It’s time for our weekly recaps where we look at the impact that each game has on the bigger picture that is the NFL playoff race.
- Panthers 27 Colts 18: The Panthers went on the road to Indianapolis and increased the Colt’s misery. Cam Newton had a rushing touchdown and D’Angelo Williams added two touchdown runs. The Colts were in the game all day thanks to a great game from Reggie Wayne who had 5 receptions for 122 yards and a touchdown. The Panthers improve to 3-8 and the Colts fall to 0-11.
- Falcons 24 Vikings 14: The Falcons took care of business at home against the Vikings who were forced to play without Adrian Peterson. Matt Ryan had three touchdown passes for the Falcons and Michael Turner rushed for 60 yards. Percy Harvin had a great day for the Vikings scoring a touchdown on a Christian Ponder pass and gaining 210 all-purpose yards. The Falcons improve to 7-4 while the Vikings are 2-9 (the worst start in franchise history).
- Bengals 23 Browns 20: For the second time this season, the Bengals erased a 10-point deficit against the Browns to improve to 7-4. The Bengals are in control of one of the two wild card spots in the AFC. AJ Green returned for a knee injury to catch 3 passes for an important 110 yards. The Brown battled all day, but Phil Dawson missed a late field goal and the Browns never touched the ball again.
- Titans 23 Buccaneers 17: Matt Hasselbeck connected with Damian Williams to give the Titans their first lead since early in the first quarter. Rob Bironas added a field goal and the Titans defense held off a last attempt by Josh Freeman and the Buccaneers. The Titans remained in the AFC playoff picture by improving to 6-5 while the Buccaneers fell further out of a playoff spot by falling to 4-7.
- Cardinals 23 Rams 20: Patrick Peterson tied the NFL record with his fourth punt return for a touchdown this season to lead the Cardinals to a victory over the Rams. Sam Bradford threw for 203 yards and a touchdown but it wasn’t enough for Rams who got burned by a Peterson punt return for the second time this season. The Cardinals improved to 4-7 while the Rams fell to 2-9.
- Jets 28 Bills 24: In what was the game of the day, Matt Sanchez connected with Santonio Holmes in the end zone to give the Jets a 28-24 lead in the last minute of the fourth quarter. The Bills got the ball back and had a chance to take the lead, but a Ryan Fitzpatrick pass was dropped by Stevie Johnson. Johnson had a great game battling on Revis Island but dropped what could have been a game winning touchdown. The Jets ended a two game losing streak to stay in the hunt for an AFC playoff birth while the Bills lost their fourth game of the last five to fall to 5-6 and possibly out of the playoff race.
- Texans 2o Jaguars 13: The Houston Texans welcomed Andre Johnson back to the lineup and celebrated by beating the Jaguars to improve to 8-3. That is the good news. The bad news is that for the second straight game the Texans lost their starting quarterback. Matt Leinart left the game with a shoulder injury (rumors are circulating that it could be a broken collarbone) and TJ Yates was forced into action. Arian Foster lead the way with 65-yards rushing and a touchdown, but questions will be asked all week about what the Texans will do at quarterback if Leinart needs to be placed on IR.
Sunday, November 27, 2011- Sunday with The Sports-Casters
TODAY’S LIVE BLOG
4:30: The blog is going to sign off early today. Enjoy the remaining games today and come back tomorrow night and watch the Saints vs. Giants game with me. Remember to check out episode 52 of The Sports-Casters podcast featuring interviews with Richard Sandomir from the New York Times, Jon Wertheim from Sports Illustrated and Adam Rank from the NFL Network. Follow us on twitter for more information on episode 53.
4:10: With most of the games final, it’s time to do our weekly recaps where we look at the impact that each game has on the bigger picture that is the NFL playoff race.
- Panthers 27 Colts 18: The Panthers went on the road to Indianapolis and increased the Colt’s misery. Cam Newton had a rushing touchdown and D’Angelo Williams added two touchdown runs. The Colts were in the game all day thanks to a great game from Reggie Wayne who had 5 receptions for 122 yards and a touchdown. The Panthers improve to 3-8 and the Colts fall to 0-11.
- Falcons 24 Vikings 14: The Falcons took care of business at home against the Vikings who were forced to play without Adrian Peterson. Matt Ryan had three touchdown passes for the Falcons and Michael Turner rushed for 60 yards. Percy Harvin had a great day for the Vikings scoring a touchdown on a Christian Ponder pass and gaining 210 all-purpose yards. The Falcons improve to 7-4 while the Vikings are 2-9 (the worst start in franchise history).
- Bengals 23 Browns 20: For the second time this season, the Bengals erased a 10-point deficit against the Browns to improve to 7-4. The Bengals are in control of one of the two wild card spots in the AFC. AJ Green returned for a knee injury to catch 3 passes for an important 110 yards. The Brown battled all day, but Phil Dawson missed a late field goal and the Browns never touched the ball again.
- Titans 23 Buccaneers 17: Matt Hasselbeck connected with Damian Williams to give the Titans their first lead since early in the first quarter. Rob Bironas added a field goal and the Titans defense held off a last attempt by Josh Freeman and the Buccaneers. The Titans remained in the AFC playoff picture by improving to 6-5 while the Buccaneers fell further out of a playoff spot by falling to 4-7.
- Cardinals 23 Rams 20: Patrick Peterson tied the NFL record with his fourth punt return for a touchdown this season to lead the Cardinals to a victory over the Rams. Sam Bradford threw for 203 yards and a touchdown but it wasn’t enough for Rams who got burned by a Peterson punt return for the second time this season. The Cardinals improved to 4-7 while the Rams fell to 2-9.
- Jets 28 Bills 24: In what was the game of the day, Matt Sanchez connected with Santonio Holmes in the end zone to give the Jets a 28-24 lead in the last minute of the fourth quarter. The Bills got the ball back and had a chance to take the lead, but a Ryan Fitzpatrick pass was dropped by Stevie Johnson. Johnson had a great game battling on Revis Island but dropped what could have been a game winning touchdown. The Jets ended a two game losing streak to stay in the hunt for an AFC playoff birth while the Bills lost their fourth game of the last five to fall to 5-6 and possibly out of the playoff race.
- Texans 2o Jaguars 13: The Houston Texans welcomed Andre Johnson back to the lineup and celebrated by beating the Jaguars to improve to 8-3. That is the good news. The bad news is that for the second straight game the Texans lost their starting quarterback. Matt Leinart left the game with a shoulder injury (rumors are circulating that it could be a broken collarbone) and TJ Yates was forced into action. Arian Foster lead the way with 65-yards rushing and a touchdown, but questions will be asked all week about what the Texans will do at quarterback if Leinart needs to be placed on IR.
4:06: The Bills have one last chance to defeat the Jets. Its fourth down with :02 left in the fourth quarter. The Bills are 27 yards away from the end zone but they can’t find an open receiver. This week the Jets defense holds and they improve to 6-5.
4:04: AJ Green is owning Joe Hayden today and the Bengals are inside the 5-yard line looking to put away the Browns.
4:01: Stevie Johnson just had a back breaking drop for the Bills who are trying to rally against the Jets. Will he be tweeting blame tonight?
3:54: Mark Sanchez has taken the Jets down the field and connected with Santonio Holmes for a touchdown with 1:00 remaining. The Jets now lead 28-24 and the Bills are facing a fourth straight loss.
3:51: After the Falcons touchdown, Percy Harvin returned the kickoff all the way to the 5-yard line. The Vikings inched their way inside the 1 and went for a touchdown of 4th and goal. They got stuffed.
3:49: Crunch time in Tennesee and Indianapolis. The Titans down 4 with 3:00 left get a Matt Hasselbeck touchdown pass to take the lead 20-17. The Colts had first in goal in the last minute with a chance to win their first game of the season. Curtis Painter threw an interception and the Colts will fall to 0-11.
3:47: Beanie Wells has been an animal today. He just broke off another long run to bring his total for the day to 207 yards.
3:45: Chris Johnson is busting out today. It had to be the picture that I posted of him before the game started. He is over 160 yards today.
3:43: Matt Ryan just threw his third touchdown pass of the day to extend the Falcons lead to 24-14 and slow down the Vikings comeback attempt.
3:42: Sam Bradford (Oklahoma) connects with Brandon Lloyd in the end zone for a touchdown. Rams 20 Cardinals 20.
3:33: Mike Nugent is 19-20 in field goal attempts this season. His latest has tied the Browns and Bengals at 20. Also the Bills, without Ryan Lindell, trusted Dave Rayner to attempt a 53 yard field goal. It was good and the Bills lead the Jets 24-21.
3:28: I know its raining in Nashville, but their are rows and rows of empty seats at LP Field.
3:25: Reggie Wayne is clearly tracking this blog on his iPhone. I mocked him earlier for only catching 1 pass for 14 yards in the first half. Well, since then, Wayne has 3 passes for 114 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown was his first since….wait for it… WEEK 1.
3:21: Christian Ponder just found Percy Harvin 37 yards down the field on 4th and 13 for a touchdown. The Vikings have cut into a 17 point lead for the second time to climb within 3 points.
3:16: In Cincinnati, the Bengals are not going away. Andy Dalton hooked up with A.J Green for a long completion to move the team into the red zone. On the next play, Dalton found Jermaine Gresham (Oklahoma) for a touchdown. 20-17, Browns still lead.
3:15: D’Angelo Williams has his second touchdown of the day and the Panthers have increased their lead over the Colts to 24-13.
3:12: The Titans and Buccaneers are playing a sloppy and ugly game in rainy Tampa Bay. The Titans and Buccaneers both have 4 turnovers.
3:08: Crazy play in New York, Ryan Fitzpatrick appears to throw an interception but Brad Smith (former Jet) gets his hand in and bats the ball in the air. Smith then caught the ball and took it into the end zone to tie the game at 21.
3:07: Patrick Peterson beat the Rams with a punt return in overtime just a few weeks ago. Just seconds ago, he returned his fourth punt for a touchdown this season tying the NFL record held by a bunch of players (most recently, Devin Hester) to give the Cardinals a 20-10 lead over the Rams.
3:05: Since the injury to Gerald McCoy, the Buccaneers are way overmatched when the other team rushes the ball. Chris Johnson is averaging over 7-yards a carry and has rushed for 101 yards on just 15 carries.
3:03: The Colts are knocking at the door of the Panthers who are holding on to a slim 17-10 lead. I think that this game will have the best finish of the day. I just have a feeling that we won’t know who is going to win that game until the last minute.
3:01: Moving quickly again, the Jets have taken a 21-14 lead over the Bills on Mark Sanchez’s second touchdown pass of the day to Dustin Keller.
3:00: Toby Gerhart scores his first touchdown of the season, the first rushing touchdown of the year for the Vikings by someone not named Adrian Peterson. 17-7 Falcons
2:56: Matt Hasselbeck just handed the Buccaneers a touchdown. His pass was picked off by Aqib Talib and taken to the house. 17-10 Buccaneers.
2:54: Beanie Wells is having a career day in St. Louis. He has 157 yards rushing and a touchdown. The Cardinals lead the Rams, 14-10
2:51: I am not sure if I mentioned this on the blog before or not, but Lance Kendricks has to be the biggest disappointment of any player that was declared a fantasy sleeper earlier in the season. He has more fumbles tho season than touchdowns.
2:46: The official word from the Texans is that Matt Leinart is done for the day. TJ Yates, the 7-3 Texans are in your hands.
2:43: The Cardinals just can’t get out of their own way. On third down, Beanie Wells rushed the ball just inches short of a first down. The Cardinals decided to go for it but someone jumped offsides. Instead of a potential touchdown, the Cardinals kicked a field goal. The Rams lead, 10-6.
2:39: All of the games are either at the half or just starting the third quarter. Here are some players who put up huge numbers in the first half:
- Matt Ryan: 14-18, 151 yarda, 2 TD
- Beanie Wells: 13 carries, 138 yards
- Reggie Wayne: 1 catch, 14 yards
2:34: I didn’t pick up on this before, but when Stevie Johnson scored his touchdown his celebration appeared to be Stevie pretending to shooting himself in the leg.
2:30: The Bengals lost only their second fumble of the season and Colt McCoy finds Greg Little for his first ever NFL touchdown. What is up with the Bengals? The Browns lead 17-7 and the Bengals playoff chances seem to be on life support.
2:28: The Buccaneers take advantage of a Javon Ringer fumble as Josh Freeman finds Mike Williams for a touchdown. Williams scores a touchdown for the second straight week after not scoring previously since week 1.
2:25: Bad has gone to worse for the Texans in Jacksonville. Matt Leinart has left the game with an injury and T.J. Yates is now playing QB for the Texans. Yates was a four year starter at North Carolina. In only one of those seasons did he throw for more than 3,000 yards.
2:20: Mark Sanchez makes up for his previous interception with a touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress who didn’t have a Bills defender within 5o miles of him. 14-14.
2:17: I feel stupid for benching Stevie Johnson today in one of my fantasy leagues. Johnson had been struggling and his last trip to Revis Island was a miserable one. So far today, Johnson has 5 catches for 44 yards and a touchdown. He has 15-points in that league already. Whoops.
2:12: In Indianapolis, the Colts have come from down 10 to tie the Panthers with the before mentioned Donald Brown touchdown and an Adam Vinatieri field goal.
2:09: On twitter Buffalo native @NickBakay4Real explains the pain of a Bills fan, “Two former #1 picks hurt us on the same play — Maybin gets the sack because Spiller blows the chip block.” No worries Nick, Mark Sanchez throws a pick on the ensuing drive and the Bills get a touchdown from Stevie Johnson just a couple of plays later. Bills 14 Jets 7
2:03: Matt Leinart makes a gorgeous throw to his tight end for a twenty yard touchdown pass. Leinart is 9-10 so far today. Texans 14 Jaguars 1o
2:00: Toby Gerhart has 7 carries for 23 yards so far in relief of Adrian Peterson. Roddy White just caught Matt Ryan’s second touchdown pass of the day and the Falcons lead the Vikings 14-0.
1:57: The Bills make a great play on special teams and the player who made the tackle decides to jump rope (without a rope) to celebrate the play. Why?
1:50: Awful sequence in Jacksonville, Blaine Gabbert floats a pass to the wide oped Mercedes Lewis in the end zone who drops it. Instead of taking a 14-7 lead, the Jaguars settle for a field goal and a 10-7 lead.
1:48: It has been a rough boring in the world of college football coaches. Akron, Memphis, and Illinois have all fired their coach today.
1:46: Moving quickly, Mark Sanchez finds Dustin Keller wide open in the back of the end zone to tie the Jets and the Bills at 7.
1:45: Quickly, Donald Brown scores the Colts first offensive touchdown in the month of November. Panthers 10 Colts 7
1:42: Bad news for anyone hoping the Colts could get a win today, Cam Newton just rushed for a touchdown and has stretched the Panthers lead to 10-0. With that touchdown, Newton is only 1 rushing touchdown behind Adrian Peterson for the league lead.
1:40: Awesome news from twitter, @dealsinbeantown is now following me. As a Buffalo, NY resident, I am always searching for deals in Boston.
1:38: Cedric Benson is chewing up the Browns defense already rushing for 64-yards on only 9 carries. His 9th run ended in the end zone. Cleveland 7 Cincinnati 7
1:35: Beanie Wells just busted off a career long run of 71-yards to move the Cardinals offense into the red zone.
1;30: Interesting look by the Bills, Ryan Fitzpatrick runs the option with C.J. Spiller on a 3rd down in the redone. The Beard pitched it to Spiller who just got enough to convert. A few plays later, Fitz finds David Nelson in the end zone for a Bills touchdown. He handed the ball to the ref because his girlfriend is still a cheerleader for the Cowboys.
1:27: Arian Forster helps out his boy Matt Leinart by scoring a touchdown on a short run. 7-7.
1:25: 3rd and gaol for the Bengals in Cincinnati. Andy Dalton scrambles inside the 1-yard line before being stopped. The Bengals waste no time and decide to go for the touchdown. They hand the ball to Cedric Benson and he is STUFFED by the Browns defense. 1st and 99 for the Browns.
1:22: We are only twenty minutes into the action today and we already have our second special teams touchdown of the day. This one, on a kickoff, the Titans ran a reverse and Tommie Campbell took it 88-yarsds for a touchdown.
1:21: John Skelton was benched last week for being ineffective, well, he just threw his first pick of the day in St. Louis.
1:20: Matt Ryan just found Harry Douglas for a touchdown in Atlanta. It will be interesting to see if the Vikings can stay in this game without Adrian Peterson.
1:16: The Bills vs. Jets, a matchup of two teams that are 5-5, is the best game by record of the 1:00 slate. There isn’t a single game until 4:00 that features teams with a winning record.
1:15: The Rams draw first blood against the Cardinals in St. Louis. Nick Miller returned a Cardinals punt 88-yards for a touchdown.
1:06: The Jaguars get on the board first. For the first time in 51 games, the Jaguars defense enters the end zone after Ashton Youboty picked up an Arian Foster touchdown and took it to the house. Also for the first time this season, the Browns have scored a touchdown on their opening drive.
1:05: Don’t be afraid to leave a question, comment, or suggestion in the comment section below or on twitter.
1:00 PM EST: Breakfast is over, Thanksgiving is a distant memory, and it’s time to start the Week 12 live blog. Some news since last night:
- Payton Hillis will return to action tonight.
- N. Suh is facing at least a 2-game suspension for his actions tonight
- As expected, Adrian Peterson will miss his fourth game in his five year career.
- Kevin Kolb is still out and John Skelton will play again today for the Cardinals.
*****
After two successful weeks (by my account anyway), the Sunday blog on ProPlayerInsider has been a success. I have enjoyed watching the games with all of you and pounding out five-thousand words about the sights, sound, and surroundings of my NFL Sunday. The only bad thing about three games on Thanksgiving is that, despite the absence of byes, we will only have eleven games to watch together tomorrow (there will also be two night games that we won’t cover). The lighter schedule will just give us some more time to follow the many story lines that will play out across the country. What story lines? Let’s take a look.
- Vikings (2-8) vs. Falcons (6-4): The Falcons will look to avoid the trap of overlooking the re-building Vikings who will come to Atlanta without star runner Adrian Peterson. Will Julio Jones return to the lineup for the Falcons? Can Christian Ponder play a solid game away from the Metrodome? How will Toby Gerhart take over the load for Adrian Peterson? Will the Viking find creative ways to get the ball to Percy Harvin?
- Browns (4-6) vs. Bengals (6-4): This is a game that we are used to being a matchup of two of the worst teams in football. That isn’t the case this year. The Browns certainly won’t be in the playoffs this year, but the surprising Bengals have a chance to be a part of the AFC playoffs. Will AJ Green return to the lineup for the Bengals? If not, can Jerome Simpson play as well as he did last week? The Bengals should figure to pound the ball with Cedric Benson and work the middle of the field with Jermaine Gresham. Can Colt McCoy and the Browns offense get anything going against a strong Bengals defense? Who will be the feature back for the Browns?
- Buccaneers (4-6) vs. Titans (5-5): An argument can be made that the Buccaneers are this season’s most disappointing team. The connection between Josh Freeman and Mike Williams hasn’t been what it was last year, and despite a fabulous trek through the Packers defense last week, LeGarrette Blount has been a disappointment. The Titans might be the league’s most inconsistent team. What Titans team will show up tomorrow? Will Chris Johnson play up to the contract that he held out all summer to get?
- Panthers (2-8) vs. Colts (0-10): The Panthers might be the most interesting and exciting 2-8 team in the history of the National Football League. The main reason? The play of #1 overall draft pick, Cam Newton. Newton is nothing if not exciting and the maturation process of a future stud QB is playing out before our eyes. The Colts are playing to just try and win a game. The loss of Peyton Manning has proven to be a devastating one. Will the Colts remain winless? Will Cam Newton dazzle us? What Panthers running back will take advantage of the Colts poor run-defense? Will Reggie Wayne make an impact?
- Cardinals (3-7) vs. Rams (2-7): I am not sure how to spin this NFC West battle and make it sound interesting? Readers of the blog know that I am a Sam Bradford fan and I am always interested to watch his development. Other than that, I can’t imagine spending a ton of time discussing this game while blogging tomorrow.
- Bills (5-5) vs. Jets (5-5): It seems like it was just yesterday that the Jets were 5-3 and tied with the Patriots at the top of the AFC East. Since, they have lost to the Patriots and watched Tim Tebow drive 92-yards down the field to upset them. At 5-5, the Jets are in desperate need of a win against the equally slumping Bills. Fred Jackson has been placed on IR, Stevie Johnson has been bottled up, and the Bills defense has been getting gouged while losing 3 of the last 4 games. Can the Bills or Jets get a win and get back in the AFC playoff race? Can CJ Spiller justify his draft pick and succeed in taking over for the fallen Freddie Jackson? Will Mark Sanchez put together a solid game? Who is going to run the ball for the Jets? Will we see Joe McKnight touch the ball more?
- Texans (7-3) vs. Jaguars (3-7): The Texans have spent the entire season creeping up the ladder of the AFC’s best team. Along the way, they have suffered injuries to Andre Johnson and Mario Williams. They managed to survive the injuries to this point, but now the Texans will play their first game without QB Matt Schaub who was lost for the season in the game before their bye last week. How will Matt Leinart do in leading a team in position to make a run at the playoffs? Can Arian Forster and Ben Tate carry the Texans? How will Andre Johnson look after returning from injury?
- Bears (7-3) vs. Raiders (6-4): The Raiders are in control of their own destiny in the AFC West and seems to be playing inspired football since the passing of Al Davis. Like the Texans, the Bears will be forced to play without their starting quarterback. Jay Cutler injured his thumb in last week’s game and it will be interesting to see how Caleb Hanie will preform in his absence. Darren McFadden should return for the Raiders after battling a toe injury, but Michael Bush should still get plenty of chances to carry the ball.
- Redskins (3-7) vs. Seahawks (4-6): Much like the Cardinals vs. Rams, this game isn’t going to be confused with the game of the century. The Redskins started the season 3-1 and have dropped the last six to fall to 3-7. I have to imagine that Dan Snyder is getting impatient with Mike Shanahan and his Shanahanagins. The Seahawks are basically the same team they were last year but the emergence of the 49ers have taken them out of the playoff picture in the NFC.
- Patriots (7-3) vs. Eagles (4-6): The Patriots seem to be in a groove and gliding into their usual position in the playoffs. The Eagles are another team that could qualify as the league’s most disappointing. Once branded with the nickname of Dream Team, the Eagles seem to only win at night. With their victory over the Giants last week (and the Giants facing a tough road game against the Saints on Monday) this might be the Eagles last chance to get into the race for the NFC East championship. Can the Eagles, with Vince Young, defeat Tom Brady and the Patriots?
- Broncos (5-5) vs. Chargers (4-6): I feel like a broken record, but the Chargers are yet another team in the running for the league’s most disappointing. Usually, the Chargers sputter through the fall before turning it on in November and surging through the winter. This season, the Chargers started the season 4-1 before losing the last FIVE games. Philip Rivers can seem to throw the ball to anyone wearing the same helmet he is and Ryan Matthews puts the ball on the carpet more than any other runner in the league. As for the Broncos, I almost don’t even know what to say. Kyle Orton started the season as the clear #1 quarterback but this week he was released. Why? Well, Tebowmania of course. Tim Tebow is the most polarizing player in a league full of polarizing personalities. Can the Broncos win another game with a QB who seems to be the worst in the league for the first 55-minutes and the best for the last five. I can’t explain it, but I am sure having fun watching it.