2016 NFL Week Five

Arizona Cardinals 33, @ San Francisco 49ers 21

Note: I did not watch this game until October 27th, but I knew the Cardinals had won on the night of the game.

• The 49ers’ all-black uniforms are ugly.
• Normally, I would have been worried going into this game with Drew Stanton starting at quarterback, but I knew that 1) Carson Palmer had been shaky so far in the season, and 2) David Johnson had been rushing the ball well.
• With 10:20 left in the first, an apparent catch by Larry Fitzgerald was being blown dead. Hearing the whistle, Fitzgerald gave up on the play, and then 49er linebacker Michael Wilhoite scooped Fitzgerald up and body slammed him to the turf.  Announcer Jim Nantz asked, “Was that necessary?”  The answer is no.  And yet no flag was thrown. I thought the league cared about player safety.
• Why didn’t Arizona punt returner John Brown call for a fair catch with 40 seconds left in the first? He got creamed a split second after catching the punt.  It’s a miracle he hung on.
• As the first half went on, I wondered when the Cardinals would get a breakthrough. Their defense was playing decently, but their offense was horrible.  Then defensive lineman Calais Campbell intercepted a blocked pass, and on the ensuing play, Stanton hit a WIIIIIIIIIIiiiiiiiiiiiide open Larry Fitzgerald for an easy touchdown…
• …and then San Francisco fumbled the opening kickoff of the second half and looked like they held Arizona to a field goal…except someone ran into the kicker, giving Arizona a first down. On the ensuing play, David Johnson ran off tackle and weaved his way into the end zone.  Two big SF mistakes…two Arizona touchdowns.
• It is such a treat to watch Larry Fitzgerald play. His second touchdown reception was a thing of beauty.  He ran an out-and-up pattern and broke free by just enough to grab a roughly-35-yard lofted pass in the end zone.
• Marcus Cooper could not have read Gabbert’s pass any better when he intercepted it with 14:55 left in the fourth.
• That pass interference call on Tyrann Mathieu on the play following the 2-minute warning in the fourth was not a good one. Mathieu didn’t do anything illegal.

Washington Redskins 16, @ Baltimore Ravens 10

• Baltimore scored quickly on the opening drive,[1] going 75 yards in less than five minutes. When Washington punted after a short drive, I thought this may turn into a Baltimore blowout.  Then Washington’s Jamison Crowder took a punt all the way with an electrifying return,[2] and I thought we’d have a rather competitive game.
• That wind was CRAZY. Look at the extra point after the Crowder punt return touchdown.  The kick was going straight down the middle, and then – at the last minute – the wind pushed it wide left.
• After the Baltimore field goal with 14:56 left in the second, I thought Washington was going to have another return touchdown, but Will Blackmon was downed at midfield after a 45-yard return.
• Why the heck did Baltimore fake a field goal with 4:20 left in the second? Justin Tucker’s been very good so far this season, and a field goal would have put them up by seven.
• Great pass by Kirk Cousins to a wiiiiiiide open Pierre Garçon with 8:28 left in the third. But how was he so open?
• Nobody should give Baltimore linebacker C.J. Mosley a hard time for holding the ball out in an attempt to score a touchdown on an interception return. Almost every linebacker in the league would have done the same.
• No, that was not pass interference with 20 seconds left in the fourth. Yes, the officials got it right.
• Baltimore was its own worst enemy in this game. 

New England Patriots 33, @ Cleveland Browns 13

• Tom Brady’s ludicrous suspension is finally over. Look for one of the most vengeful individual seasons in league history.
• Rob Gronkowski is also playing. I smell a blowout.  After all, this is a matchup of one of the league’s best teams and one of the worst.
• Gronkowski’s catch/run/barrel through six defenders with 11 minutes left in the first was a treat to watch.
• Tom Brady’s first drive of the season ended in a touchdown. Everyone who’s surprised, raise your hand.[3]
• The first penalty did not occur until there were 6:26 left in the first quarter.
• Brady’s first touchdown pass of the season came with 2:06 left in the first, and Martellus Bennett could not have been more open. How embarrassing for Cleveland.
• With 1:20 left in the first, Cleveland quarterback Cody Kessler got a double-whammy. While under duress, he threw a backward pass to his right, toward running back Duke Johnson, Jr.  He was clobbered immediately after throwing, and he injured his shoulder on the play.  To add insult to injury, the pass missed and went out of the end zone for a safety.[4]
• New England cornerback Cyrus Jones’ ejection with 10:52 left in the third was probably warranted, but I would have liked a camera angle that actually showed what he did.
• This game became unremarkable after the ejection. Brady threw for 406 yards, and the Browns ended the game on their sixth (?!?) quarterback of the season.

@ Detroit Lions 24, Philadelphia Eagles 23

• The way Detroit’s opening quarter went, I would have thought that Detroit was the 3-0 team and Philadelphia was the 1-3 team.
• What was Philadelphia safety Rodney McLeod thinking with 1:40 left in the first? He not only dove atop a sliding Matthew Stafford (Detroit’s quarterback, for those who don’t know), but hit him on the head with both hands.  That will get flagged every time.
• I don’t know how the officials missed the spot with 8:30 left in the second. That was well short of the first down marker.[5]
• That was a good reversal with 1:22 left in the second. I was glad to see the officials get it right.  Philadelphia receiver Jordan Matthews caught the ball, and then Detroit cornerback Quandre Diggs stripped the ball.
• The unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Detroit receiver Anquan Boldin with 8:20 left in the third hurt Detroit by a lot. They ended up deep in their own territory, which made the fumble on the subsequent play even more costly.  Miraculously, Detroit held Philadelphia to a field goal on the ensuing drive.[6]
• Detroit’s punt with 12:01 left in the fourth is another example of why the practice of Coffin Corner Punting needs to return. Punting it high and in the center of the field is asking a lot of the gunners.  They have very little room for error in their attempts to down the ball before it enters the end zone.
• Philadelphia running back Ryan Mathews’ fumble with 2:41 left in the fourth was not a result of careless ball-carrying. It was a result of a great play by Detroit cornerback Darius Slay.  When he tackled him, his helmet hit the ball, popping it free.
• After Detroit’s go-ahead field goal, Slay made another great play with his game-sealing interception.
• This was a fun game to watch. I greatly enjoyed it.

@ Indianapolis Colts 29, Chicago Bears 23

• Going into this game, I thought it was going to be either ugly or a yawner. Neither team had impressed me up to this point.
• Congratulations to Indianapolis running back Frank Gore for moving to #9 all-time in career rushing yards.[7]
• Did Chicago’s gunners blow it or what with 13:04 left in the third? The ball had just about stopped moving at around the Indianapolis two-yard line, and they ended up batting the ball into the end zone!  All that needed to happen was for ONE OF THEM to possess the ball.
• Indianapolis defensive tackle Henry Anderson made a dumb move with 5:00 left in the third. His teammate had wrapped up the ball-carrier, and was in the midst of dragging him out of bounds, when Anderson bashed into the mob.  Was he flagged?  Of course.  There’s no excuse for that.
• There’s also no excuse for running into Chicago kicker Connor Barth the way that Indianapolis safety T.J. Green did with 4:11 left in the third.[8]
• Announcer Troy Aikman made two points that I greatly agree with – that Andrew Luck cannot continue to take the punishment he’s been taking every week,[9] and he asked whether the Colts are bona fide contenders or beneficiaries of a bad division.

Tennessee Titans 30, @ Miami Dolphins 17

• Beautiful punt return touchdown by Miami’s Jakeem Grant with 13:20 left in the second. That made this the second consecutive week that Tennessee gave up a 70+ yard punt return for a touchdown.
• With 19 seconds left in the first half, Miami punted, and there was a bad play on both ends of the field. The punt should have been blocked by Tennessee, and then one of Miami’s gunners hit the returner after he had signaled for a fair catch.
• I could barely believe my eyes when I saw Miami’s PUNTER – Matt Darr – commit a late hit out of bounds with 13:17 left in the fourth. How often do you see the punter get called for committing a cheap shot?  He’s usually the victim!
• Nice diving touchdown catch by Tennessee’s Rashard Matthews with 8:23 left in the fourth.
• Miami quarterback Ryan Tannehill is another quarterback in the league who is taking a beating in every game. This is not good.  One or more of these guys[10] is going to be injured at some point.[11]
• Tennessee quarterback Marcus Mariota had more rushing yards (60) than Miami’s entire team (51).
• Tennessee looks so far to be more talented than their record indicates. They are their own worst enemies – mental mistakes have cost them some games.  They should have beaten Miami by more than 13 points.

@ Minnesota Vikings 31, Houston Texans 13

• Was the Minnesota passing touchdown with 11:23 left in the first a result of a great move by receiver Adam Thielen or bad pass coverage by Houston?[12]
• With 1:17 left in the first, after yet another incomplete pass by Houston quarterback Brock Osweiler, the play-by-play announcer said that Osweiler was “off today.” I disagree.  Osweiler wasn’t off – he just isn’t very good.[13]
• That was terrible punt coverage by Houston when Minnesota’s Marcus Sherels returned a punt all the way with 8:50 left in the second.
• I heard play-by-play announcer Spero Dedes say, “things go from bad to worse for the Texans” at least twice during this game.
• Great touchdown catch – towel flying and everything – by Minnesota wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson with 14:09 left in the fourth.
• Dominant performance by Minnesota, exposing a lot of problems that Houston needs to work on.

@Pittsburgh Steelers 31, New York Jets 13

• Pittsburgh’s throwbacks made them look like bumblebees.
• After a New York field goal – on a drive that was aided by an incorrectly called catch – put them ahead 3-0, Pittsburgh responded with a long bomb for a 72-yard touchdown from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to receiver Sammie Coates with 10:16 left in the first.
• Color commentator Dan Fouts was right – Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick’s touchdown pass with 2:06 left in the second should have been intercepted.[14] But it still counts on the scoreboard, right?
• Not to keep kicking a dead horse, but New York’s failed attempt to down the punt with 4:07 left in the third is yet another reason why punters need to use the Coffin Corner again.
• What a play by New York defensive end Leonard Williams with 9:35 left in the fourth to pop the football out of Roethlisberger’s hands and into the air! Defensive end Sheldon Richardson couldn’t help but snatch the fluttering football out of the air.
• New York put up a bit of a fight, but Pittsburgh is a far better team.

Atlanta Falcons 23, @ Denver Broncos 16

• Atlanta came out of the gate swinging. Going up 10-0 in the first quarter on the road against the defending champions is no easy task.
• The 26-yard pass play to Denver receiver Emmanuel Sanders on the first play from scrimmage in the third quarter cracked me up. He caught the ball, spun toward the opposite side of the field, weaved, and then got knocked flat on his back.  The way he fell made it look like he got clotheslined.
• And then on the ensuing play (14:26 left in the third), Sanders was penalized for (a very obvious) offensive pass interference.
• The call reversal with 8:24 left in the fourth was correct. It would have been an outstanding catch, otherwise.
• I was shocked that the officials did not throw a flag when Denver quarterback Paxton Lynch got hit while sliding with 7:01 left in the fourth.
• This game wasn’t as close as the score would lead people to believe. The Falcons only won by seven, but I never felt like the Broncos were in it.  It felt more like a 14 or 17-point win.

@ Dallas Cowboys 28, Cincinnati Bengals 14

• The referee for this game – Tony Corrente – looks like Dan Castalleneta, better known as the voice of Homer Simpson.
• Dallas did not take long to score its first touchdown. After that, given how each of these teams had been playing up to this point in the season, I thought that this game could be a blowout.
• Great call by Dallas to have quarterback Dak Prescott run a QB keeper with 14:43 left in the second. It became an easy touchdown.
• Dallas tight end Jason Witten looked like a bowling ball after catching the pass from Prescott with 4:20 left in the second.
• The Prescott fumble with around 30 seconds left in the third turned into a hot potato. At least four different players tried – and failed – to scoop it up before Cincinnati linebacker Vincent Rey mercifully grabbed it.[15]
• Even though Dallas won by 14, it felt more like they won by 35. They clobbered Cincinnati.

Buffalo Bills 30, @ Los Angeles Rams 19

• With 8:44 left in the first, Buffalo quarterback Tyrod Taylor couldn’t handle the snap. Or so I thought.  A replay taken from the camera behind him showed that Taylor called for the snap while he was behind the left guard, so it was no wonder that he missed it.
• Two plays later, on third and a mile, Taylor scrambled for a first down.
• How did Buffalo tight end Charles Clay get so open with 3:40 left in the first? He managed to catch the ball while falling, get up, and gain five more yards before being tackled.
• Taylor is like Houdini. He escaped a sure sack with 2:22 left in the first and threw a four-yard touchdown pass.
• Buffalo running back LeSean McCoy made a great run up the middle for 53 yards with 14:52 left in the second quarter, but it should have been a touchdown. Why wasn’t it?  Because the lead blocker who was with him – fullback Jerome Felton – did a horrendous job of blocking.  In fact, he didn’t block anybody, and his attempts to do so slowed McCoy down.
• That roughing the kicker penalty by Los Angeles linebacker Josh Forrest with 6:37 left in the third was a bad one to commit. It was an obvious penalty, too.
• Great pick-six by Buffalo cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman with 3:54 left in the third, but I have to ask – why did defensive players block better on an interception return than a fullback did on an offensive running play? (I’m referring to the McCoy run from earlier.)
• One of the Rams players is the son of one of the Bills’ assistant coaches.
• I am okay with the Rams’ decision to fake the punt with 3:41 left in the game. It was a good call that didn’t work.[16]
• After watching McCoy get stuffed at the line on two plays in a row in the fourth quarter, I’ve come to the conclusion that Felton is not good at blocking.[17] When his main job is to lead block, that’s not a good thing.

@ Oakland Raiders 34, San Diego Chargers 31

• The interception by San Diego defensive tackle Brandon Mebane with 13:30 left in the first came because Derek Carr was under duress. That is something that the teams that Oakland has played thus far have not done very often.[18]
• San Diego tight end Antonio Gates’s fumble on the Oakland 13 with 12:01 left in the first was ridiculous. Careless ball carrying, and the ball was caught out of the air by Oakland safety Reggie Nelson.
• Great call by the official to rule the receiver out of bounds on Oakland’s apparent touchdown pass with around four minutes left in the first.
• Terrible throw by San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers that led to the interception by Oakland cornerback Sean Smith with 3:35 left in the first.
• Terrible discipline by Oakland linebacker Perry Riley to push teammate Denico Autry offside with 10 seconds left in the first…on 4th and 1 for the Chargers.
• What San Diego receiver Tyrell Williams did to the fans behind the next zone after he caught a touchdown pass with 13:07 left in the second was more unsportsmanlike than two teammates dancing in sync after a score…yet the NFL allows the former but not the latter.[19]
• Oakland’s inability to convert red zone trips into touchdowns during the first half could have given them a commanding lead. Their first three trips to the end zone resulted in (chronologically) a short field goal, a missed field goal, and a short field goal.  Not a good recipe for success.
• The interception that Rivers threw with 1:39 left in the second was his fault. He threw it to a receiver who not only wasn’t open, but had TWO defenders between him and where the ball was going to land.  No wonder the receiver collided with the defender and fell down.
• The first half was close, but I didn’t enjoy it. It was poorly played and mistake-filled.
• Charger tight end Hunter Henry had all kinds of room to run after catching a short pass down the middle with 14:14 left in the third. Perfect call by the Chargers and perfect read of the defense by Rivers.
• Two plays later, the Chargers scored on a short pass to running back Melvin Gordon, who was WIDE open and ran 18 yards into the end zone untouched.
• Blown coverage by San Diego safety Adrian Phillips on the long bomb from Carr to receiver Amari Cooper for a touchdown with 11:25 left in the third.
• On the ensuing possession, Rivers hit receiver Tyrell Williams on a long pass for a 50-yard gain on the Chargers’ first play from scrimmage.
• After Henry caught a touchdown pass with 10:10 left in the third, I decided that I’d rather have him play tight end than the butter-fingered Antonio Gates.
• Oakland’s defense did a good job of poking the ball free whenever a San Diego runner was careless with ball protection. A great example came with 3:54 left in the third, and another one was the aforementioned Gates fumble.
• Impressive touchdown pass and catch by Carr and receiver Michael Crabtree with 1:09 left in the third.
• The two-point conversion play that followed was an outstanding call. Shotgun…spread formation…and a lot of room to pass.  Why don’t more teams do this in short-yardage situations?
• San Diego’s punt on the last play of the third quarter was the worst in the league this season – and one of the worst ones I’ve ever seen. San Diego was lucky that the ball landed on the sideline, otherwise it would have been an easy scoop-and-run for a touchdown.
• GREAT call by the officials to call pass interference in the end zone with 12:54 left in the fourth. It was an obvious push by San Diego’s Dexter McCoil to knock Cooper out of the end zone with the ball in the air.  Referee Gene Steratore did a great job explaining the ruling and the applicable rules during that whole sequence.[20]
• I liked the flea-flicker[21] by the Chargers with 8:43 left in the fourth.
• Good play call by San Diego to score a touchdown on a short pass with 6:21 left in the fourth[22].
• My goodness, the Chargers are their own worst enemies in the fourth quarter. How did they blow it in this game?  With a dropped snap by the holder on a potential game-tying field goal.  [23]

@ Green Bay Packers 23, New York Giants 16

• What genius in the NFL made the Giants play two tough road games – at Minnesota and Green Bay – on consecutive weeks? That’s brutal.
• At first glance, an assistant coach for New York – who was on camera with 7:46 left in the first – looked like a Mirror Universe (from Star Trek) version of Peyton Manning.[24]
• Great protection by the Packer line to give Rodgers TONS of time with 8:03 left in the first. It allowed him to scramble untouched for an 11-yard gain for a first down.
• Inexcusable pass drop with 12 seconds left by Packers running back James Starks. Is it possible to be TOO open?[25]
• Mistakes like the one that occurred on the previous play can sometimes come back to haunt a team. After a touchdown pass that was canceled by offsetting penalties, the Giants intercepted a pass near the goal line.
• Impressive kick return by New York’s Dwayne Harris with 5:52 left in the second.
• In the first half, the Giants had trouble getting any threatening pressure on Rodgers. Great job of pass protection by the Packers’ line.
• The Giants’ secondary kept them in this game in the first half with their interceptions. Otherwise, the rout would have been on.
• Whoa…the poor blocking by New York right tackle Bobby Hart with 1:21 left in the second about got Eli Manning killed. It’s amazing that he only fumbled.[26]
• After the OBVIOUS offensive pass interference call with 36 seconds left in the second, I was reminded of something I’ve wondered for a long time. Why does the offense get to repeat the down after an offensive pass interference penalty, when it often prevents a turnover?  It should be a ten-yard penalty and a loss of down.  It is in high school.  Why not the NFL?  It doesn’t make sense.
• What a catch by New York receiver Odell Beckham Jr for a touchdown with 2:54 left in the fourth quarter! Did his foot land out of bounds?  It looked like it from one replay angle, but didn’t from another.  On the first angle I mentioned, it looked pretty clear that his foot landed out of bounds, yet the ruling was that there was no clear view.  I don’t know.
• Green Bay won, but it wasn’t in any way convincing.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17, @ Carolina Panthers 14

• What a bone-headed move by Carolina cornerback Teddy Williams (#21) on the Carolina punt return with 8:55 remaining in the second! The returner, Ted Ginn Jr, had called for a fair catch.  While he was preparing to catch the ball, Williams – who was running back to block, but wasn’t paying attention – ran into him and forced Ginn to muff the kick.  Tampa Bay fell on the ball for a gifted turnover.
• I almost choked from laughter when I heard the MNF announcers – Sean McDonough and Jon Gruden – say that Carolina’s Derek Anderson was one of the best backup quarterbacks in the league. He’s not very good.  He is an interception waiting to happen – namely because he is so apt to telegraph a pass.  With 4:05 left in the second – HE DID EXACTLY THAT.
• Boy, did Tampa Bay dodge a bullet with 2:22 left in the second. Quarterback Jameis Winston scrambled for the first down, but was VERY careless with the football, and coughed it up while trying to spin out of a tackle.  Fortunately for him, one of his linemen fell on it.
• At halftime, the score was 6-0. It was the lowest-scoring first half of any game thus far in the season.
• With 7:00 left in the third, Carolina punter Andy Lee didn’t get run into by Tampa Bay defensive end Howard Jones, like McDonough said. He got CLOBBERED.  Not only was it an easy roughing the kicker call,[27] but it gave Carolina the ball back.  In the NFL, that often leads to points…
• …which is exactly what happened. On the next play, tight end Greg Olsen was WWWWWIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide open for an easy 33-yard gain.  And on the ensuing play, running back Cameron Artis-Payne scored a running touchdown with the aid of an outstanding block by guard Andrew Norwell.
• Who blew the coverage on Tampa Bay’s touchdown pass to Mike Evans with 4:26 left in the third? He was wide open.  Evans is – by far – Tampa Bay’s best receiver.  He needs to be covered better than that.
• With 8:39 left in the fourth, Derek Anderson struck again. This time, he threw the ball into coverage in the end zone on 1st-and-Goal.  McDonough said, “TERRIBLE decision by Derek Anderson!”  If I had a dime for every time I either said or heard that sentence…[28]
• Carolina linebacker A.J. Klein greatly cost his team with 5:23 left in the fourth. Rogers had been tackled after a five-yard run.  The whistle had been blown.  The play was obviously over…and then he ran up and blasted Tampa Bay tackle Gosder Cherilus, who wasn’t even looking at him, from the side.  Easy easy EASY flag.  Dumb dumb DUMB move.[29]
• Winston got away with a dumb decision with 4:21 left in the fourth on second down. He threw into double coverage downfield, and the defender should have picked it off, but he dropped it.
• The next two plays greatly irritated the announcers. On third-and-nine, instead of a pass, Koetter called a running play around the right end.  It was a give-up play, and it went nowhere.  Koetter decided right then and there not to try for a first down, but to instead attempt a long field goal with a rookie who has shattered confidence.  On the next play, kicker Roberto Aguayo hooked a 46-yard-field goal wide left.[30]  Gruden said, “My GOODNESS.  I can only tolerate this for so long.”
• After the commercial break that followed the missed field goal, the sideline reporter said that, going into halftime, Koetter hadn’t talked to the kicker, and said that the kicker should know what he’s doing, and he wouldn’t like what he had to say to him. After I started writing these NFL summaries, I didn’t know if I would ever say the following, but after hearing what the sideline reporter said, I feel like I must.  I have personal knowledge that Koetter is not a nice guy.  While he was at Arizona State, he showed it multiple times.  Off hand, two examples come to mind.
  • In the recruiting season between his first and second year as coach, a young man that he was recruiting chose a different school, so he called Koetter to tell him personally, because he felt that it would be the honorable thing to do. How did Koetter respond?  With a profanity-and-insult-laced tirade.  A few minutes later, he called the house again to try to apologize and ask the player to reconsider, but the player’s dad wouldn’t let Koetter speak to him, and then told him what a horrible thing that was to do.[31]
  • During Koetter’s third year at Arizona State, he had the juniors run through the tunnel and onto the field first instead of the seniors for the spring scrimmage. Having the seniors enter first is something that is a time-honored tradition for the Sun Devils.  To make it look worse for Koetter, that particular senior class happened to be the last class recruited by Koetter’s predecessor, Bruce Snyder.[32]
• Blown call by the officials with 41 seconds left. They said that Tampa Bay went out of bounds, stopping the clock.
• On the very next play, Carolina defensive end Kony Ealy just about ripped Tampa Bay running back Jacquizz Rogers’ head off with a personal foul facemask penalty, moving Tampa Bay from the Carolina 32 to the Carolina 17.
• Aguayo – the third-most accurate kicker in NCAA history during his three-year tenure at Florida State – got another chance with three seconds left. With the game tied, Aguayo put a 38-yarder right down the middle.  Good for him.
• This was, for the most part, a very poorly played game, but for a neutral fan, that was a feel-good ending. I was feeling sorry for Aguayo.  It was nice to see him pull through at the end – especially with a kick that was right down the middle.

Friday, November 11, 2016 8:49 PM MST

[1] The touchdown reception was by Crockett Gilmore.  The first name counterpart to that name is “Davy Happy.”

[2] Crowder is FAST.  After catching the punt, he looked like he had been shot out of a cannon.

[3] PUT YOUR HANDS DOWN, YOU LIARS!!!!!

[4] Is there a more risky position in sports than the Browns QB?

[5] Yes, I know that the Lions converted 4th-and-1 on the next play, but the incorrect spot forced Philadelphia to use a challenge that it shouldn’t have had to use.

[6] As we saw from the final score, this could have cost Detroit the game.

[7] This seemed to be a very quiet #9.  I had no idea that he was even close.

[8] It didn’t hurt the Colts point-wise, since Barth missed both the initial field goal and the retry, but still…

[9] I’ve said that most of the season.  I’m amazed he hasn’t been seriously injured yet.

[10] Indianapolis’ Andrew Luck and Tannehill.

[11] I greatly hope that I am wrong, but I’m afraid that I won’t be.

[12] I say both.  Yes, it was a great move – but Houston also had its safety on that side of the field in a bad position.

[13] And that is why Denver GM John Elway let him go.  He knew that Osweiler wasn’t as good as his numbers, and he knew that someone would overpay him.  Elway isn’t stupid.

[14] Just like the winning touchdown pass that Pittsburgh wide receiver Santonio Holmes caught in Super Bowl XLIII against the – wait…why am I bringing this up?  (Slaps self across face.)

[15] Seriously – the players looked like they were trying to catch a greased pig.

[16] Was it risky?  Yes, but risk is part of the game.  Most of the people calling it a bad decision would probably be raving about how smart it was had the Rams made a first down on the play.

[17] Recall that Felton was the lead blocker who slowed McCoy down on the long run in the second quarter.

[18] Do I think that the Raiders’ future opponents are going to start trying this?  Uh…YES?

[19] I cannot come up with a good reason why.

[20] I wish more officials at every level in every sport communicated with coaches this well.  It would lead to a lower amount of angry coaches and players.

[21] Does anyone know the origin of the name of this play?  I couldn’t find it online.

[22] Antonio Gates miraculously hung onto this one.

[23] Philip Rivers was noticeably – and rightfully – upset after this play.  How much more can he do to help his team win a game only to have a teammate blow it with a mental miscue?  A defensive meltdown in Week One, two inexcusable fumbles in Week Four, and then this?

[24] Again – at first glance.  Also, I couldn’t figure out which coach it was, so that’s why I did not include his name.

[25] He – understandably – was upset with himself after he dropped the ball.

[26] Seriously, I thought I was going to see him down for the count, with the trainers having to peel him off the turf.  Yikes.

[27] If the referee could have flagged him twice, he would have.  Lee got CREAMED.

[28] That was the most commonly uttered non-profane phrase by Cardinals fans during his entire tenure as the team’s starting quarterback.

[29] Klein should have been ejected.  Jon Gruden said so himself.  After this occurred, I saw Ron Rivera watch the replay board and ask out loud what Klein was thinking.

[30] Every Bills fan just cringed until the word “left” and then let out a sigh of relief.

[31] I know this for a fact.  The young man’s dad told me this himself.

[32] This put him in the doghouse with ASU’s alumni.  The first time that ASU lost a bowl after this, Koetter was gone.