Thursday, September 6, 2018

By The Pigskin Of Our Teeth: Absolute Madmen

Philadelphia is ALL OVER this pregame. From the Eagles coming out to a Meek Mill song, to Leslie Odom Jr. singing American the Beautiful, to Pink singing the anthem (Over/under: 2:14).




ANTHEM TIMER: 1:55! That was a damn sprint. Is that some kind of record?

Well, I guess we gotta do this.




Patriots win the toss and defer. Everything is terrible. Three straight completions from Foles to start. First run is by Blount and he gets put in a sleeper hold. Smith goes up to pick up a 3rd and 12. Al sort of recapping the Jay Ajayi situation in Miami. Screen to Clement gets them inside the 10. False start? Not great. Eric Rowe breaks up a corner fade to Jeffery on 3rd down and Elliott comes in. Kick is good. Spoon's "The Underdog" goes into commercial.







What the hell, Sprint. About time we got a Solo trailer.

No tape on Brady's hand. He catches the Eagles with 12 men on the field. Brady to Chris Hogan for 28. Eagles getting no pressure and Brady's picking them apart. Mills saves them with a breakup of a pass that was behind Gronk. Gostkowski makes it and we're tied.

LOL ETRADE.

Run-pass options explained to an Hall & Oates song. TOUCHDOWN JEFFERY! Great catch over Eric Rowe. Once again, this is too short for Elliott. Mills beaten again. Cooks tries to hurdle McLeod and fails spectacularly, Field goal is SPECTACULARLY missed. Oh, that's a very bad hold after a not-great snap. No one was anywhere near Amendola. Scary. Cooks gets cracked by Jenkins. No flag, as he was a runner. He's heading off, and that's  big loss for the Patriots. Double reverse pass? TO BRADY? He can't hold it. Gisele was right. Who knew?





Jeffrey can't pull in an airmailed throw from Foles, but makes up for it with a sweet over-the-shoulder catch. Ertz with a big gain over the middle. Blount! TOUCHDOWN. They're going for two? I don't like it. Foles can't connect with Jeffery and it's still 15-3. Mike Trout in the house. Rex Burkhead makes an appearance and catches a pass for a large gain. Corey Graham getting a lot of run here. Brady starting to get knocked around a little. Was that a shot put? Gostkowski good from 45.


Heck of a time to lose the signal. We come back and learn that Cooks will not return. Ajayi's so good after getting hit. Then Foles makes his first big mistake — throwing to Jeffery in tight coverage (by Gilmore, finally), it's tipped and the Patriots intercept it. At least they're pinned deep. Gronk not a factor so far. Holding on Mills gives the Pats another first down. Brady loading up... and he hits Hogan on a deep ball. Bad tackling helps James White score.




Gostkowski SHANKS the extra point. He just botched that one, man.




So that was all a setup for an Australia tourism ad? Well played, mates.

Clement! CLEMENT. 55 yards for the kid. Already over 600 combined yards and it's not even halftime (and you'd think there'd be more points with that kind of yardage). Then he gets an inside run and just churns for an extra four yards. Jeffery trying to sell it but no one's buying. Pederson at least thinking about going for it here. They call time out and Foles goes back out there. Blount is NOT in, for the record. Burton takes the second handoff from Clement and passes... TO FOLES! TOUCHDOWN!! THE ABSOLUTE MADMAN. That is unreal.











Burton went to Florida as a quarterback, got moved to receiver, and became a tight end in the pros. I guess you don't forget how to do that. 22-12 Eagles at halftime.

Watching the replay on the highlights afterwards, Foles may not have gotten enough credit. He sneaks away from the center just before the snap (it went right to Clement), tucks in behind Lane Johnson as if he's calling an audible, waits to release, gets wide open when he does release, and look at the form on that catch! Just tucked it in. Insanity.

This sure isn't Gaga's entrance. How you gonna show up on a ramp with four other dudes who aren't the rest of N'Sync?




ALSO, the leader of this backing band was born in Trenton and grew up in Willingboro. "Sexy Back" third, which seems right.




It's SO. BAD.




So no Prince hologram... but they project him onto a sheet while Justin's at the piano covering "I Would Die 4 U." That external shot with the stadium roof and then the surrounding area turning purple was AWESOME.




The rest of it was... not great.

Jim Halpert IS Jack Ryan. Could we have gotten one line out of him? Kelly Clarkson's joining The Voice? TRAITOR!

Downingtown:




Michele reports that Malcolm Butler isn't playing because of "best chance to win" boilerplate. To be fair, Butler hasn't been good this year. There's Gronk. And again. And AGAIN. And again for the touchdown.

Why is Tide everywhere?

Collinsworth: "We've had more passes thrown to quarterbacks than punts." Agholor was wrapped up, but he escapes and gets a first down. Ajayi keeps his feet and crosses midfield. Swing pass to Ertz gets another first down.




The Pistons, Al? Hell of a career move. Foles hits Clement down the seam for what is called a touchdown after a brief convo. I'm not convinced.





Call STANDS. Collinsworth doesn't buy it.







Why is Steven Tyler on a race track on the moon? And now driving backwards on said race track? Oh, it's a DeLorean disguised as a Kia.

Brady doing whatever he wants in the passing game. There's been no pass rush at all from either team. This could get to the 40s. Brady with 403 passing yards and we're still in the third quarter. 29-26. Celebrity crawl: Mayweather, Jimmy Fallon (who has a show to do in about four hours), Bradley Cooper (of course.)

Mechanicsburg:




Another excellent throw by Foles to Agholor for 24. Seems like a lot of the Eagles' runs have been to the right side even before Wisniewski went out (he's now back in). Another reverse to Agholor. 955 total yards ALREADY. Third quarter over.

"Dirty Dancing" by Eli and OBJ. When did Beckham have time to rehearse that? Didn't his foot fall off?





Agholor gets drilled and the Eagles have to settle for three. Elliott kick is good. Monster's making headphones now? Brady tearing the Eagles' defense apart. And there's Gronk in the back of the end zone. They were painting the hashmarks over those logos like an hour and a half before kickoff, which is about where the extra points are kicked from. It's good and the Patriots take the lead.





Alexa spot with Gordon Ramsay, Cardi B (twice) and Rebel Wilson ends with Anthony Hopkins feeding Goldfish crackers to a peacock while doing a Hannibal Lecter impression. Yes, you read that right.

VERY IMPORTANT 3rd and 6 here. Ertz picks it up. Third and 1 now. Screen to Smith (after the Pats blew up the run lanes) comes up short. The Eagles go for it on 4th and 1 from their own 46 — as they should — and Ertz jumps up to get the first down. Seriously, you can't punt it there. Not against those guys.




Peyton shilling for Universal Studios. "Megatron? I thought he played for Detroit."

Foles is throwing DIMES tonight. And Agholor's having a big game. Al and Cris talking about time becoming a factor.





WE STAN A WOMAN SCORNED. (Did I do that right?) 2:30 left. (After the game, Steve Young pointed out (correctly) that with 2:03 left, the Eagles should have thrown on 2nd down here.) Foles hits Ertz over the middle and he goes into the end zone. What are we looking for here? Did the ball pop up after he rolled over or did the ground cause it? Is he a runner or still a receiver at this point?









Cris: "I cannot wait for them to change this rule." (Narrator: "He was waiting a long time.") He's a runner! Touchdown! Thank you for explaining that. Julie sighing with relief in the cheap seats. "Cheap", of course, being relative.





Also, this is too much time. Two-point conversion is unsuccessful again.




SACK! FUMBLE!! EAGLES BALL!!! Brandon Graham knocked it out! That's that formation where the Eagles slide Graham or Curry inside. Patriots use their last time out, which is huge.




Third down run gets stuffed. Eagles should run the clock down and kick it here. Elliott from 46. GOOD. The Patriots take the kickoff, and they try to reverse it and get stuck at the 9-yard line.




Two straight incompletions. Finally pressure's coming. 4th and 10. Caught by Amendola inches off the turf. Brady spikes it with 26 seconds left.




He finds Gronk twice and the big man gets out of bounds twice. Darby almost had a pick, and why are they throwing a 9-yard out to Philip Dorsett here? 1152 total yards. Hail Mary.

Incomplete.

THAT'S IT.







I don't know what to do with my hands.









Millville:













Now we go to this weird procession they've started doing with the Lombardi. Darrell Green's doing it? Way to troll R's fans, guys. I approve. Lurie was GOING to get that dedication in.




Delran:



Stafford Township, N.J.:







It wasn't supposed to be this year. It wasn't supposed to be this team. It certainly wasn't supposed to be this quarterback. I'm sitting here trying to remember how I thought I would feel if this ever happened. I can't. I'm not sure what to do now. I'm sitting here in shock.

Fly on, Birds.

(Eagles 41, Patriots 33)
Posted by at No comments:

Monday, September 3, 2018

By The Pigskin Of Our Teeth: Ultraviolence

Why is CBS so much better at these?




Patriots get the ball first. There's the first big play from Cooks.




Pats pass up 48-yard field goal to go for 4th and 2. They start out with five wide before calling time out. They come back, stay going for it, and Brady hits Amendola. Sack! Pats end up settling for three. It's LOUD. Lot of Fournette so far, both in the running and passing games. He stumbles for a first down. Drive dies when Bortles throws behind Marquise Lee on a crossing route and Lee can't hold on. Jaguars defense holding strong so far. A lot of Fournette may be the Jaguars' best plan here. Yeldon's knee is clearly down inbounds. 21 years ago is the basis for this comeback from commercial. Another big play by Grant out of the backfield. Who is this? Touchdown Marcedes Lewis!




The Pacific Rim sequel is coming out in March? This isn't a great Patriots offensive line. The Jaguars can get to Brady, and if you hit him in the mouth a few times, you have a chance. Seriously, who is this Corey Grant dude? He may not be on the Patriots' copy of the roster. Fournette again. First and goal jaguars. Touchdown Fournette!




Nantz notes that we haven't seen Gronkowski yet. On cue, Brady goes to him but the pass is broken up. Second time is the charm as the Pats get 20. Fowler sacks Brady on 3rd down. Jags exercising control right now. I don't think that's a catch but there was a false start so it doesn't matter anyway. How do you even have a false start coming out of a timeout, anyway? Did Mike McCarthy take over the Jaguars? And a third down conversion is reversed because of delay of game. Bortles runs around and gets sacked.




The Patriots don't really have a pass rush. Jaguars are hurting themselves with penalties now — Church just went helmet-to-helmet on Gronk and that was clear as day. Then Bouye pushes Cooks out of bounds and that's another penalty. That sets up Brady to Cooks, who gets to the 1, and then James White rushes in for a touchdown. Jags take a knee to go into halftime up 14-10.




Bortles is 15 of 17 after that Yeldon conversion. Lambo out to try a 54-yarder? GOOD. Brady finds Chris Hogan in a hole in the middle of the field for their first third-down conversion. Also, no Gronk to start the second half. Cooks has a touchdown bounce off his hands. Pats blitz and get to Bortles. Back-to-back three-and-outs. Fournette turns nothing into something. Romo calls out the crossing patterns and Bortles still hits Lee for a first down. Then Lee powers past Eric Rowe for another first. Lambo from 43. GOOD. Double pass? Belichick's desperate. FUMBLE?!?! Myles Jack thinks he has it. Ruling is Jaguars' ball.







God, that's close. It's Jaguars ball... but they rule that Jack was touched down. No score. Very important for the Patriots to stop them right afterwards.




Brady finds Amendola to pick up 3rd and 18. FLEA FLICKER. CAUGHT. Touchdown Amendola and UH-OH.




Big catch by Hurns to pick up that 3rd down. Don't really understand throwing deep there. Bad PI on Ramsey. Telvin Smith saves the Jags so far with that third-down pass breakup. Jaguars are calling too many pass plays.




And then they give up a big punt return to Amendola and the Patriots are already in field goal range. That's a catch. And while we wait, Jack is being helped off. Two-yard sneak by Brady? That's a new thing. Marcell Dareus down for the Jags now. Touchdown Amendola in the back of the end zone and that's the game. Blake Bortles can't do this. I've never been more confident about anything in the world. Bortles finds Dede Westbrook for 29 yards. James Harrison sacks Bortles, who fumbles, but the Jaguars recover, delaying the inevitable. Fourth and 14 now. Legitimately great play by Stephon Gilmore to break that pass up.




Dion Lewis runs for 15 yards on 3rd and 9 and that's it.




Yep, the bad guys win again. (Patriots 24, Jaguars 20)

KICK OFF ALREADY GOD. Najee Goode starts at middle linebacker for the Eagles, their fourth this season. McKinnon spins for a first down. Vikings finding a little success running outside. Eagles are scrambling and Rudolph escapes and catches a lob for a touchdown. CURLING. Roll out to Agholor. Foles takes a shot deep for Smith but he can't bring it in. Burton didn't need to jump there. Then they run into the punt returner after he called for a fair catch. Diggs gets popped in the back. Interception! Robinson reverses field. TOUCHDOWN!




Ajayi getting heated up. Foles finds Ertz to pick up 3rd and 10. Blount bashes his way into the end zone. Eagles up 14-7.




McKinnon with another first down. Fumble! Eagles ball! Derek Barnett got to Keenum and knocked it out. Foles is straight-up trapped in this pocket. Another bomb. TOUCHDOWN JEFFERY! No one was near him. Vikings seem shook. No Xavier Rhodes? Huh. That's worth watching. Ertz! Rhodes back in, we're told. Another big run by Ajayi gets them into the red zone. They have all three time outs? Never mind then. Field goal is good. 24-7 Eagles at halftime. Enjoy some Upper Midwestern shade:




Eagles come out running again. Vikings' blitz is a tad late and Jeffery gets a first down.
TOUCHDOWN SMITH! That's his first catch of the year. (I'm exaggerating.) Off a flea-flicker, no less. That's cold, Doug.




Jay Glazer on the field already talking about what Pat Shurmur faces with the Giants. Jarius Wright stumbles out of bounds, preventing a touchdown. McKinnon gets a couple of first downs. Vikings need a touchdown here. Not sure what happened between Keenum and Thielen on that 3rd down pass. Thielen just stood there like he thought that throw was going somewhere else. Vikings going for it and they should. Did he catch that? Refs signal touchdown! No, that hit the ground. Eagles take over. Bradley Cooper's here, no surprise. Barkley's here! (Charles, not Matt.) That's great play design. Ertz is feasting tonight, which is really remarkable because this Vikings defense has murdered tight ends all year. Agholor! It's stunning what the Eagles have done to this Vikings' defense. TOUCHDOWN. This is wild.






McLeod drops an interception. Vikings go for it again and it's incomplete. This team is two years ahead of schedule.





Buck shouting out two retiring NFL Films cameramen. Keenum throws to a tightly covered Thielen, Darby picks it off, Thielen knocks it away only for Corey Graham to ALSO pick it off.







Aikman talking up Eagles OL coach Jeff Stoutland, who's a holdover from Chip Kelly's staff.
Sudfeld! Light the fuse.







Don't sing, Terry. NOW you can sing, Lana. (Eagles 38, Vikings 7)

Posted by at No comments:

Sunday, August 26, 2018

By The Pigskin Of Our Teeth: A Dustland Fairytale

Falcons win the toss and defer. Wait, what was THAT about? Ah jeez. Not a good start. Falcons are moving the ball with relative ease right now. Lot of outside runs, as Cris said. Hey, a stop. Bryant field goal is good. We come back to a celebration montage. Foles doesn't look good at the moment. Flag? Pass interference for the second time. Ajayi with some good runs after the first-drive fumble. Blount in and he fumbles but gets it back. Foles takes a bad sack that knocks the Eagles out of field goal range. Can't give Julio that much space. Falcons line up to go for it on 4th and 2 from the Eagles' 45. Incomplete but a delay of game flag saves the Falcons. That punt was almost blocked. More Ajayi. Let's just keep doing that. Foles connecting on some short passes now, which can only help. Agholor RUN? Nice. Off a fake to an inside handoff, at that.


I don't like teams lining their running backs seven, eight yards behind the line of scrimmage, especially in these goal-line situations. Clement fumbles — but Foles recovers and goes in for a touchdown? It didn't look like he got in, and he clearly didn't.






So what do you do here? Jesus, Clement ran into Agholor before the handoff even happened. They're going for it. Blount takes it outside and he does score. CLANG. Extra point is no good. Elliott has the weirdest range. 6-3 Eagles. Sanu breaks away from Darby for a big gain. Ryan throws up his own duck and Mills almost picks it off. I don't know, Cris, Malcolm Jenkins in pretty sung. This also should remind everyone that the Eagles are on their THIRD middle linebacker, and he joined the team in like Week 8. Muff? Falcons ball! Did that hit Rasul Douglas's foot? It's bouncing all over the place. The two Eagles players it hit couldn't have seen it. Bad bounces everywhere. Not sure about that call. I don't want Mills on Jones. He held him all the way into the end zone. Ryan waits too long and throws an incompletion. Then he somehow finds Freeman in the end zone after getting turned around and flips it to him for a touchdown. Where's Ajayi? Foles overthrows an open Burton. Eagles almost got to that punt, too. Braman may have clipped that with a finger. I guess not. It's still fourth down, though. Now the office wants to review it. They pick the flag up. Eagles ball.



Call time out, somebody. Bad throw into three Falcons defenders gets deflected and Torrey Smith somehow catches it at midfield. That's Jeffery's first catch, and he does the same thing he did against the Giants to set up Elliott's game-winner. He drills it from 53 and it's 10-9 at halftime.

Mills with a nice breakup of a third down pass. Ajayi back out after missing the entire second quarter for no apparent reason. Jeffrey showing up in the second half. And again. Foles hitting his targets. Ajayi with a bad drop, which has been an underreported problem since Foles took over. Elliott good from 37 and the Eagles lead. Don't kick off out of bounds. RIP Keith Jackson. Telegraphed safety blitz by McLeod and Ryan still can't get away. End of 3.



Another punt by the Falcons. There's Ajayi's once-a-game big run, getting the Eagles to midfield. Ertz! Another flip to Agholor in motion. Mack Hollins getting involved. Eagles' O-line has been good tonight, and this is basically how they needed to win this game: run the ball and control the clock. Pederson thinking about going for 4th and 2 from the Falcons' 4. Time out and they think better of it. Kick is good. The home team is 9-0 in "bird team vs. bird team" playoff games. Like, who even decides to figure that out? Graham to Freeman: "Nah, son."



Good catch by Sanu to grab that and keep the drive alive. Eagles are challenging? Oh boy. I'm not sure I can overturn this but what do I know any more. OVERTURNED. Biggest pop of the night. Falcons now go for it on 4th and 6. Somehow Jones gets open and converts. Two minutes left. I may double Jones from now on. Coleman finding holes all of a sudden.



Ryan throws a shovel pass to absolutely no one. I'm surprised the Falcons didn't run the ball at all with two time outs. Fourth and goal from the 2. They're reviewing this? God, no idea on this one. Catch stands. Ryan under pressure... Incomplete! Too high! Mills pushed Jones down, he recovered, but still couldn't catch it.









DO NOT TAKE A SAFETY HERE. Al says this immediately. Did the Falcons jump offside? THEY DID! They just gave the Eagles five yards! Clement runs it and does he get the first down? Chains are out. First down!



And that's it. Enjoy The Killers! (Eagles 15, Falcons 10)

And now, a sanctioned massacre. Gronk doesn't usually miss those. Delanie Walker somehow gets wide open and three Patriots can't bring him down. Mariota making moves on the sidelines. Touchdown TITANS? TOUCHDOWN TITANS.



Great catch by Corey Davis. The Titans have been waiting for that kid all season. A lot of Dion Lewis. A LOT OF DION LEWIS. Was he down? I thought he was down. He's down. They reset the clock after that, right? Swing pass to James White for a touchdown. As Nantz said, must be the playoffs. They called that on the Titans? Wait, of course they did, because the Patriots get all the breaks. Cooks! And of course, White scores again. The rout is probably on.



That stood? Huh. Imagine that. Apparently the Patriots false-started on that punt. Wait, what? They're saying the Titans jumped offside? Jesus Christ. Every break, I tell you. The drive continues. Pats at midfield and they go no-huddle. Amendola sightings. Gronk can't be stopped by mere mortals. Stop helping them, Titans. Touchdown Hogan and the rout is probably on. Romo not a fan of the Titans' clock management on this drive. He's also probably the best guy out there at seeing when the quarterback should throw. And now the Titans burn their last time out. Fourth and 1 from the Pats' 46 and they RUN IT WITH NO TIME OUTS? That's Mike McCarthy-esque. Absolutely awful.



Also, the refs missed a face mask. Patriots' ball. Why are they throwing short passes in the middle of the field? Oh, right, because they're the Patriots and they can get away with anything. See? That pass to Amendola, he goes down and there's one second left on the clock. No other team gets that break. Gostowski with an attempt... goes left. Look, we ALL thought White would catch that lob. Little bit of contact on that punt. Two sacks? Good job, Titans. 3RD AND 31. That went about as expected. Can't tackle Gronk with one guy, apparently. I forget Edelman's been injured all season. Pats bring Brandon Bolden out of cold storage for the touchdown. Nantz: "He's not even up every week." That's called "trolling", Jim. Brady had a week to find Amendola. Oh Jesus. Remember the lob that went through White's hands at the beginning of the second half? Brady just completed that pass to Amendola, who's caught 11 passes tonight. Gronk wins a jump ball for a touchdown. 35-7.
Nantz and Romo talking about the ESPN article on the Patriots "rift". Is this the same pass to Decker? Why are we challenging this? Belichick's so salty. That's not a catch. They gave them that? Oh well. The Patriots' pass rushers are completely anonymous, yet they have seven sacks tonight. Touchdown Davis. OK. Why has Brady thrown 53 passes? (Patriots 35, Titans 14)

Jaguars come out throwing. They have tight ends who aren't Marcedes Lewis? Fournette goes airborne on 4th and goal from the 2 for a touchdown! The Jaguars needed that and the Steelers didn't. Then they force a three-and-out and we've got a scuffle. Game is already testy. That's an incomplete pass — it's the same thing Matt Ryan did yesterday. Antonio Brown status: In and out. Jaguars interception! A nice play by Myles Jack on the sideline to concentrate and bring that in. Fournette turns the corner and... scores? Have they called this yet? Oh, they said no. Marrone challenges and they might win this. Reversed! Touchdown! What is happening. Bell with a badly-needed big play for the Steelers. Brown with the catch and gets a first down. Another big catch by Eli Rogers and the Steelers have been jarred awake. Fourth and 1. Steelers go for it and Bell gets wrecked. Turnover on downs. Bortles run! Fournette walks through the Steelers' defense. T.J. Yeldon in. Remember him? Touchdown Jaguars!



Another big run by Bell. Ben damn near threw another pick but Posluzny dropped it. Bell finds space. Touchdown Brown! A.J. Bouye claims he pushed off but Bouye was holding him all the way down the field. Brown caught that with one hand over his shoulder while being held. That's impressive. Fournette catches a pass and limps off. Big stop for the Steelers. Bell finding space in the passing game again. FUMBLE. TOUCHDOWN JAGUARS.






That flag's for taunting. Squib kick? Hmm. Marcell Dareus with a sack. Steelers are in four-down territory... and it's fourth down. GREAT throw by Ben over Bryant's shoulder and he brings it in for the touchdown! The Steelers badly needed that touchdown. Fournette will return for the second half, we are told. Late hit out of bounds on Bell — but replay shows Juju blocked Ramsey into him. Eagle refers to Juju as an "insistent" blocker. Jesse James somehow gets away from Ramsey for a big gain. Touchdown Steelers! All three of Roethlisberger's touchdown passes have been great, well placed throws. And good concentration by Bell on the catch.



Ah, Ryan Shazier addressed the team at halftime. Jags haven't moved the ball at all this quarter. That is, until Yeldon breaks a tackle and picks up a 3rd and 10. Bortles and Dede Westbrook can't connect.  Bell is remarkably shifty in narrow spaces.



Steelers facing another fourth and 1. PLAY ACTION? Incomplete. Jesus. Is Todd Haley trying to get fired before all the head coaching jobs are filled? Bortles finds Marquise Lee underneath and he picks up 3rd and 8. Bortles with a bomb to Cole! Touchdown Fournette. My God.
Steelers forced to go on 4th and 5. TOUCHDOWN BROWN!



And that's four great throws that have gone for touchdowns. Bortles finds Yeldon on 3rd and 5 and Yeldon gets 22 yards out of it. FULLBACK TOUCHDOWN CATCH. Steelers never saw him. This is astounding. Another Keith Jackson tribute, and a few words from Fouts, a former partner of his. That should be pass interference on Wilson against Martavis Bryant. Bell spins out of a tackle and gets about 10 more yards. Ben takes off, then tosses the ball back to Bell, and he scores! Eagle doesn't think the Steelers need to onside kick after this, with two time outs and the two-minute warning still. They did it! That's one of the worst onside kicks I've ever seen. Jaguars recover!



I get that Tomlin doesn't trust his defense — and he shouldn't, given the scoreboard — but that's still the wrong decision even before they botched the kick. 45-yard field goal is good and that finally feels like the dagger.






Steelers are scrambling here. Aaaand they're officially out of time.



By this, Bill means "Kick the field goal as soon as possible, because you won't have time to score two touchdowns and you need to recover the onside kick with time left on the clock."



Touchdown Juju but it doesn't matter. (Jaguars 45, Steelers 42)

Did the punter hurt himself making the tackle on that return? Murray with a nice catch out of the backfield. McKinnon speeds through a massive hole into the end zone. Riley Rieff smacked down Lattimore to clear the path. Speaking of good blocks, Ginn got one to turn a sure loss into a first down. Yeah, Morstead's hurt — you can see him grab his side after that punt. That's pass interference on somebody. And that's definitely on the defense. Keenum can't connect with Rudolph on third down and the Vikings settle for three. Ingram gets swallowed up. That punter is hurt. Buck notes that the Saints haven't gone deep yet, then they do and it gets picked off. Yeah, that's an underthrown ball. "Where offenses come to die." Thielen leaps over Lattimore for a big catch. Murray blows through the line for a touchdown, and it was so easy because of a hold.



That pass to Diggs; Keenum had a small window where he could have run for it, but he gets away with a throw back across the field. Michael Floyd? Oh, that's not a catch by the rules. Refs found two fouls on the Saints there. Touchdown Murray and "Let's Go Crazy" is playing. Saints finally getting things going. Buck spots a flag on this Ginn touchdown, and yes, it's an illegal shift as the Saints didn't huddle beforehand. Pass is tipped and intercepted. Add 15 for the horse collar.
Kamara! That's a well-designed blitz from one side by the Vikings, and Harrison Smith gets Brees. Saints might as well try this — they're indoors. Lutz pulls it left. That's roughing the passer. Good job, Saints. Give them 15 yards for no reason. Vikings get into field goal range in 14 seconds. Forbath misses.



Still, 17-0 Vikings at the half. Pat Shurmur's had four interviews in a week? That sack may have forced the Vikings to punt. And it did. That's his first touchback of the year? Impressive. And it wasn't even his fault. Brees sneak. Michael Thomas gets physical with Xavier Rhodes and gets 22 yards. Snead hauls in a low throw on third down. Some confusion here — the refs pick up a flag for, a pick, I guess? Thomas comes back and scores a touchdown. Saints on the board. Keenum gets pressured and throws up a dead quail, and the Saints get it! Touchdown Michael Thomas and we have a game all of a sudden. This, however, is a bad challenge.



Field goal is actually good. 20-14. Is this a wide receiver double pass? Snead just missed Kamara, who would have walked in if he'd been able to catch it.



Punt is BLOCKED. Seriously, why is there a No. 7 on the Saints' special teams unit? That's Taysom Hill? The ex-BYU quarterback who was there for 10 years and injured for five? Oh, he didn't get it, but he forced the punter off his line.



Technically, it's not a blocked punt because it went one yard past the line of scrimmage, but semantics. Saints immediately spin it up. Touchdown Brees to Kamara and the Saints lead!






Note that there's 3:01 left. THIELEN!!! That penalty will be on the Saints and it won't matter.



No, Troy, they need more. I'd have run the ball a time or two. Forbath from 53. GOOD. Vikings back in front. Brees has done this before, you know.












WTF, Duncan?






4th and 10 now. Snead! And now they're in field goal range (and still have their time out). This booth review will also stop the clock. Lutz kick is GOOD! Twenty-five seconds left! Keenum not close on either of those throws. DIGGS!!!! TOUCHDOWN VIKINGS!!!!!!










Williams completely whiffed on the tackle. If he hits Diggs, it's game over. This extra point isn't getting kicked. Buck: "By the way, the Saints are gone."




THE PRESS IS OUT ON THE FIELD. I mean, that's how the Vikings lose this exact game.



(Vikings 29, Saints 24)
Posted by at No comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)