For the second week in a row, Texans’ kicker Kris Brown blew an opportunity for his team to tie a game and force overtime. This time, Browns’ miss came in a 20-17 loss to the Titans on Monday night.
Brown missed a 49-yard field goal with six seconds remaining, which would have tied the game and forced overtime. Granted, a 49-yard attempt is no chip shot but he also missed a 49-yarder early in the second half that could have given Houston the lead, not to mention he blew a 42-yarder last week against the Colts as time expired that could have forced overtime.
Again, 49 and 42-yarders are no gimmies. But Matt Schaub and the offense put their team in position to at least force overtime the last two games and their kicker couldn’t convert. One could make the argument that Schaub and the offense should have done more before that point, but the bottom line is that Brown needs to be more clutch if Houston wants to reach the next level.
As for the Titans, they’ve now won four in a row since Jeff Fisher made the switch from Kerry Collins to Vince Young. VY was once again far from explosive as a passer, but he kept drives alive with his legs (11 carries, 73 yards) and also did a fantastic job of getting the hell out of the way of Chris Johnson, who rushed for 151 yards on 29 carries.
Tennessee’s defense also did a great job bottling up Steve Slaton and Houston’s running game, limiting the Texans to just 57 yards on the ground. The Titans also pressured Schaub throughout the night and forced him into some inaccurate throws.
Tennessee held the Texans to only a field goal in the second half after allowing 14 points in the first two quarters. It was a complete effort from the Titans, who have damn near erased their 0-6 start.
For those of you that stayed up to watch the end of the Eagles-Bears’ game on Sunday night, you might have caught a glimpse of a full moon rising.
Chicago wideout Devin Hester might want to invest in a belt!
I don’t know what’s more disturbing, the fact that I have now seen what Devin Hester’s ass looks like or the fact that people actually taped this, posted it on YouTube and then slowed it down so everyone can see the receiver’s derriere.
- Ben Roethlisberger (398 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT) had a big day before leaving in overtime with a head injury.
- Joe Flacco (256 yards, INT) threw for good yardage against the Colts, but failed to throw a TD.
- Tony Romo (158 yards, TD, INT) and the Dallas offense weren’t sharp for much of the day, but a late TD pass to Patrick Crayton gave the Cowboys the win.
- Matthew Stafford (422 yards, 5 TD, 2 INT) had a huge game against the Browns. Brady Quinn (304 yards, 4 TD) posted a nice fantasy line as well. Of the two, Stafford is the better fantasy QB to own, though keep an eye on his left shoulder injury.
- Alex Smith (227 yards, 3 TD, INT) was really quiet in the first half, but bounced back with a big second half.
- Brett Favre (213 yards, 4 TD) took advantage of a nice matchup and was able to take the fourth quarter off.
- Kurt Warner (203 yards, 2 TD) left the game at the end of the second quarter with a “minor” concussion. Keep an eye on this.
- The Chargers’ running game was rolling, so Philip Rivers (145 yards, TD) didn’t have to do a whole lot.
- Joseph Addai (19 carries, 74 yards, TD) continues to dominate the touches out of the Indy backfield. He looks like an every week start at this point.
- Ladell Betts (4 carries, 5 yards) left the game early with a knee injury and was replaced by Rock Cartwright (20 touches, 140 yards), who suddenly looks like a good pickup.
- Kevin Smith (12 carries, 45 yards) didn’t get a whole lot of work in the running game, but he went for 4-104-1 in the passing game.
- Ryan Grant (21 carries, 129 yards, TD) has been very solid over the last three weeks.
- Marshawn Lynch’s disappointing season continues. He left the game with a shoulder injury after rushing for 18 yards on eight carries. Look for Fred Jackson’s (13 touches, 55 yards) stock to rise with Lynch out.
It wasn’t a five-interception type of game, but Jay Cutler once again struggled as the Eagles beat the Bears 24-20 on Sunday night.
Cutler finished 24-of-43 for 171 yards with one touchdown and one interception. The interception came on Chicago’s final offensive possession as Cutler was trying to lead the Bears to a game-winning score.
Cutler was trying not to throw interceptions tonight. He seemed overly cautious in his decisions and overthrew three receivers throughout the course of the game that cost Chicago a chance for touchdowns. The most damning overthrow came with just under four minutes remaining when he overshot Johnny Knox, who had beaten Sheldon Brown down the sidelines and could have streaked into the end zone for a go-ahead score.
Cutler and Donovan McNabb shared a nice moment after the game at midfield. McNabb spoke with Cutler at length and while it’s unknown what was said, one could imagine that the Philly QB offered words of encouragement and advice. Once the Bears build him an offensive line, Cutler is going to prosper. But until then, he’s going to suffer these roller coaster moments.
For the Eagles, this was a huge win because the Cowboys and Giants both won as well. This wasn’t a clean victory for Philadelphia by any means (they turned the ball over three times), but youngsters like LeSean McCoy (20 carries, 99 yards, 1 TD) and DeSean Jackson (8 receptions, 107 yards, 1 TD) stepped up and that was key.
Even though it pitted two, one-win teams against each other, the Browns-Lions matchup on Sunday produced the most thrilling game of Week 11.
With his team trailing 37-31 with only eight seconds remaining, rookie Matthew Stafford threw a desperation “Hail Mary” pass into the end zone, which was intercepted by Browns safety Brodney Pool. Cleveland started celebrating before Hank Poteat was flagged for pass interference and the ball was placed at the Browns’ 1-yard line for one last un-timed down.
The wild part is that Stafford was hurt on the “Hail Mary” throw after taking a shot after releasing the ball. Daunte Culpepper came in to run the final play but following a time out, Stafford re-entered the game and threw a touchdown to fellow rookie Brandon Pettigrew for the winning score.
Stafford, who finished 26-of-43 for 422 yards and five touchdowns, was in clear pain after the touchdown pass as he grabbed his left shoulder. Apparently he re-entered the game against the advice of team doctors and the Lions originally feared that he had fracture his collarbone. But X-rays revealed otherwise and he’ll likely be a game-time decision for Thanksgiving Day.
For those that haven’t seen Stafford play yet, you’re missing out. He takes tremendous abuse because his offensive line couldn’t block Jabba the Hutt, yet he stands in the face of pressure and delivers passes. He takes lick after lick and continues to get up despite the pounding. If he hasn’t endeared himself to the blue-collar fans in Detroit, I’d be very surprised.
On a side note from this game, Brady Quinn was outstanding. I’ve been highly critical of his play this season, but I’ll be the first to admit that he torched the Lions today. Granted, Detroit’s defense isn’t very good but a quarterback doesn’t throw for 304 yards and four touchdowns on 21-of-33 passing on accident. It’s too bad Cleveland’s defense couldn’t sustain the lead Quinn got for them, because he was exceptional.
For much of the 2009 season, the San Diego Chargers’ running game has been non-existent. But in the past two weeks, it has helped the Bolts recapture first place in the AFC West.
One week after rushing for 119 yards in a win over the Eagles, the Chargers racked up 203 rushing yards in a dominating 32-3 victory on Sunday. LaDainian Tomlinson was solid, rushing for 73 yards with a touchdown on 20 carries while Mike Tolbert finished with 58 yards and a touchdown on seven totes.
The Chargers revived another part of their game today too: Their pass rush. They sacked the combination of Kyle Orton and Chris Simms three times and intercepted Orton once when they blitzed a defensive back on the play. If they can get a similar effort from their pass rush moving forward, than this is going to be a tough team to beat over the final month of the season.
Denver is in a free fall right now. In their current four-game losing streak, they’ve allowed 29.3 points per game after allowing just 11 PPG in their six game winning streak. They couldn’t stop the Chargers’ running game and even when San Diego put the ball in the air, Denver got zero pressure on Philip Rivers.
Offensively, Simms started but was brutal again. Orton came in and immediately started moving the offense, but the drive stalled when Knowshon Moreno fumbled at the goal line and killed a scoring drive. After that, Orton failed to move the ball the rest of the contest and the Broncos’ offense fell flat.
Considering Denver is only one game behind with six remaining, I don’t want to overstate things. But San Diego has completely seized control in the AFC West and they look like they’re going to roll to another division title.
For the second week in a row, Texans’ kicker Kris Brown blew an opportunity for his team to tie a game and force overtime. This time, Browns’ miss came in a 20-17 loss to the Titans on Monday night.
