The IFL is a 30 team league that uses the Action! PC football game by Dave Koch Sports. If you would like more information about the IFL please contact Commissioner John Storer at [email protected]
IN MEMORY OF BEAR STEVE
WEEK 11 IFL LEAGUE LEADERS
WEEK 10 RECAP Dallas cornerback Amani Oruwariye intercepts three passes as Cowboys defeat the Jets.
Game Scores
New York (A) 17 Dallas 31 70 Calm In a contest that featured teams with a combined four wins in 18 games, the fans got what they expected – a game marred with mistakes and poor execution. The 1-8 Dallas Cowboys managed to prevail 31-17 despite committing four turnovers. Fortunate for the Cowboys, the New York Jets turned the ball over five times. Four of the five gifts to the Cowboys came from Jimmy Garropolo who threw four picks. Garropolo was also sacked three times and fumble three times. Jimmy G. did throw for 412 yards when he wasn’t misfiring. The Cowboys’ CB Amani Oruwariye intercepted Garoppolo three times in the game to bring his season total to seven. Deebo Samuel led the Dallas offense with six catches for 151 yards and three TDs. Minnesota 22 Detroit 3 70 Calm Minnesota Vikings improve to 4-6 with a 22-3 victory over the Detroit Lions, who drop to 1-9. The Vikings held the Lions' offense to under 100 yards. The Lions only twice experienced the Vikings' side of the 50 years line, both times as a result of turnovers. New England 31 Buffalo 3 47 10-20 The Patriots come into Buffalo riding high and Buffalo his hit the skids lately after a solid start. The Bills decide to rest Kyler Murray and a few other key players to save them for the rest of the season. The game was 7-3 after one and 17-3 at the half. Trevor Sieman struggled most of the day and the Patriots made the plays with Lamar Jackson hitting Cooper Kupp and Tyreek Hill on crucial plays. After scoring 14 in the 3rd Kevin took his foot off the gas pedal and cruised home to 31-3 victory. The Patriots go to 9-1 while the Bills fall to 4-6. The Patriots will host the Jaguars next week while the Bills will host the Steelers. Cincinnati 26 Chicago 0 42 10-20 Rain On a rainy, windy Chicago afternoon, the Bengals built up a 10-0 in the first quarter. Derrick Gore went for a 35 yard touchdown run toward the end of the half and extended the Cincinnati lead to 17-0. Cincinnati added three second half field goals for the 26-0 win. The Bears struggled offensively generating just five first downs. Four turnovers also did not help the Chicago cause. Keyshawn Vaughn rushed for 57 yards and a score for Cincinnati. Nwosu led the defense with two sacks and an interception. Sam Darnold struggled completing just 3 of 15 for 34 yards and an interception. Next week the Bears travel to Dallas while the Bengals host the J-E-T-S. Baltimore 34 Tennessee 27 58 Calm Baltimore tightens up the tough AFC Central with a 34-27 win in Tennesse. The turning point of the game occurred with 10:19 to go in the 3rd quarter. Tennesse was ahead 17-13 with 3rd & 8 at their own 38 yard line when Ryan threw a pick to LB Pratt with Baltimore taking over at the Tennessee 45. Baltimore marched in for the go-ahead TD on a run by Jonathan Williams, to go up 20-17. The next major turning point occurred with 4 minutes to play. Tennessee had 4th & 1 on their own 37, trailing 34-27 when Dillon got stopped on 4thh down. Los Angeles (N) 26 New Orleans 21 70 Calm The Saints play one of their sloppiest games of the year committing 14 penalties for 123 yards and there were probably 5 more declined. You can't do that against one of the better coaches in the league in Ryan Heaton. The Saints would also commit 3 turnovers including a bad snap on a punt. The Rams would take full advantage and pull off the road win. Daniel Jones would throw for 2 TDs in the win for the Rams. AJ Brown would catch 2 TDs for the Saints in the loss. Excellent game called by Ryan as the NFC West tightens up. Kansas City 28 Los Angeles (A) 3 62 Calm David Montgomery rushes for 113 yards and four touchdowns as the Chiefs cruise past the Chargers. Las Vegas 27 San Francisco 20 61 10-20 The RAAAAIDERS score with 21 seconds left to beat the 49ers 27 to 20. Indianapolis 17 Miami 15 71 0-5 The Colts visit the Dolphins hoping to avenge a week 4 home loss to the Dolphins and repay the favor in Miami. They did in almost the exact same fashion. In week 4 Miami scored with 17 seconds left in the game to win and in week 10 the Colts scored with 28 seconds left to win. The Dolphins did manage to attempt a 58 yard FG with 8 seconds but Prater missed the kick, for the final score to be 17-15 Colts. Miami was penalized 9 times to the Colts 3 (no home cooking there) and was only 1 of 11 on 3rd down, always coming up a yard or 2 short. A good win for the Colts and a bad loss for the Dolphins. Next week the Colts host Baltimore and the Dolphins host the Titans. Houston 6 Denver 16 58 Calm Broncos defense harasses Texan QB Kirk Cousins into two picks and only 119 yards passing in a 16-6 victory. Jacksonville 17 Pittsburgh 28 49 0-10 Jacksonville comes to Pittsburgh looking for revenge of their week 4 loss at home to division rival Steelers at the time giving the black and gold their first victory of the season. Josh Allen took the opening kickoff marched right down the field and connected with Metcalf from 28 yards out to take an early lead. Brady not to be outdone takes his opening possession right down the field and throws a 14 yard TD pass to rookie RB Javonte Williams to tie things up.That would be all the scoring until late in the 2nd quarter as the defense's stiffened forcing 7 punts . Brady would take over from his own 15 and the Steelers would take the lead into the locker room as he would connect with his favorite receiver Justin Jefferson(who was doubled almost the whole game ) from 21 yards out leaving Allen only 42 seconds to work with. But Josh Allen hits Metcalf for a 39 yard play and the Jags are at the 33 and use a timeout with 17 seconds to go. 2 plays later after their last timeout was used and 9 seconds remained they try for a short out pass that was complete but Robinson fails to get out of bound and the half ends. Backup RB Ty'son Williams jaunts 44 yards to pay dirt on the opening drive of the second half and the home team surges in front 21-7. Allen trying to answer drive the Jags right down the field but has an errant pass from the 11 to the end zone is picked by LB Zaire Franklin. On Jacksonville's next possession Allen would run it in from 9 yards out to cap a 9 play drive and the score is 21-14 heading into the 4th. With 10 minutes to go the Jags settle for a 36 yard Bullock FG after Josh Allen who would run for 111 yards is stoned on a bootleg for a 5 yard loss by the Steelers best defender DL Christian Wilkins 21-17. Brady does what he does and leads the Steelers on a 4th quarter march down the field trying to close the game out would once again connect with Jefferson with 4:30 to go from 20 yards out and give the home team some breathing room 28-17. The Jags would turn it over on downs as the Steelers get a tough fought home win against Jacksonville. Metcalf has 6 catches for 119 receiving yards and a TD to lead the visitors. Pittsburgh (4-6) travels to take on the Bills(4-6) While Jacksonville continues on the road and heads up north to take on the (9-1) Patriots. Green Bay 20 Tampa Bay 38 76 10-20 In the second “Battle of the Bays” this season, Green Bay traveled south to Tampa Bay. The Packers, taking things a week at a time, are looking to get back to 500 on the season, while the Buccaneers aim to keep their undefeated season rolling. The coastal Gulf winds, at 10 to 20 mph, play a large role in how well the teams were able to move the ball on offense. Early in the opening quarter, with the wind at his back, Tampa’s QB Derek Carr coughs up the ball on his own 44-yard line and it’s recovered by Green Bay’s star defensive back Stephon Diggs. However, Tampa’s defense is able to hold the Packers to an impressive into the teeth of the wind 47-yard field goal by Robbie Gould. The ensuing kickoff is returned 99 yards for a touchdown by versatile Buccaneer, Cordarrelle Patterson. The remainder of the opening period saw the Packer offense sputter and the Buc offense light it up. Carr completes three passes over 30 yards, two for touchdowns. The score is 21 to 3 going into the second quarter. Five minutes into the second and with the helping wind, Packer QB Ben Roethlisberger hits WR A.J. Green long over the middle for a 50-yard score getting Green Bay within 11 at 21 – 10. With 5 minutes left in the half, Gould adds a second field goal to bring The Pack within 8 points, 21 – 13. Tampa Bay grabs back the momentum when a scrambling Carr finds Patterson open in the endzone for his second TD. The teams head to their halftime locker rooms with the scoreboard reading 28 – 13 in Tampa’s favor. Green Bay has the wind and the ball to open the third quarter. They get the TD they need, but the drive takes 8:28 over 14 plays, chewing up much of the wind advantage the Packers have left in the game. Knowing coach Conners favors the long pass, this concerns his faithful fans. The Pack are certainly back in the game with the score at 28 – 20. On the next defensive set, Green Bay is not able to keep the game close as the Bucs use their short passing game to go back up 15 points, 35 – 20, heading into the final quarter. In that last frame, the Packers are not able to effectively move the ball into the wind under nearly must pass conditions. Tampa adds a field goal to make the final 38 – 20. Next week Green Bay flies west to take on a tough Settle Seahawks squad while Tampa Bay hosts the Philadelphia Eagles. Philadelphia 10 Seattle 27 55 0-5 Philly came to Seattle for round 2 of their yearly matchup but forgot to bring the offense. Seattle would get on the board first with a FG that was setup by a Howard INT. A TD would follow after a nice punt return by Isiah McKenzie to give Seattle a 10-0 lead. Pinned deep in their own territory inside of 2 minutes Philly would attempt to move the ball to run the clock out but a strip sack by Chandler Jones would lead to a defensive TD to make it 17-0 at halftime. Philly would get on the board in the second half with a FG but that is all their offense would manage as they would end the game with only 78 yards of net offense. Their defense would play hard all game holding Seattle to 246 yards of offense and scoring a TD on a late fumble return for a TD but they could not overcome the poor offensive performance. Atlanta 31 Carolina 6 77 0-10 Heavy Rain Falcons drag the Panthers through the mud in a heavy downpour at Bank of America Stadium. Neither team mustur much offense in the first half. Atlanta has 101 yards, and Carolina 96 yards at the half. A Surtain 80 yard interception return for a touchdown being the difference as Atlanta took the lead 10-3 going into the locker room. The second half was all Atlanta as Hurts is able to ignite their offense and the Panther offense remains stagnant. Atlanta scores 21 unanswered including two touchdown passes by Hurts and finishes out the Panthers 31-6. For Atlanta, Hurts finishes with 221 yards passing and 2 passing TD's. He also led the team in passing. For Carolina, Wilson had 215 passing yards. Most came in garbage time however and Carolina mustered only 266 yards total. New York (N) 6 Arizona 16 84 Calm The Cardinals and Giants were both still playoff hopefuls before the game. This game was important to both teams. The Giants only trailed Zona by one game and a win would put them solidly in the hunt for a wildcard spot. The Cards were coming off a terrible game last week where both the offense, defense and coaching staff under performed with some help from the yellow bandits. So the stage was set and the fans were excited. What the fans got was a defensive juggernaut. Both teams knew what they had to do to win. Zona had to stop Weddle and Renfrow which is the heart of the Giants offense. The Giants needed to only stop Mahomes. Whichever team succeeded would win. Zona received the opening kickoff and methodically moved the ball down the field. Mahomes was patient and took was the D gave him. Barkley highlighted the drive with a 23 yard gain on a reception out of the backfield. Zona would make it to the Giants 2 yard line before being halted and had to settle for a FG. The Cardinal game plan was simple enough, do not let Waddle or Renfrow catch the ball. And the defense executed the plan masterfully. At times it seemed to Giants fans as if the Zona D knew the play call by the Giants before it was executed. The Arizona D was nasty and stuck to the Giants receivers as if they were tarred and feathered. Wentz was frustrated. The Giants offense did try to utilize their ground game, but the Zona front four would not allow the Giant runners to consistently pick up yardage. Once the Giants were in a 3rd and medium or long yardage, the Zone D would lock down the receivers. Over the game, the Giants only converted 3 third down attempts in 12 tries. Unfortunately, Mahomes was having the same issue. Make no mistake, the Giants defense is tough as nails. Mahomes struggled with pressure all day and was sacked three times. While Zona could move the ball, it often resulted in a sack, penalty or turnover to end the drive. Or just good Giant D. The Giants big break came near the end of first quarter. With less than two minutes left Zona got the ball on their 25 yard line after a punt went into the end zone. Barkley was hurt which left Zona with only one RB. Wanting to take some time off the clock, Hill ran off tackle but fumbled. The Giants took over the ball on the Zona 22 yard line. The Zona D bent but did not break. It gave up some short runs and short pass completions, but was able to keep Waddle and Renfrow out of the end zone. The Giants settled for a FG the game was tied at the half 3-3. The Giants took the kick after halftime and did exactly what Zona did with their first possession. The Giants moved the ball methodically down the field mixing runs and passes until they finally stalled near the red zone. The Giants kicked a 46 yard field goal and took control of the game 6-3. The kickoff was received by Kirk, but the Giants special teams was on him like bees to honey. The drive would start at the Zona 10 yard line. Mahomes got serious and began to pick apart the Giants D moving the chains down the field. After a holding penalty at the Giants 43 yard line, Mahomes faced a 2nd and 14 yards for the first down. Pitts would pick up 13 yards but just could not quite make the first down. With a third and one to go for a first, the Giants went all out to stop a Mahomes QB sneak. However, Mahomes read it perfectly and went long to Mike Williams. It was beautiful execution, Williams took it to the house for a 40 yard TD and the first TD of the game. The momentum changed on that play. Wentz took the field and missed a pass to his back. Wentz then completed the next pass to the wrong team. It was intended for Waddle, but fuller had been ready to pounce and pounce he did. Zona would play it safe as they moved the ball into FG range. The FG was good giving Zona the lead 13-6. The Giants would doom themselves as Carson fumbled their possession away which ultimately lead to another Zona FG which sealed the game. Rushing Leaders Elliott(Min) 17-150 1 TD Montgomery(KC) 19-113 4 TD – IFL Offensive Player of the Week Allen(Jax) 17-111 1 TD Receiving Leaders Moore(LV) 9-174 1 TD St. Brown(NYJ) 10-153 2 TD Samuel(Dal) 6-151 3 TD Swift(Ind) 17-133 1 TD Passing Leaders Garoppolo(NYJ) 47-29-412 2 TD 4 Int Stafford(LV) 48-24-354 3 TD 1 Int Ryan(Ten) 34-25-314 3 TD 2 Int Carr(TB) 25-19-302 4 TD Burrow(Ind) 46-36-267 2 TD Defensive Standouts Oruwariye(Dal) 3 Int 7 Tk – IFL Defensive Player of the Week Special Teams Zuerlein(Min) 5-5 FG – IFL Special Teams Player of the Week Wright(Cin) 4-4 FG WEEK 10 IFL STANDINGS
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AFC RIVALS KURT AND YOUR COMMISH AFTER ENJOYING LUNCH AT HOOTERS.
IFL SUPER BOWL
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SPURLOCK'S KICKOFF RETURN IGNITES RAIDER RALLY!
The Cardinals come into the game with the best scoring and ave per play offense in the league and the the Raiders with the best D in those same categories so on paper it was going to be a close game.
Oakland takes to opening kick off and starts out on their own 20 and Marshawn Lynch promptly coughs up the ball on the first play from scrimmage. Luckily Greg Olsen was hustling on the play and covers it up for Oakland. The 13 play Raider drive stalls out eventually and Josh Scobee kicks a 41 yard Fg to give the Raiders an early lead Oakland 3-0
Az takes the ball over at their 38 and it was the opening curtain on the AD show (as in ALL FU%$ING DAY !). Peterson shreds the Raider D like it was actually the paper it looked so good on. Carrying the ball for 50 yards on 6 carries, capping it off with a 7 yard TD run. The Raiders also lose DT Henry Melton for the rest of the game Az 7-3
Raiders take to ball back over and have a bit of luck with play-action but again Lynch puts the ball on the ground for the second consecutive drive the drive only picks up a Scobee FG. Az 7-6 AD is again, ALL DAY, picking up 67 yards on 8 carries with another TD from 4 yards out. Az 14-6
Oakland gets a HUGE break when Michael Spurlock returns the Blair Walsh kick 100 yards for the TD with 3:30 left in the game. Az 14-13
The Cards finally sputter a bit and Big Ben cant convert on 3rd and 10 and they are forced to punt. This is where it gets odd... The Cards punter is inexplicably 'hurt(?)' and Blair Walsh would have to pull double duty for the rest of the game as the punter also. His first punt is an awful 21 yarder. The Raiders, moving the ball down the field deftly, with 29 ticks left on the clock, run a med fly to Welker that oddly takes all 29 ticks off the clock to end the half. Az 14-13 at the half
Az gets the second half kick and receives their 3rd of, soon to be 4, KOR penalties of the game. AD gets a first down on the first two carries but on 3rd and 5 the Raiders gamble a bit and double cover Brandon Marshall and they catch a break as Ben's pass hits the ground. Again, Walsh's punt is a mediocre 34 yarder that Spurlock returns for 14 yds setting Oakland up at midfield but a sack and then a William Moore pick gives the Cards the ball at their own 41 Az is unable to capitalize, after a Luiget sack, and Walsh once again does not impress with his punting skills. Oakland gets the ball back and are able to get another Scobee FG. Oak 16-14
After a FOURTH KOR penalty, the Cards jump on the back of Peterson and he does not dissapoint. Carrying the ball 10 times for 71 yards capping it off with his 3rd TD of the game. Az 21-16
The Raiders and Cards exchange punts on the next two series with Oakland getting the ball back at the Az 43 thanks to another shitty Walsh punt. The next play from scrimmage, like last weeks AFC Championship game, Welker takes a rather pedestrian pass and 'sprints' 43 yards for the score. Oakland misses the 2-pt conversion. Oak 22-21
The Cards get the ball back and AD starts reeling off the yardage in big chunks until........... HE COUGHS UP THE BALL!! at the Raider 42 and Terelle Brown pounces on it for Oakland. Oakland is unable to do anything with the gift and punt it back to Az after a couple of penalties on their OL. Az gets the ball back with 2:15 at their 18 with a great punt by Oakland's Andy Lee. Ben's first pass is complete, sort of, after a deflection at the line to RT Sean Locklear who loses 3 yards. Next play, AD loses two on the draw with a huge play by DT Suh. Two inc later the Raiders take the ball over at the Cards 13 with 1:43 left and administer the coup de grace with a 5 yard play-action pass to Welker for his 2nd TD of the game. Final Oak 29 Az 21
AD KILLED US, 40-265-3 td and lest we not forget the fumble when Az was already in FG range, but Jim really was hurt by the KOR penalties and the mysterious punter injury. It may not seem like a huge deal, a punter getting hurt, but it meant a big difference in field position. Schaub was , once again, essentially efficient, and Lynch helped keep the Card D honest as bait for play-action. Big Ben was terrible when the Cards needed him to be, at least, a game manager.
Oakland takes to opening kick off and starts out on their own 20 and Marshawn Lynch promptly coughs up the ball on the first play from scrimmage. Luckily Greg Olsen was hustling on the play and covers it up for Oakland. The 13 play Raider drive stalls out eventually and Josh Scobee kicks a 41 yard Fg to give the Raiders an early lead Oakland 3-0
Az takes the ball over at their 38 and it was the opening curtain on the AD show (as in ALL FU%$ING DAY !). Peterson shreds the Raider D like it was actually the paper it looked so good on. Carrying the ball for 50 yards on 6 carries, capping it off with a 7 yard TD run. The Raiders also lose DT Henry Melton for the rest of the game Az 7-3
Raiders take to ball back over and have a bit of luck with play-action but again Lynch puts the ball on the ground for the second consecutive drive the drive only picks up a Scobee FG. Az 7-6 AD is again, ALL DAY, picking up 67 yards on 8 carries with another TD from 4 yards out. Az 14-6
Oakland gets a HUGE break when Michael Spurlock returns the Blair Walsh kick 100 yards for the TD with 3:30 left in the game. Az 14-13
The Cards finally sputter a bit and Big Ben cant convert on 3rd and 10 and they are forced to punt. This is where it gets odd... The Cards punter is inexplicably 'hurt(?)' and Blair Walsh would have to pull double duty for the rest of the game as the punter also. His first punt is an awful 21 yarder. The Raiders, moving the ball down the field deftly, with 29 ticks left on the clock, run a med fly to Welker that oddly takes all 29 ticks off the clock to end the half. Az 14-13 at the half
Az gets the second half kick and receives their 3rd of, soon to be 4, KOR penalties of the game. AD gets a first down on the first two carries but on 3rd and 5 the Raiders gamble a bit and double cover Brandon Marshall and they catch a break as Ben's pass hits the ground. Again, Walsh's punt is a mediocre 34 yarder that Spurlock returns for 14 yds setting Oakland up at midfield but a sack and then a William Moore pick gives the Cards the ball at their own 41 Az is unable to capitalize, after a Luiget sack, and Walsh once again does not impress with his punting skills. Oakland gets the ball back and are able to get another Scobee FG. Oak 16-14
After a FOURTH KOR penalty, the Cards jump on the back of Peterson and he does not dissapoint. Carrying the ball 10 times for 71 yards capping it off with his 3rd TD of the game. Az 21-16
The Raiders and Cards exchange punts on the next two series with Oakland getting the ball back at the Az 43 thanks to another shitty Walsh punt. The next play from scrimmage, like last weeks AFC Championship game, Welker takes a rather pedestrian pass and 'sprints' 43 yards for the score. Oakland misses the 2-pt conversion. Oak 22-21
The Cards get the ball back and AD starts reeling off the yardage in big chunks until........... HE COUGHS UP THE BALL!! at the Raider 42 and Terelle Brown pounces on it for Oakland. Oakland is unable to do anything with the gift and punt it back to Az after a couple of penalties on their OL. Az gets the ball back with 2:15 at their 18 with a great punt by Oakland's Andy Lee. Ben's first pass is complete, sort of, after a deflection at the line to RT Sean Locklear who loses 3 yards. Next play, AD loses two on the draw with a huge play by DT Suh. Two inc later the Raiders take the ball over at the Cards 13 with 1:43 left and administer the coup de grace with a 5 yard play-action pass to Welker for his 2nd TD of the game. Final Oak 29 Az 21
AD KILLED US, 40-265-3 td and lest we not forget the fumble when Az was already in FG range, but Jim really was hurt by the KOR penalties and the mysterious punter injury. It may not seem like a huge deal, a punter getting hurt, but it meant a big difference in field position. Schaub was , once again, essentially efficient, and Lynch helped keep the Card D honest as bait for play-action. Big Ben was terrible when the Cards needed him to be, at least, a game manager.
Kurt and Jude at Bank of America Stadium.
OAKLAND'S JOHNSON NAMED IFL COACH OF THE YEAR
Action PC Sports games named Raider Head Coach Kurt Johnson the IFL Coach of the Year. For the second time in three seasons Johnson has his Raiders heading into the postseason with an undefeated record. In 2011 Johnson completed an undefeated Super Bowl Championship season. Johnson also led Oakland to the 2008 IFL Championship. The Raiders did not have a cake walk in the AFC West as both second place Denver, 13-3 and third place Kansas City, 12-4 finished with the second and third best records in the AFC.
Arizona's Jim Heaton finished second in the tabulation and Atlanta's Marty Golden finished third.
Arizona's Jim Heaton finished second in the tabulation and Atlanta's Marty Golden finished third.
FALCONS MILLER NAMED IFL DEFENSIVE MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Action PC Sports games named Atlanta linebacker Von Miller the 2013 IFL Defensive Most Valuable Player. Miller ranked among the league leaders with 15 sacks and also intercepted three passes. The Falcon linebacker finished with 76 tackles including 11 stuffs and a team leading eight forced fumbles helping the Falcons to the NFC West Division title and the number two seed in the NFC.
Miller edged out Denver Defensive End J.J. Watt and Kansas City Cornerback Richard Sherman in the tabulation.
Miller edged out Denver Defensive End J.J. Watt and Kansas City Cornerback Richard Sherman in the tabulation.
CARDINALS PETERSON NAMED IFL OFFENSIVE MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
Action PC Sports games named Arizona Running Back Adrian Peterson the 2013 IFL Offensive Most Valuable Player. Peterson won the IFL Rushing title for the second time in his career with 2,219 yards on 337 attempts, good for a 6.6 average. His 32 rushing touchdowns set a new single season IFL record surpassing the previous high of 31 by Jacksonville's Curtis Martin back in 2002. The 2,219 yards was the second most rushing yards in a season in the IFL. Second only to the Giants Clinton Portis who rushed for 2,273 yards in 2003. Peterson helped the Cardinals to a 15-1 regular season record and the number one seed in the NFC.
Oakland Running Back Marshawn Lynch finished second in the tabulation while Miami rookie Running Back Alfred Morris placed third.
Oakland Running Back Marshawn Lynch finished second in the tabulation while Miami rookie Running Back Alfred Morris placed third.
REDSKINS NIP BENGALS 15-13 TO CLAIM SECOND TITLE IN THREE YEARS
The Bengals won the toss to open the game and elected to defer. They wanted to rely on their Defense for a quick stop and get a leg up in the field position battle. This is generally the Skins preference so they were a little dismayed to start with the ball first. The skins drive started off promising picking up a nice return and a quick strike to Vincent Jackson. A pass interference call and they were already at their own 48 yard line. The skins running game seemed to stall out and on 3rd and 11 they ran the play they had been working on all week. An end around to the explosive Vincent Jackson. The play was a failure and left the skins wondering if Coach Storer had been videotaping their practices.
The Bengals would start their drive at the 20 yard line and Aaron Rodgers was eager to put 2010 behind him. However he might have been a little too eager. On 3rd and 7 from their own 23 yard line Carlos Rodgers baited him and jumped the route. He intercepted it and took it to the 17 yard line. The Bengals D would bail him out though. Stopping the Skins offense cold in their tracks and they would have to settle for a FG.
The Bengals second drive was certainly better than the first but that wasn’t saying much. A short gain to Knox moved the ball to the 40 but that was followed by Benson getting stuffed at the line and two more incompletions by Rodgers. The Bengals would be forced to punt.
The skins offense was attempting to establish some sort of run game against the stout Bengals Run D but they couldn’t get anywhere. I quick 3 and out and they were punting back to Rodgers.
The Bengals third possession was much like the previous one. Incomplete and a 1 yard scramble. On 3rd and 9 Rodgers was pressured and forced to dump it off to Gresham. Weddle was waiting and stopped him cold for a 7 yard game. Rodgers just couldn’t seem to get into a groove.
Starting at their own 14 the Skins were hoping to mix it up and try to get something going. Clay took a dump off pass 10 yards. 1st down skins. Stewart added a 5 yard run and Garcon beat Revis for another 5. The skins were starting to pick up steam. Stewart would be stoned on his next run. The Skins coach begin to wonder if the magnitude of the game was getting to Stewart. He was struggling to hit the right holes and to pick up positive yards. The coach made the choice to throw Tate into the mix. Garcon would beat Revis again for another 12. Then Tate started to move the chains. He hit it up the gut for 8 yards. With a 2nd and 2 from the 46 the Bengals were expecting the Skins to take a shot down the field and Tate made them pay. He ripped off a 28 yard gain to take it to the 18 yard line. The Redzone is where offenses go to die against the Bengals. They tightened up their defense and on 3rd and 4 from the 12 Ngata dragged Stewart down for a 3 yard gain. The Skins would have to settle for another FG. 6-0 Skins.
After 1 quarter of play Rodgers was 2 for 2-5 for 23 yards and an INT. He knew he was going to have to step his play up if he had a chance. They begin to get Benson involved in the game and he started to pick up nice gains. The Skins were reluctant to shift their focus to him knowing what Rodgers could do. A 7 yard gain followed by a 10 yarder by Benson and they had the Skins D on their heels. Rodgers started to take what the defense would give him dumping it off to his TE and backs. It wasn’t pretty but it was moving the chains. Another big 13 yard burst by Benson and the Bengals were threatening at the Skins 27 yard line. On 2nd and 10 the Skins would get their first sack of the day. Andre Carter would bring Rodgers down for a 6 yard loss. On 3rd and 17 the Bengals were playing it conservative just looking to make a FG a little more manageable. Rodgers tossed a short hitch to Rice he bobbled the ball and dropped it. However the Refs said that Woodson got there too early and threw the flag. The Skins HC was furious. It appeared that this might be a game changing play. However oddly enough it had no effect. Benson would pick up 2 yards on 1st down. Andre Smith got called for a holding on 2nd. With 2nd and 18 Rodgers was unable to hit Austin. On 3rd and 18 Rodgers was forced to dump it off to Benson for a 2 yard gain. Cinci was forced to kick the same 51 yard FG they would have prior to the penalty. The Bengals would trot out the Nuge to the dismay of Bengal fans. Fans still have memories of Shane Graham shanking a 32 yarder in the 2010 Super Bowl. The Nuge quickly reminded fans he is not the old Shane Graham. He crushed it right down the middle. 6-3 Skins with 4:55 left in the half.
Realizing the defense they were up against the Skins were in no hurry to move the ball. A passing attack wasn’t their game. They were hoping to move the ball enough to eat some clock and if they got in FG range that would be a positive. To say it simply enough: They didn’t trust Schaub even if he was producing when it mattered the most. On 3rd and 8 from their own 22 he hit Winslow for a 13 yard gain. Seeing that they had an advantage with a 2 TE set going against a nickel D they tried to run a hurry up but Cinci was quick to call a TO. Most of the talk before the game had been about the dominant Skins pass rush and how little the Bengals D-line offered in that phase of the game. Ngata must have been taking notes because on 1st down he blasted Schaub for an 8 yard loss essentially ending the Skins drive before it even got going. For his great play though he had a monster gaffe on the punt unit. A nice return by Logan was wiped out by a Ngata holding penalty.
The Bengals would start from their own 9 with 2 minutes left. Rodgers was not content to go into halftime down 6-3 and he launched a deep slant to rice who picked up 33. With 1:48 remaining they were now in position to tie it up or go ahead. That all ended though when Oher picked up a holding call. At their own 37 with only 45 seconds left they decided to pack it in.
The Bengals would receive the ball in the second half and it was clear that they had decided to change up their game plan. They realized that Rodgers was trying to do too much and decided to get Benson more involved. It was a solid strategy and was working. Benson ripped off runs of 5, 7, 5, and 8 yards. They were steam rolling over pass rushing specialist Andre Carter. This started to slow down the pass rush and give Rodgers more time and he found Sydney Rice for a 24 yard TD to give them a 10-6 lead.
It appeared that Rodgers was beginning to heat up and the Skins had to answer. The running game had been sporadic and it appeared Stewart was over matched in this game. The Skins knew that if there was one weakness to the Bengals pass D it was their safeties. Their coach had felt all along that their best option in this game was their TEs. They started to run more double TE sets to get the explosive Cook involved. On 2nd and 10 Schaub hit Winslow for 12. 3rd and 11 he hit Cook for 11. 3rd and 2 he hit Winslow for 14. They had gotten the ball to the 31 yard line and were looking for a big play to get them in the endzone when Whitworth got called for a false start. Schaub would miss Jackson deep. A stewart run would get them to a more manageable 3rd and 9. Schaub threw the swing pass to Stewart but he was clocked a yard short by Landry. The Skins were playing in a double TE set and again the Bengals had rotated to a nickel D. With a 4th and 1 the skins hurried to the line to go for it. Seeing a clear mismatch Bengals coach Storer elected to use a TO. The skins would settle for the FG 10-9 Bengals.
Knowing how difficult it is to score on the Bengals D the Skins D knew they would have to make another big play. On 1st and 10 Gresham was called for a holding penalty negating a big run by Benson. They were left with a 1st and 20 from their own 24 and knew this was a great opportunity. Rodgers would dump the ball off to Gresham which he had been doing all day. Weddle stood him up and managed to rip the ball out and a dog pile ensued. When all the bodies were removed Orakpo was the man at the bottom of the pile with the ball. With great field position the Skins had to take a shot in the endzone. They hit Garcon for an 11 yard gain. Then on 1st and 10 from the 19 the Bengals had stacked the box against Tate. Schaub ran a perfect play action fake and hit Garcon over the top for a 19 yard td. 15-10 skin with 1:21 left in the 3rd quarter. The way the game was going the Skins were left with a difficult choice. Rodgers had begun to heat up and they felt he had at least one more TD left in him. They made the decision to go for 2 to push the lead to 17. They called a short curl to Winslow but the Bengals D stood strong and knocked it down.
The Bengals were looking to answer and Rodgers was confident. Benson was still rolling through the Skins D which was giving Rodgers some favorable looks. He converted a clutch 3rd and 7 to Rice for 16 yards. It became clear that he was picking on Woodson, his nemesis from Super Bowl 10. Austin picked up 13 followed by Benson steam rolling for 6, 7, and 8 yards. On 1st and 10 from the 12 Rodgers dumped it off to Benson for 7 yards. 2nd and 3 from the 5 and skins finally stopped benson in his tracks. Left with a 3rd and 4 the Bengals begin to shuffle players in and out of their lineup and there was a lot of confusion about what they were going to run. Rodgers couldn’t’ get everyone in position and they were flagged for a delay of game. 3rd and 9 Rodgers would look for Rice in the back of the endzone but it was tipped away by Woodson at the last minute. The Bengals would settle for a FG. 15-13 Skins. People were beginning to second guess the skins wisdom of going for 2 as now Rodgers would only need to lead them to a FG to win.
On the ensuing kickoff JPP was flagged for a holding call and the skins drive would have to start on their own 6 yard line. They tried to keep it on the ground to burn clock and not wanting to turn it over backed up in their own endzone. Stewart bust up the middle for 6 yards. On 2nd down Wells blew his assignment and stewart was rocked in the backfield for a 1 yard loss. On 3rd and 5 the skins played ultra conservative and pitched it to Tate hoping he could break one for a first down. Peko rumbled down the line and brought him down for a 3 yard gain. The Bengals were looking at great field position down only 2. Punting from his own 14 Kluwe crushed a boomer. Logan was unprepared for such a long kick and was forced to backpeddle and call for a fair catch for a 54 yard punt.
The Bengals had the ball on the 32 yard line with 6:22 remaining and 2 TOs. Depending how much time they used on this drive they probably had 2 possessions left if their D held up. One first down Rodgers tried to throw a medium slant to Rice but Woodson broke it up. On 2nd and 10 the Skins coverage held up and he was forced to dump it off to Gresham for a 5 yard gain. On 3rd and 5 The skins smothered the Bengals receivers at the line. Rodgers looked to complete another dumpoff pass to Benson but his receiving skills, or lack there of , finally got the best of him and he couldn’t reel it in. With a 4th and 5 at their own 37 the Bengals decided to rely on their D.
The skins would start their drive at the 22 yard line up only 2 with 5:23 left. With Rodgers sitting on the sideline the skins knew they couldn’t’ simply run the ball 3 times and punt. So on first down they called a play action pass out route to Garcon. The Bengals were bringing everyone close to the line and garcon beat Revis for 9 yards. On 2nd and 1 Stewart was stuff for no gain. The skins changed backs and tried again. Tate would take it up the gut and thanks to some nice blocking was able to pick up a yard. The clock was starting to burn down. They knew they only needed a few first downs to seal the game. Tate would take the next carry for 3 yards. On 2nd and 7 the Skins would again run a play action pass to Jackson. Revis managed to make a play on it and swat it away. On 3rd and 7 with 2:26 left the Skins knew they had to throw. As good as their D was there was just too much time left on the clock to give Rodgers another chance. Schaub would be forced from the pocket and checked it down to Jackson. He was quickly wrapped up but Joseph but a measurement would show that it was another skins first down.
The Bengals would call their 2nd time out leaving 2:22 on the clock. On first down Tate would be stuffed but there would be a holding call stopping the clock. Cinci would decline the panlty. On 2nd down Tate would get stuffed again and the Bengals would let the clock hit the 2 minute warning. On 3rd down The skins tried a draw to Stewart which would go nowhere and they would be forced to punt.
The Bengals would get the ball at the 20 yard line with 1:51 left down 2 points and no timeouts. Flashback two years ago. Rodgers had the ball with 2:08, 2 time outs down 3 points. He would throw a pick 6 to give Washington its first victory. He was now given a chance to re-write that game and he would only need a FG to win the game. On First down he would miss Rice on an out pattern. On second down the Skins pressure got to him and he was forced to toss it to benson who couldn’t get his hands on it. On 3rd down he throws a short hitch to Austin who is immediately wrapped up by Rodgers for a 5 yard gain. With the clock ticking away they are forced to hustle to the line. Rodgers tries for another short hitch and rushes the throw to Austin but its too high and the Bengals turn it over on downs sealing the victory for the Skins.
Matt Schaub was given the MVP award and deservedly so. He was 13-21 for 142 yards and 1 TD for a 97.7 qb rating. He had 0 turnovers. The skins were 10-14 (The state seems off to me but it says that) on 3rd down. All but one of those came through the air.
The Skins running game was sporadic as they picked up 106 yards on 3 carries. Tate had 14 carries for 70 yards and Stewart was an abysmal 15 for 37. Through the air Garcon managed to beat Revis 5 times for 56 yards and a TD. Winslow caught 3 passes for 39 yards. All 3 of them picking up first downs.
Carlos Rodgers managed 1 interception and Weddle forced a fumble. Carter and Tuck both managed to pick up a sack.
For the Bengals Rodgers appears to have had his worst game of the year. He was 20-36 for 211 1TD and 1 INT. He finished with a 70.5 QB rating. Benson had perhaps one of his best games rushing 18 times for 97 yards. Gresham caught 7 passes, most of them check downs, for 50 yards and a crucial fumble. Rice lead the team with 91 receiving yards on 5 receptions.
The two glaring stats that stick out are the 2 turnovers by the Bengals to 0 by the skins. The second is the Bengals were only 1-10 on 3rd down while the Skins were 10-14.
Congrats to John on another great season and a well coached game. The breaks seems to go my way today as my team didn't turn the ball over while picking up 2 myself. Even with a down game from Rodgers he kept himself in it and sill had a chance to beat me. Also thanks for putting the time in to keep the league going strong. It was another great year.
This more than likely ends the Skins 3 year run at the top as they will be forced to draft a Doctor next year. With 3 NFC East titles, 3 NFC Championship appearances, and 2 super bowl victories it was a pretty good run.
The Bengals would start their drive at the 20 yard line and Aaron Rodgers was eager to put 2010 behind him. However he might have been a little too eager. On 3rd and 7 from their own 23 yard line Carlos Rodgers baited him and jumped the route. He intercepted it and took it to the 17 yard line. The Bengals D would bail him out though. Stopping the Skins offense cold in their tracks and they would have to settle for a FG.
The Bengals second drive was certainly better than the first but that wasn’t saying much. A short gain to Knox moved the ball to the 40 but that was followed by Benson getting stuffed at the line and two more incompletions by Rodgers. The Bengals would be forced to punt.
The skins offense was attempting to establish some sort of run game against the stout Bengals Run D but they couldn’t get anywhere. I quick 3 and out and they were punting back to Rodgers.
The Bengals third possession was much like the previous one. Incomplete and a 1 yard scramble. On 3rd and 9 Rodgers was pressured and forced to dump it off to Gresham. Weddle was waiting and stopped him cold for a 7 yard game. Rodgers just couldn’t seem to get into a groove.
Starting at their own 14 the Skins were hoping to mix it up and try to get something going. Clay took a dump off pass 10 yards. 1st down skins. Stewart added a 5 yard run and Garcon beat Revis for another 5. The skins were starting to pick up steam. Stewart would be stoned on his next run. The Skins coach begin to wonder if the magnitude of the game was getting to Stewart. He was struggling to hit the right holes and to pick up positive yards. The coach made the choice to throw Tate into the mix. Garcon would beat Revis again for another 12. Then Tate started to move the chains. He hit it up the gut for 8 yards. With a 2nd and 2 from the 46 the Bengals were expecting the Skins to take a shot down the field and Tate made them pay. He ripped off a 28 yard gain to take it to the 18 yard line. The Redzone is where offenses go to die against the Bengals. They tightened up their defense and on 3rd and 4 from the 12 Ngata dragged Stewart down for a 3 yard gain. The Skins would have to settle for another FG. 6-0 Skins.
After 1 quarter of play Rodgers was 2 for 2-5 for 23 yards and an INT. He knew he was going to have to step his play up if he had a chance. They begin to get Benson involved in the game and he started to pick up nice gains. The Skins were reluctant to shift their focus to him knowing what Rodgers could do. A 7 yard gain followed by a 10 yarder by Benson and they had the Skins D on their heels. Rodgers started to take what the defense would give him dumping it off to his TE and backs. It wasn’t pretty but it was moving the chains. Another big 13 yard burst by Benson and the Bengals were threatening at the Skins 27 yard line. On 2nd and 10 the Skins would get their first sack of the day. Andre Carter would bring Rodgers down for a 6 yard loss. On 3rd and 17 the Bengals were playing it conservative just looking to make a FG a little more manageable. Rodgers tossed a short hitch to Rice he bobbled the ball and dropped it. However the Refs said that Woodson got there too early and threw the flag. The Skins HC was furious. It appeared that this might be a game changing play. However oddly enough it had no effect. Benson would pick up 2 yards on 1st down. Andre Smith got called for a holding on 2nd. With 2nd and 18 Rodgers was unable to hit Austin. On 3rd and 18 Rodgers was forced to dump it off to Benson for a 2 yard gain. Cinci was forced to kick the same 51 yard FG they would have prior to the penalty. The Bengals would trot out the Nuge to the dismay of Bengal fans. Fans still have memories of Shane Graham shanking a 32 yarder in the 2010 Super Bowl. The Nuge quickly reminded fans he is not the old Shane Graham. He crushed it right down the middle. 6-3 Skins with 4:55 left in the half.
Realizing the defense they were up against the Skins were in no hurry to move the ball. A passing attack wasn’t their game. They were hoping to move the ball enough to eat some clock and if they got in FG range that would be a positive. To say it simply enough: They didn’t trust Schaub even if he was producing when it mattered the most. On 3rd and 8 from their own 22 he hit Winslow for a 13 yard gain. Seeing that they had an advantage with a 2 TE set going against a nickel D they tried to run a hurry up but Cinci was quick to call a TO. Most of the talk before the game had been about the dominant Skins pass rush and how little the Bengals D-line offered in that phase of the game. Ngata must have been taking notes because on 1st down he blasted Schaub for an 8 yard loss essentially ending the Skins drive before it even got going. For his great play though he had a monster gaffe on the punt unit. A nice return by Logan was wiped out by a Ngata holding penalty.
The Bengals would start from their own 9 with 2 minutes left. Rodgers was not content to go into halftime down 6-3 and he launched a deep slant to rice who picked up 33. With 1:48 remaining they were now in position to tie it up or go ahead. That all ended though when Oher picked up a holding call. At their own 37 with only 45 seconds left they decided to pack it in.
The Bengals would receive the ball in the second half and it was clear that they had decided to change up their game plan. They realized that Rodgers was trying to do too much and decided to get Benson more involved. It was a solid strategy and was working. Benson ripped off runs of 5, 7, 5, and 8 yards. They were steam rolling over pass rushing specialist Andre Carter. This started to slow down the pass rush and give Rodgers more time and he found Sydney Rice for a 24 yard TD to give them a 10-6 lead.
It appeared that Rodgers was beginning to heat up and the Skins had to answer. The running game had been sporadic and it appeared Stewart was over matched in this game. The Skins knew that if there was one weakness to the Bengals pass D it was their safeties. Their coach had felt all along that their best option in this game was their TEs. They started to run more double TE sets to get the explosive Cook involved. On 2nd and 10 Schaub hit Winslow for 12. 3rd and 11 he hit Cook for 11. 3rd and 2 he hit Winslow for 14. They had gotten the ball to the 31 yard line and were looking for a big play to get them in the endzone when Whitworth got called for a false start. Schaub would miss Jackson deep. A stewart run would get them to a more manageable 3rd and 9. Schaub threw the swing pass to Stewart but he was clocked a yard short by Landry. The Skins were playing in a double TE set and again the Bengals had rotated to a nickel D. With a 4th and 1 the skins hurried to the line to go for it. Seeing a clear mismatch Bengals coach Storer elected to use a TO. The skins would settle for the FG 10-9 Bengals.
Knowing how difficult it is to score on the Bengals D the Skins D knew they would have to make another big play. On 1st and 10 Gresham was called for a holding penalty negating a big run by Benson. They were left with a 1st and 20 from their own 24 and knew this was a great opportunity. Rodgers would dump the ball off to Gresham which he had been doing all day. Weddle stood him up and managed to rip the ball out and a dog pile ensued. When all the bodies were removed Orakpo was the man at the bottom of the pile with the ball. With great field position the Skins had to take a shot in the endzone. They hit Garcon for an 11 yard gain. Then on 1st and 10 from the 19 the Bengals had stacked the box against Tate. Schaub ran a perfect play action fake and hit Garcon over the top for a 19 yard td. 15-10 skin with 1:21 left in the 3rd quarter. The way the game was going the Skins were left with a difficult choice. Rodgers had begun to heat up and they felt he had at least one more TD left in him. They made the decision to go for 2 to push the lead to 17. They called a short curl to Winslow but the Bengals D stood strong and knocked it down.
The Bengals were looking to answer and Rodgers was confident. Benson was still rolling through the Skins D which was giving Rodgers some favorable looks. He converted a clutch 3rd and 7 to Rice for 16 yards. It became clear that he was picking on Woodson, his nemesis from Super Bowl 10. Austin picked up 13 followed by Benson steam rolling for 6, 7, and 8 yards. On 1st and 10 from the 12 Rodgers dumped it off to Benson for 7 yards. 2nd and 3 from the 5 and skins finally stopped benson in his tracks. Left with a 3rd and 4 the Bengals begin to shuffle players in and out of their lineup and there was a lot of confusion about what they were going to run. Rodgers couldn’t’ get everyone in position and they were flagged for a delay of game. 3rd and 9 Rodgers would look for Rice in the back of the endzone but it was tipped away by Woodson at the last minute. The Bengals would settle for a FG. 15-13 Skins. People were beginning to second guess the skins wisdom of going for 2 as now Rodgers would only need to lead them to a FG to win.
On the ensuing kickoff JPP was flagged for a holding call and the skins drive would have to start on their own 6 yard line. They tried to keep it on the ground to burn clock and not wanting to turn it over backed up in their own endzone. Stewart bust up the middle for 6 yards. On 2nd down Wells blew his assignment and stewart was rocked in the backfield for a 1 yard loss. On 3rd and 5 the skins played ultra conservative and pitched it to Tate hoping he could break one for a first down. Peko rumbled down the line and brought him down for a 3 yard gain. The Bengals were looking at great field position down only 2. Punting from his own 14 Kluwe crushed a boomer. Logan was unprepared for such a long kick and was forced to backpeddle and call for a fair catch for a 54 yard punt.
The Bengals had the ball on the 32 yard line with 6:22 remaining and 2 TOs. Depending how much time they used on this drive they probably had 2 possessions left if their D held up. One first down Rodgers tried to throw a medium slant to Rice but Woodson broke it up. On 2nd and 10 the Skins coverage held up and he was forced to dump it off to Gresham for a 5 yard gain. On 3rd and 5 The skins smothered the Bengals receivers at the line. Rodgers looked to complete another dumpoff pass to Benson but his receiving skills, or lack there of , finally got the best of him and he couldn’t reel it in. With a 4th and 5 at their own 37 the Bengals decided to rely on their D.
The skins would start their drive at the 22 yard line up only 2 with 5:23 left. With Rodgers sitting on the sideline the skins knew they couldn’t’ simply run the ball 3 times and punt. So on first down they called a play action pass out route to Garcon. The Bengals were bringing everyone close to the line and garcon beat Revis for 9 yards. On 2nd and 1 Stewart was stuff for no gain. The skins changed backs and tried again. Tate would take it up the gut and thanks to some nice blocking was able to pick up a yard. The clock was starting to burn down. They knew they only needed a few first downs to seal the game. Tate would take the next carry for 3 yards. On 2nd and 7 the Skins would again run a play action pass to Jackson. Revis managed to make a play on it and swat it away. On 3rd and 7 with 2:26 left the Skins knew they had to throw. As good as their D was there was just too much time left on the clock to give Rodgers another chance. Schaub would be forced from the pocket and checked it down to Jackson. He was quickly wrapped up but Joseph but a measurement would show that it was another skins first down.
The Bengals would call their 2nd time out leaving 2:22 on the clock. On first down Tate would be stuffed but there would be a holding call stopping the clock. Cinci would decline the panlty. On 2nd down Tate would get stuffed again and the Bengals would let the clock hit the 2 minute warning. On 3rd down The skins tried a draw to Stewart which would go nowhere and they would be forced to punt.
The Bengals would get the ball at the 20 yard line with 1:51 left down 2 points and no timeouts. Flashback two years ago. Rodgers had the ball with 2:08, 2 time outs down 3 points. He would throw a pick 6 to give Washington its first victory. He was now given a chance to re-write that game and he would only need a FG to win the game. On First down he would miss Rice on an out pattern. On second down the Skins pressure got to him and he was forced to toss it to benson who couldn’t get his hands on it. On 3rd down he throws a short hitch to Austin who is immediately wrapped up by Rodgers for a 5 yard gain. With the clock ticking away they are forced to hustle to the line. Rodgers tries for another short hitch and rushes the throw to Austin but its too high and the Bengals turn it over on downs sealing the victory for the Skins.
Matt Schaub was given the MVP award and deservedly so. He was 13-21 for 142 yards and 1 TD for a 97.7 qb rating. He had 0 turnovers. The skins were 10-14 (The state seems off to me but it says that) on 3rd down. All but one of those came through the air.
The Skins running game was sporadic as they picked up 106 yards on 3 carries. Tate had 14 carries for 70 yards and Stewart was an abysmal 15 for 37. Through the air Garcon managed to beat Revis 5 times for 56 yards and a TD. Winslow caught 3 passes for 39 yards. All 3 of them picking up first downs.
Carlos Rodgers managed 1 interception and Weddle forced a fumble. Carter and Tuck both managed to pick up a sack.
For the Bengals Rodgers appears to have had his worst game of the year. He was 20-36 for 211 1TD and 1 INT. He finished with a 70.5 QB rating. Benson had perhaps one of his best games rushing 18 times for 97 yards. Gresham caught 7 passes, most of them check downs, for 50 yards and a crucial fumble. Rice lead the team with 91 receiving yards on 5 receptions.
The two glaring stats that stick out are the 2 turnovers by the Bengals to 0 by the skins. The second is the Bengals were only 1-10 on 3rd down while the Skins were 10-14.
Congrats to John on another great season and a well coached game. The breaks seems to go my way today as my team didn't turn the ball over while picking up 2 myself. Even with a down game from Rodgers he kept himself in it and sill had a chance to beat me. Also thanks for putting the time in to keep the league going strong. It was another great year.
This more than likely ends the Skins 3 year run at the top as they will be forced to draft a Doctor next year. With 3 NFC East titles, 3 NFC Championship appearances, and 2 super bowl victories it was a pretty good run.
