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Niners' Shaun Hill Looks Great Against Lackluster Bengals

Posted: Dec 17th 2007 11:47PM by Sportz Assassin (author feed)
Filed under: 49ers, Bengals, AFC North, NFC West, Cincinnati, San Francisco

0 COMMENTS

Some weeks the NFL Network gets the Packers-Cowboys games; some weeks they get the Bengals-Niners.

The Bengals looked the part of a 5-9 team that has packed it in for the season in their 20-13 loss to the Niners. San Francisco threw Shaun Hill out there for his first start ... and he looked like an old hand. Hill completed 21-of-28 passes for 197 yds and a TD (plus he rushed for another touchdown). Niners back Frank Gore ... who is having a disappointing season of his own ... ran all over the Bengals for 138 yds. That's just the second time this season he has topped the century mark.

For Cincinnati, this is bad. The loss tonight gives the Bengals their first losing season in Marvin Lewis' five year tenure as head coach. They gave up 20 points to a Niners team that has topped that total just once this season. Oh, and that dropped TD pass by Chad Johnson really summed up this ugly season.

The one bright spot for the Bengals was a 52-yd touchdown pass to Chris Henry, which was Carson Palmer's 100th career TD pass.

Continue Reading Niners' Shaun Hill Looks Great Against Lackluster Bengals

Cowboys Need New Digs Because Eagles Own Texas Stadium

Posted: Dec 16th 2007 8:40PM by Sportz Assassin (author feed)
Filed under: Cowboys, Eagles, NFC East, Dallas, Philadelphia

37 COMMENTS

Normally, I'd be a little bent about Fox giving an athlete's girlfriend so much camera time (write that down during Spurs games, ABC/ESPN) ... but Jessica Simpson was by far the best looking thing in Texas Stadium. It was pretty ugly out there as the Eagles eeked out a 10-6 win over the Cowboys.

Simpson's boyfriend ... Tony Romo ... completed just 13 of 36 passes for 214 yds, no TDs and three INTs. Some of that came after he injured his right thumb in the 3rd quarter, but he stunk up the joint before that. This was the first game in three years that Dallas failed to score a touchdown - that's during a season where the Boys may set a franchise record for scoring.

The loss is huge for Dallas. It drops them to 12-2 and into a tie with the Green Bay Packers atop the NFC. The Cowboys still own the tiebreaker, but will have to probably win out to keep it. With a win today, they only needed one win in the last two weeks to clinch home field advantage in the playoffs.

Continue Reading Cowboys Need New Digs Because Eagles Own Texas Stadium

Chargers 51, Lions 14: There Are Just Absolutely No Words to Describe the Horror

Posted: Dec 16th 2007 8:06PM by Tom Mantzouranis (author feed)
Filed under: Chargers, Lions, AFC West, NFC North, Detroit, San Diego

12 COMMENTS

I love this job, but on occasions like this -- where I'm tasked with writing an actual summary of what happened in this game -- it's a little befuddling. So, instead of me trying to come up with creative ways to stretch "The Lions are awful" across 500 words, let me begin with an accounting of their first five drives.

Three and out.
Three and out.
One play, interception.
Three plays, interception.
Interception.

Finally, on the sixth drive, the Lions got into the end zone. Of course, by then, it was already 27-0.

But, really, what did you expect? These teams were polar opposites -- the Chargers, an underachieving powerhouse rediscovering their form with four straight wins, vs. the Lions, an overachieving goat rediscovering their form with their sixth straight loss. Things were so bad that LaDainian Tomlinson took the entire second half off, yet still had 116 yards and two touchdowns. Philip Rivers wasn't far behind. As a matter of fact, the Chargers went into preseason mode once the game got out of hand; if they could have called their practice squaders onto the field to get some game work I'm sure they would have.

Continue Reading Chargers 51, Lions 14: There Are Just Absolutely No Words to Describe the Horror

Packers 33, Rams 14: The Rams are Like The Roots -- Things Fall Apart

Posted: Dec 16th 2007 6:30PM by Tom Mantzouranis (author feed)
Filed under: Packers, Rams, NFC North, NFC West, St. Louis

0 COMMENTS

I said it might have been a trap game for the Packers, and it looked like that ... for 20 minutes. I forgot to take into consideration how terrible the Rams have been in the second half this season. Which is to say: very.

But for those first 20 minutes, this looked like a battle of NFC heavyweights. There were the Packers racing out to the 7-0 lead. The Rams recovering a fumble and tying it. The Packers responding right away with another score. And then Steven Jackson going 46 yards to knot it again. And that was about that for the competitiveness.

After Mason Crosby's field goal made the score 17-14, each quarterback traded interceptions to end the half. But while one of those quarterbacks recovered in the second (and set an all-time record, by the way, you might have heard about it), the other, Marc Bulger, picked up where he left off at half -- with an interception. The Packers added 16 points in the second half, while the only stats the Rams padded were the bad ones -- three sacks taken, a missed field goal, and a failed fourth down.

There was little in the way of revelations in this one -- the Packers have really good receivers (12 yards per completion) and a pretty good defense (four sacks, two interceptions), Steven Jackson (170 total yards, touchdown) is the guy the Rams need to build around, and Bulger (51.3%, four sacks taken, two interceptions) should worry more about getting healthy for next year instead of taking this kind of abuse for a lost cause. In short: these teams were exactly who we thought they were.

Saints 31, Cardinals 24: The 2007 Buzzsaw is Put to Rest

Posted: Dec 16th 2007 5:56PM by Tom Mantzouranis (author feed)
Filed under: AZ Cardinals, Saints, NFC South, NFC West, New Orleans, Phoenix

1 COMMENT

Yet again, it seemed as if a late fumble could disrupt a Saints win. After blowing a game against the Bucs, this week it was David Patten, catching a pass and racking up the YAC, all the while holding the ball so precariously you'd think he was presenting it on a platter. Of course, it was knocked out in Arizona territory and recovered by the Cardinals, and a chance to take a two-score lead with nine minutes left was squandered.

Luckily, Kurt Warner is no Luke McCown (I know, Kurt -- the truth hurts), and the Cards promptly three-and-outed it for good, punting away the ball and their season. Starting at their own four, the Saints picked up four first downs, enough (thanks to some poor timeout management by Arizona) to run out the clock. That botched final series, a critical one, was just one of a number of instances where the Cardinals could have taken control of the game but failed to.

Not that the Saints didn't earn the win; they played incredibly well and balanced (30 passes, 29 runs) on offense, got pressure on Warner, forced turnovers, and played well in the secondary. But the difference in the final score would have been more than compensated for if the Cardinals didn't take a handful of shots at their own foot.

Continue Reading Saints 31, Cardinals 24: The 2007 Buzzsaw is Put to Rest

Vince Young Leads Titans Over Chiefs

Posted: Dec 16th 2007 5:30PM by Dan (author feed)
Filed under: Chiefs, Titans, AFC South, AFC West, Kansas City

3 COMMENTS

Although some fans actually decided to show up for the Chiefs final home game of the season, the Titans and Vince Young spoiled the party with a 26-17 victory.

Young, who has been criticized as much as Eli Manning this year, turned in a very solid performance this afternoon. In a place where opposing quarterback are often fed to the dogs (insert Michael Vick joke here), he stepped up and help keep his team in the hunt for a playoff spot with a two touchdown, no turnover performance.

LenDale White also checked in with a solid performance, gaining 103 yards on 24 carries, putting him only 32 yards away from the century mark. While kicker Rob Bironas added four field goals and two extra points -- I hope you had him on your fantasy team.

Things weren't so pretty on the Chiefs side of things. Brodie Croyle threw two damaging interceptions and Eddie Drummond lost an extremely costly fumble himself. And in the end, those three turnovers were too much to overcome for Kansas City, who now falls to 4-10.

Tennessee will continue their playoff quest next week in New York against the Jets, while Kansas City ... well, do fans really care what Kansas City does from here on out? It certainly doesn't seem like it.

Revenge Is A Dish Best Served Wet

Posted: Dec 16th 2007 4:52PM by Josh Alper (author feed)
Filed under: Jets, Patriots, AFC East, Boston, New York

13 COMMENTS

If you're a God fearing sort, after taking a look at the weather in Boston today, you'd have to think that the man upstairs didn't want Bill Belichick and Patriots fans to have the satisfaction of a blowout victory over the Jets. In fact, you might even think that ol' flowing robes didn't want them to get a win at all. Alas, human beings were blessed with free will and much like Job, Jonah and Lot's wife, the Jets couldn't stay out of their own way long enough to do anything but lose 20-10.

Both Patriots touchdowns came as a result of Jets miscues. On Kellen Clemens' first pass of the game, Richard Seymour demolished him and created an easy interception which Eugene Wilson took back for six points. Later in the first half, Ben Graham got a punt blocked and the Pats took over on the three yard line. Laurence Maroney carried in for an easy score and the Patriots led 17-7 at the half.

In the second half, things didn't get much better for the Jets. Darrelle Revis picked off Tom Brady, just the 2nd home interception of the year for Brady, but Chris Baker fumbled the ball back inside the red zone. That was the way it went for Chad Pennington. In a strong return engagement as Jets quarterback, Pennington moved the ball but his mates kept letting him down in the end.

Continue Reading Revenge Is A Dish Best Served Wet

Browns Shutout Bills; Snow Whites Out Game

Posted: Dec 16th 2007 4:48PM by Dan (author feed)
Filed under: Bills, Browns, AFC East, AFC North, Cleveland, Buffalo

14 COMMENTS

Although snow was the story all afternoon in Cleveland, the Browns stole the spotlight with a sloppy 8-0 (yes, 8-0) victory over the Buffalo Bills. And with the win, Cleveland all but secured themselves a spot in the [drum roll] playoffs!

Running back Jamal Lewis led the way, plowing through the slush for 163 rushing yards, while wide receiver Braylon Edwards hauled in four of the Browns nine completions for 64 yards. And although the statistics won't show it, Derek Anderson did exactly what he had to do today -- he didn't turn the ball over.

For the Bills, this one will be tough to swallow. With the aid of the weather, they held one of the league's highest scoring teams to only eight points. Unfortunately, their offense wasn't able to get anything going until the very last drive, and even that fell short. They now become the third team Cleveland has shutout since 1999, and will head back to Buffalo with their heads hanging.

Congratulation, Browns fans, you are going to see (barring a completely meltdown) postseason action this year. And Buffalo fans ... maybe next year?

Jaguars 29, Steelers 22: Jags Beat the Steelers at Their Own Game

Posted: Dec 16th 2007 4:10PM by JJ Cooper (author feed)
Filed under: Steelers, AFC North, Pittsburgh

3 COMMENTS

As good as Maurice Jones-Drew may be, the Steelers will be happy when Jones-Drew takes over the Jaguars' running back job full time. As he showed again in the snow on Sunday, Fred Taylor is one of the Steelers arch enemies.

Taylor has always given the Steelers problems. He put up 234 yards against Pittsburgh in 2000, setting a record for a Steeler opponent, and now eight years later he set a Heinz Field record for a Steeler opponent with 147 yards, including the game-winning touchdown in the final two minutes. Pittsburgh prides itself on its physical play, but Taylor was much more physical than the Steelers. Maybe it was Aaron Smith's absence from the Steelers' defensive line, or maybe it was the 20-play third quarter drive that left the Steelers defense gasping for air, but when the Steelers needed a late stop they weren't able to get it.

Continue Reading Jaguars 29, Steelers 22: Jags Beat the Steelers at Their Own Game

Texans 31, Broncos 13: Mario Williams Welcomes Prime Time

Posted: Dec 14th 2007 2:40PM by Stephanie Stradley (author feed)
Filed under: Broncos, Texans, AFC South, AFC West, Denver, Houston, NFL Network

9 COMMENTS

If you want the traditional sorta newsy game recap, check out the AP account or the one from the Houston Chronicle. Here's some football observations about the game and some silly gossipy stuff.

Keys to the Outcome:

Home Field Advantage: Both the Texans and the Broncos have young players at key positions. As is typical for those sorts of teams, they play much better at home than on the road. The Broncos are now 2-6 on the road, and the Texans are 5-2 at home (including 4-0 at home when wide receiver Andre Johnson is playing).

Yesterday is what the Texans call "Battle Red Day" when they wear their alternative jerseys, and encourage their fans to wear red. The Texans are now 5-2 all time when it's B.R.D. Because of the very vertical design of Reliant Stadium due to the retractable roof, it can get very loud because the fans are near the field, and the stadium traps noise. My seats are close to the field, and last night it was so loud my ears are still ringing.

In this mornings' The Debriefing, FanHouse's mjd said that the uniforms look like stunning red pajamas. Personally I like to think of them like the Kool-Aid Man. You know, he's friendly yet able to bust through your living room wall with ferocious intensity.

Continue Reading Texans 31, Broncos 13: Mario Williams Welcomes Prime Time