NFC Championship: GB 44, NO 12

After dominating the Cowboys in the Divisional round the Pack headed down to the Big Easy with hopes of unseating the Saints.  Green Bay scored early and often as the Saints could get nothing right.  Coach Keller called some great plays, but alas the results fall squarely on the shoulders of the talent, and New Orleans was not up to the task of executing today.  The normally dynamic Drew Brees threw 4 picks, while Aaron Rodgers was busy throwing 3 TD's.  Once again Rodgers spread the ball around to 9 different receivers as he kept the Saint defense off balance all afternoon.  Statistically the one bright spot for the Saints came from Devery Henderson, who caught 8 passes for 100 yards and 1 TD.  The rest of his teammates decided to take the day off.  Green Bay heads to the CFL's Super Bowl X vs the winner of Denver/New England.

Divisional Playoff: DEN 36, IND 33

Indy carried a 27-21 lead into the 4th quarter, but could not hold off the hard charging Broncos.  Robert Smith caught a 9 yard TD pass from Jake Plummer to give the Broncs a 1 point lead with 10:22 left to play.  Matt Stover nailed a 42 yarder at the 5:37 mark and a 39 yarder at the 3:48 mark to give the Colts a 33-28 edge.  Denver was not done and Plummer led his on a 9 play / 72 yard drive that took just over 2 minutes to culminate in a Ashley Lelie 17 yard TD grab.  On that drive the usually enigmatic Plummer looked like his counterpart Peyton Manning.  Speaking of Manning, he still had 1:32 left on the clock and the ball on his 36.  On the first play from scrimmage he hit Reggie Wayne for 15 to cross midfield.  On the following play he hit Pierre Garcon for 17 yards to get to Denver's 32 with 1:14 left to play.  Garcon caught a short dump off for 2 yards, but wound up injured on the play, thus robbing Manning of a valuable and reliable target.  On third down Manning overshot a flare pass to Joseph Addai.  That setup a 47 yard game tying FG attempt for Matt Stover who came up a few yards short.  Plummer took 3 knees and the Broncs were headed to the Conference championship in Foxboro.

Divisional Playoff: NO 38, MIN 31

It doesn't matter if it's MIN vs NO or CLE vs PIT, as it was in the first CFL Season...a Keller vs Geller matchup is always going to be a classic.  Once again these two veteran CFL rivals hook up in a game that ends in a 1 score differential.  New Orleans carried a 31-17 lead into the fourth quarter, but true to form in this rivalry Stu Geller rallied his troops for a comeback.  This time it happened on the defensive side of the ball when Cedric Griffin picked up a fumble and returned it 36 yards.  Keller answered back with 4:28 left on the clock when Mike Bell ran one in from 3 yards out.  Brett Favre hit Visanthe Shaiancoe for a 2 yard toss with :35 left to go on the clock to draw it to within 7, but that would be it as the Saints held on to go to the NFC Championship.

Div Playoff: GB 44, DAL 14

Dallas struck first when Tony Romo hit his favorite target Jason Witten for a 1 yard toss with 9:54 left to go in the first.  After that it was all Green Bay.  With the thermometer hovering around 16 degrees fans began to reminisce about the fabled Ice Bowl of the late 60's.  The temperature would be the only connection to that game since Green Bay dominated this contest.  Mr. October, Tony Romo, once again had his January woes by throwing 2 pick and just looking out of sync.  Contrast that to his counterpart, Aaron Rodgers, who tossed 4 TD passes and spread the ball around to 9 different receivers.  Ryan Grant had 107 yards on the ground on 21 carries for 2 TD's and a 5.1 ypc average.

Pats win on last second miracle Kick Return TD

It’s Playoff time, as the 2007 NE Patriots host the 2006 SD Chargers. It is 28-degrees and cold outside, but the skies are clear. SD wins the coin toss and elects to Receive.

First Quarter

Things started slowly, as the teams could not drive and traded punts. NE took SD’s second punt at the 6:34 mark and began the drive at their own 37-yard line. Tom Brady hit on 3 short passes to Kyle Brady, Kevin Faulk, and Wes Walker. Then, NE hit the ground running with Laurence Maroney and Sammy Morris. Sitting on the SD 23-yard line, Brady then hit Benjamin Watson for 10 yards. SD was soon facing 1st & Goal, but the SD Defense tightened up and held NE to a FG with 0:55 left in the First Quarter. The Quarter ended with a slight 3-0 NE lead.

Second Quarter

SD had the ball again to start the Second Quarter, but was forced to punt yet again. Both Defenses were rather stingy in this cold weather. NE drove again to the SD 39-yard line – only to have Brady fumble the snap. This was a big break for SD, as Philip Rivers began the drive by first hitting Antonio Gates for 44 yards. Now at the NE 14-yard line, LaDainian Tomlinson (LT) took the ball into the Endzone at the 11:46 mark and gave SD a 7-3 lead. Starting at the 20, NE came roaring back. Brady hit Heath Evans on a 7 yard flare and then hit Randy Moss for 17 yards. Brady also hit Dante Stallworth for 10 yards before Maroney ran the ball another 12 yards. Sitting on the SD 23-yard line, Brady ended the drive with a laser strike to Walker in the back of the Endzone. With 6:49 left in the Half, NE now led 10-7. Special Teams for SD were on fire most of the game, as SD once again had great field position and started the drive a the 50. Michael Turner  ran for 13 yards, but the real story here was LT running for another 42-yard TD burst – giving SD the 14-10 lead with 5:22 left in the Half. Both teams were feeling good about their Offense, maybe too good, as they traded punts again. NE got the ball back with 2:06 left, and went into their 2-minute Offense. Brady first hit Moss for 35 yards before the 2-minute warning. Morris edged them closer with 4 yards, but the pass to Jabar Gaffney for 8 yards got NE to the SD 17-yard line. With 0:19 left to play in the Half and facing 4th & 3, Stephen Gostkowski hits the 34-yard FG to basically end the Half. NE went into the locker room still down 14-13, but they get the ball back to start the Second Half.

Third Quarter

NE took the opening kickoff and Brady drove down to the SD 1 with the help of 3 short passes to Walker and a nice run by Maroney. But, the SD Defense was brutal at the Goal Line and held. NE could bend the SD Defense, but NE could not break it. Now 4th & Goal at the 1, NE rolled the dice…but Brady was sacked by Jacques Cesaire and SD took over. The SD Defense played an outstanding game. Pinned deep, SD could only manage to punt, going 3-and-out. With good field position, Brady hit Stallworth for 18 yards and Watson for 10 yards. Another big 12-yard run from Maroney put NE right back at the SD 5-yard line. Here, Brady hit Ben Watson for the TD – grabbing a 20-14 lead with 6:02 left in the Quarter. The teams then traded punts to end the Third Quarter.

Fourth Quarter

Down 20-14, SD started the final Quarter on the NE 42-yard line. It was now the “LT Show”, as he ran for 12 yards here and 6 yards there – and then another 8 yards. The SD Offense rode LT down to the NE 9-yard line, where the drive was eventually capped off by a 7-yard LT TD run. He now had 3 TD’s in the game and gave SD the 21-20 lead with 10:57 left to play in the game. Both Defenses got stingy again and the teams traded punts. NE eventually got the ball back on their own 35-yard line with 7:13 left in the game. In order to eat some clock, the NE Offense went to the ground and Maroney and Morris traded carries. To keep the SD Defense honest, Brady did hit Maroney for a 17-yard pass and also hit Walker for another 9 yards. Feeling  left out, Moss caught a couple of short slants for 3 and 4 yards, which forced SD to burn its final 2 timeouts with 2:41 left in the game. Sitting on the SD 15-yard line and facing 3rd & 7, NE went with Maroney for 5 yards – leaving 4th & 2 on the SD 10-yard line, right at the 2-minute warning. Gostkowski came in to nail the 27-yard FG and give NE a 23-21 lead, while leaving 1:56 on the clock. Special Teams took the kickoff to the SD 37-yard line. With only 1:49 left to play and no timeouts, SD was only 25 yards away from a winning FG. LT quickly scampered OB for 8 yards, but Rivers missed on 2 short passes. This left SD with 4th & 2 and 1:28 to play, but Phillip Rivers then hit Gates for another 11 yards to again stop the clock. With 1st & 10 on the NE 44 and 1:18 on the clock, Eric Parker struck a crushing blow to the mighty NE Defense with a 14-yard End Around. With the clock still running and the Defense confused, LT ran for another 13 yards down to the NE 17-yard line – leaving only 0:24 on the clock. With the wind at his back, Nate Kaeding kicks the 34-yard FG for the 24-23 SD lead – and only 0:20 remain on the clock. The SD bench was going wild, the NE  crowd was stunned into silence. As the SD players were gathering around the Gatorade for their victory dance, the kickoff sailed high and deep to the NE 3-yard line. There, little known Willie Andrews fielded the kick. First, he ran to the left, then he ran all the way back to the right – and he ran past the SD bench on the way to a 97-yard Kickoff Return TD. There were no flags on the ground. The crowd went nuts, as they just witnessed a miracle. With 0:04 still on the clock, Gostkowski hit the Squib kick to end the game, giving NE a 30-24 victory.

There are no real words to describe this game. NE had beat SD on paper, yet they had no business winning this game. The SD Defense and Special Teams played outstanding, and the coach called a terrific game to keep NE off-balance. With no timeouts and less than 2 minutes, SD marched down the field to hit the potential game-winning FG. They could not ask for anything more. Unfortunately, the SD players got caught up in the moment and allowed the small ray of light – and NE capitalized on it.

The Game MVP went to LT, deservingly so, as he rushed for 159 yards on 23 carries and 3 TD’s. No player for NE really stood out, but Brady was impressive with 319 passing yards and 2 TD’s. His focus kept them driving and in this game – until the end.

--submitted by Georges Bseraini--

Indianapolis 45, Miami 10

In a matchup not unlike Hannibal's victory at Cannae, Miami was throttled by Indianapolis.  9 Indy possessions resulted in 7 scores, six of them touchdowns.  Two drives lasted less than ten seconds, and only two drives were shorter than 40 yards and one of those resulted in a touchdown.  Miami had the ball first and failed on long field goal attempt.  Peyton Manning (21-33, 364 yards, 5 tds) opened up with a bomb to Reggie Wayne (4-97, 1 td) -- result: 56 yards, touchdown, and a seven second drive.  Indy's next possession after another missed field goal lasted a little longer, 1:39 seconds, but the rsult was the same, a touchdown pass to Austin Collie (3-42, 1 td).  After an interception, Indy's next drive consumed a little more three minutes, with Joseph Addai (6-47, 1 td) getting his licks in with a five yard run.  On their next possession, Indy was held to only 13 yards and punted for the only time in the game.  Indy got the ball back and covered 84 yards in 2:17 with Dallas Clark (5-80, 1 td) going the last 21 on a pass from Manning.  On the opening drive of the second half, Indy had their longest drive of the game, consuming nearly 6 minutes before settling for a field goal.  But the Colts made up for that on their next drive.  After a Miami fumble, Manning took 8 seconds to hit Pierre Garcon (3-46, 1 td) for a 22 yard td pass.  Indy's final score came on a short dump to Donald Brown.  It was his only reception of the game and he made the most of it by outrunning the Miami defense for 62 yards and the score.  Brown would later have a 56 yard run only to fumble at the end of it.  Miami held the ball for over 42 minutes but could only manage 10 points.

--submitted by Tom “Crash” Davis--

Colts 34, Steelers 17

Two so far disappointing teams meet up in Indianapolis.  The Super Bowl champ 2008 Steelers come in with a 2-4 record and the nearly perfect 2009 Colts are 3-3.  Thus far in the season, Peyton Manning had thrown 15 interceptions in 6 games, just one less than he had in the entire 2009 campaign

Indianapolis was happy to get through the first quarter with Manning having only thrown one pick, to Troy Polamalu.  In fact Indy was outrageously happy to leave the first quarter with a 3-0 lead on a Matt Stover 23 yard field goal.  However, the second quarter was not the happy fest the first was.  Manning was picked twice, once by Ike Taylor and a second interception for Polamalu.  In between, the Steelers mounted a scoring drive of their own with Ben Roethislsberger hitting Willie Parker  on a one yard flare pass for a touchdown.  After the second Polamalu interception, the Steelers were unable to gain any headway and had to punt.  But Manning came back and threw his fourth interception of the game, this time to Lawrence Timmons.  Timmons nearly took it to the house, being pushed out on the 2 after a 43 yard return.  On the next play Parker (16-52, 1 td) carried the ball over and the Steelers had a 14-3 lead.  Manning got the ball back on his own 32 with 2:10 left in the half.  Perhaps having had a dad who was not unfamiliar with interceptions helped his psyche as Manning called nine straight pass plays, missing two times, being sacked once and hitting five, including the last one to Dallas Clark for a 27 yard touchdown.  The extra point made it 14-10 at halftime.

On the first play from scrimmage in the second half, the Steelers lost Michigan alum Lamar Woodley for the game.  This seemed to take a little steam out of the Steelers and gave the Colts added zest.  The two teams traded punts and then Manning went to work again.  A 68 yard drive consisting of 4 passes and a draw to Joseph Addai put the Colts on the Steelers 3.  With three wideouts in the game, the Steelers expected pass, but Addai took the ball instead, scooted around end and the Colts were back in font 17-14.  The teams traded punts the remainder of the third quarter and the fourth quarter opened with Jeff Reed hitting a 39 yard field goal to tie the game.

With the Steelers looking to defend the pass, Addai had one of his better series of the season, carrying the ball 3 times for 18 yards (this is the Colts, remember) and helping his team down to the Steeler 6.  There Manning found Dallas Clark for a touchdown and a 7 point lead. Now Roethisberger (14-31, 167 yds, 1 td, 1 int, 5 sacks)did a Manning impersonation, the bad Manning, not the good.  Antoine Bethea intercepted an errant throw and returned it to the Pittsburgh 29.  A pass to Austin Collie (3-22).  Another to Dallas Clark (11-169, 2 tds) and the Colts were on the one.  After Addai (18-61, 1 td) failed to punch the ball over, Manning went play action and flipped the ball to Addai (4-18, 1 yd) in the end zone and the Colts were up 14. The Steelers were unable to make a first down and punted.  With 7:06 remaining, Manning (28-41, 377 yards, 4 ints, 3 tds, 2 sacks) went to work on the clock.  A 7 play drive featured only two passes and the Stover added another field goal to make the final score 34-17.

--submitted by Tom “Crash” Davis--

Pats squish the Fish 38-21

The game today between the 2008 Miami Dolphins and the 2007 New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium saw 61 degrees on a cloudy day, with a slight wind of 10 mph. The Pats won the toss.

On the very first series, the Pats went to work on the ground using Laurence Maroney and Kevin Faulk, with a couple of quick tosses mixed in here and there. They drove down to the Miami 36 and were faced with a 4th-and-1. Too short for a punt and too far for a FG, they went for it. Miami stacked the line just waiting for Maroney, but Brady instead threw a hitch to TE Benjamin Watson for 10 yards to keep the drive alive. On the very next series, Brady was now faced with 3rd and a long 11. With the Miami linebackers ready to blitz, Brady hit Maroney with a long pass for a 27-yard TD. Eager to answer, Miami threw long on first down, but Ted Ginn dropped the pass – then they proceeded to go 3-and-out. Both defenses tightened up, and these teams traded a series Punts to end the First Quarter 7-0.

To start the Second Quarter, the Pats had driven down to the Miami 34 on a couple of Draws to Faulk. Still working the run, the Pats went to rarely used Kyle Eckel a couple of times, and he eventually scampered in for a 4-yard TD increasing the lead to 14-0. The teams traded Punts again, as Miami did not have any answers during this First Half. They would run with Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown, but dropped passes and a couple of sacks would soon end the drive. The Pats got the ball back on their own 20 with 2:45 left in the Half. Despite a couple of successful Draws to Maroney, Brady went to the air as time was running out. He hit Wes Welker for 40 yards and then Donte Stallworth for another 23 yards, as he quickly marched the Pats down to the Miami 10 with 1:45 left. He hit Randy Moss on a slant for a short 4 yards and then hit Benjamin Watson in the back of the Endzone for 5 yards when no one was looking. Miami still had 0:43 seconds left, but they were unable to get more than 25 yards, and the Half ended 21-0.

Miami started the Third Quarter with a bang, as Brown ran for 63 yards and the score on the very first play from scrimmage. This gave Miami some hope. Trying to capitalize on the momentum, the Miami D Blitzed and Joey Porter sacked Brady for a 9-yard loss and a Fumble – but Dan Koppen recovered it for NE. Brady then hit Moss for 16 yards, who was smashed by the cornerback causing another Fumble – but as luck would have it, Moss recovered his own Fumble at the Pats 35. Not satisfied, Brady went back to the air and hit Welker for 16 yards and Stallworth for 29 yards. With 9:43 left on the clock in the Third Quarter, the Pats were sitting on the Miami 13. Brady threw a short slant to Maroney for 9 yards and eventually hit Watson again for the score on a drive that lasted almost 7 minutes. After another round of Punts, Miami got the ball back with 4:23 left in the Third Quarter. Despite a nice 38-yard grab by Davone Bess, Miami stuck with the run switching between Williams and Brown. Facing 3-and-Goal on the 8, they gave Williams the ball, who bullrushed for 6 yards but Fumbled himself at the 2. Fortunately, the ball took a funny bounce and Vernon Carey pounced on it in the Endzone for a Miami score. Despite the clear advantage NE had in Time of Possession, Miami hung in there and the Third Quarter ended 28-14.

The teams once again trade Punts to start the final Quarter. With the ball in hand and the game clearly not decided, Brady went back to the air. He hit Maroney for 5 yards, Moss for 14 yards, Stallworth for 16 yards, and finally Welker for 7 yards and the First Down on the Miami 34. The Miami D was frustrated, so on the next play they were hit with a Roughing The Passer penalty bringing the ball down to the 19. Not giving up, they Blitzed again – this time Porter got him, and that was Porter’s 3rd sack of the game. NE had to settle for a 39-yard FG…..but it was BLOCKED…..keeping hopes alive on the Miami sideline. Down 2 scores, Miami went to work. Williams got the ball and ran for 12 yards and then another 10 yards. Chad Pennington also hit David Martin for an 11-yard out. Brown and Lousaka Polite then traded carries driving the ball to the NE 34 with 5:05 left. Facing 4th-and-4, Miami had to go for it. Pennington hit Ginn right between the numbers, but he dropped the ball…..again. Not content to run out the clock, Brady hit Welker for 29 yards at the Miami 36. After another 5-yard penalty to back them up, Brady hit Moss in stride on a 41-yard bomb, making the score 35-14 with 3:39 left in the game. Miami’s hand was forced, as they went for it on a 4-and-9 on their own 21, but gave the ball back to Brady with 2:58 on the clock. Maroney ran the ball for 2 yards, forcing Miami to call a timeout. After Moss plucked one from the air for 7 yards and was forced out of bounds, it was 4-and-1 on the Miami 19. This time Stephen Gostkowski hit the uprights for a 36-yard FG. It was now 38-14 with 2:17 left. With nothing much to lose, Pennington went to the air himself. He hit Bess for 16 yards and then again for 12 yards. He hit Ginn for 6 yards and Anthony Fasano for 10 yards, all along working the sideline to stop the clock and marching down to the NE 4. With 0:44 left to play, Pennington hit Ginn – who did not drop the ball this time – for a 4-yard TD score. With the score now 38-21, Miami recovered the onside kick. Pennington dropped back but hit the turf, as Adalius Thomas sacked him. Not giving up, Pennington hit Ginn again for 25 yards and then scrambled on a QB Draw for 7 yards down to the NE 32 – but there was not enough time to spike the ball. The game ended 38-21.

The Game MVP was Tom Brady, who had 320 yards, 4 TD’s, and a 135 passer rating.

For Miami, Ricky Williams gained 75 yards on 12 carries (6.2 avg), and Ronnie Brown had 133 yards on just 17 carries (7.8 avg). In fact, Miami gained 231 yards on the ground using 5 players – but had only 125 yards in the air. NE had 152 rushing yards and 320 passing yards.

Other game stats:

1. There were no turnovers in this game, despite the ball hitting the turf 5 times.
2. Miami had 4 sacks, and NE had 5 sacks.
3. NE had the ball for 35:47 to Miami’s 24:13.
4. NE was 9-16 on 3rd downs and 1-1 on 4th down.
5. Miami was 6-17 on 3rd downs and 3-5 on 4th downs.
6. NE had 24 1st downs to Miami’s 16.
   

--submitted by Georges Bseraini--

Big Ben Bounces Back: PIT 38, CIN 31

The 1-3 Steelers headed to Paul Brown Stadium to play the 1-3 Bengals in a divisional clash that would help at least temporarily save one team’s season.  Pittsburgh had been the victims of 3 last minute drives and could easily be 4-0 or 0-4.  Cincy has been in every game as well, but their porous defense just can not be counted on to support their world class offense.

1st Qtr:  Both teams exchanged TD’s.  PIT struck first when Ben Roethlisberger hit Hines Ward for a 5 yard bullet in the back of the end zone.  Four minutes later Carson Palmer returned the favor with a 13 yard strike to Chad “OchoCinco” Johnson.

2nd Qtr:  The Steelers went on an 8 play drive that stalled on  Cincy’s 25 and had to settle for a Jeff Reed 42 yarder to make it 10-7.  Palmer hit Chris Henry for 35 yards to get down to the Steeler 26, but tried to force the next one into triple coverage on OchoCinco and All-Pro safety Troy Polamalu picked it off in the end zone for a touch back.  Big Ben decided to be generous and he too threw an ill-advised pick to Odell Thurman who was double covering Ward.  Cincy took over in great field position (PIT-12) after Thurman had a great 20 yard INT return.  The next three plays would be all Rudi Johnson, who gained 9 yards on the first one, 2 on the second and a 1 yard TD run on the 3rd.  Cincy was now up 14-10.  Mewelde Moore took full advantage of a shallow Shayne Graham kick off and PIT started off on their own 46.  Ben was ticked and he came out chucking.  Nate Washington caught one for 16 to put the ball on Cincy’s 38.  Two plays later Limas Sweed had a 9 yard grab for another 1st.  Facing a 3rd and 4 from the 19, Ben saw that the Bengals were lined up with 8 in the box and went for it all by hitting TE Heath Miller on a corner route for a TD.  The Steelers were now up 17-14.  With 6:31 left to play in the half Cincy was starting from their own 31 down by 3.  Palmer immediately hit Kevin Walker on a crossing route for 17.  Two plays later they  were in Steeler territory when Reggie Kelley to a flare pass and ran 15 yards to PIT’s 49.  Unfortunately for Kelley, he came up lame on the play and was gone for the game with an ankle injury.  Palmer continued to slice and dice the normally reliable, if not outstanding, Steeler defense.  It all came down to a 4th and goal from the Steeler 7 and rather than elect to hit the chip shot FG Cincy went for it.  Carson Palmer dropped back and saw nobody open and was immediately flushed from the pocket and tacked for no gain as PIT took over on downs.  PIT ran out the clock and took a 3 point lead into the locker room at the half.

3rd Qtr:  The Steelers came out of the locker room with a game plan predicated on milking the clock and shortening the game, so that Cincy’s lighting strike offense didn’t get that many chances.  PIT seemed to abandon that plan for the get-go when Ben hit Santonio Holmes for 38 yards on a play action bomb that trapped the Bengals in a all out run D.  That put the ball on Cincy’s 22 and 4 plays later “Fast” Willie Parker knifed in from the 1 for a TD.  The score was now 24-14 Steelers.  In a complete reversal of strategies the Bengals took a page out of the Steeler handbook and went on a 12 play drive that culminated in a 6 yard TD toss from Palmer to Ocho-Cinco.  That drive consumed almost 7 minutes off the clock and took 12 plays.  PIT’s lead was now cut to 3 (24-21).

4th Qtr:  At the start of the final quarter the Steelers were already on the Bengals 29.  Ben hit Heath Miller for 13 yards to get down to Cincy’s 14.  On the following play he went for it all and caught Nate Washington beating the cover 2 for a 14 yard strike.  PIT was now up 31-21 with 12:26 left to play.  Both teams exchanged 3 and outs and with 6:09 left Cincy made it a 1 score game with a Shayne Graham 45 yard FG.  With 6 minutes left to go the Steelers needed a long drive that would eat clock.  Cincy knew this as well and loaded up for the run.  Ben figured this might happen and hit Ward with a 22 yard play action pass that would move the chains to mid-field.  At that point the Steelers went super conservative and were forced to punt.  Mitch Berger hit a mediocre 36 yarder that Keiwan Ratliff caught on his own 23.  Ratliff shook off one defender and turned upfield.  When he  struggled for extra yards the ball popped out, and Ike Taylor recovered it for the Steelers on the Bengal 33.  Coach McConkey of Cincinnati was livid that his return man would make such a stupid play with just under three and a half minutes left to go.  Knowing how potent the Bengal offense is, Coach Weiss of the Steelers decided against laying conservative.  Cincy was burning  time outs as Ben was completing passes left and right.  With 1:39 left to go Ben hit Carey Davis in the flat and Davis weaved in and out of traffic for a 7 yard score that made it 38-24 to seal the deal…or so everyone thought until Tab Perry returned Jeff Reed’s kick off 69 yards to the Steeler 2.  Rudi Johnson punched it in from 2 yards out as he talent overtook a Steeler short yardage defense that was waiting for him.  Graham’s onside kick was recovered by Pittsburgh and the game was over after Ben took 2 knees.

Stats:  Roethlisberger was 23-29-285-4TD-Int.  He spread the ball around to 9 different receivers.  Rudi Johnson had a field day on the ground vs a Steeler run D that had not allowed a runner to break the century mark.  Johnson was 25-128-2TD for a whopping 5.1 ypc.  OchoCinco was 8-113-2TD.  Neither QB was sacked.

Colts 41, Saints 30

On a day when the outside temperature nearly matched that inside the dome, te Indianapolis Colts were seeking to avenge their loss in the most recent Super Bowl to the New Orleans Saints. The game didnt start out well for the Colts as the Saints took the opening kick ad went 80 yards in 11 plays to end with a Drew Brees to Marques Colston (7-105, 1 td) 6 yard touchdown pass. Peyton Manning had difficulty finding his receivers and the Colts punted the ball. Reggie Bush fumbled the return but Will "Fresh Prince" Smith recovered for the Saints. Brees then threw an interception which was nullified by a pass interference call. On the sideline Manning could be seen throwing his helmet to the ground and the camera definitely picked up his words, "Damn dice rolls." Brees recovered from his mistake and led the Saints down the field again, ending with a Pierre Thomas 6 yard run for a touchdown. After the kick, Manning began connecting with his receivers and marched down the field 75 yards in 7 plays with Joseph Addai (18-88, 1 td) carrying the pigskin in from 5 yards out to cut the lead to 14-7.

Brees started the second quarter by throwing another interception, but this time there was no flag. Gary Brackett returned the ball to the New Orleans 40. But Manning gave the ball right back as "The Fresh Prince" picked an errant pass to set Brees up once again. The Saints got a field goal from John Carney to open a 17-7 lead. Manning brought the Colts back, moving 80 yards in 9 plays and finding Pierre "The Waiter" Garcon (5-72, 1 td) for a 7 yard touchdown pass. The two teams traded punts and Brees went to work again. He hit Devery Henderson for 14 yards, but Henderson was injured on the play and would not return until the fourth quarter. His absence would be felt. Brees completed four more passes on the drive then found Robert Meachem (5-85, 1 td) streaking down the sideline, hit him stride and was rewarded with a 31 yard touchdown pass and a 24-14 lead. Chad Simpson returned the kickoff to the 40 and Manning, with 1:38 remaining in the half went to work. In an extreme hurry up, Manning managed to run 11 plays in the time remaining and then, on 4th and 1, found Joseph Addai (4-36, 1 td) on a short curl route for a 4 yard touchdown pass with 16 ticks remaining in the half.

The Colts got the second half kick and Manning continued to move the Colts. Mixing a few runs with the ever present passing game, Manning moved the ball 80 yards and finished with a 7 yard td pass to Reggie Wayne. The Colts had their first lead of the game, 28-24. Brees went three and out. Manning controlled the ball for more than five minutes but ended with a 36 yard Matt Stover field goal to take a 7 point lead 31-24.

The fourth quarter opened with the Colts again driving. Manning (35-56, 434 yards, 4 tds, 1 int) completed the drive with a 1 yard pass to Wayne (8-127, 2 tds) and a 14 point lead. On their next possession, Stover added another field goal. Brees (30-48, 341 yards, 3 tds, 1 int, 1 sack) found Henderson (5-65, 1 td) late in the game for a 4 yard score that was too little too late. Colts 41 Saints 30

--submitted by Tom "Crash" Davis--

Panthers 26, Seahawks 20

Tied at 20 midway through the 3rd the Panthers relied on two John Kasay FG's to win the day.  A big Jake Delhomme pick on the the Seahawk 10 prevented the game from being a two score affair.  With 94 ticks of the clock remaining the 'hawks took control on their own 6.  Matt Hasselbeck hit Joe Jurevicius for 15 yards on a quick out then Shaun Alexander for 6 more to put the ball on their own 27.  Two more incomplete passes made it 4th and 4 with a minute left to play.  Seattle went for it and Hasselbeck hit Peter Warrick in stride for a quick 36 yard hit to bring the ball Carolina's 37 with 49 seconds left.  Now it was worry time on the visitor's bench. Two incomplete passes and a Hasselbeck INT ended Seattle's hopes.

Saints 14, Giants 6

In professional football they say you have to be able to run effectively and stop the run in order to win.  The G-men did just that, yet wound up losing.  In fact they never scored a TD.  The 3 headed monster of Jacobs (13-79), Ward (12-64) and Bradshaw (2-8) combined for 27 carries and 141 yards with a 5.2 ypc.  Eli Manning even threw for over 200 yards and did not have a pick, yet the Saints found their mojo in the form of one Drew Brews and that spelt doom for New York.  Brees was near perfect (20-26-320-2TD-2INT).  He had 2 WR's over 100 yards.  Marques Colston (7-123-td) and Robert Meachem (5-137-td) were almost unstoppable.

BAL 17, MIA 10

Not much going on here in the way of offense.  Steve McNair did his best to be a caretaker and let the great Raven defense strangle the Fish.  Chad Pennington (23-40-243-td-int) was tasked with bringing back the Fish from a 14 point deficit.  He was able to hit Ted Ginn Jr. for a TD in the 4th, but could not get the tying score thanks to the stellar D put forth by Baltimore.  Ginn was the offensive star in this defensive battle with 6 catches for 124 yards, 1 TD and a whopping 20.7 ypc average.  Jamal Lewis was steady as a rock running the ball for the Ravens (21-87-td).

DEN 48, CIN 42

Classic Wild West shootout @ Mile High.  Jake Plummer (23-33-340-3TD) and Carson Palmer (19-30-358-5TD-2INT) were almost unstoppable.  Chad Ochocinco had 9 grabs for 167 yards and 2 TD's.  Chris Henry had 5 for 95 with 2 TD's.  Rod Smith was 6-105-2TD for Denver.  Runningbacks Rudi Johnson (21-94-TD) and Mike Anderson (17-97-TD) had almost identical days.  It came down to Cincy not being able to protect a 4th quarter and Denver capitalizing.  It almost didn't happen when mike Anderson fumbled the ball after going 26 yards on a short pass from Plumber.  Lucky for Denver Rod Smith was alert enough to fall on it.  He would be rewarded handsomely with a 13 yard TD grab on the next play.  Cincy was driving until Palmer was picked off by Nick Ferguson.  Denver milked the clock and settled for a FG to put it away.

Cowboys 36, Colts 10

Big D’s D forced Peyton into thinking it was the post season.  Peyton, who eats up regular season competition looked more like his brother during his rookie campaign than himself in this one.  In one of his poorest showings ever Manning was sacked 4 times and under constant duress all day long.  This lead to overthrown balls and a record 5 pics by the Cowboy secondary.  2 of those picks wound up in the outstretched arms of Anthony Henry.  Greg Ellis recorded 2 of Dallas’ 4 sacks.

Things only got worse for the Colts on the defensive side of the ball, which was not helped one bit by the absence of all-world DE Dwight Freeney.  Mr. October, Tony Romo, had another one of his classic early season games by going:  25-44-351-3TD.  Jason Whitten was key around the goal line snatching 2 TD passes and T.O. was off the charts between the 20’s (7-134).   Marion Barber had 99 yards rushing on 12 carries with most of his yards coming on a huge 68 yard run on the second play of the game from scrimmage.

Vikes 20, Steelers 17

Great see-saw battle between CFL charter members Stu Geller and Marc Weiss.  10-10 at the half 17-17 after 3.  Geller and Favre take the Vikes on a 12 play 69 yard drive that culminated in a Ryan Longwell 25 yarder to go up by 3 with 1:48 left to go.  Geller then rallied the troops and forced Roethlisberger into and anticlimactic 3 and out to end the game.  Santonio Holmes was 3-94 for a whopping 31.3 YPC average.  Big Ben threw 3 huge picks in the Red Zone, while Favre was perfect going 23-34-234-TD and No INT's.  The Steeler D held Adrian Peterson under 75 yards and under 4 yards per carry.  Rumor out of the Steel-town is that there is a huge rift between the defense and the inept offense.

Patriots 34, Ravens 13

The 2007 New England Patriots defeat the 2006 Baltimore Ravens 34-13, as Tom Brady shreds the Baltimore D for 389 yards and 3 TD’s. One word can describe this 2006 Baltimore Defense: aggressive. However, is possible that the Baltimore Defense was too aggressive for their own good on this day, as no one could have predicted the outcome of this game.

It was a relatively calm, sunny day at Gillette Stadium. Baltimore won the coin toss and elected to receive the ball. Even though Baltimore went 3-and-out to start the game, they pinned New England down to their own 4-yard-line with an excellent punt from Sam Koch. On the very first play, the Baltimore D was called for Holding, which gave NE some breathing room with an automatic First Down at the 12-yard-line. Not too thrilled with the call, the Baltimore D decided to turn up the heat on the next play and sacked Brady at the 1 for an 11-yard loss. Facing 2nd and 21, NE called for a Draw to Laurence Maroney, who gained 15 yards while running past the Blitzing D. As the Baltimore D decided to Blitz once more with NE facing 3rd and 6 on their own 16, Brady dumped a short pass to Donte Stallworth for 8 yards and a First Down. Even though Brady would be sacked again on the very next play, this series would go on to epitomize the entire game, as Brady dumped another short pass beyond a Blitzing D to Wes Walker for 12 yards. During this first series for NE, Brady would go on to be sacked for a third time, only to pick himself up and make adjustments. In fact, Brady would only be sacked just once more in the game, as the entire Offensive Line made adjustments to handle the Blitz and protect their quarterback. To finish this first series, Brady went on to dump a pass to Maroney for 29 yards and another pass to Walker for 14 yards. It was not long before NE had 1st and Goal at the Baltimore 8, which set up a nice 5-yard TD pass to Randy Moss with 3:24 left in the First Quarter. The powerful NE Offense went 96 yards and chewed up 8:13 on their first drive to open the game. Baltimore received the Kickoff and ended the First Quarter at the NE 20 on a couple of Jamal Lewis Draws and a long 35-yard pass from Steve McNair to Demetrius Williams.

Baltimore began the Second Quarter on the NE 20. Facing 3rd and a long 5, McNair hit Todd Heap for 10 yards. Baltimore now had 1st and Goal at the 10, but the NE Defense tightened up and held Baltimore to a Sam Koch FG and making the score 7-3. NE began the next series at their own 38, but they were facing a slight crosswind, which messed with Brady’s timing a bit. He was still able to dump a few short passes here and there and lead the Offense down to the Baltimore 32, but that is where Brady ran out of gas. This is where the momentum of this game could have shifted toward Baltimore, as Stephen Gostkowski missed the 49-yard FG kicking into that slight crosswind. Unfortunately, Baltimore could not capitalize on it and drove only 6 yards for another 3-and-out. NE began this next series at their own 27-yard-line, with just 5:30 left to play in the Half, and Brady went to work, as he hit Donte Stallworth for 20 yards right out the gate. On the very next play, he hit Wes Walker for 32 yards and was now sitting on the Baltimore 21 – all this while the Baltimore D kept Blitzing. Off another Blitz, Brady hit Kevin Faulk for 13 yards, and NE had a 1st and Goal on the Baltimore 7 with 3:03 left in the Half. The Baltimore D finally sat back a bit, which helped hold NE to a 22-yard FG. With 1:50 left to play in the Half, Baltimore got the back and basically ran the clock down to 0:04, at which time McNair attempted to throw a 58-yard Hail Mary to Demetrius Williams – but it fell short. The score remained 10-3 at the Half.

NE received the kickoff to start the 2nd Half, but it appeared that the Baltimore D did not learn its lesson from the 1st Half and kept Blitzing. So, Tom Brady hit Stallworth for 21 yards here, Moss for 19 yards there – not to mention hitting Walker for 5 yards and Moss again for another 7 yards. Brady kept hitting his receivers as the Defense Blitzed right by those receivers. NE did attempt to run it a couple of times in this series, but only netted 4 yards on 4 carries. That is why when Brady had 3rd and Goal at the Baltimore 3, he chose to throw a flat pass to Faulk for the score – bringing the score to 17-3. Feeling intense pressure to produce, the Baltimore Offense once again went 3-and-out. The Baltimore Defense was getting tired. Knowing this, Brady kept at it, as he hit Moss for 9 yards, Benjamin Watson for 2 yards, Faulk for another 2 yards, Watson again for 10 yards…..and so on. Of course, NE did try to mix it up with a few more running plays, but again with little success. NE had a 2nd and 2 on the Baltimore 45 – but Ray Lewis sacked Brady (for the last time) to end the Third Quarter and leaving the score 17-3.

That sack by Ray Lewis helped stop the momentum, as NE was forced to punt. Down 17-3 on their own 38, the Baltimore Offense finally went to work. Jamal Lewis got the call on a couple of running plays, but it was the 21-yard pass to Heap that shook up the NE Defense. On the very next play, McNair connected with Demetrius Williams for 36 yards and the score – closing the gap to 17-10 with 12:12 left to play in the game. With blood in the water, the Baltimore D acted like hungry sharks, looking for that one break needed to take over this game. It was here that NE changed the game plan and went to work on the ground. Maroney chewed up yards and clock, as he went for 9 yards, then 1 yard, then 5 yards….and another 5 yards. To keep the Defense honest, Brady also hit Welker for 29 yards and Jabar Gaffney for 26 yards. All this led to a NE 1st and Goal at the Baltimore 4 with 6:55 to play. Baltimore could not afford to give up a TD, so they backed off again to hold NE to a 25-yard FG – making the score 20-10 with 4:36 left to play. The Baltimore D appeared to play better against this powerful Offense when they sat back. However, Baltimore could not capitalize at all and went 3-and-out once again. Instead of risking a costly 4th down conversion, Baltimore elected to punt the ball down to the NE 30 with 3:17 left. Brady dumped a 9-yard pass to Moss and Maroney ran to pick up the First Down, causing Baltimore to use its Timeouts. Brady then hit Heath Evans for 20 yards on a Screen Pass, and Baltimore called its last time out with 2:44 left to play. Content with the potential victory in hand, NE called a Draw play for Maroney that resulted in a surprise 40-yard TD scamper, as Baltimore once again Blitzed aggressively. Despite only 2:27 left to play, the teams then traded Interceptions. First, McNair was Intercepted by Asante Samuel, and then Brady was Intercepted by Chris McAlister on back-to-back plays, still leaving 2:10 left on the clock. McNair had the ball on his own 41 and quickly drove down to the NE 16, with help from a 19-yard strike to Heap and another 8-yard dart to Derrick Mason. With little time left, Baltimore settled for a 33-yard FG and an unsuccessful Onside Kick attempt. NE now had the ball on the Baltimore 37 with 1:25 left to play. Maroney ran for 3 yards, which ran the clock down to 0:40. Seeing a breakdown in a tired Baltimore Defense at the end of a long game, Brady saw an opportunity and hit Randy Moss in stride for 34 yards and the TD – leaving 32 seconds on the clock. McNair decided to run out the clock with 2 quick passes: one to Mason for 14 yards and one to Mark Clayton for 15 yards.

Final Score: NE over Baltimore 34-13.

Tom Brady took Game MVP honors by going 30-for-38 and having 389 yards, 3 TD’s, and a 125 passer rating.

Other key stats include:

1. NE had a T.O.P. of almost 40 minutes to Baltimore’s 20
2. NE had 498 yards of Offense to Baltimore’s 234
3. NE had 109 rushing yards to Baltimore’s 40
4. NE had 71 Offensive plays to Baltimore’s 40
5. NE had 27 First Downs to Baltimore’s 12
6. NE was 12-for-16 on 3rd Downs and Baltimore was 3-for-9
7. Baltimore had 4 sacks to NE’s 1
8. Both teams had 1 Turnover (each had an Int)

--submitted by Georges Bseraini--

Giants 20 Dolphins 17 -- Final in OT

I will admit that I deserved to lose this game and should have on the last drive of the game. My bone headed decision to try a deep pass with .16 seconds left from inside my 20 turned out to be my wake up call for what could have been a waste of my best tactical showdown versus legendary Canarsie League coach Bill "not Parcels, just a good fella" Keller. For some stupid reason I actually thought I could get downfield and get into field goal range, my QB is Eli not Payton. I can't say I blew a 14 point lead because that would be saying that Coach Keller wasn't the legend he is, I just now realize from this game that maybe I have proven I have learned some things about making better play calls. The dice rolled and said that my pass was intercepted and brought back to the 16, but then a late flag was thrown and defensive pass interference was called, WHEWWWWW. I swear I didn't pay off the ref. LOL ??? Not quite. This game was a chess match throughout and I hope to have turned a corner, and hopefully some respect amongst my fellow coaches. Now that I have shown my serious side I will now end with a buzzscription analogy. "The Dolphins came to swim in the swamp and drowned to the Gmen from the toxicity" Home Field advantage ?
--submitted by Jay "Buzz-scriptions" Schneider--

Fish Fry PIT 26-19

After the game coach Keller pointed out, "The Steelers really dominated this one".  In response, coach Weiss said, "in every category, including the 4 big turnovers that will do any team in".  And so the story of the Steelers trip to South Florida goes.  Big Ben Roethlisberger threw 2 huge INT's + 2 big fumbles did in the Pittsburgh.  Keller's boys did exactly what they needed to do.  They played error free football and got the win.  Miami had a 17-6 halftime lead, but Ben moved his team 80 yards in 6 plays and hit Heath Miller for a TD to make it 17-13 mid way throught the 3rd.  Chad Pennington countered with a 67 play drive of his own to make it 24-13.  With 5:08 left to go Mwelde Moor ran one in from 11 yards out to make it 24-19.  Pittsburgh blew the 2 point conversion and for good measure former Steeler Joey Porter sacked Ben in the end zone for a safety.  Hines Ward had a killer day (7-162), but on a day when your team turns the ball over individual accolades mean nothing.  Pennington's 17-32-202-2td day make him the games MVP.  Nate Jones and Randy Starks had the key INT's in this contest.

Ravens intercept Manning 6 times.

In December, the 2009 Indianapolis Colts were 14-0 and on the verge of perfection. Deciding that perfection was not the goal but instead going in to the postseason well rested was more important. Even without those last two games there was strong agreement that these Colts were one of the best teams of all times. And so it made sense that in the CFL Late 2000’s draft Tom Davis would take over the reins of this impressive team.

And then there were the 2006 Baltimore Ravens. A great defense, but they had lost in the playoffs to the 2006 version of the Colts. Going in to last night’s CFL game most people would have put money on the Colts. There were even rumors that Coach MacDonald was putting his money on the 09 Colts.

But then the game began. The Ravens jumped out to a 10-0 lead early in the second quarter. Peyton Manning threw two interceptions in the first quarter, so it was obvious that the Ravens defense was having its desired effect. Put pressure on Manning and hope.

After his second interception, Manning put on his game face and let the Colts down the field for a 9 play, 84 yard touchdown drive,
finished off by a Dallas Clark 29 yard touchdown reception.

After trading possessions, the Colts once had the ball, this time
starting on their own 19. Manning to Wayne for 8 yards. Manning to Clark for 22 yards. Then Manning threw his third interception of the half. Chris McAlister picked off Manning, returning the pick 31 yards before he fumbled the ball. But heads up play by Ed Reed recovered the ball and the Ravens were ready to make Manning pay for his mistake.

But, wait. There was laundry on the field. That’s right, the Ravens
were called for Holding, and the interception never happened. The
Colts had the ball on the Ravens 46. And just to show that he was not gun shy Manning connected two plays later with Collie on a 40 yard pass play, setting the Colts up with a First and Goal from the 9.  Addai sealed the deal with a 7 yard touchdown run.

And so the first half came to a close. The Ravens defense had played well, but it wasn’t good enough.

The scoring resumed halfway through the third quarter, when the Ravens regained the lead on a quarterback sneak by Steve McNair. The Ravens were ahead 17-14. But everyone in attendance was just waiting for Manning to take it to the next level and teach the Ravens that he was not intimidated by their constant blitzing.

The Colts went three and out, but so did the Ravens.

The Colts had a short field to work with after forcing the Ravens to
punt from their own 2. Manning was only 43 yards from the end zone, with more than 2 minutes left in the third quarter. Addai outside for 5. Manning to Wayne incomplete. Manning to Wayne for 17. Manning to Wayne for21 and the touchdown.

Matt Stover who had the kicking duties for both teams – a sort of all time kicker, put the Colts ahead 21-17. The Colts were feeling pretty good, after giving up 14 points in the first half, the Ravens only scored 3 in the third. And as long as Manning did not make any more bad decisions, it looked the Colts would be able to secure the victory.

On the next Ravens possession, they picked up one first down, but
nothing more.

Manning had the lead, the ball and 13 minutes to milk the clock,
starting on his own 6. Far too many times had Colts’ opponents been subjected to watching Manning work his magic.

But then Manning did the unthinkable. He threw another interception.  Bart Scott had his second interception. The Ravens had the ball in Colts territory but could only come out of it with a field goal. The Colts still lead 21-20.

And once again Manning had the ball. And the lead. One nice long drive and the Colts could seal the victory.  But the Ravens Defense had other ideas. There was not going to be a long drive. Instead the Colts were forced to punt from their own 37.

The Ravens figured they could milk the clock. And get at least a field goal. A few short passes and a draw got a first down. And then on third and two from their own 43, McNair could not hook up with Todd Heap and the Colts were going to get the ball back.

Now surely THIS TIME, Manning was going to work his magic. A one point lead. The ball. An incredible receiving corps.

Manning threw his FOURTH interception of the game. And even worse Chris McAlister returned this one for a touchdown. The Ravens retook the lead with less than 3 minutes to go. A missed two point conversion made the score 26-21.

Manning was soon facing 4th down from his own 35. And Terrell Suggs added an exclamation mark to the day the Ravens D was having with an 8 yard sack.  A quick Ravens touchdown put them ahead 32-21 after another missed two point conversion.

On their final drive Manning managed to throw two more interceptions (one of them was fumbled by the Ravens and recovered by the Colts.)

And the team that could have and probably should have gone 16-0, after all just the week before in CFL play, they had beaten the unbeatable New England Patriots, fell to the 2006 Ravens and their blitzing and bruising defense.

--submitted by K.A. MacDonald--

Packers 27, Vikes 23

Green Bay jumped out to a 13-3 lead, but Brett Favre (24-40, 263, 2 TD) took advantage of 3 GB turnovers to lead the Vikings to 17 unanswered points and a 20-13 lead after 3 quarters.  Green Bay put together their longest drive of the day to open the 4th- 12 plays for 81 yards, which culminated in Ryan Grant's (18-68, TD) 3-yard run to tie the game at 20.  Green Bay then forced a 3-and-out, but the euphoria at Lambeau didn't last long as Grant fumbled at the GB 28 on the Pack's next possession.  Green Bay's D rose to the challenge, forcing Minnesota to settle for a FG.  But the Vikings were now up 23-20, and they had managed to chew four minutes off the clock.  Aaron Rodgers (26-42, 340, 2 TD, 2 Int) and Green Bay took over at their own 16 with 2:38 to play.  They overcame a quick 4th-and-2 on their first set of downs, and on the next play Rodgers found Greg Jennings (6-121) for a deep 37-yard bomb to move them within FG distance.  Rodgers and Jermichael Finley (6-49, TD) had other ideas, however, as they connected on a 13-yard TD strike with 13 ticks left to give the Packers a 27-23 win.  

Green Bay 23, San Diego 3

The Chargers appeared ready to draw first blood late in the 1st with a 1st-and-goal from the 2. The Packers D stuffed LaDanian Tomlinson (25-63) on two plays, and then on 3rd down Tramon Williams intercepted a Philip Rivers (21-37, 186, 2 Int) pass and returned it to the 32. Aaron Rodgers (18-29, 226, TD) led the Pack on a 68-yard drive, and on the 1st play of the 2nd quarter Ryan Grant (18-40, TD) plunged in from a yard out to give Green Bay a 7-0 lead. Rivers marched San Diego across midfield on the Chargers' next possession, but Green Bay's Charles Woodson intercepted a medium long pass intended for Vincent Jackson (2-20). Again, Rogers and Green Bay capitalized; 9 plays and 62 yards later Rogers found Jermichael Finley (4-36, TD) for a 9-yard TD toss. Green Bay's Mason Crosby (3-3 40+, long 51) added a late 45-yard FG to make it 17-0 Packers at the half.

Both teams struggled to move the ball in the 2nd half. Mason Crosby added a 41-yard FG late in the 3rd to stretch GB's lead to 20-0, and SD's Nate Kaeding matched him with a 25-yarder early in the 4th to put the Chargers on board. Green Bay tacked on another 3 midway though the 4th when Crosby connected from 51. San Diego threatened late, but could not punch it into the end zone and turned the ball over on downs; Green Bay ran out the clock for the 23-3 win.
--submitted by Dan Donovan--