Geno gets wrecked on a safety blitz and loses the ball but a Seahawks lineman recovers. Seahawks offense has done nothing.I'd like to report Kyle Shanahan for his crimes against linebackers @FBI @CIA
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) December 16, 2022
Purdy finds Aiyuk on the move. Drive ends and now the Seahawks finally get something going. Three people move early on third down, including Tyler Lockett, who gets called for it. Geno scrambles for 20 and Carroll wants a flag for a tackle out of bounds. (He doesn't get it.) Field goal is good. Quandray Diggs drops an interception. Travis Homer fumbles and it bounces right to Chavarius Ward, who returns it inside the 10! Touchdown McCaffrey with 50 seconds left.Kyle going for it on fourth-and-7 to draw the Seahawks offsides just so he could punt anyway on fourth-and-2 is just trolling
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) December 16, 2022
Another blown coverage, another Kittle touchdown. 49ers' pick-six is called back because of a roughing call on Bosa. Um, OK. Then a deep ball to Young is called back because of a hold on the Seahawks. They salvage a field goal, making it 21-6. There were THREE different penalties on the 49ers on that play? I'm with Herbstreit, I've never heard of that before. Seahawks decline them all. Seahawks punt pins the 49ers at their own 2, and they never really get out of there. Now the Seahawks are on a third and 23, if you're wondering how things have been going since then. Al inadvertently "mini-kiboshes" Gould, who misses right from 45. 5:08 left. Seahawks go into hurry-up. Touchdown Fant! 67 yards in 85 seconds. Purdy keeps it, rolls right, and slides at the marker. They give him the first down and Carroll challenges. Call stands.BRO IS THAT SIR MIX A LOT? LMAO.
— Kei (@RealMamaEagle) December 16, 2022
That's the game, right? Seahawks are out of time outs? OK, so the next first down will be the game. And there it is, as Mason goes for 54 before getting knocked out at the 2. (49ers 21, Seahawks 13)Don’t need to overthink DPOY. It’s Bosa. Best player on the best defense at a premium position. Just plain wins his one on ones. And I love me some Micah Parsons, no matter how much I disagree w his Jalen take. He’ll get one. It’s just Bosa’s year.
— chris long (@JOEL9ONE) December 16, 2022
Colts return the opening kickoff to midfield. Jonathan Taylor is down and hurt after three plays. That's not great. Zach Moss not getting a lot here. He loses seven yards at the 1 and the Colts kick a field goal. BLOCKED PUNT TOUCHDOWN! He caught it IN THE AIR? Vikings' special teams are in ruins. Big run by Cook. FUMBLE! Colts ball! Dear God.
Touchdown Deon Jackson and it's 17-0 Colts. This is a self-immolation even by Vikings standards. They run C.J. Ham on a fullback sweep on third and 2 and it doesn't work. They go for it and get NOTHING. Jebus.Oh this is going to be THAT game for the Vikings
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) December 17, 2022
Colts take over on downs. Taylor ruled out. Nate Burleson (who's calling the game with Noah Eagle) is doing his best to explicitly not call the Vikings' effort "soft", saying out loud that that's the worst thing you can call a football team. (Especially one that he played for.) Another McLaughlin field goal makes it 20-0 and this remains a game. Cousins sacked after a first down. Hockenson goes down one yard short of the first down. Vikings punt. Oh WAIT it's a fake, but the pass is high and incomplete.OMG. Lusty boos in Minnesota.
— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) December 17, 2022
The last team to jump on the Vikings like this were the Cowboys, who beat these Colts by 35.
Ryan missing throws. Third down pass for Pierce is way too far and it's another decent stand for the Vikings' defense as McLaughlin hits from 49. Cousins sacked again on third and 2. Pittman gets stopped well short of the first down. The ball comes out and the Vikings pick it up and run it back, but the refs ruled that forward progress was stopped, and that can't be challenged. Burleson doesn't like the call. Vikings start at their own 5 after the punt. Jefferson goes down for a couple of minutes before walking off. PICK SIX FOR JULIAN BLACKMON. Well, we hadn't had one of those yet. 30-0 Colts. Christ.Punt: Blocked for TD
— Sis Boom Blah (@AndrewTheMild) December 17, 2022
Go for it: Stuffed for a loss
Fake punt: incomplete pass
Next step, 88 yard field goal attempt
First down pass to Osborn gets a Bronx cheer. Osborn AGAIN! Colts challenge, and they might win this one. Call REVERSED, as his hands came off the ball when he hit the ground. Pereira spotted it first. Colts driving again as we reach two minutes. Vikings use their time outs to try to get a two-for-one, as they'll get the ball to start the second half. Highlight of Burleson returning a punt for a touchdown against the Colts on 2004 on Monday night. He says he was expecting to be player of the game. Eagle: "What happened?" Burleson: "Peyton Manning." Colts run off left tackle on third and 5. Really? Field goal makes it 33-0. Fans booing pretty loud at halftime. Vikings go three and out. OSBORN! This one will actually count, too. Perfect throw to Osborn for a Vikings touchdown. Colts return the kickoff to the 40. Hate that screen on third down. McLaughlin good from 52 and it's 36-7. "Let's Go Crazy" to break.Wonder how many times a team that had the final 30+ points of a game scored against them started off their next game scoring the first 30 of their own?
— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) December 17, 2022
Because that’s what these Colts have just done.
Vikings trying to rally? There'll be no big return THIS time. Big Reagor punt return is coming back. Jefferson gets flattened by Gilmore — taking a shot to the head — but still holds on. He's MAD. Cousins throws deep and it's picked off! Another bad throw or did Reagor run the wrong route? Who's to say. They're all frauds. Thielen finally gets a catch with 6:49 left in the GAME. Dude just vanishes in this offense at times like he never did when Zimmer was coaching. Osborn to the 14. Colts get called for interference in the end zone. Touchdown Thielen! PAT is good and it's 36-28. No clue why the Colts are leaning on Moss instead of Jackson here, as Jackson's clearly been the better back today. Ryan finds Campbell for a first down on third and 3. Jackson fumbles and Chandon Sullivan picks it up and scores... but they call it down AGAIN. That's the second time that's happened not just today, but TO HIM. Oh, that ball is OUT. Did the Vikings challenge or did the refs change the call? A furious Sullivan throws his helmet down and he gets flagged. Its Vikings ball, 15 yards back from where the fumble occurred. Vikings forced to go for it on 4th and 10, and they false start. Now it's 4th and 15. They should punt, honestly. Cousins gets sacked from behind. Moss runs for a first down. He gets stopped a yard short on third and 7. Ryan sneaks it and this'll be close. He didn't get it! Saturday just challenged the spot.In a game that started with Jonathan Taylor, Justin Jefferson, Dalvin Cook, Adam Thielen, T.J. Hockenson and Michael Pittman, Jr. the five TD so far have naturally been scored by:
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) December 17, 2022
FB CJ Ham
WR KJ Osborn
RB Deon Jackson
LB JoJo Domann
S Julian Blackmon
Still didn't get it. Dalvin Cook catches a screen pass. Shameful tackling by the Colts. Oh my God. TOUCHDOWN! Vikings have to go for two here. Hockenson ties it! Jebus.Can’t run a sneak, don’t deserve it
— chris long (@JOEL9ONE) December 17, 2022
Colts come up short on third and 5. They're not punting? Seriously? FALSE START. Now they have to punt.I don't think this meant what I thought it meant https://t.co/1LrvEwpfNn
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) December 17, 2022
Odeyingbo runs down Cousins. Colts call time out with 22 seconds left, but they let about 12 seconds run off before that. Punt is down at the 1 and we've got ten more minutes of this slop. They've delayed the kickoff for Ravens-Browns. Vikings win the toss. They get Buckner for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Cousins. Cook gets another first down. Cousins gets sacked, then his pass gets knocked down. Vikings punt instead of trying a 57-yard field goal. 4:50 left.Biggest winner of this game is ESPN — they’re getting Jeff Saturday back in 4 weeks.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) December 17, 2022
Tough catch by Pittman. Ball pops out, but it's ruled an incomplete pass (and the Colts fell on it anyway.) Pittman stretches out for the first down. Ryan hit as he throws and it's almost intercepted. Colts punt. 1:41 left. The last time any NFL team had two ties in one season was 1973, the year before the NFL introduced overtime. FOUR teams did it (Chiefs, Broncos, Browns, and Packers.) A tie would be deserved here, because despite everything, this has been a horribly played game. Cousins finds Thielen at the Colts' 41 with 35 seconds left. Jefferson makes a catch and the Colts swarm to him to prevent him from getting up. That'll draw a delay of game penalty, because they made it too obvious. Seven seconds left. Joseph from 40. It's GOOD. And that's the biggest comeback in NFL history.1,548-1-1 pic.twitter.com/JijhMdFpcw
— Bryan Fischer (@BryanDFischer) December 17, 2022
Good teams win, etc. (Vikings 39, Colts 36, OT)Colts blow a 33-point lead.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) December 17, 2022
Cover by a half a point.
We arrive in Cleveland at the start of the second quarter. There's no score. Bill was being optimistic:
The Browns have a third down. Field goal unit comes on and we have points. No Lamar Jackson for the Ravens, who have simply decided to run the ball even more. Tucker ties it at 3. Watson goes downfield to Njoku, who gets inside the 5. He overthrows Njoku in the end zone on third down, who doesn't get the flag he wants. 6-3 Browns after the York field goal. First big play from Mark Andrews in weeks, it seems. Tucker MISSES? From 48?? It's the apocalypse. 6-3 Browns at the half. Huntley scrambles inside the 20 for a first down. Interception by Ward!They should just tell the Ravens and Browns that they’re starting at 2:15 and we’ll say it’s an ugly 3-3 game after one quarter because that’s what would have happened anyway.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) December 17, 2022
Two Cooper catches get the Browns into the red zone. Slant to Peoples-Jones for a touchdown. DeMarcus Robinson fumbles after the catch and the Browns have it. But they lose seven yards and punt. J.K. Dobbins for 37! Are those snowflakes? Tucker's 50-yarder is BLOCKED! This is his worst game ever. (Browns 13, Ravens 3)It's cool that DeSean Jackson is still out there but I'm not sure slant in the red zone is his best role
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) December 17, 2022
Tua finds Mostert on a checkdown swing pass, and he sends Milano to the deep end. Waddle won't have to wait until the fourth quarter to catch a pass this week. Mostert picks up fourth and 1. Tua gets sacked as the pocket collapses and he didn't see Hill's slant. Field goal is good.
Allen to Knox for 45. Touchdown Quinten Morris and I don't know how he caught that pass. That looked like it was going off the defender's helmet. Mostert finds a hole on the right side, breaks FOUR tackles, and goes for 61 to the Bills' 8. Add half the distance for a horse collar and it's first and goal at the 4 to start the second quarter.Scoreboard here just said, "Do not throw any items, including snow." People are not listening.
— Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) December 18, 2022
Why throw to Trent Sherfield there? Tua getting no help from his receivers. Field goal makes it 7-6. ZIP. Hey, a Gabriel Davis sighting. Play action to Diggs and the Bills are in the red zone. Wheel route to Hines for a touchdown. Announcers ask Pereira what the officials can do about all the snowball throwing. "They can run for cover." While that conversation happens, the officials briefly pause the game because of it.Getting pelted with snowballs while trying to haul in a TD pass is quite the home field advantage right now
— Sean Koerner (@The_Oddsmaker) December 18, 2022
Officials just announced that if a snowball hits a player it will be a 15-yard penalty against the Bills. The response from the crowd involved a lot of boos and middle fingers.
— Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) December 18, 2022
The snowball thing is way outta pocket. But if they start penalizing Buffalo, miami fans are going to start framing the bills! Plot twist!
— chris long (@JOEL9ONE) December 18, 2022
Tua finds Waddle downfield. Tre'Davious White almost gets an interception on a ball thrown behind Waddle. Hill goes up to get it at the Bills' 11. Touchdown... Salvon Ahmed? He's only up because Jeff Wilson's hurt. Knox can't haul this one in. Singletary gets the first down. Another missed catch by Knox. Allen finds McKenzie at the 19. That holding penalty is the third one against the Dolphins on this drive. Allen scrambles right as the clock runs — and he finds James Cook in the end zone with zeroes on the clock.Also, Bills fans: please don't throw sex toys? 😂
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) December 18, 2022
Steve Smith with ski goggles on the field set at halftime. WADDLE! He won't be caught by anyone. He does the penguin dance in the end zone afterwards. Dolphins go for two but it's incomplete. The Dolphins almost don't catch up to this punt, but they manage to down it at the Bills' 1. Bills bring all the linebackers and get to Tua. Bills come after the punt but they hit the punter and that's a first down for the Dolphins. The Bills can't tackle either Mostert or Ahmed. Tua drops it in Tyreek's basket for a touchdown. Dolphins lead. McKenzie cuts off Diggs on a route and catches the ball. It's ruled incomplete. But maybe it wasn't? He got the knee down but did he keep control? Call STANDS. Diggs loses Xavien Howard deep (he fell down) but Allen overthrows him. Bills drop an interception. Allen is strip-sacked by Jalen Phillips and the Dolphins recover! Sanders hits a 47-yarder to make it 29-21 Dolphins with 12 minutes left. Allen takes off! That's designed. Gotta be. Allen gets hit out of bounds after another run and we got a scuffle on the sideline.Just a totally dangerous play from Allen. Held the ball too long to get another play off, threw against his body to the middle of the field ... and it works because he's Josh Allen.
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) December 18, 2022
Allen gets rushed but finds Knox in the end zone! Allen tries to leap the pile for the two-point conversion, but he loses the ball, which gets knocked all the way back to the 30. The Bills challenge this, saying that the ball broke the plane before it came out — and they win it! We're tied! No one on the broadcast mentioned a challenge, and we didn't see anything until coming back from commercial.Allen takes a hit going out of bounds. Fans throwing snowballs at the Dolphins while the teams fight and yell at each other. Allen yelling at the fans to cut it out. This all feels fraught.
— Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) December 18, 2022
Cedrick Wilson with a catch off a Bills' helmet. Snow is REALLY coming down now. Oh, I don't like this DPI call. Oh, never mind. They could have gotten the other Dolphins defender for holding, too. Ball's at the Dolphins' 11. Singletary goes down at the 2! Bills players try to scrape out a little landing patch for Bass. I guess it's good; I can't see the ball. But Bass just did a celebratory slide on his stomach, so I guess the game's over. (Bills 32, Dolphins 29)The combined circumstances—miserable weather, extremely significant Bills game, no work tomorrow—leads me to believe that someone wearing a CJ Spiller jersey at this game is going to become the first person ever to record a BAC that starts with a 1 and a decimal point.
— David Roth (@david_j_roth) December 18, 2022
Signal Finder: PHI @ CHI, PIT @ CAR, KC @ HOU (end), DAL @ JAX (end), CIN @ TB
After a long time, Teven Jenkins is carted off the field after an injury. Bears roll Fields left, but Wallace catches up to him before he can get the first down. He LOST a yard. The Bears go for it, but the pass in incomplete. Smith somehow stays inbounds for a 20-yard gain. Hurts rushes this throw and it gets picked off. Sweat with a sack on third and 10. Eagles go three and out. Hargrave with a sack. Smith takes a quick slant across the field and goes for 43! Slant to Brown for 17. Jalen Johnson with a great play to break up what would have been a touchdown for Brown. Field goal is good. Fields escapes the blitz and finds Montgomery for a good gain. Reddick blasts Fields but the Bears recover the fumble. Fields follows up with a ridiculous run (aided by some abysmal tackling). He's ruled out at the nine-yard line. Montgomery scores untouched. Extra point misses left. Hurts throws another interception, and it's returned to the Eagles' 25.
This time Reddick finishes the sack. Alex Leatherwood showing why he was a first-round bust with the Raiders. The Bears are punting? And passing up a 48-yarder? Ouch. Fans rightly booing this decision. Hey, a Sanders carry. Two minute warning. Smith's having a half. 37 on 3rd and 3. I wasn't sure he'd catch that. He's only got three catches? Huh. Bears bring the safety and Hurts runs right past everyone for a touchdown! He could have walked in backwards. Sweat sack ends the half. 10-6 Eagles. Boston Scott returns the second half kickoff to the Bears' 44! Rainbow throw to Brown inside the 5. Hurts sneak finds paydirt. Riley Reiff's a Bear? That's three-quarters of the NFC North for him. Hargrave with his second sack today and the Bears have no answer for the Eagles' defensive line. Sanders FUMBLES and it's Bears ball at the Eagles' 14. Eagles blitz, leaving Montgomery wide open for a touchdown catch. The Bears keep losing guys off an already undermanned defense, leading to the announcers talking about how healthy the Eagles have been. Hurts gets popped on a draw. Bears run an end around but it's fumbled and Reddick's on it! Hurts gets sacked when he had time to throw it away. Brown gets nine back and they go for it on 4th and 6. Johnson knocks it away from Brown. Bears go three and out, but the punt is downed at the Eagles' 3. Eagles beat the blitz on third down with a screen to Smith. Sanders with a good run, which the running backs haven't had too many of. Eagles go on 4th and 2 and Hurts gets three. Chains come out and he JUST got it. Hurts overthrows Smith in the end zone. Elliott field goal CLANGS off the upright and it's no good!I don't know anything the #Eagles are doing offensively.
— Jeff Kerr (@JeffKerrCBS) December 18, 2022
What is Nick Sirianni and Shane Steichen trying to prove?
Why isn't the offensive line blocking well?
Why does Miles Sanders only have one carry?
Fields gets to 1,000 rushing yards. Bears get called for holding on the next play and Fields comes up limping. Nathan Peterman is in on third and 14. Slay breaks up the pass. Hurts goes deep for Brown, who finally beats Johnson and goes down the sideline for 68 yards before Brisker comes in to save the touchdown. Sanders gets to the goal line but not over it. Replay clearly shows his elbow was down. Hurts sneak works but there's a flag. TWO Bears were offsides. Then they line up to go for two (with backup center Cam Jurgens in motion!) and the Bears jump again. This time Hurts goes left and goes in (and gets rolled up afterwards.) Fields back in. Fields scrambles, and everyone loses Byron Pringle, who has the easiest touchdown ever. Eagles quickly move into Bears territory. Two-minute warning. Slant to Brown on third and 6 finishes it.Literally just one of those days.
— Kei (@RealMamaEagle) December 18, 2022
The defense is going to have to win it.
(Eagles 25, Bears 20)Shhhh don’t tell nobody else https://t.co/Lh4KwMxX3h
— fletcher cox (@fcoxx_91) December 18, 2022
Yep. Zach Wilson wasn't great, but that was a winnable game and the coaches blew it. (Lions 20, Jets 17)The #Jets got the ball with 1:49 remaining and three timeouts. They wound up trying a 58 yard field goal on first down with one second left and a timeout unused. Don’t tell me the QB lost that game. If we’re keeping receipts, the Coaches need to own this loss.
— Mike Greenberg (@Espngreeny) December 18, 2022
Trubisky starting for the Steelers with Pickett in concussion protocol. Harris pushes Chinn out of the way and rolls over another defender into the end zone. Darnold throws to the near corner of the end zone. If Moore caught that, that's a touchdown. He did, it is, and we're tied. Gumbel trying to sell the badness of the NFC South as "intriguing," but I'm not even sure he's buying it. Jaylen Warren goes in from three yards out. Refs rule that what looked like a great play to down this Steelers punt at the Panthers' 1 didn't work, and it's a touchback. Corgi derby at halftime! Steelers run a reverse with Steven Sims out of tempo and he gets 22. Diontae Johnson doesn't have a touchdown catch? I know the Steelers haven't been great this season but that feels weird. Johnson spins out of two tacklers TWICE to get this first down, but then he gets called for taunting. Warren gets stopped at the goal line, but Trubisky doesn't. A 21-play drive? Good God. 21-7 Steelers. Darnold keeps it for some reason on third and 8 and goes nowhere. Ball comes loose but he's ruled down. Field goal is good. The Steelers defense has been awful between the 20s in this half but isn't allowing anything at the goal line. Panthers settle for another field goal with 6:30 left. Trubisky sneak picks up third and short. Boswell hits from 50 and that should do it. There's a scuffle on the Panthers' onside kick but let's not get too dramatic. (Steelers 24, Panthers 16)
Cowboys choking like dogs. Delicious. It was 27-10 at one point! Zay Jones has THREE touchdowns? He's FEASTING.
He should give all of the money back. Cowboys come back and retake the lead. 2:01 left. OH NO JAGUARS. Lawrence got blasted and fumbles. Are the Jaguars gonna get the ball back? Yep. Patterson from 48. It's GOOD. Overtime! Prescott pass gets batted around and Rayshawn Jenkins comes up with it! He's running it back! TOUCHDOWN? Yeah, that was a clean scoop! Jaguars win! WOW. (Jaguars 40, Cowboys 34, OT)It’s also REMARKABLE how well Urban Meyer hid this from us.
— chris long (@JOEL9ONE) December 18, 2022
The Texans get paid, too, you know. Mahomes scramble. Texans call their last time out. Butker misses from 51. Reid playing for a field goal there didn't make any sense, especially with all of their time outs. At least try to get closer. Kelce picks up a first down. Drive stalls and the Chiefs punt. Mills gets hit from behind on the run and fumbles! Big scramble, and William Gay comes out of the pile with it, and the refs finally signal Chiefs ball! Touchdown McKinnon on the first snap!
They've seemed happier. (Chiefs 30, Texans 24, OT)Deep sigh.
— Arrowhead Pride (@ArrowheadPride) December 18, 2022
DIVISION CHAMPS
If I had Matt Patricia and Joe Judge trying to run an offense, I'd yell at people too.
Stevenson! Patriots lead somehow, after all of... that. Then the Keelan Cole "touchdown" happened. Weird to see the Patriots get screwed by bad officiating for once. WHAT THE HELL???Mac is 11 for 26 for 65 yards. Against the Raiders. Who aren’t exactly the ‘85 Bears.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) December 18, 2022
That is the single stupidest ending to a football game I have ever seen. https://t.co/SBFUB7nTWG
— Jane Coaston (@janecoaston) December 19, 2022
Dumbest most indefensible last second Patriots loss of my lifetime. And I’m old enough to remember the Joe Ferguson Hail Mary.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) December 19, 2022
Belichick's lost it. That's a fireable offense.I remember how Belichick benched Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler for no reason, so I expect Jacoby Meyers to be executed by dawn.
— Paul Sie1ski (@thebigpeezy) December 19, 2022
McDaniels taking a big risk meeting Belichick at midfield. That's a good way to catch a shiv. (Raiders 30, Patriots 24)That’s gonna be a brave first question to ask in the presser.
— Scott Van Pelt (@notthefakeSVP) December 19, 2022
Tannehill came back into this game after being carted off earlier. Ekeler gives the Chargers the lead in the fourth. Dicker does it again! The Titans have lost four in a row... and the Jaguars are one game back. (Chargers 17, Titans 14)THE TITANS WITH THE INTERCEPTION OF THE YEAR! 🏈😯 pic.twitter.com/XuuKvqmzRB
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) December 18, 2022
Carlton Davis gets an interception off a tip. Bates should have had that end zone pick. Field goal is good. Bengals challenge this Evans catch on fourth and 2, claiming it hit the ground. Call STANDS. Brady finds Gage in the back corner for a touchdown on fourth and goal from the 2. 10-0 Bucs. Burrow was getting a fingernail on his right hand worked on during that drive. Bengals offense just can't get started. Succop misses from 50. Brady's 600th attempt of the season is a completion to Godwin. Quick screen to Godwin and he scores. Bengals get into field goal range, but Burrow checks down with 12 seconds left and they can't get out of bounds. They end up spiking it and McPherson salvages a field goal. Buccaneers try a fake punt, but Gio Bernard drops the snap! Bengals get the ball deep in Bucs territory. (Why even run a fake there?) Bucs have shut down Chase and the Bengals kick another field goal. A SIX-yard kickoff return? Brady gets picked off! Chase wants a flag on Murphy-Bunting, and he should have gotten it. They go for it (the Bengals are the worst fourth-down team in the league) and Burrow gets chased all the way back to midfield — but a defensive holding call gives the Bengals an automatic first. That's a makeup call but what the heck was Burrow thinking? They flag Davis for a face mask on Chase, giving the Bengals first and goal at the 5. Touchdown Higgins. Two-point pass is knocked away. Brady gets sacked on third down and fumbles! Bengals ball! Chase fights for eight yards. Every Bengals running play is a slog. Touchdown Boyd! The Buccaneers have self-destructed in this quarter. Higgins barely holds on to the two-point try. 20-17 Bengals. Buccaneers fumble AGAIN! Fournette straight-up dropped the handoff and D.J. Reader recovers! Then Murphy-Bunting drops a sure interception. Burrow finds Wilcox for 18. Touchdown Chase and this is an implosion. Twenty-seven unanswered. Burrow is somehow the first Bengals QB with back-to-back 30 touchdown pass seasons.
Did they call that an interception? How does Bowles not challenge that? Bengals punt and the Bucs start at their own 2. They get nine yards, but decide to punt with 9:24 left.So the only play the Buccaneers have run in Bengals territory in the second half was called back due to holding. Is that correct?
— Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) December 18, 2022
(Bengals 34, Buccaneers 23)Tom Brady lost a 17-point lead for the first time ever to lose an 8th regular season game for the first-season ever and Bill Belichick’s team now owns perhaps the most situationally bone-headed play of all-time.
— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) December 19, 2022
The NFL Earth is off its axis.
MSNBC's Steve Kornacki is absolutely clowning the entire Football Night In America team for unanimously picking the Dolphins last week. (The Chargers won last week.) (It's the fifth time that's happened on FNIA.) FLEXING, by the way. Another tie would be unspeakably hilarious. "From just outside our nation's capital." The winner's in great shape; the loser's in really bad shape. Commanders moving, helped by Curtis Samuel converting fourth and 1. Heinecke sacked. Collinsworth is glad to be at a Giants-Washington game that matters again. The wind's in the Commanders' face, so they punt instead of trying a 52-yarder, but Richie James returns the punt 23 yards. Brian Robinson running tough. Heinecke runs for a first down. Slye hits from 41 for the game's first points. Heinecke's already 29? McCain stops Hodgins and the Giants punt. That's a good kick. Thibodeaux blows the whole thing up, forces a fumble, and recovers it for a touchdown! Fuller swipes at Hodgins to save about 15 more yards after Hodgins went down after the catch. Jones to James inside the Commanders' 20. Hodgins gets to the 5. Tirico and Collinsworth say the Giants are just starting their rebuild and say Jones and Barkley are their biggest offseason decisions. Touchdown Barkley. 14-3 Giants at halftime.DISCUSSION QUESTION: is this the greatest haters' weekend in NFL history?
— Holly Anderson 🍇 (@HollyAnderson) December 19, 2022
McLaurin! Dotson catches a touchdown on a throw from Heinecke that had no room for error. Commanders go for two and get it, but it's called back for OPI. Then they miss the kick! Jones fumbles! But his elbow was down, so this'll get reversed. Barkley runs through the pile for a first down. Gano makes it 17-9. Dude gets bent the wrong way on this punt return but he's ruled down. Field goal makes it 17-12.Things the Commanders did in the first half:
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) December 19, 2022
-Punted from New York's 34-yard line
-Got strip-sacked at NY's 2; Giants recovered, scored
-Let Giants convert 4th-&-9 during 97-yd scoring drive
-Went 0-5 on third down
Commanders force a punt with 9:12 left. Heinecke to Dotson for 61! Heinecke takes a bad sack and now it's 4th and 9. Wait, the Giants are challenging and saying that Heinecke actually fumbled. Oh BOY. This might work. It does! Giants ball!This was bound to happen at some point this season. If only Melissa had said, "Thanks, Al." pic.twitter.com/PKBnG5I4q0
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 19, 2022
Payne leaves early and Barkley runs through the hole he left behind. Barkley again. And AGAIN. The Commanders can't stop him. The Giants can't get third and 6 and we're at the two-minute warning. Gano from 50 is good. No one tracks Samuel and the Commanders are at the 30 already. High snap, and then McCloud drops a sure interception in the end zone. Heinecke scrambles to the 1 and gets hit inbounds. Giants call their second time out. They review it and rule that he did go out of bounds, so the Giants get their time out back and eight seconds back on the clock. Robinson goes into the pile for the touchdown, but an illegal formation penalty wipes it out. Heinecke forced into an incompletion. Pass is broken up!Robinson runs for 18. They take him out.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) December 19, 2022
First down at NYG 12
Samuel 1 yard run
Short pass, 5 yds
Heinecke sacked, fumble
Robinson watches last 3 plays from sideline @HousefromDC go wake up your coach
(Giants 20, Commanders 12)So NFL officials simply are too afraid to call pass interference in the final seconds of games anymore? It’s rather gutless, isn’t it ?
— Michael Wilbon (@RealMikeWilbon) December 19, 2022
What is this terrible song they've been using in the ads for this game? It's 15 degrees at kickoff. Rams lose their center on the first snap. Preston Smith finally gets Mayfield down after a few too many seconds. Rodgers currently on a W8 on Monday nights. He finds Lazard on the sideline, then the returning Romeo Doubs for 11. Packers want a flag on Ramsey for interfering with Watson but he doesn't get it. (Did no one see Ramsey grab Watson's jersey?) Then he gets sacked on third down. Field goal is good. Aikman talks about how hard it had to be for Mayfield to pick up any of the Rams' playbook in two days. Quay Walker almost had a pick-six. Gay ties it at 3.
Packers call time out on 4th and 3 from the Rams' 17. Peyton doesn't think it'll work if they go for it, while George Kittle predicts they'll kick the field goal. Everybody's wrong, as they hand it to Aaron Jones and he gets four. Touchdown Dillon. Mayfield goes down and fumbles but the Rams keep it. Then he finds Van Jefferson for 15. Drive stalls and Gay hits from 55. 10-6 Packers at halftime. Two Rams collide and Cobb still drops the ball in the end zone. Late flag comes out and it's illegal contact on Ramsey — who was on the opposite side of the field. Touchdown Dillon, his second of the night. Ray Lewis and DeMarcus Ware join the show. They will be the Mannings' respective defensive coordinators in the Pro Bowl flag game. The first topic of discussion is the Patriots doing some top-shelf Raiders shit. Short Rams punt gets returned to midfield, and a face mask against the Rams moves it 15 yards closer. Jones touchdown catch on the sideline makes it 24-6. HIGBEE. Two-point try fails. Lewis clowns Ware for getting completely fooled on a Peyton bootleg touchdown against the Cowboys. He was lined up on that side of the field! Rasul Douglas intercepts Mayfield, then he tries to lateral it, drawing the expected response. Aaron Jones appears to fumble. Let's see what the flag is. There's two: a face mask on the Packers before the fumble, and unsportsmanlike conduct on the Rams after the play ended.I did not have "I like the nipple rub" on my 2022 ManningCast Bingo card. #LARvsGB
— Coke Zero Bear (@jdmann) December 20, 2022
So it's Rams ball at their own 15 with 10:55 left. They go nowhere. Lil' Wayne's on. Are they gonna ask him if the's ever gonna make a good song again? Make that a W9 for Rodgers on Monday night. The Packers are still technically in it. (Packers 24, Rams 12)Apparently “forward progress” no longer exits in the NFL rugby scrum era. We’ll see a lot more fumble/muggings as a way to combat the offensive tactic, I think.
— Les Bowen (@LesBowen) December 20, 2022
RANKINGS:
TOP 4:
1. Philadelphia (13-1) — Just cold enough
2. San Francisco (10-4) — Hurt Purdy does just enough
3. Buffalo (11-3) — Control yourselves, please
4. Cincinnati (10-4) — Defying the Super Bowl losers' curse
BOTTOM 4:
29. Arizona (4-10) — Real lost season here
30. Chicago (3-11) — Tough, but outmanned
31. L.A. Rams (4-10) — Out of ammo
32. Houston (1-12-1) — So close yet again
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