Welcome to Part II of my Monday Morning Quarterback Post for Week 18. All of the games on the late slate involved playoff implications for at least one of the teams involved. The Sunday night game between the Chargers and Raiders had some wild possibilities and the contest had a fittingly crazy finish.
After I posted Part I the New York Giants came to their senses and fired head coach Joe Judge. My guess is the Giants were leaning toward keeping him, but when they saw the media reactions on Monday when he wasn't let go they had a change of heart. Good for them because keeping Judge another season would have been insane.
Just remember I'm a Dallas Cowboys fan and I'm extremely biased. Feel free to agree or disagree about anything mentioned here. All comments are welcome.
To Tie Or Not To Tie, That Was The Question
Derek Carr was not going to be denied his first crack at the playoffs
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Raiders 35 Chargers 32 OT
The Sunday night football game featured one of the oddest playoff scenarios I can remember. Due to the Jaguars surprising upset of the Colts, both the Chargers and the Raiders would enter the playoffs if the game ended in a tie. Otherwise the winner would advance and the Pittsburgh Steelers would claim the final playoff spot. Let the kneeling begin!
Of course it didn’t happen that way. Probably because the league would have been embarrassed beyond belief by such a farce. The two franchises are old rivals and fought for victory. Although the thoughts of that pesky tie were raised by the end.
The Chargers got off to a bad start as they gave up 10 points in the 1st quarter. The Raiders got their TD via a short field provided by the Chargers on a muffed punt. Los Angeles roared back in the 2nd quarter with back-to-back long TD drives to go ahead 14-10. Then the Raiders used a long run by Jalen Richard and 41 yard pass interference penalty to get possession at the Chargers 1-yard line. Josh Jacobs darted into the end zone and Las Vegas took a 17-14 lead into halftime.
After the break Los Angeles took the kickoff and drove into Raiders territory. The drive stalled at the 33-yard line and the Chargers missed a field goal attempt. L.A. got the ball back after a Raiders punt and head coach Brandon Staley made a disputable play call. Facing a 4th and 1 on their own 18-yard line, the Chargers decided to go for it. The Raiders stuffed the attempt for a loss and took the ball on the Chargers 16-yard line. Luckily for L.A. their defense held the Raiders to a field goal. Las Vegas was up 20-14 heading into the final period.
The 4th quarter was wild. The Raiders opened up the scoring with a Derek Carr TD pass. They went for two, but failed so their lead was 26-14. The Chargers needed to make something happen fast, but Justin Herbert threw an interception. The Raiders then drove into Chargers territory and kicked a 52 yard field goal to increase their lead to 29-14 with 8 and half minutes left on the clock.
Down 15 points, the Chargers were desperate. Justin Herbert however remained calm under pressure. He got hot and drove L.A. down the field, throwing a TD pass to Josh Palmer. The Chargers converted a two point play and cut their deficit to 29-22 with 4 and half minutes left in regulation.
The Raiders could have ended the game with a couple of first downs, but they couldn’t even record one and punted to Los Angeles. The Chargers got the ball back on their 17 yard line with a little over two minutes on the clock down by seven points. Three straight Herbert incompletions left the Chargers facing a 4th and 10 with their season on the line. Herbert connected with Keenan Allen to get the first down, however three more incompletions left the Chargers to face 4th and 10 again. This time Los Angeles was bailed out by a Raiders holding penalty to get the first down.
Time was running short as Herbert started to find some receivers. The Chargers moved the ball down to the Raiders 12-yard line, but only five seconds remained on the clock. With time for only one more play, Herbert found Mike Williams in the end zone. The extra point was good and the game headed to overtime.
The Raiders won the toss and kicked a field goal. That gave the Chargers a chance to win, but they had to settle for tying the game once again with a field goal of their own. Now the stage was set for a weird finish. Remember, both teams would advance if the game ended in a tie. The Raiders were well aware and much to the chagrin of Steelers fans Las Vegas lazily ran the ball down the field to chew up clock. They made it to the Chargers 39-yard line, facing a 3rd and 4 seemingly content to just let the clock keep running. The Chargers panicked and called a time out to stop the clock. The Raiders gained 10 yards on a run after the time out and kicked a field goal to win 35-32. The victory sent both the Raiders and the Steelers into the postseason.
What a crazy finish! The Raiders managed to win their last three games to secure a playoff spot. Derek Carr (20/36, 186 yards, 2 TDs) will get to start his first playoff game after eight years in the league. Josh Jacobs (26 rushes, 132 yards, 1 TD) had a big day to propel the offense. The Raiders finished the season 10-7. They will open up the playoffs Saturday afternoon in Cincinnati.
It was a disappointing finish for a Chargers team that looked like a contender for a good chunk of the season. Justin Herbert (34/64, 383 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT) struggled with accuracy, but made big gains when he connected. Mike Williams (9 receptions, 119 yards, 1 TD) was his top target. Los Angeles finished the season at 9-8.
Brandon Staley was ripped for taking that timeout in overtime. A tie was good enough to advance. However when he explained his rationale it did make sense. The Raiders would have had to run at least one more play and any decent gain would have put them in field goal position. Staley called the timeout to get his best run defense into the game. Of course it backfired when the Chargers gave up ten yards on a run anyway. Staley’s real mistake in my eyes was going for it on 4th and 1 so deep in his own territory in the 3rd quarter. The failed conversion set the Raiders up for an easy field goal. Staley eschewed punting as much as possible this season and it cost him in the end.
Another Crazy Game Out West
Deebo Samuel has been a monster for the 49ers
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49ers 27 Rams 24 OT
The playoff stakes were high in this NFC West matchup. A win would give the Rams the NFC West title, a loss could have sent them to a wild card spot if the Cardinals won. The 49ers had even more on the line. A win clinched them a wild card spot. A loss meant they would miss the playoffs if the Saints beat the Falcons.
The Rams looked like they would run away with this game in the first half as they put 17 points up on the board. The 49ers first three possessions ended with two punts and an interception. The Niners finally found a little traction on offense and managed to kick a field goal as the 2nd quarter came to a close. Los Angeles led 17-3 at halftime.
The 3rd quarter was an entirely different story as the 49ers found life on offense and the defense stepped up. The Niners scored two TDs to tie the game up at 17-17 heading into the final period.
The 4th quarter opened up with a couple of punts before San Francisco started to move the ball. They made all the way into the red zone before Jimmy Garoppolo threw another interception. A long pass and several big running plays let the Rams drive deep into 49ers territory. A TD pass from Matthew Stafford to Cooper Kupp let L.A. retake the lead 24-17 with 2 and a half minutes left in the game.
The Niners season was on the line, but they went a fast three and out. The Rams took possession with under two minutes to go and could have finished off San Francisco with a few first downs. Yet they were stopped by the Niners, who burned their final timeouts to get the ball back with a minute and half left in regulation.
It looked bad for the Niners. They had the ball on their own 12-yard, needing to score a TD to tie the game with no timeouts. Turned out it was no big deal. Garoppolo got hot and hit on several long passes to lead the 49ers to a game tying TD in barely over a minute. The Rams couldn’t do anything in the game’s final seconds and the contest went to overtime.
The Niners won the toss and started moving the rock downfield. They made it as far as the Rams 6-yard line, but faced a 4th down from there. San Francisco kicked a field goal to go ahead 27-24, but the Rams would still get a possession.
The 49ers only kicked a field goal, but they took over seven minute off the clock in doing so. The Rams only had two and half minutes left to score. They needed to move fast and Stafford tried to hit Odell Beckham with a deep bomb, but the pass was intercepted. Game over.
Another wild game. The Niners looked like garbage in the first half, must have been quite a halftime speech by Kyle Shanahan because the team was much better in the second half. Jimmy Garoppolo (23/32, 316 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs) made a few mistakes, but when the game was on the line at the end he was money. He got a lot of help from Deebo Samuel who made contributions all over the field. Samuel caught 4 passes for 95 yards, ran the ball 8 times for 45 yards and a TD and threw a 24 yard TD pass on a trick play. This guy is a weapon.
The win advanced San Francisco into the playoffs as they finished the season at 10-7. They will play the Cowboys in Dallas next Sunday. Uh oh. I’m not gonna lie, I’m shitting bricks over this game. The Niners are a horrible matchup for the Cowboys. I’ll be sending extra prayers to coach Landry before this game.
The Rams had total control of this game before falling apart in the second half. They came alive enough in the 4th to retake the lead before falling apart on offense and defense all over again. Matthew Stafford (21/32, 238 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs) continues to throw a lot of interceptions. Cooper Kupp (7 receptions, 118 yards, 1 TD, 18 yards rushing) has been the real hero of the offense and deserves MVP consideration. Too bad wide receivers never win.
The Rams finished their season at 12-5. They caught a break when the Cardinals lost, so they still won the NFC West. However a win would have propelled them into the #2 seed and a game next week at home against the Eagles. Instead the loss dropped them to the #4 seed and they will face the Cardinals at home next Monday night. The two teams split their season series, but Arizona won the game in Los Angeles.
Around The League
Titans 28 Texans 25
The mission was simple for the Tennessee Titans in Week 18. Win and claim the #1 seed in the AFC that comes with the important bye week. Otherwise they would have to play in the first week of the playoffs. Tennessee accomplished the mission, but give credit to the Texans for not making it easy.
Obviously the Titans were the much better team, however the Texans did defeat Tennessee earlier in the season so this game was not going to be a walk in the park. In theory at least. The 1st quarter was defensive showdown that featured 4 punts and a missed field goal by the Titans.
Tennessee’s offense woke up in the 2nd quarter as Ryan Tannehill found his groove. He fired three TD passes as the Texans offense continued to lay dormant. The Titans led 21-0 at the break and seemed to be firmly in control of the game.
Yet the Texans, who only totaled 67 yards of offense in the first half, came out of the break like a completely new team. The defense started to stymie the Titans and Davis Mills got the offense into rhythm. Houston outscored Tennessee 10-0 in the 3rd quarter and started the final period off with another TD drive to cut Tennessee’s once large lead down to 21-18 with a successful two point conversion.
The Titans, after giving up 18 straight points, finally found some more life on offense. Tannehill hit a few more big passes to lead the Titans to a TD and a 28-18 lead. Yet Houston wasn’t ready to give up. Determined to play spoiler, Mills stayed hot and drove the Texans down for another TD. With a little over 4 minutes left in the game the Titans only led 28-25.
Yet the Texans comeback ended there. A completion by Tannehill and couple of nice runs by Dontrell Hilliard gave the Titans enough first downs to run out the clock and end the game with a win.
Most pundits thought the Titans would collapse without Derrick Henry, but Ryan Tannehill (23/32, 287 yards, 4 TDs) stepped up to the plate. He completed his TD passes to four different receivers, one of them being Julio Jones. It was the first TD reception of the season for Jones. If he can stay healthy enough to play, and that is a GIANT if, he can be a difference maker for the Titans moving forward. Even better for Tennessee is it seems like Derrick Henry will be ready to come back for the playoffs. The Titans finished the season 12-5 and captured the #1 seed in the AFC. They have a bye next week.
Houston had a lousy season, but the rise of rookie quarterback Davis Mills (23/30, 301 yards, 3 TDs) has been a revelation. Danny Amendola (7 receptions, 113 yards, 2 TDs) was his top target.
The Texans finished the season 4-13. For good reason, their roster stinks. Yet on Thursday they fired first year head coach David Culley. I don’t know why. What the hell was he supposed to do with that team? Most folks, including myself, wondered if they would win any games heading into the season. The front office in Houston is a dumpster fire, I doubt anybody with options will want that job.
Saints 30 Falcons 20
The Saints were in a tough position in Week 18 because they didn’t control their own playoff destiny. They not only needed to defeat the Falcons, they needed the 49ers to lose as well. New Orleans took care of business, the Rams collapse leaves them at home to watch the playoffs with the rest of us.
New Orleans season was ruined by numerous injuries on offense. Things didn’t get better in Week 18 as quarterback Taysom Hill went down in the 2nd quarter with an injury as the Saints trailed 10-7. However Trevor Siemian came off the bench to put the Saints ahead for good. He finished a TD drive started by Hill and led another one of his own before the break to give New Orleans a 24-6 lead at halftime.
The Saints ran the ball a lot after the break to eat up the clock. They tacked on a few more field goals as the Falcons offense never threatened them. Atlanta got a garbage time TD to make the final score look better, but the Saints won with ease.
It was almost fitting that Taysom Hill (7/9, 107 yards, 1 TD) got injured because injuries to nearly all of the Saints quarterbacks is what doomed their season. Trevor Siemian (9/15, 71 yards, 2 TDs) was good enough off the bench. Alvin Kamara (30 rushes, 146 yards) did the heavy lifting to secure the win. The Saints finished the season 9-8. Will they go after a new quarterback in the offseason or will they hope Jameis Winston can come back healthy?
The Falcons finished the season 7-10 and I am left to wonder how they managed to win seven games. This team isn’t good and even though they had a soft schedule I’m still surprised they won that many games. The highlight off their season was when the Cowboys whipped their ass 43-3. Oh wait, that was my favorite part of their season. Sorry about that. This team needs a serious rebuild, but the first step needs to be letting Matt Ryan go and I’m not sure they are ready to do that.
Bills 27 Jets 10
All the Bills needed to do to wrap up the AFC East was defeat the Jets at home. Easy right? Right? Turned out it wasn’t really that easy at all. That’s a scary fact for Bills fans.
Buffalo scored on their first two possessions to take a 10-0 lead after the 1st quarter. The Jets started off the 2nd quarter by having a punt blocked, giving Buffalo the ball on New York’s 35-yard line. Despite the premium field position, Buffalo turned the ball over on downs and got zero points. That seemed to be a sign of things to come as the Bills offense went missing for several quarters.
Somehow the Jets managed to get a couple of drives going and were only down 13-10 entering the final quarter. Could the Bills really blow this game? No, Josh Allen made some plays with his arm and legs to score two 4th quarter TDs for Buffalo. The final score wasn’t close, but for three quarters the Jets were actually in this game.
Buffalo needs to be worried moving on to the postseason. When Josh Allen (24/45, 239 yards, 2 TDs) is on they look unstoppable, but when he isn’t the offense does nothing. The blueprint for beating Buffalo is pretty simple. The Bills finished the season 11-6 and won the AFC East division title. They ended up with the #3 seed in the conference and will host a familiar foe next Saturday night: the New England Patriots. They better hope the weather isn’t too windy.
The Jets gave Buffalo a good fight, but they are the Jets. Zach Wilson (7/20, 87 yards, 1 TD) capped off his lousy rookie season with a terrible game. At least he didn’t throw any picks. Wilson did little of anything this year to convince people he is going to be the answer at quarterback moving forward, but with the money the Jets have tied up in him he will be given another chance next year. The Jets finished their season at 4-13.
Dolphins 33 Patriots 29
The Patriots needed to win this game to have any hope of winning the AFC East. Hell if they won and got real lucky they could have even moved up to the #2 seed in the AFC. Not only didn’t they get lucky, they didn’t even win. What is it about South Florida that is Kryptonite to New England? They didn’t win there much even when they had Tom Brady.
New England put themselves in a big hole early. They let the Dolphins march right down the field for a TD with their first possession and then Mac Jones’s first pass was intercepted for a pick-six. Halfway through the 1st quarter New England already trailed 14-0. The Patriots got a TD in the 2nd quarter, but still trailed 17-7 at the break.
The Patriot opened the second half with a field goal, yet then surrendered another TD to Miami. New England started to drive the ball again, but Mac Jones lost a fumble and the Dolphins converted the turnover into a field goal. Early in the 4th quarter the Dolphins led 27-10.
However the Patriots were resilient and scored two unanswered TDs in th