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Patriots vs Broncos : Playoffs 2012
The New England Patriots and Denver Broncos will take the field at Gillette Stadium in just a few short hours for their AFC Divisional Playoff Game to decide who will move on to the AFC Championship Game next Sunday.
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Many fans are expecting that Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow will be the one to decide the outcome of this game. He's led multiple late game comebacks and made some incredible plays to help seal victories for his team. Perhaps none was more spectacular though than the game last week in the AFC Wildcard Round against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Tebow hit receiver Demariyus Thomas on the very first play of overtime for an 80 yard touchdown pass. The win marked the first time since 2006 that the Broncos had won a playoff game.
What was lost in that game was the defensive stand that the Broncos defense made late in the fourth quarter to allow the game to reach overtime. With the Steelers at the Denver 45 yard line with less than 90 seconds to play, Broncos defensive end Elvis Dumervil jarred the ball loose as he sacked quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. The Steelers would recover the ball, but not before losing 10 yards on the play.
It wasn't the first time that the Broncos defense had provided the opportunity to their star quarterback. There were six occasions during the final 11 weeks of the season that the defense was able to hold their opponents to 15 points or less. During those six games the Broncos went 5-1, only a 7-3 loss in the season finale to Kansas City in which Tebow played his worst game of the season prevented that record from being perfect.
Comparatively, when the defense has struggled, the Broncos have struggled mightily. Four times during that same 11 game span the Broncos defense surrendered 30 points or more, including the first meeting between the Patriots and Broncos, and only once did Tim Tebow manage to bail out his defense (against the Minnesota Vikings in the first week of December).
The lesson being that if you're relying on Tim Tebow to win football games for you, the chances are high that you'll be disappointed. The Broncos defense is the backbone of the team and is what allows them to be competitive at a high level. I don't mean to minimize the fireworks that Tebow has provided in many fourth quarters and overtimes this season, but the reality is that while Tebow has certainly made strides this year, he isn't yet good enough to put a team on his back for 60 minutes.watch here
New Orleans Saints vs San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers led the NFL in turnover differential at plus-28 this season. They tied for second in interceptions with 23. Carlos Rogers, Dashon Goldson and Tarell Brown have combined for 16.
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But in Saints quarterback Drew Brees, the 49ers are facing the all-time record holder for consecutive postseason passes without a pick. Brees' streak is at 215 pass attempts and counting. This stat, provided by the NFL, seemed improbable. The Saints lost to Seattle in the wild-card round a year ago, after all. But the numbers are even better than the 215-attempt streak would indicate. Brees has 13 TD passes without an interception in his past five playoff games. He has 18 TDs with two INTs in eight career playoff games. Brees last threw a postseason pick during a Jan. 21, 2007 defeat at Chicago. Detroit missed a couple chances in the wild-card round.
About the contrasts in style: The Saints' 626-yard total against the Lions last week exceeded by 41 yards the 49ers' combined yardage totals for their games against Dallas (206), Seattle in Week 1 (209) and Baltimore (170). Fortunately for the 49ers, the Saints will not have the Dallas, Seattle or Baltimore defenses on their side. The Saints allowed 18 touchdowns in 18 red zone possessions against Green Bay, Chicago, Carolina (Week 5), Tampa Bay (Week 6), Indianapolis, St. Louis and Detroit (wild-card round). Those shortcomings proved critical in defeats to the Packers, Bucs and Rams. The 49ers' red zone touchdown percentage bottomed out during a six-game stretch with only three TDs in 18 such possessions. The 49ers need to build on recent improvement in that area by featuring Vernon Davis and their ground game.
Saints vs Falcons
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The Falcons arrive at the Superdome in New Orleans with hopes of overtaking the Saints for their second straight division crown. To do so, Matt Ryan and company needs a win tonight and then some help during Week 17.
On the other sideline, the Saints are going for a first-round bye and as well as place in the history books. If the Saints can run their six-game winning streak to seven games then they'll clinch the NFC South crown. Judging the team's recent triumphs, a Saints win likely means that the NFL has a new all-time single-season passing yards leader.
Brees enters this game tonight needing 305 yards to break Dan Marino's longstanding single-season passing yards mark of 5,084 yards that he set in 1984. In the past five weeks, Brees has thrown for totals of 412, 337, 342, 363, 322.
Can Brees break the record? Or can the Falcons' defense push off decisions on the record and the division until next week?
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Miami Dolphins vs New England Patriots Live
Gronkowski and Hernandez give the Patriots a pair of new-breed tight ends that have dominated this season. Graham, in his second year with the New Orleans Saints, is arguably the best at his position despite playing football as a high school freshman. He was on the Miami Hurricanes basketball team for four seasons before giving football a shot.
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All have proven versatile enough to perform both duties as a pass-catcher and blocker whereas in the past teams split the role among multiple players.
"It seems like they’ve gotten bigger," Dolphins interim coach Todd Bowles said. "Normally we had pass-catching tight ends or blocking tight ends. Very rarely we had both of them. Gronkowski ... the things that him and (Aaron) Hernandez are doing as far as receptions and blocking and all of the little things are outstanding."
The evolution has been steady over time, from Shannon Sharpe in the late 1990s to Tony Gonzalez during the early part of the decade. It reached another level when San Diego Chargers tight end Antonio Gates entered the league in 2003. The 6-4, 260-pound Gates was an undrafted free agent after playing basketball at Kent State.
He has since developed into one of the league’s top offensive threats, scoring 75 touchdowns and producing at least 900 yards in five of his nine seasons. Gronkowski has caught 75 passes for 1,141 yards and 15 touchdowns, the most by a tight end in NFL history. Hernandez has 68 receptions for 736 yards and six scores.
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Pittsburgh vs Kansas City Predictions.
Showing Now:This is not the Sunday night primetime game that the networks and the league could have been wanting coming into week 12. This Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers will travel to Kansas City to play the Chiefs, one of the darlings of last season, but one of the worst teams in the league today. This certainly has the makings of what could be a very ugly game in week 12 but then again it is the NFL and anything can happen.
The Steelers are tied for 1st in the AFC North by record, but they lost both games to the Ravens this season and are therefore the number 2 team in the division, heading to a Wild Card. If they want a home playoff game this year, they have to finish with a better outright record for the Ravens, and that leaves no margin for error. In a game where they are expected to win and dominate, they have to do just that to keep on rolling.
Pittsburgh has turned itself into a high scoring pass-first team this season, thanks to Ben Roethlisberger and his speedy wideouts. The team’s identity though is still its fierce defense and all of those hard-noised, vicious hitters they have back there, ranging from Troy Polamalu to James Harrison and everyone else on the field. Who’s saying they’re old now?
The Chiefs have lost their last three games in a row. They have also lost their starting quarterback to injury, and earlier in the year they were ravaged by other injuries as well. They lost their first three games, getting blown out, but then managed to win four games in a row.
Since then though, Cassel went out and another losing streak kicked in, and the team is in real trouble right now, even in the weak AFC West. They got blown out last Monday night by the New England Patriots, although they were on the road in that game.
The hometown crowd, fierce as it is in Kansas City, won’t be enough to turn the tide around in this one. The Steelers are 10.5 point road favorites, and the over/under is at 40 points, a low total given the Chiefs inept offense.
The Steelers are the much better team. They need the win, and they need to be firing at all cylinders to make their end of the season push here. Take Pittsburgh to win and win big, covering the spread and blowing out the Chiefs.
PACKERS Vs LIONS IN HISTORY
Foxnews: The seemingly unstoppable Green Bay Packers sweep into Detroit Thursday, when they take on the Detroit Lions in a repeat of the teams' historic 1962 matchup.
The 10-0 Packers will play the 7-3 Lions, a game that mimics one played 49 years ago, the last time an undefeated NFL team played on Thanksgiving Day, the New York Times reports.
The 1962 Thanksgiving game had the Packers – 10-0 and the winners of 12 straight games, including the 1961 NFL championship – going to Detroit and losing in one of the more stunning defeats of the Vince Lombardi era.
The Packers were a fearsome machine in 1962, featuring stars like Bart Starr, Jim Taylor, Paul Hornung, Forrest Gregg, Jerry Kramer, Ray Nitschke and Willie Wood. Through 10 games, they had outscored opponents, 309-74, winning by an average of nearly 24 points, according to the Times.
Yet the Lions were nearly their equal, especially on defense, where they had five future Hall of Famers, including middle linebacker Joe Schmidt and defensive backs Dick Lane, who was nicknamed Night Train, and Dick LeBeau.
The final score was 26-14. Detroit finished with 11 sacks. The Lions forced five turnovers and held Green Bay to 122 total yards. Detroit also committed five turnovers, and the Packers scored two cosmetic touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Still, the loss is recalled as the worst of the Lombardi era.
“Most observers couldn’t have been more surprised if Santa Claus himself had sparked the winning assault,” Robert Teague wrote in The New York Times.
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GIANTS Vs EAGLES
What's at stakeA victory by the Giants (6-3) would keep them in sole possession of first place in the NFC East. The Eagles are 3-6 and trying to salvage their season. Their chances of making the playoffs are already slim. Losing this game would be the knockout punch.
Key matchup
Eagles QB Vince Young vs. Giants defense. This is why the Eagles signed Young—to win games when Michael Vick can't play. He is out this week with broken ribs. Young will be making his first start, and the Giants want to make it as uncomfortable as possible.
The absence of Vick will make it easier for the Giants to key on the Eagles' other game-breakers—running back LeSean McCoy and wide receiver DeSean Jackson. Look for the Giants to load players in the box, hoping to contain McCoy. The Giants will also focus on taking away deep passes to Jackson.
If Young has to win this game by throwing, he must be careful. Turnovers have killed the Eagles this season, and the Giants have a pass rush that can force quarterbacks into mistakes.
Vince Young gets the start in place of Michael Vick. (AP Photo)
The Eagles still have plenty of weapons for Young to work with, and like Vick, he is capable of making key first downs with his legs. When Young gets in a rhythm, he can be very effective. When he gets flustered, he can be very erratic. Young's play will go a long way toward determining if the Eagles pull off the upset.
"It's not about me at all," Young said. "It's about this team. I want to go out and lead these guys to victory. That's the biggest thing. I want to avoid mental errors and be the quarterback."
X-factor
Eagles WR DeSean Jackson. Jackson should be highly motivated after he was deactivated last week for missing a team meeting. This has been a difficult season for Jackson. He hasn't gotten the new contract he wanted. He has only topped 100 yards receiving in two games.
The Eagles have underachieved, and so has Jackson. However, he's the kind of player who can break out at any time. Check out game link Here
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