Minnesota Vikings bye week. A team's bye week becomes a team's fan's bye week. The football viewing is much more relaxed. Still entertaining but much more relaxed.
Very good game in New Orleans.
The San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints needed overtime to decide their game. The 49ers looked like they were going to run away with it early. They were up 14-0 halfway through the first quarter. The Saints eventually got out of their own way and got back in the game. It was pretty much even the rest of the way.
The season hasn't gone as expected for the 49ers or the Saints. Both teams had, and still have, legitimate Super Bowl dreams. Both teams entered the game with 4-4 records. The 49ers have gotten away from their offensive strength of running the ball. They got back to those strengths against the Saints. They put the ball into the hands of running back Frank Gore. He carried the ball on the first five offensive plays. His third carry was a touchdown. The 49ers second touchdown ended a 13 play, 79-yard drive. Eight of those plays were runs. Gore had nine carries in the first quarter.
Gore had 23 carries for 81 tough yards. As a team, the 49ers ran the ball 32 times for 144 yards.
The 49ers running the ball often and running the ball well shouldn't be a surprise. When things are going well that's what they do. Things start to go off the rails when they get away from that strength. It's a surprise when the Saints lean on the run. Since quarterback Drew Brees joined the team about a decade ago, passing has been the main means of moving the ball in New Orleans. The Saints ran the ball 31 times for 136 yards yesterday. Getting running back Mark Ingram back from injury a couple of weeks ago has put running plays on Sean Payton's giant play sheet. Ingram had his third straight 100-yard game. 120 yards on 27 carries against the 49ers. The Saints had dominant wins against the Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers in the in the previous two games. They nearly got a third win.
Brees still threw the ball plenty. 28 completions in 47 attempts for 292 yards and three touchdowns. He also threw two pretty costly interceptions. The first set up the 49ers first touchdown. The second ended a excellent scoring chance for the Saints at the end of the first half. Brees also had a fumble in overtime that led to the 49ers game-winning field goal. Those turnovers were the difference between a win and a loss.
Stat-wise, 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick had a shaky game. 14 completions in 32 attempts doesn't look so hot but his receivers didn't do him any favors. Receiver Anquan Boldin is one of the best pass catchers in the league. He had 5 drops. He might go stretches of games without totaling five drops. A very strange game for Boldin. Kaepernick might have had as many as ten of his passes dropped. Receiver Michael Crabtree had a critical drop in regulation. He made up for it a couple of plays later with, perhaps, the pass and catch that saved the 49ers season.
Down 24-21, 4th and 10 from the their own 22-yard line with 1:34 left in the game. Kaepernick throws 51 yards, maybe 70 yards in the air, to a wide open Crabtree at the Saints 27-yard line. Kicker Phil Dawson converted the game-tying, 40-yard field goal to tie the game and force overtime.
The 49ers had to win this game. A loss would have left them at 4-5 and looking way up at the 8-1 Arizona Cardinals. Their playoff hopes would have been very, very bleak. A lot of things still have to go right but they are still in the playoff mix.
The 49ers are missing linebackers Patrick Willis, Navorro Bowman, and Aldon Smith. All are All-Pro linebackers. Bowman has been out all season while recovering from the brutal leg injury that he suffered in the last year's NFC Championship game. Smith has been out all season for his off-the-field shenanigans. Willis has been out for the past few weeks with a toe injury. It's possible that Bowman and Smith are back before Willis. That's a lot of defensive talent to have on the sideline. It's remarkable that the 49ers defense has maintained a solid level of play without all of that talent. It's a credit to defensive coordinator Vic Fangio and the play of the football players that have had to step up on the field. They might be missing some of the splash plays that routinely made by Willis, Bowman, and Smith but the back-ups have really stepped up. Ahmad Brooks is the one starter that has managed to stay on the field. Michael Wilhoite, and rookies Chris Borland and Aaron Lynch have filled in quite well, Borland made a fistful of impact plays yesterday and even provided some splash plays. He recovered the Brees fumble, forced by Brooks, that led to the game-winning overtime field goal. When the 49ers get their missing linebackers back on the field they will have an surplus of play-making linebacker talent.
The shocker of the day came from the struggling, stumbling, bumbling New York Jets. They upset the surging Pittsburgh Steelers 20-13. It took a desperation 80-yard touchdown pass from the Steelers with just over a minute to play to make the game a one-score game. This outcome didn't seem possible leading up to the game. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had thrown for six touchdowns in each of the last two games. The Jets defense didn't have a chance against such a juggernaut. The Jets secondary sucked. Steelers receivers Antonio Brown, Markus Wheaton, and Martavis Bryant were going to take that Jets secondary apart. That's what all of the "experts" were saying. Roethlisberger did throw for 343 yards but his only touchdown was that last, 80-yard desperation touchdown to Bryant. Roethlisberger threw two interceptions. This is why they play these games instead of letting stats and supposed experts decide them.
The Buffalo Bills were playing terrific defense for three quarters. Unfortunately, the Bills offense could only put up 13 points to support that defense. The Kansas City Chiefs finally got through that Bills defense for two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and squirrel away a 17-13 win. The Chiefs have won four straight games and six of the last seven. They are quietly sitting at 6-3.
Detroit Lions punter Sam Martin attempted two passes. He completed both. The first went to fullback Jed Collins for 24 yards. That led to a Matt Prater field goal. The second punter pass went to Isa Abdul-Quddus. That one was two yards short of the first down and gave the ball to the Miami Dolphins. That special teams gambling may not have played a huge role but the Lions did come away with a big, last-minute win against the increasingly difficult Dolphins.
The Dolphins got more bad news when tackle Branden Albert was lost to a potentially season-ending knee injury.
The Lions are really scratching and fighting for their wins. Four of their seven wins are one-score wins. Two of their wins were single-point wins. They are winning their games with tremendous defense. The Lions winning games with defense is probably the biggest surprise of the season.
Arizona Cardinals receiver John Brown can stop that touchdown celebration right now. It was a great catch. The celebration was difficult to watch.
Even if Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson isn't the best corner in the game, and he might be, he is probably the best athlete in the game. His interception that sealed the win over the St. Louis Rams was terrific. Tip. Catch. Touchdown.
This game changed in a hurry. The Rams held a 14-10 lead with about eight minutes to play. It seemed in a blink, it was 31-14 Cardinals lead. The play-making Cardinals defense scored two touchdowns in just over a minute.
Corner Antonio Cromartie scored the Cardinals second defensive touchdown with a fumble return. He's getting up there in age now (30) but there was a time when he might have been the best athlete in the game. Peterson and Cromartie make for a fun pair of corners. Unless you are a receiver facing them.
The Cardinals fear that quarterback Carson Palmer tore an ACL. He signed a contract extension on Friday. In 2005, he signed a big contract extension with the Cincinnati Bengals. 10 days later he tore an ACL. That's not right.
Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman called New York Giants rookie receiver Odell Beckham "a great young player." Sherman doesn't throw out compliments often. Especially to rookies.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers sure makes the game look easy.
The Chicago Bears made the game look very, very difficult last night.
Never seen that before:
Packers punt rusher Jarrett Boykin's foot touched the ball before Bears punter Pat O'Donnell's foot touched the ball.
The Vikings get this Chicago Bears team next week.
I missed the Vikings today.
It's time to let Adrian Peterson play!
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