen to draw that roughing penalty. Bass field goal puts the Bills on the board. Edwards fumbles but center Matt Skura falls right on it.


Allen overthrows Diggs again. Short sideline route to John Brown is good for a first down. The next pass to Brown is first ruled out of bounds, then correctly changed to a catch after a quick ref chat. Ravens don't bite on the hard count. Field goal is... no good. That's two misses at that end of the field, Al says. Snap gets away from Jackson, who corrals it, runs away from pressure and manages to throw an incompletion. Tucker from 47 and he CLANGS again! The hell's going on down there?


Allen loses his footing but still throws a perfectly placed ball to Brown. He's reverted back to missing deep balls badly, though. He's sacked and fumbles on third down, but the Bills save it. Ravens look at 2nd and 28 from their own 1 after a sack. They get a first down? How? Dobbins powers through for 11 and another first down. This drive also dies.


Allen lets Diggs work in space for a first down. Then THIS drive dies. There's a reason this game is 3-0 inside two minutes. Hollywood gets open in the middle of the field for 30. Dobbins gets to the 21. Ravens spike it with 13 seconds left. Refs look at this Boykin catch. Where's the second foot? Looks like it's a completion.


And he barely makes this one. 3-3 at halftime. Diggs' man gets picked and he gets free for a first-down catch at the Ravens' 30. Singletary with a powerful run. Allen bootlegs left and picks up another first. Singletary takes a short pass and gets to the 3 for first and goal. Diggs scores on a screen. The Bills had the Ravens outnumbered. Ravens on the move. Snead will NOT go down, getting nine on a short hitch route. Interception! TOUCHDOWN BILLS. Jackson never saw Johnson until he flashed in front of the ball. And the way this game's gone, that might be the end. ANOTHER bad snap. That's been a problem with the Ravens all year with both centers. Jackson throws it away and he's down in the end zone. There's a brief discussion of what this will be, and it's ruled intentional grounding at the 2.


The third quarter ends with Jackson still down. Who dis?


That's not RG3 or McSorley. Tyler Huntley? Good God. It's over. Jackson's in the concussion protocol. Huntley throws too high for Dez after a new report that Jackson's been ruled out. Bass field goal try goes left. This kid doesn't stand a chance. He's QB4! It's just bad for everyone involved. Hollywood to the rescue, coming back to the ball and saving a pick. Huntley scrambles to the Bills' 9. There's three minutes left. Dobbins can only get one on a run to the left. Snead juggles but can't hold on. Bills take over. Punt is almost blocked, but the Ravens get called for running into the kicker as a final insult. (Bills 17, Ravens 3)

CBS is rolling out three sideline reporters for this game (Tracy Wolfson, Evan Washburn and Jay Feely) The Browns get their coach back! This place looks pretty packed. Browns win the toss and defer. CBS in New York having problems?


And there's a pass to Hill for 31. Hill takes a handoff on 3rd and 2 and picks up a first down at the Browns' 3. Darrel Williams powers to the end line. Mahomes scrambles right and spins into the end zone. Extra point is wide left from the jump. 6-0. Browns get a big play from Njoku. Mayfield bootlegs right and runs through Hitchens for a first down. Blitz takes down Mayfield. Field goal is good. Hardman gets 41 on a jet sweep. Mahomes bails out with a stop-start run but the Chiefs get called for holding. Mahomes finds a wide-open Kelce in the middle of the field and he dives over Hardman for a touchdown. This Farmers Insurance Open commercial is aggressive. Peoples-Jones with a big catch down the far sideline. Offensive holding wipes out a completion to Landry. Mayfield's pass on 3rd and 20 gets batted... back to him, and he can't get away from the defense. Chiefs on the move again. They've only had one third down this game? This overthrow of Hill will create the second. Chiefs run a screen to Williams on a blitz but Clayborn is there to stop it. Butker hits from 50 into the wind. That's the longest playoff field goal in Arrowhead history? That's not pass interference. Mayfield with a bullet to Njoku for 26 yards at the two-minute warning. Higgins turns down the sideline and gets to the 20. Higgins again. He dives toward the end zone, but he fumbles! OH NO THE RULE. Touchback and Chiefs ball. I'll reiterate my objection to that rule: If you're on defense, and you don't recover a fumble, you shouldn't get the ball. It was also helmet-to-helmet by Sorenson, but that can't be reviewed. There's also this:


And now the Chiefs are driving. Hill takes this pass play inside the 10. Browns are offsides. Five seconds left and here's Butker. Field goal is good. 19-3 Chiefs at halftime. Mathieu picks off Mayfield! Butker misses from 33! The Chiefs can't land the kill shot. Is this the Browns' THIRD left tackle? Strong run by Chubb. Browns have gone back to the run game and it's working. Touchdown pass to Landry! They... kick the extra point? Huh. Nantz and Romo discuss that during the ensuing kickoff. Romo thinks they should have gone for two there. Mahomes takes a shot after scrambling right. He didn't get the first down, and Chad Henne (!) is taking snaps while he goes to the tent. He had trouble standing up after that hit.


We may not see him again today. They pitch it to Williams and he picks it up. Henne to Kelce only gets five on third and six. Butker from 33 again. It's good. Higgins and Mathieu yapping after a Higgins catch. Fourth quarter starts. Landry bobbles it and so does Mathieu, who Nantz says would still be running if he'd held on. Browns go for it on 4th and 2 and Hooper makes a diving catch. Touchdown Hunt! Mahomes officially out. 22-17 Chiefs with 11:07 left. Henne out here slingin'. What a catch by Hill! Browns challenge it but the ball never hit the ground. Call stands. Henne zips one to Kelce for 25 on 3rd and 5. Chiefs facing 3rd and 25. Henne lofts one into the end zone and Karl Joseph just has to play center field.


Mayfield sneak picks up 4th and 1. Pass to Hunt on 3rd and 11 only gets two because of pressure. This is the second punt of the game. 4:09 left. Garrett, who's been in and out of this game, sacks Henne! Two minutes left. Third and 14. Henne takes off! Did he make it? He went in head-first. JUST short. The length of a football. Chiefs line up to go for it, and they'll milk the clock for a bit. THEY THROW IT. Hill makes the catch! Romo's going nuts.


(Chiefs 22, Browns 17)

I love how it's basically an open secret among broadcasters that Brees is retiring after this season. Ronald Jones is back for the Bucs, while no Taysom for the Saints. Buccaneers go three and out to start, and this is a big punt return by Harris. Did he make the red zone? Not quite, but it's 54 yards and it's Saints ball at the Bucs' 21. Brees can't find Thomas in the end zone and the Saints settle for a 23-yarder. Brady is sacked for a second three and out. Harris finds a hole and has blockers. TOUCHDOWN? Tampa's kick coverage units have been... less than spectacular this season. This is coming back, isn't it? Sure is. JPP with a big play. 6-0 Saints after the Lutz field goal. The Buccaneers decide to slow down on this third possession. Brady sneak converts fourth and 1 at their own 36. Brady misses Evans deep and Lattimore was all over him. Screen to Godwin on 3rd and 5 gets 11. Fats Domino's "Walking to New Orleans" brings us into the second quarter. Cameron Brate makes a catch at the Saints' 17. Brady and Gronk don't connect in the end zone, for probably the first time ever. Field goal puts the Bucs on the board. Murphy-Bunting picks off Brees! Lot of contact between him and Thomas before the ball was thrown. He steps out of bounds at the Saints' 3. Brady to Evans for a touchdown.


Brees throws long to no one because there was hiding in the secondary. Jameis split out wide? Double handoff? Flag? TOUCHDOWN? They pick up the flag because the extra lineman did report as eligible. It counts! Just noticed that was a direct snap to Sanders, who handed it to Winston. (It's the same play the Bears ran against them last week that Wims couldn't catch.)



Brady throws deep on 3rd and 1 and it's picked off? Except it's not — Williams didn't get both feet inbounds. Call correctly reversed and it's 4th and 1. Did they punt? Weird. Lattimore and Evans bark at each other as we reach the two-minute warning. Nothing new there. Then Brady gets in someone's face after Fournette gets punched in the side after a carry. Don't know why the Bucs are running the ball here with 45 seconds left. They have two time outs, but still. They call one after this completion to Brown on the sideline. False start and Brady's not thrilled. Brady has Godwin in the end zone but he can't hang on. Are they reviewing this? They are. Call stands. Brate gets 10 back and the field goal team is out. It's good, and we're tied at 13 at halftime. Kamara finally breaks open a run. Ty Montgomery with a catch. Thomas really tried to sell that ball on the ground as a catch. Touchdown to Tra'Quan Smith! Gardner-Johnson down for New Orleans after not coming up with an interception. Murphy-Bunting misses a second pick. Winfield knocks the ball out of Cook's hands and Devin White recovers! Fournette beats Anzalone and Brady finds him for a touchdown. Neither quarterback has played a great game. Footage of their first meeting, back in college, a 38-12 Michigan win over Purdue. Big run by Jones will come back for offensive holding. Whoa! Tyler Johnson had to turn around and THEN reach behind him to catch that. Buck spots Scottie Miller, and then Brady does, hitting him after a double move for 29 on 3rd and 5. Jones back in and he gets another first down. Gronk dives in the end zone but can't corral the pass. Succop puts the Bucs ahead with a field goal. Aikman says it's time for the Saints to ride Kamara to a win, then laments that they haven't taken any deep shots. That's because Brees' arm is toast, dude. Another interception! This time it's White. Oh boy.


What was that look on Brees's face as he threw the ball? Looked like he was straining. Jones is tripped up at the 1. Brady sneak for a touchdown! David tips this pass and Mike Edwards has the interception. This is over. That's great foot control to stay inbounds.


Godwin gets a 14-yard first down off a wheel route. Aikman waxing on Brees' career while noting that with all the success he and Payton had, the Saints only won one Super Bowl. He knows it's over. Fournette gets a first down and now it's over. Buck compares 2009 Favre to 2020 Brady. Godspeed, Drew. You've got an NBC contract in your back pocket and you'll reportedly be calling SNF in two years. Or you can run for mayor and win by a landslide if you want. (Buccaneers 30, Saints 20)
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