Thanksgiving Day Football Classic: Week 12

Thursday, November 22

Houston Texans (10-1) defeat the Detroit Lions (4-7), 34-31 (OT)

Detroit lost its ninth consecutive Thanksgiving Day game in overtime against the Houston Texans. It’s easy to say that the Lions lost the game more than the Texans won it. The storyline is Detroit head coach Jim Schwartz’s challenge flag gone wrong. Schwartz threw a challenge flag when Houston’s  scored on an 81-yard touchdown run in the third quarter after two Lions tackled him.

 

 

Replays showed Forsett’s left knee and elbow hit the turf near midfield, and the automatic review that accompanies all scoring plays probably would have taken the TD off the board. But NFL rules say that throwing the challenge flag on a scoring play negates the review — and is an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to boot. 

Forsett even acknowledged he shouldn’t have allowed to score.

“It’s on me,” Schwartz said after the game. “It’s on me.”

Defensive Tackle Ndomukong Suh also may be in trouble with the League. There were multiple questionable instances involving Suh and Houston quarterback Matt Schaub. Suh is known all-to-well for his very rough (at times considered dirty) contact with opposing players, especially quarterbacks.

 

On the other side, Houston sealed its tenth victory of the season in a second consecutive overtime matchup. Andre Johnson broke a record for the most receiving yards in consecutive games–273 yards last week against Jacksonville and 188 yards tonight against Detroit marks him at 461 receiving yards in consecutive weeks. Arian Foster ran for 102 yards on 20 carries and Matt Schaub finished 29-48 and 315 yards passing.

The Texans have won consecutive games in overtime this season. Coming into the season, Houston was 1-7 in overtime games.

Washington Redskins (5-6) defeat the Dallas Cowboys (5-6), 38-31.

Robert Griffin the Third is quickly becoming a star in this League. How good was his Thanksgiving Day debut? For the second week in a row, he passed four touchdowns, and while he didn’t post the 93.3% completion that he did against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 11, he threw for 311 yards and posted a quarterback rating of 132.6 (QBR: 87.5). He was simply graceful against the Cowboys; his passes were accurate, they were precise, they were placed flawlessly. Reliable running back Alfred Morris also added 113 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries as the Redskins moved down the field all game long. The Skins lead the Cowboys 28-3 at halftime.

It’s hard to look at Tony Romo’s passer rating and tell that he’s not the best quarterback in the NFL. He has never posted a season passer rating of under 91 and he is third all-time in career passer rating, trailing Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers. This season, his passer rating is a career-low at 85.9, and tonight he would post a similar 84.1 passer rating. However, Romo threw two interceptions in his 62 pass attempts, and that overshadowed the 441 yards and 3 touchdowns he threw for on 37 completions (including a career-long 85-yard touchdown pass to Dez Bryant). The Dallas Cowboys’ now-24 turnovers are the second-most in the NFL, trailing only the Kansas City Chiefs. Dallas trailed 28-3 at halftime but a critical sack late in the fourth quarter with Dallas threatening in the red zone when down by two touchdowns sealed the Cowboys fate.

Romo lost for the first time in six starts on Thanksgiving. He also lost his first home start in November ever (24-1). Prior to today, the Cowboys have never lost to the Redskins on Thanksgiving. Morris’ 100-yard day, the last 10 such games for the Redskins have been by rookies.

 

New England Patriots (8-3) defeats the New York Jets (4-7), 49-19.

The New York Jets are simply dismal. The team held New England to zero points in the first quarter, but then reality seemed to set in. New England scored–and yes, this is accurate–28 points in just over six minutes and their 35 points they would score in the NFL would tie a franchise record (set in 2011 versus the in Titans) and now only trail the 1980 Rams for the most points in a single quarter (37 in the second quarter).

Jet fans were chanting for Tim Tebow to play before the second quarter of this Thanksgiving showdown was over, and booing as the team left the MetLife Stadium field at halftime.

The Patriots, however, continued to be the Patriots. Brady’s first eight passes produced three touchdown passes, and he would finish 18 for 28 with 323 yards and exited the game with two minutes left–probably a result of Rob Gronkowski’s injury last week against the Indianapolis Colts in meaningless garbage time in a complete rout.

Bill Belichick became the eight coach in NFL history to record 200 victories. The Patriots, during their 28-point run, scored three touchdowns in under a minute. The only other teams to score three touchdowns in under a minute are the 2002 Seahawks (versus Minnesota) and the 1998 Falcons (versus Carolina). The Patriots, with 49 points scored tonight, have now scored the second-most points in consecutive games in NFL history, with 108. The trail the 1950 Rams, who scored 135 points in consecutive games.

Sunday Football Recap: Week 11

Sunday, November 18

New York Jets (4-6) defeat the St. Louis Rams (3-6-1), 27-13.

Talks of the Jets demise can be halted at least momentarily. The team put forth a complete effort in downing the St. Louis Rams. Mark Sanchez completed 15 of his 20 attempts to go along with a touchdown pass (caught by Chaz Schilens). It was his best performance since week one and could be something the team can build upon moving forward as they desperately try to inject themselves into the playoff hunt. Little-known running back Bilal Powell contributed with two touchdowns as he and Shonn Greene split carries.

There wasn’t much offense for the Rams although Brandon Gibson caught two scores and Steve Jackson ran hard. It looks to be another disappointing season for the team as they have dropped four of five after starting 3-3. The Jets move onto 4-6 for the year.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-4) defeat the Carolina Panthers (2-8), 27-21 (OT).

It looked like it was going to be a long day for Tampa Bay as they found themselves trailing for most of the game. Josh Freeman made some questionable decisions, throwing two interceptions and the offense looked out of sorts outside of stud rookie runner Doug Martin, who had 24 carries for 138 yards rushing on the day. However, when a team fighting for the playoffs needed him most, Freeman turned things around, closing an eight-point deficit and leading the Bucs 80 yards with under a minute to go without the assistance of the timeouts. A touchdown and a two-point conversion later (both coming on throws to Vincent Jackson, who had 6 receptions and 94 yards on the day) sent the game into overtime at 21-all. A touchdown pass to Dallas Clark only five minutes into the extra period sealed the deal for the Panthers.

Another disappointing loss for the Panthers. The team has lost many nailbiters this year, and one wonders where they may be if they had a lucky bounce here or there? Quarterback Cam Newton played well, however, throwing for 252 yards and running for 80 more on 11 carries. His lone touchdown pass was caught by Brandon LaFell. 

The Carolina Panthers are now 1-12 in games decided by 7 points or fewer with Cam Newton as their starting quarterback. 

Green Bay Packers (7-3) defeat the Detroit Lions (4-6), 24-20.

Is any team playing better than Green Bay right now? The team won its fifth straight game despite a number of key players being out due to injury. Kicker Mason Crosby continued to struggle and you have to wonder how much confidence the coaches have left in him. The Lions held the lead for most of the game and were persistent in dropping seven to force Rodgers to make difficult throws or check downs.

It’s a strategy that worked for 55 out of 60 minutes, but Rodgers proved again why he’s one of the best as he lead the team into scoring position late in the game and capped the the drive with a 22-yard beauty to Randall Cobb (9 receptions, 74 yards). 

Aaron Rodgers finished his day with 19 completions on 27 throws and 236 yards with two touchdowns. He also threw a single pick. Jermichael Finley looked like the Jermichael Finley of old, with 3 receptions for 66 yards and a touchdown. Calvin Johnson finished with 5 receptions and 143 yards 

Atlanta Falcons (9-1) defeat the Arizona Cardinals (4-6), 23-19.

The Atlanta Falcons improved to 9-1 on the day despite Matt Ryan’s 5 interceptions. The Falcons turned the ball over a total of six times. The game was a struggle offensively for both Atlanta and Arizona as neither team scored in the second half, aside from an Arizona field goal to break a 16-16 tie, until the Falcons drove late in the game to take the lead on a 1-yard touchdown run by Michael Turner. 

Ryan became the first quarterback since Green Bay’s Bart Starr in 1967 to win a game despite throwing five interceptions with no touchdowns, according to STATS LLC. Arizona quarterback John Skelton was also benched in favor of rookie Ryan Lindley after completing only two passes for 6 yards and posting a 39.6 QB rating. Lindley was 9-20, 64 yards, and no touchdowns. 

 

Washington Redskins (4-6) defeat the Philadelphia Eagles (3-7), 31-6.

The last QB to complete 93.3% of his passes with four touchdown throws in a game was Steve Young during the 49ers 1994 Super Bowl run. Today, Robert Griffin III achieved the same feat, completed fourteen of fifteen passes in an absolute rout of the Philadelphia Eagles.

 

“I’m tired of talking about Robert,” said Santana Moss, who leaped between two defenders and fought his way into the end zone for the 61-yard score in the third quarter. “Nothing’s going to change; Robert’s going to go out there and be special. That’s the gift that he has, he’s a special guy. He brings that kind of ‘specialness.’ I don’t know if that’s a word, but he brings it to our offense.”

 

The win snapped the Redskins’ remarkable eight-game losing streak against rookie quarterbacks that began in 2006.

The Eagles dropped their sixth straight with Michael Vick out with a concussion suffered in last week’s game against the Dallas Cowboys. However, the team’s pattern of being able to move the ball without scoring continued as turnovers, penalties, and the offensive line prevented much scoring on the Philadelphia side. Nick Foles completed 21 of 46 passes–mostly screens–throwing two interceptions on the day. Running back LeSean McCoy was carted off the field with under two minutes to play and diagnosed with a concussion. He had 15 rushes for 45 yards.

 

 

Cincinnati Bengals (5-5) defeat the Kansas City Chiefs (1-9), 28-6.

 

Cincinnati handily put away the turnover-prone Kansas City Chiefs. Quarterback Andy Dalton registered 230 yards passing and two touchdowns. A.J. Green caught a touchdown in his ninth-straight football game. 

 

“We felt like we gave a couple of games away,” said Dalton, who had four TD passes in last week’s win over the Giants. “Now we’ve got momentum and we’ve got to keep it going. We’ve had two great wins, full-team wins, with everybody doing their part, and we’ve got to keep that going.”

 

The Chiefs continued to play uninspired football, as both Matt Cassel and Brady Quinn combined to go 17-30 for 188 yards and no touchdowns. 

 

 

Dallas Cowboys (5-5) defeat the Cleveland Browns (2-8), 23-20 (OT)

 

Turnover-prone Tony Romo managed well to keep the ball in his team’s possession to keep his team in winning position throughout the game. Dan Bailey kicked a 38-yard field goal in overtime and Dallas overcame a critical fumble by Romo that sparked a wild ending in the Cowboys’ 23-20 victory against Cleveland. It was the 12th straight road loss for the Browns.

After the Browns scored to take the lead with 1:07 remaining in the game, Dallas quickly drove down the field with the help of an unnecessary roughness penalty and a 35-yard pass interference penalty by Sheldon Brown and scored the tying field goal.

 

Cleveland continued to have troubles finishing games, as a 13-0 lead as well as seven sacks on Tony Romo couldn’t provide enough of a cushion to seal a victory for the Browns. Brandon Weeden completed 20 of 25 for 210 yards and two touchdowns. Tight end Benjamin Watson caught both touchdown passes. 

 

This was the first overtime game in the history of Cowboys Stadium. 
 

 

Houston Texans defeat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 43-37 (OT)

Matt Schaub threw for the second-most passing yards in NFL history with 527 on the day, but what was more impressive? That, or this game being the first time in NFL history that two receivers both had 200 yards receiving in a single game? Justin Blackmon and Andre Johnson combined for 21 receptions for 509 yards and two touchdowns on the day, but Andre Johnson’s 14 receptions for 273 yards (both career-highs) was not only more impressive, but his lone touchdown was the game-winner in an exciting overtime finish.

The Jaguars got out to an early lead and Jacksonville was ahead 34-20 with twelve minutes left in regulation. Schaub, however, prevented what would have been the biggest upset of the season, throwing two touchdown passes to send the game into overtime.

Jaguars QB Blaine Gabbert was knocked out of the game but his replacement, Chad Henne, had a career game, throwing for four touchdowns and posting a 126.8 passer rating.

The Texans finished with a team-record 640 yards. Matt Schaub threw for a team-record 527 yards and completed a team-record 43 passes (of 55). Schaub ties Warren Moon’s 527-yard passing game for the second most passing yards in NFL history. Norm Van Brocklin holds the record at 554 in a 1951 game for the Rams. Andre Johnson’s 273 yards were the most in a single game since Terrell Owens’ 283 yards for the 49ers against the Bears in 2000.