The NFL Blog: 2011 Horse Collar Awards Part IX (Best Games)

Best Game of the Year

14. Week 13: Arizona vs. Dallas (19-13 [OT])

13. Week 14: Denver vs. Chicago (13-10 [OT])

12. Week 6: San Francisco at Detroit (25-19)

11. Week 14: Houston at Cincinnati (20-19)

10. Week 9: Baltimore at Pittsburgh (23-20)

9. Week 4: Detroit vs. Dallas (34-30)

8. Week 1: Green Bay vs. New Orleans (42-34)

7. AFC Championship: New England vs. Baltimore (23-20)

6. Week 12: Denver at San Diego (16-13 [OT])

5. Week 14: New York Giants at Dallas (37-34)

4. Wildcard Round: Denver vs. Pittsburgh (29-23 [OT])

3. NFC Championship: New York Giants at San Francisco (20-17 [OT])

2. Super Bowl XLVI: New York Giants vs. New England (21-17)

1. Divisional Round: San Francisco vs. New Orleans (36-32)

Comments: I picked these games based on overall quality; memorable moments; and the importance of the game. There were several worthy games from each week of the season but this is the list I came up with.

Here’s a quick review of each game.

14. Week 13: Arizona vs. Dallas (19-13 [OT])

This game was all about the ending and the Cowboys finding another way to screw things up. The Cards tied the game at 13-13 early in the 4^th quarter. With 2:54 to go, the Cowboys took over at their own 32 and drove to the Arizona 31, with Tony Romo spiking the ball to stop the clock with 7 seconds left. Dan Bailey came on to attempt a 49-yard FG. He had missed from 54 yards earlier in the game to snap a string of 26 straight. As Bailey stepped into the kick, you could hear the late whistles blowing.

The kick sailed through the uprights but to no one’s surprise it was waived off due to the timeout. What was surprising was that Arizona hadn’t called a timeout; the Cowboys had. Bailey’s 2^nd attempt was short and to the left, sending the game into overtime.

Early in OT Arizona was facing 2^nd and 19 from their own 25 when they got bailed out by a pass interference penalty on Terrance Newman. On 1^st and 15 from the Arizona 48, LaRod Stephens-Howling caught a short pass and went 52 yards for the score to give the Cards a 19-13 overtime win.

13. Week 14: Denver vs. Chicago (13-10 [OT])

This game was pretty hard to watch unless you like low-scoring defensive battles. It wasn’t until late in the day that the game entered the Twilight Zone. The first half was scoreless and the game remained that way until Marion Barber scored on a 9-yard run to put the Bears up 7-0 with 5:19 left in the 3^rd. Robbie Gould hit a 57-yard FG on the first play of the 4^th to make it 10-0.

The Broncos still trailed 10-0 when they took over at their own 37 with just 4:34 and no timeouts to work with. Tim Tebow led the Broncos on a 7-play, 62-yard drive over just 2:26, firing a 10-yard TD to Demaryius Thomas to cut the deficit to 10-7 with 2:08 left. With no timeouts remaining, the Broncos were forced to try an onsides kick and the Bears recovered at their own 49 with only 2:05 to play.

On 1^st down, Marber was stopped for no gain and the clock stopped for the 2-minute warning. All the Bears had to do now was run the ball twice without fumbling, and if they didn’t pick up the 1^st down, they could punt the ball to Denver with only a few seconds left. However, on 2^nd and 10, Marion Barber inexplicably ran out of bounds at the Denver 46, stopping the clock with 1:55 left. He ran the ball for a yard on 3^rd down and the Bears had to punt the ball to the Broncos with 1:06 still on the clock.

There wasn’t much time and the Broncos had no timeouts, but they only needed a FG to tie, and in the altitude Matt Prater would have a decent shot at anything between 60 and 65 yards. The Chicago punt was returned to the Denver 20, leaving 56 tics on the clock. Tebow led the Broncos 39 yards in 8 plays, and Prater came on to try a 59-yarder with 8 seconds on the clock. He nailed it to send the game into OT.

The Broncos had the crowd and momentum on their side, but the Bears won the coin toss and drove from the 20 to the Denver 38. Gould had already proven he could hit from this range, but on 3^rd and 7, Barber fumbled after picking up 5 yards, and the Broncos recovered at their own 33.

The Broncos were already close to field goal range on this day, and Tebow moved the offense 33 yards on 9 plays, before Prater hit from 51 yards out to give the Broncos a ridiculous 13-10 overtime win. For the Broncos it was the peak of Tebow Mania during the regular season. For the Bears, it was really the nail in their coffin.

12. Week 6: San Francisco at Detroit (25-19)

This was a much hyped battle between the two surprise teams in the NFC and it lived up to the billing. But it was a highly unusual exchange between the two head coaches after the game that will be remembered. The Niners came into the game 4-1, while the hometown Lions were undefeated.

Detroit got off to a good start, leading 10-0 after a quarter of play, but on the 1^st play of the 2^nd quarter the Niners scored to cut it to 10-7. The Niners got a safety and a FG to take a 12-10 lead to the half. Detroit retook the lead by a point in the 3^rd before the Niners got another FG to take a 15-13 lead into the 4^th quarter. The Lions scored to retake the lead early in the 4^th but they failed on the 2-point conversion to leave the score 19-15.

A 40-yard punt return by Ted Ginn gave the Niners the ball at the Detroit 35 with 5:29 left. On 4^th and goal from the 6, Alex Smith hit Delaine Walker with a pass and he was stopped right at the goal line. Replay ruled that he had broken the plane and the Niners had a 22-19 lead with only 1:51 to go. The Lions went 4-and-out on their next possession but they held the Niners to another FG and got one last chance, down 25-19 with 1:02 remaining. They went 4-and-out again, and the Niners had the win.

After the game, Detroit head coach Jim Schwartz felt that SF head coach Jim Harbaugh was a little too enthusiastic with his hand shake, and this led to Schwartz chasing Harbaugh and running alongside him, talking smack while both coaches looked straight ahead. It was one of the more amusing moments of the 2011 season.

11. Week 14: Houston at Cincinnati (20-19)

This was mostly about the ending, but it was also Houston clinching their first ever playoff bid behind QB TJ Yates. And it was about the Bengals being unable to beat anyone of consequence.

The Texans led 3-0 early but it was 6-3 Cinci at the end of the 1^st quarter. The Texans were on the verge of retaking the lead, as they had the ball at the Bengals 1-yard line, but Cincinnati forced a fumble and recovered at the 3. They then went on a 97-yard drive for a score to make it 13-3. Cincinnati added a FG late in the 2^nd quarter and they appeared to have things under control at the half, leading 16-3. However, a Bengals fumble early in the 2^nd half led to a Houston TD that got the Texans back in the game, down 16-10.

It was 19-10 Cincinnati at the start of the 4^th quarter. The Texans were showing some fight but they couldn’t get over the hump. On 4^th and 2 from the Cincinnati 32, Yates was sacked back at the 41 and fumbled, with the Bengals recovering way back at the Cincinnati 48 with 13:31 to play. Houston’s defense responded with a 3-and-out to keep the Texans in it.

The Texans were running out of time and the appeared to have run out of chances when Arian Foster fumbled deep in Houston territory on the first play of their next possession. This would turn out to be the biggest play of the game. Geno Atkins picked the ball up for the Bengals at the 14. If Atkins had simply fallen on the ground at that spot the Texans would have been in huge trouble. The Bengals would have been 14 yards away from a potentially backbreaking TD, and they would have already been in position for a routine FG that would have forced the Texans to score 2 TD’s in 10 minutes or so in order to win.

But Geno smelled the end zone and he rumbled for 10 yards or so before he was hit and lost the ball. The Texans came up with a huge recovery at their own 2 yard line, not only keeping the Bengals from recovering deep inside the red zone, but also getting a new set of downs. They weren’t in a great position, and they actually wasted their first timeout trying to get the call reversed to an incomplete pass.

It still didn’t look good for Houston, down 9, 98 yards away from the end zone, with only 11:35 left, but that fumble reversal seemed to take something out of the Cincinnati defense. The Texans moved out off of their goal line and drove 83 yards for a FG to make it a 19-13 game with 5:31 left.

The Bengals picked up a couple of first downs on their next possession. Then on 3^rd and 15 from the 34, Cinci ran a shrewd shovel pass to Bernard Scott that nearly went for a game clinching 1^st down, but Danielle Manning stopped him a yard shy of the 1^st down at the 48 and the Texans called their last timeout with 2:43 left. They would get the ball back at the 20 with 2:33 left and no timeouts.

The rookie Yates would then do the totally unexpected, calmly marching his squad down the field with no timeouts and no threat of a running game. Yates completed a pass to Owen Daniels on 3^rd and 3 for a 1^st down at the 46, then hit Kevin Walter for 19 yards and a 1^st down all the way at the Cinci 35. After spiking it dead with 1:15, Yates was sacked at the 40 and had to call a play, get everyone set, and then get the play off with the clock running on a 3^rd and 15. Yates dropped back and then stepped up and ran for 17 yards and a 1^st down at the 23. He spiked it with 24 seconds left.

On 3^rd and 10 from the 23 with just 18 seconds to play, Yates fired over the middle for Jacoby Jones incomplete, but village idiot Adam “Pacman” Jones was flagged for PI, giving Yates and the Texans a 1^st and goal at the 6 with only 12 seconds on the clock. On 2^nd and goal with 8 seconds to play, Yates fired into the end zone for a TD to Walter, putting the Texans on top 20-19 with 2 seconds left. The stunning victory clinched the AFC South title for the Texans, sending Houston to the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

10. Week 9: Baltimore at Pittsburgh (23-20)

This was another classic chapter in this great rivalry. Also, for the Ravens this was a monumental win, as it gave them a sweep of the Steelers and the all-important tie-breaker for the division title. The Ravens had spanked the Steelers in the season opener and the Pittsburgh was looking to even the score at home. Naturally this was the Sunday night affair.

The Ravens outplayed the Steelers early but missed chances to take control. They had a 1^st and goal at the 1 on their first drive and ran 3 plays from the 1 before having to settle for an 18-yard FG. On their next possession, the Ravens drove to the Pittsburgh 22 before settling for a FG try, this one from 40 yards, and this one was no good. They had 121 yards of offense and just 3 points to show for it after a quarter of play.

As expected the game was low scoring, with Billy Cundiff making up for his earlier miss with a 51-yard FG at the buzzer to send the Ravens into halftime with a 9-6 lead. Ray Rice scored the game’s 1^st TD with 4:27 left in the 3^rd, giving Baltimore a 16-6 advantage. The Steelers responded with an 80-yard drive, getting into the end zone early in the 4^th quarter to make it a 3-point game again.

On the ensuing Baltimore drive, the Ravens had a 3^rd and 8 at the Pittsburgh 36 when the Steelers defense caused the sort of play they always make at this point in the game against Joe Flacco. James Harrison sacked Flacco and forced a fumble which Pittsburgh recovered at their own 42. Moments later on 3^rd and 5, Big Ben Roethlisberger hit Mike Wallace for a 25-yard TD to give the Steelers a 20-16 lead with only 4:59 remaining.

The Ravens went 3-and-out on their next possession and punted it back to the Steelers. Pittsburgh took over at their 46 with 4:30 to play, leading by 4, and it looked like the Steelers were going to get the win and earn a split in the season series. A defensive penalty turned a 3^rd and 9 into a 3^rd and 5, and then a huge completion to Jericho Cotchery gave the Steelers a 1^st down at the Baltimore 34. The Ravens used 2 of their timeouts and there was just 2:37 left as the Steelers faced 3^rd and 5 from the 29.

Now here was a crucial play. A 1^st down here would end the game. On the other hand, if the Steelers ran the ball they would force Baltimore to take their final timeout or let the clock run to the 2-minute warning. In addition, a run would enable the Steelers to center the ball and get a couple of yards closer to make a potential FG loss than 45 yards. On 3^rd down, Big Ben tried a quick pass to a RB and it went incomplete, stopping the clock at 2:34, and brining up 4^th and 5 from the 29.

The Steelers could go for the 1^st down and the win; they could go for the FG and secure a tie; or punt and try and make the Ravens go the length of the field for the win. They ended up punting after a delay of game, and they pinned the Ravens at the 8 with 2:24. But the Ravens had a timeout left and the 2-minute warning.

Flacco hit Anquan Boldin for completions of 21 yards and 9 yards, and then on 4^th and 1 from the Pittsburgh 49, Flacco and Boldin hooked up for 10 yards and a 1^st down. An 11-yard completion to Boldin on 3^rd and 8 gave the Ravens a 1^st down at the 26. Then on 3^rd and 10 with just 14 seconds left, Flacco went deep down the right side for rookie burner Torrey Smith who made a spectacular catch in the end zone to put the Ravens on top with just 7 seconds to play. The crowd murmured in disbelief. The 23-20 victory gave Baltimore the season sweep and ultimately the division title and the first round bye.

9. Week 4: Detroit vs. Dallas (34-30)

This was one of the more exciting games of the first half of the season, with the Lions coming from way down on the road to get to 4-0. This was also yet another example of the Cowboys choking and suffering gut wrenching defeat.

Dallas was in control early. Leading 7-0 late in the 1^st quarter, the Cowboys faced 4^th and goal from the 1. They ran Felix Jones up the middle and he was turned away. Despite getting nothing off that drive, the Cowboys still managed to take a 20-3 lead into halftime. They opened the 2^nd half with a quick scoring drive and then stopped Detroit’s first 2^nd half possession.

The Cowboys were in total control, up 27-3 at home, as they took over after the punt at their own 27 with 10:30 left in the 3^rd. But that’s when the collapse began. On the first play following the change of possession, Tony Romo fired right and was picked off by Bobby Carpenter who returned it 34 yards for Detroit’s first TD of the game. The Boys drove into Detroit territory on their next possession, but on 3^rd and 2 from the 48, Chris Houston picked Romo off and went 56 yards for another score to make it 27-17.

The Lions had scored 2 TD’s in less than 5 minutes without running an offensive play. Dallas had no choice but to keep chucking it and they drove down the field on their next possession, getting a 1^st and goal at the 9, but once again they had to settle for a FG, making the score 30-17 heading to the 4^th quarter.

That score stemmed the momentum but only for a few minutes, as the Lions went 80 yards in 5 plays on their next possession, with Calvin Johnson scoring the first offensive TD of the game for Detroit to make it 30-24 with plenty of time left. The Dallas offense then sputtered, but their defense did a pretty good job holding off the Lions for a while. A 51-yard FG by the ageless Jason Hanson cut the deficit to 30-27 with 4:22 remaining.

Now it was time for the Dallas offense to step up. Instead, Romo fired a pick on the first play of the ensuing Cowboys possession, and the Lions took over at the Dallas 40. 7 plays and 1 penalty later, Johnson caught a 2-yard pass from Matt Stafford to give the Lions their first lead of the game with just 1:39 remaining. The Cowboys were also out of timeouts, but they managed to drive from their 20 to the Detroit 45 before the Lions defense held on 4^th down, finishing off a thrilling 34-30 comeback victory to move to stay undefeated at 4-0.

8. Week 1: Green Bay vs. New Orleans (42-34)

This was the NFL’s season opener on Thursday night and the league couldn’t have asked for a better way to kick off the 2012 season. It was a thrilling, back-and-forth battle between two of the best teams in the NFL, and it went down to the wire. It also figured to mean more than just 1 win or 1 loss, as the Packers and Saints might very well be battling for playoff positioning later in the year. This game also set the tone for the season: the continuation of the offensive explosion.

Early on the defending champs were rolling and Lambeau was rocking, as the Packers scored the first two TD’s of the game and led 21-7 at the end of the 1^st quarter. The Saints countered with a FG and a 72-yard punt return for a TD by free agent signee Darren Sproles to cut the score to 21-17, before the Pack scored again to take a 28-17 lead into halftime.

The Saints cut it to 28-20 with 8:40 left in the 3^rd, but Randall Cobb took the ensuing kickoff back 108 yards for a touchdown to make it 35-20. Cobb’s spectacular return in his first ever NFL game was immediately answered by Darren Sproles, who returned GB’s kickoff 57 yards. 3 plays later the Saints were in the end zone to cut it back to 35-27, capping a 17-point scoring spree over 146 seconds of game time.

The Saints defense then forced a 3-and-out, Sproles returned the punt to midfield, and the Saints marched inside the Packers red zone, threatening to tie the score. On 3^rd and 1 from the 7, rookie Mark Ingram was stopped a foot shy of the spot to gain. That left 4^th and inches from the 7. There was still over 3 minute remaining in the 3^rd, but the Saints were already down 8, and they obviously didn’t feel confident in their ability to contain Green Bay’s offense.

They ran play action on 4^th and 1 and Brees was pressured immediately. He retreated all the way back to the 30 before throwing incomplete to turn it over on downs with the Packers still holding an 8-point advantage. The Packers now looked to put together a long, clock eating drive that might put the game away, and they did just that, marching 93 yards for a TD over 6:12 to extend their lead to 42-27 with 11:50 left in the game.

It was still a 15-point game with less than 2 and a half minutes to play. Finally, Brees hit Jimmy Graham with a 5-yard TD pass to make it 42-34 with only 2:15 on the clock. Green Bay recovered the onside kick attempt at the New Orleans 43, but the Saints defense held for a 3-and-out, using their last timeout and the 2-minute warning to save time for one last drive. The Saints got the ball back at their own 20 with 1:08 left and no timeouts.

In a portent of things to come, Green Bay’s defense—one of the league’s best in 2010—nearly allowed the Saints to pull the thing off. Drew Brees hit 5 consecutive passes, moving the ball all the way to the 9 before spiking the ball with just 3 seconds left. On what figured to be the game’s final play, Brees moved to his right to buy time, and with no time on the clock he fired into the end zone for Sproles incomplete. But AJ Hawk was called for PI for going over Sproles’ back to break up the pass, setting up an untimed down from the 1-yard line with the Saints needing a TD and then the 2-point conversion to send the game into OT.

Having gone for the play-action on the last 4^th and 1, the Saints went with the handoff to Ingram this time, but there was nothing doing, as the Packers front line stuffed things up at the point of contact and then the GB LB’s came flying over the top to block out any chance of Ingram leaping over the line. The game ended with Ingram stuffed for no gain, as the Packers held on for a 42-34 win. It was said many times over the next few days—and without any exaggeration—that we might not see a better game all season.

7. AFC Championship: New England vs. Baltimore (23-20)

This wasn’t the prettiest game ever. On the other hand, it was a highly competitive conference title game between two of the best franchises over the past decade or so, featuring some of the greatest players of the era. And it featured a dramatic finish that left one team feeling lucky and elated, and another team going home.

The Patriots scored first and led 3-0 after the 1^st quarter. The Ravens tied it with a FG on the second play of the 2^nd quarter. The Patriots scored the first TD of the game on their next drive (75 yard march), and the Ravens responded with a TD on their next possession (80 yard drive) to tie it at 10-10. New England got a FG on their final possession of the first half and then stopped the Ravens final drive to lead it 13-10 at the half.

The Pats got the ball first in the 3^rd quarter and they put together a nice drive, moving inside the Baltimore red zone. It looked like the Patriots were primed to make it a 2-score game, but on 3^rd and 2 from the 6 Ben Jarvis Green-Ellis was stopped for no gain, and the Pats settled for a FG. New England had missed a chance to make it a 10-point game and the Ravens responded by going 78 yards for a score on their first drive of the 2^nd half. On 3^rd and 4, Joe Flacco hooked up with Torrey Smith on a 29-yard TD to give Baltimore their first lead of the game, 17-16, with 3:38 left in the 3^rd.

On the ensuing kickoff, Danny Woodhead brought the ball out to the 31 but then fumbled, and the Ravens recovered at the 28. Suddenly the Ravens were in position to open the game up, as they already led by a point, and could make it an 8-point game with a TD here. Baltimore got a 1^st and 10 at the 11 before NE’s defense bowed up, holding the Ravens to a FG that made it 20-16 with less than a minute to go in the 3^rd.

Things seemed to be tipping towards Baltimore. On the first play of NE’s next possession, Tom Brady hooked up with Rob Gronkowski for a pickup of 20 and a 1^st down at the Baltimore 40. However, this ended up to be a very negative play for the Patriots, as Gronk suffered a badly sprained ankle on the play (courtesy of the Blight of the Pats, Bernard Pollard), something that would have repercussions not just in this game but also in the next game. And on the next play, Brady went deep down the left side for Julian Edelman and the pass was intercepted. However, Terrell Suggs was called for a killer offsides penalty, and the 3^rd quarter ended with the Pats on the move inside Baltimore territory.

Eventually the Patriots would get into the end zone, although it would take 3 runs from the 1 yard line, with Brady finally scoring on 4^th and goal from the 1 to put the Pats up 23-20 with 11:29 to play. The Ravens took the ensuing kick and began marching right down the field. With a 1^st down at the NE 46, they appeared on their way to retaking the lead or at least tying the game, when all of the sudden Brandon Spikes stepped in front of a pass and picked Flacco off at the 31, returning it 19 yards to the 50.

It seemed like this was NE’s chance. They hadn’t been able to stop the Ravens offense lately, but now they had the lead and the ball at midfield with only 7:22 remaining. The Patriots, however, decided to go for the jugular immediately after the change of possession, attempting to take advantage of the shock of the quick change. This is a trick the Patriots have pulled many times over the years, and this time the Ravens were ready.

On the first play after the turnover, Brady dropped back and went deep down the middle for reserve wideout Matthew Slater, who had a pair of Baltimore defenders running alongside him. In 46 career regular season games, Slater has caught just one 46-yard pass, and he didn’t do much to help Brady on this one. Ravens DB Jimmy Smith, on the other hand, made a terrific play on the play, intercepting the pass at the goal line and then getting up and bringing it all the way back out to the 38.

Just like that the Ravens were back in business with 7:07 remaining and they began to march back down the field. Once again, however, the NE defense would rise up. On 3^rd and 3 from the NE 30, Vince Wilfork busted through and mauled Ray Rice at the 33 for a loss of 3 yards. Baltimore called their 1^st timeout with 2:53 on the clock and then lined up on 4^th and 6 from the 33. Flacco fired incomplete and the Pats took over with just 2:46 left in the game, still leading by 3 points.

NE picked up 7 yards on 1^st down, but BJGE was stuffed for a loss on an obvious run play on 2^nd down, and after the 2-minute warning Brady fired incomplete on 3^rd and 4 from the 39 to bring up a punting situation. The Pats had gone for the 1^st down and the win, but the incompletion stopped the clock and allowed the Ravens to save a timeout. They got the ball back at their own 21 with 1:44 on the clock and 2 timeouts, needing a FG to tie and a touchdown to win.

On 3^rd and 5 from the 26 Flacco hit Anquan Boldin for 13 yards and a 1^st down at the 39. Boldin caught another pass for a gain of 9 and the Ravens burned their 2^nd timeout. With less than a minute to go, Flacco hit Boldin on 3^rd and 1 from the 48 for a big gain of 29 yards all the way down to the 23 and out of bounds. The Ravens were now in field goal range and they still had a timeout and 51 seconds to work with.

Boldin caught another ball on the next play, picking up 9 yards before fumbling out of bounds, setting up 2^nd and 1 at the 14 with 27 seconds remaining. The Ravens then went for it the kill shot, as Flacco dropped a perfect pass into the hands of Lee Evans in the right corner of the end zone. Evans made the catch and then turned towards the back of the end zone (in my opinion, turning to celebrate) but he left the ball unprotected and DB Sterling Moore raked his hand down and stripped the ball out of Evans grasp.

All replays had to come from the booth, and I will always wonder if the replay official declined to stop play and take a look simply to avoid the unenviable task of deciding whether Evans had control of the ball for long enough to constitute a touchdown reception. By rule, a receiver has to “complete the play,” but it gets tricky when you’re talking about a play in the end zone, when there isn’t immediate contact by way of a collision. When is the play “complete?”

Anyway, the Ravens had the win for a nanosecond but that moment had passed. Now they had to regroup. On the next play, Flacco forced a dangerous pass into a mass of bodies in front of the end zone down the right side and Moore broke it up, leaving the Ravens with a 4^th and 1 from the 14 with 15 seconds left. They had to go ahead and kick the field goal here to send it to OT, but rather than take their final timeout to regroup, they sent the FG unit onto the field and they appeared to be in a bit of a rush to get the snap off before the play clock ran out.

Even a delay of game wouldn’t have been a big deal, because the kick would still have been just 37 yards. The Ravens got the snap off in time and you really didn’t consider that Billy Cundiff might miss from 32 yards. Most thoughts were headed to overtime. But Cundiff did indeed miss; badly, in fact. He hooked it way wide to the left, and the Patriots had survived, somehow wining 23-20 in regulation to advance to the Super Bowl.

6. Week 12: Denver at San Diego (16-13 [OT])

Tebow Mania was in full effect for this one, as the Broncos pulled out another miraculous and perplexing win; one that would end up being the difference between winning the division and missing the playoffs.

The Chargers were handling Tebow and the Denver offense all right early on but Phillip Rivers and the San Diego offense weren’t having much success. They led just 3-0 at the end of 1. Finally they scored a TD midway through the 2^nd to make it 10-0. That looked sure to be the halftime score, as San Diego punted to Denver with a minute and a half remaining in the 2^nd quarter. However, a nice punt return by Eddie Royal setup the Broncos took take some shots, and Tebow landed one of those shots, hooking up with Eric Decker for a TD with less than a minute before halftime to cut the deficit to 10-7.

San Diego hit a FG early in the 3^rd to make it a 13-7 game, but Denver’s defense kept the Broncos in the game while the offense sputtered. Eventually, the Denver rushing attack created some gains. The Broncos converted a pair of 3^rd downs on their way to a FG that made it a 3-point game again heading to the 4^th quarter.

On the ensuing SD drive, Ryan Mathews broke loose on 3^rd and 1 for a gain of 39 yards and a 1^st down at the Denver 32. But the drive then stalled and Nick Novak pushed a 48-yard FG attempt wide right, keeping the score 13-10, and setting Denver up with good field position. San Diego’s defense then held strong just as Denver reached FG range, forcing a punt.

San Diego couldn’t sustain a drive, however, and Denver got the ball back at the 26 with 5:27 remaining. Then Tebow hooked up with Decker for 39 yards and suddenly the Broncos were threatening to take the lead. The Denver drive ended at the 6, with the Broncos settling for a short FG that tied the score 13-13 with 1:34 remaining.

The problem for San Diego was that they simply couldn’t contain Denver’s pass rush in obvious passing situations. The Chargers couldn’t mount a last minute drive and the game went to overtime. The Broncos won the toss but both teams would have several possessions in the overtime session.

On Denver’s second OT drive, a crucial replay reversal turned a 1^st down ruling into a 4^th and 1 and Denver had to give the ball back to SD. Finally the Chargers got something going on their second drive of the overtime, moving from the 20 to the Denver 35. On 2^nd and 7 from the 32, Mike Tolbert went around left end for a short gain, brining up 3^rd and 6 from the 31. The Chargers were in FG range, but Novak had already missed today from this exact distance. On the other hand, they Chargers couldn’t really risk trying to have Rivers through for a 1^st down because a sack could easily take them out of FG range.

It was a tricky spot, but what Norv Turner and the Chargers came up with bordered on the idiotic. They ran the exact same play, handing the ball off deep in the backfield to Tolbert, and having him run around the left end. With nothing at all to lose, Von Miller busted through a gap and slung the hefty RB down at the 35 for a loss of 4 yards. Big losses on rushing plays are commonplace in the college game, but in the NFL when a team is setting up for a game winning FG try you just don’t often see a 4-yard loss on a handoff.

Now the Chargers were in an even worse spot, facing 4^th and 10 from the 35. It wouldn’t do to go for a tie, so taking a delay of game penalty and punting seemed out of the question. On the other hand, they really couldn’t go for it because they needed to pick up 10 yards and they were struggling to protect Rivers. So their only choice was to send Novak out for a 53-yard FG try.

If he made the kick, it would mean victory. If he missed, it would give the Broncos excellent field position. Novak’s kick again had the distance, but once again he pushed it wide right. With just 2:31 remaining in the OT session, the Broncos took over at the 43-yard line, needing just a couple of first downs to get in Matt Prater’s range. They needed just 5 plays to reach the San Diego 17. Moments later, Prater drilled a 37 yard FG to give Denver the 16-13 win, putting the winning kick through with just 29 seconds left in the overtime.

5. Week 14: New York Giants at Dallas (37-34)

This game has probably been covered more than any other in this blog entry, but with good reason, as it was perhaps the most crucial game of the season. This was an entertaining contest, particularly the final quarter. The loss summed up Dallas’ season perfectly. The win saved New York’s season and ultimately led to a championship.

This game was back and forth throughout. Jason Pierre-Paul opened the scoring with a sack of Romo for a safety and the Giants added a FG to go up 5-0 early. The Cowboys scored a TD to take a 7-5 lead at the end of 1. Early in the 2^nd quarter the Giants came back with their first touchdown to go on top 12-7, but Romo’s 2^nd TD pass of the half made it 14-12 Dallas midway through the 2^nd.

With 1:38 until halftime, JPP forced a fumble to setup a NYG FG that made it a 15-14 Giants lead. The Cowboys responded with a FG just before halftime to take a 17-15 lead at the break. Dallas added a FG midway through the 3^rd quarter to make it a 20-15 game, but a 47-yard TD pass from Eli Manning to Mario Manningham put the Giants back in front, 22-20 with 4:30 remaining in the 3^rd.

Early in the 4^th quarter the Giants had a chance to gain the upper hand in this back-and-forth affair, as they had the ball and the lead, but they failed on 3^rd and short and had to give it up. The Cowboys then went 80 yards in just 4 plays for a TD to go back on top 27-22. The Giants answered with a drive of their own, moving close to the Dallas red zone, but on 3^rd and 9 from the 21 Eli Manning’s pass was tipped and then intercepted by Sean Lee, who returned the pick 30 yards to midfield.

Finally there would be a break in the pattern. Two plays after the turnover, Romo hooked up with Dez Bryant for a 50-yard touchdown that gave Dallas a commanding 34-22 lead with just 5:41 left.

The Giants were not in good shape. However, they had moved the ball on Dallas’ defense all night, and these were the Cowboys, so all they really needed to do was give them a chance to fuck it up. Manning brought the Giants flying back on the ensuing possession, marching them 80 yards in just 8 plays for the score, taking only 2:27 off the clock, and making the score 34-29 with 3:14 left.

NYG scored so fast they didn’t even need to try an onside kick. After a touchback, the Cowboys picked up 5 yards on 1^st down to the 25, but on 2^nd and 5 Felix Jones was stuffed for no gain, and the G-Men called their 2^nd timeout with 2:25 still remaining on the clock. That seemed like a lot of time, but in reality, with only 1 timeout and the 2-minute warning left, a 1^st down here would probably end the game.

A touchdown here would most definitely end it, and that’s what Tony Romo and Miles Austin could easily have had on 3^rd down, as Austin was running free behind the much maligned NYG secondary. Instead the ball sailed out of the reach of Austin, who seemed to lose the ball in the lights, although Romo could certainly have put some more touch on the throw. In the end it went for an incompletion to stop the clock and bring up 4^th down while saving the G-Men a timeout.

One of the forgotten elements of this game is Mat McBriar’s garbage punt of just 33 yards out of bounds, which gave NYG the ball at their own 42 with still 2:12 to play. Essentially, the incompletion to stop the clock and McBriar’s amateurish effort on the punt took the clock out of play. The Giants would either score to win the game or the Cowboys would stop them on 4^th down or with a turnover; they would not run out of time.

On the first play of the drive Manning hit Jake Ballard for 21 yards and a 1^st down at the Dallas 37 as we reached the 2-minute warning. Already you started thinking about whether the Boys would have enough time to answer the impending Giants touchdown. Two Dallas penalties helped the Giants reach the red zone and then Manning found Ballard again for an 18-yard gain down to the 1-yard line.

Now it was all in NYG’s hands. The Cowboys had to use their 2^nd timeout with a minute left to try and save some time. They stopped Brandon Jacobs on 1^st and goal and had to use their final timeout with only 51 seconds left. Jacobs busted through on the next play to put the Giants ahead. Danny Ware scored on a 2-point conversion to complete the 15-point surge.

Lawrence Tynes booted the kickoff to the back of the end zone. The Cowboys had 46 seconds and no timeouts to try and get into field goal range, now trailing 37-34. Amazingly they actually did get in position to tie it. Romo hooked up with Austin for completions of 22 and 23 yards, with a Felix Jones catch for 6 yards in between, and Romo spiked the ball with 6 seconds left and the Boys at the New York Giants 29.

Dan Bailey would now attempt a 47-yard FG to send the game into OT. He stepped right into the kick and banged it through, but as expected the Giants burned their last timeout to wipe out the kick and freeze him (presumably because the Cowboys didn’t have any timeouts left with which to freeze Bailey on their own). Then Bailey again went for the game tying try and JPP blocked it, sealing the comeback win for the Giants and keeping them alive in the hunt for a championship with a 37-34 win.

4. Wildcard Round: Denver vs. Pittsburgh (29-23 [OT])

We’ve also covered this game extensively, but again, it makes sense. This was one of the more shocking playoff results in recent memory. It also brought one more excruciating wave of Tebow Mania.

The game began in the way many expected, with the Steelers holding the edge in a low scoring affair. A pair of FG’s gave Pittsburgh a 6-0 lead at the end of the 1^st quarter. However, early in the 2^nd quarter a couple of big throws from Tim Tebow to Demaryius Thomas and Eddie Royal gave the Broncos their first TD and a 7-6 lead.

That first scoring drive for the Broncos was stunning. What was truly appalling was that the deep pass completions continued to happen over and over again. Another long bomb to Thomas setup the second Denver to make it a 14-6 Broncos lead with 10:36 left in the 2^nd. Then things started to snowball on the limping Steelers. Big Ben Roethlisberger was picked off to give the Broncos the ball deep in Pittsburgh territory, leading to a FG that made it 17-6 with 7 and a half minutes remaining in the 2^nd quarter.

The Broncos intercepted Big Ben again on his side of the field, but this time he was saved by an offsides penalty against Denver. You kept thinking, “well, there’s still time left in the half for the Steelers to score and get this thing turning in the right direction,” but then the Broncos would increase the lead instead. Denver added another FG late in the half to make it 20-6.

It looked like the Steelers might be able to score right before halftime to take some momentum into the break. But on 3^rd and 4 from the Broncos 32 with 39 seconds left the ball was snapped over Big Ben’s head. Roethlisberger had to shield off Denver pass rushers while Heath Miller dove on the ball and covered it up, barely escaping a total disaster. The play lost 13 yards and killed the Steelers chance to get points before halftime. After the punt the Broncos simply took a knee and headed to the lockers, putting an end to a 2^nd quarter in which they outscored Pittsburgh 20-0. Incredibly they had a 2-touchdown lead at the midway point.

Early in the 3^rd quarter things nearly—and to be fair, should have—gotten completely away from the Steelers, as the Broncos recovered what appeared to be a lateral deep inside Pittsburgh territory. However, the play was erroneously whistled dead and ruled an incompletion. That break seemed to be what the Steelers needed to get rolling, as they went on an 11-play, 87-yard drive for their first TD, cutting the score to 20-13 with 4 and a half minutes left in the 3^rd quarter.

The problem now was that Pittsburgh’s defense couldn’t stop Denver’s “big play” passing attack. On Denver’s next and most annoying drive it wasn’t a long pass reception but a long pass interference penalty that was the biggest play. The Broncos were now intent to shorten the game. They ate up the rest of the 3^rd quarter and then started working on the 4^th. By the time Pittsburgh finally forced Denver to settle for a FG, the Broncos had gone 63 yards on 12 plays and 1 penalty and killed 6:19 of clock time. And now the Broncos were ahead by 2 scores (23-13) with just 13:10 remaining.

At least Pittsburgh’s offense appeared to have figured things out, as they put together their 2^nd consecutive scoring drive. After going 61 yards in 7 plays they had to settle for a FG that made it 23-16, but they only took 3:11 off the clock, leaving almost 10 minutes of game clock left to try and catch Denver.

Now Pittsburgh’s defense had to stop Denver. Amazingly, that seemed highly unlikely at this point. Denver started chewing up yards and clock again on their next possession, with Tebow running 10 yards for a 1^st down and completing a 15-yard pass to Thomas for another 1^st down. With less than 8 minutes to go, the Broncos had a 7-point lead and the ball and they were driving.

But then the Steelers—who were oddly impotent in terms of forcing takeaways during the regular season—got a big play from the defense and some help from Denver. On 1^st down from the Denver 48, Willis McGahee carried the ball across midfield and was striding towards the 45 when he fumbled the football. LaMarr Woodley fell on it for Pittsburgh at the 44 to give Big Ben and the offense a chance with 7:35 left.

Big Ben led the Steelers on a game-tying drive, hitting Jericho Cotchery on a 31-yard TD pass to tie the score at 23-23 with 3:48 still remaining in the 4^th. Pittsburgh had used a 17-3 run since halftime to tie it up but the Broncos still had a chance to steal the game back.

Denver picked up one first down on their ensuing drive, but then Pittsburgh’s defense held to force a punt, and the Steelers got the ball back at their own 24 with 1:37 on the clock and 2 timeouts left. Big Ben hit a couple of big passes to give the Steelers a 1^st down at the Denver 45 and the Steelers used their 2^nd timeout with 29 seconds left. In the altitude the Steelers were just outside FG range.

After all of this, the Steelers were going to save themselves (and the rest of us) and end Tebow’s miracle bid in regulation. But just when it looked like the Steelers were going to get out of this thing, Big Ben took a sack for a loss of 11 yards back at the Pittsburgh 44. The Steelers had to blow their 3^rd and final timeout with 18 seconds left. It was a disastrous turn of events. They had been right on the verge of winning it.

Roethlisberger fired incomplete on 2^nd and 21 from the 44, and then after a delay of game, he completed a pass to Ike Redman for 12 yards which left 4^th and 14 from the Denver 49 with 1 tic left. The Steelers attempted to run a Hail Mary, but Roethlisberger was dropped for a sack all the way back at the 36 and the game headed to OT tied 23-23.

The Broncos won the coin toss. Jim Nance hadn’t even finished explaining why winning the toss wasn’t quite as big of a leg up this season when Tim Tebow connected with Thomas on a deep slant and Thomas outran everyone down the right side for an 80-yard TD that gave the Broncos a stunning 29-23 win in overtime.

3. NFC Championship: New York Giants at San Francisco (20-17 [OT])

This was a classic defensive battle in the rain and the muck between two of the most historic franchises in the NFL. This one was only marred by the fact that it was ultimately decided by an inexplicable unforced error committed by a guy who was filling in for an injured punt returner. If there were two things that won the game for the Giants the first thing would be luck: the Giants fell on a couple of fumbles, while the 49ers had at least a dozen “almost interceptions” and half a dozen more “almost fumble recoveries.” The second thing that won it for the Giants would be Eli Manning’s toughness.

On 3^rd and 8 at the NYG 38 on New York’s first drive, Manning was stampeded for a sack and a fumble that seemed to be right in the middle of at least 14 San Fran players yet was somehow recovered by the Giants at the 30. On the 2^nd play of SF’s 2^nd possession, Alex Smith hit Vernon Davis deep down the right side and Davis tightroped the sideline to stay in bounds and went all the way for a 73-yard TD to put the Niners ahead 7-0.

On the ensuing NYG drive the Giants went for it on 4^th and 1 from the SF 34 and Brandon Jacobs appeared to fall forward for a 1^st down. But when the refs measured it came up a half of a foot short and the Niners took over at their 34. On the 1^st play after the change of possession, the Niners tried to run a trick play, with Kendall Hunter taking the ball and running to his left and then flipping it back to Kyle Williams running back across to the right for a reverse. However, Williams bobbled the pitch and the ball hit the turf. While it wasn’t the cleanest of transitions, Williams clearly pawed at the pitch and it shouldn’t have ever hit the ground. Though the Niners would escape relatively unscathed here, it was a sign of bad things to come. Osi Umenyiora had the ball in his hands and tucked into his belly and then rolled over on to his chest and somehow he didn’t end up with the recovery. The Niners avoided the turnover but the big loss on the play ruined the possession.

At the end of the 1^st quarter the Niners led 7-0. On the ensuing Giants possession, NYG went 69 yards on 10 plays for a TD to tie the score at 7-7 with 11:15 remaining in the 2^nd. Late in the 2^nd quarter, the Giants took over at their own 36 following a punt with 1:36 left in the half. They drove for a FG to take a 10-7 lead at the midway point.

With 6:48 remaining in the 3^rd, Kyle Williams returned an NYG punt 24 yards to the SF 46 where the Niners began their 2^nd possession of the half. On 2^nd and 8, Frank Gore caught a pass for a pickup of 24 yards, and on the next play Smith fired deep down the left side into the end zone for Davis, who made the catch for a 28-yard TD that put the Niners back in front 14-10 with 5:18 left in the 3^rd.

Early in the 4^th quarter the Niners threatened to increase their lead as they drove into NYG territory, but on 3^rd and 1 from the 46, Anthony Dixon was stopped short for no gain and the Niners had to punt. The Giants went 3-and-out and had to punt on 4^th down from their own 15. This would turn out to be the key play in the ball game.

Steve Weatherford got away a punt that hit near the 50-yard line and then bounded towards the SF end zone and towards the center of the field. Suddenly PR Kyle Williams ran up and got extremely close to the ball as it bounced past him around the 35, and then NYG cover man Devin Thomas scooped up the ball at the 30 and started heading excitedly towards the end zone. Right away everyone knew that no matter what happened it wasn’t a touchdown or anything like that because you cannot advance a muffed kick. It also didn’t appear that the ball had actually touched Williams, and players are always reacting like Thomas no matter whether there really is a reason to be excited or not, mostly in an attempt to sell it to the officials, but also at times just due to wishful thinking.

The officials ruled that it was simply a very friendly bounce for the Giants and the ball had been downed at the 29. But Thomas was adamant and the Giants threw the challenge flag. Upon review, it was hard to say that one could see the ball making contact with Williams’ leg, but it was fairly clear that the ball changed direction in a way that indicated that it did indeed graze his thigh as it bounced past him. You could also see Williams flinch in the instant after it touched him and then when he realized that it was going to be recovered he quickly changed his posture to act as if nothing had happened.

Judging by Williams’ reaction to the call both before and after replay, it was fair to wonder whether his mind had already convinced itself that he had in fact not touched the ball. Because the close up, tight shot of Williams touching the ball was shown so many times in slow motion replay, it started to seem like he had just run up to the ball and danced with it the way players sometimes do, as if to fake out the coverage team and make them think that he might return it. There’s little to be gained from that sort of thing but players do play that game from time to time.

However, if you really watch the entire play and consider how fast things occurred, I don’t really think that’s a fair assessment of what happened. Here is my interpretation of what occurred. The punt hit around the 50 and if it had landed with backspin Williams never would have approached it. But the punt bounded forward so Williams stayed in “ready position” with knees bent, thinking he would play it on a hop and take it back up the middle for a return into Giants territory. This wasn’t bad thinking, for as the ball was crossing the 40 there was still no Giants coverage man within 10 yards of him.

But as Williams readied to play the ball on a hop, it hit the turf again and this bounce was much lower to the ground and angled towards Williams’ left. He reacted to the change in direction and moved towards it to pick it up, but then thought better of it as the coverage men closed in and it registered in his brain that this was a tricky hop. As he hesitated, the ball “found” him, grazing his leg as it bounced past him. He flinched, realizing that it was a live ball, but quickly figured out that it was going to be recovered by the Giants and tried to act like it had missed him. The replay would tell the tale, and the result was that the Giants had the ball at the SF 29-yard line.

San Fran’s defense did a decent job of handling the dramatic change and they nearly held the G-Men to a FG, but on 3^rd and 15 Manning fired high and hard into the end zone and Manningham went up and made the catch for a 17-yard TD to put New York ahead 17-14 with only 8:34 left in the game.

Kyle Williams would have to have a hell of a final 8 and a half minutes to make up for his mistake, but he got started trying right away, returning the ensuing kickoff 40 yards to give the Niners the ball at their 45. This was pretty big, as the pressure was now on the 49ers offense. San Francisco moved inside the New York red zone and it looked for a moment like they might get in the end zone to retake the lead.

On 3^rd and 5 from the 10, Jim Harbaugh franticly tried to get the refs’ attention for a late timeout but he didn’t get the call. Alex Smith took the snap and threw short to the right side for Michael Crabtree who was only able to make the catch at the 7 before going out of bounds, bringing up 4^th and 2. It looked like a terrible play, as it had no chance of picking up the necessary yards and it certainly wasn’t going to result in a TD. The Niners settled for a FG that tied the score at 17-17 with 5:39 on the clock.

The teams then traded 3-and-outs, and the Giants took over at their 26 with 3:04 remaining after the SF punt. On the first play of the possession, Patrick Willis burst through and brought Manning down at the 15 for a sack and a loss of 11 yards. On 2^nd and 21 from the 15, Manning took the snap and again came under serious fire. While back pedaling, Manning got rid of a pass just in time, getting it out to Ahmad Bradshaw in the left flat. Bradshaw picked up a few yards before getting swarmed under and having the ball ripped from his arms at the 21.

This time there were no NYG players around to fall on the fumble and the 49ers recovered. Inexplicably, the sideline official came running in towards the point of action, demonstratively motioning with his arms and furiously blowing on his whistle. The official ruled that the play had ended and that there was no fumble. This was a total boner. At no point was Bradshaw down by contact. This was not a situation where forward progress would come into play because Bradshaw was still driving and was caught, tackled, and stripped of the ball in the same sequence.

I don’t want to say that this was anywhere near as bad as the Jerry Rice fumble that wasn’t called in the 1998 WC game between SF and GB. But on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the easiest of calls and 10 being the most difficult call for an official to make, this was about a 3.

Furthermore, by not only ruling that it wasn’t a fumble but by also ruling that the play had been blown dead, the official eliminated any chance of a replay correcting the mistake. The NFL used to be just plain awful at officiating fumbles, but they had taken great strides to improve the situation and it had really reached the point where fumble arguments were few and far between. Suddenly this postseason things fell apart, with the refs blowing what seemed like a dozen fumble calls. There were similarly horrid calls in both the Det-NO and Pit-Den games during the WC round.

Getting back to this game, if the play had been called correctly the Niners would have had the ball near the NYG red zone, already in position for a go-ahead FG and in decent position to score a touchdown. It’s not a stretch to say that the 49ers probably would have won the game if the call had not been butchered.

As it was, the Giants faced 3^rd and 5 at the 21. Manning threw incomplete and the Giants punted it back to SF. The 49ers were quickly back in a 3^rd and long situation. On 3^rd and 10 from the 29 Alex Smith had Delaine Walker open on a skinny post to his right but he badly overthrew his man and the Niners had to punt. It looked like New York might drive for a FG and win the game in regulation, but on 3^rd and 4 from the SF 46 with just 32 seconds to play Manning fired incomplete and the G-Men punted. The game went to overtime tied 17-17.

The Giants won the coin toss and picked up a first down before punting. The Niners took over at their 22 but quickly fell into another 3^rd and long situation. This time on 3^rd and 12 Smith fired an out to the right to Davis who made the catch at the 31 but was immediately brought down, coming up a yard shy of the mark to gain. Once again the Niners punted it back to the Giants.

Again it looked like the Giants were on the verge of breaking through, as they crossed midfield into SF territory, but on 3^rd and 3 from the 46 Justin Smith rocked Manning for a sack and a loss of 10 back at the Giants 44. New York had to punt again.

Steve Weatherford attempted to pin the Niners inside the 20 put the kick was returnable. Williams caught the punt at the 19 and began a return. As Kyle Williams reached the 24, Jacquian Williams reached out and got his hand on the football and Kyle Williams let it slip out of his hands. Once again Devin Thomas appeared on the scene to ruin Williams’ life, recovering the fumble at the SF 24-yard line.

The Giants now had the game in hand. They were already well within Tynes’ range. All SF could do was try and strip the ball and if not hope that Tynes pulled a Billy Cundiff. Bradshaw would make things easy on Tynes, carrying for gains of 8, 6, and 4 yards. On 3^rd and 13 from the SF 13, the Giants lined up for the kick, and Tynes routinely banged the 31-yarder through to give New York a 20-17 OT win and send his team to the Super Bowl for the 2^nd time in 5 seasons.

2. Super Bowl XLVI: New York Giants vs. New England (21-17)

This one doesn’t require too much explaining. It’s the Super Bowl. It’s Boston vs. New York. It was the rematch. So much was at stake. And this was a highly competitive, entertaining, and memorable contest that again went down to the wire.

New York went on offense first and they drove for a 1^st down at the New England 33 before the Pats defense recorded 3 straight stops for negative yards, forcing a punt. Steve Weatherford pinned the Patriots at their own 6. On New England’s first offensive play, Tom Brady dropped back into his own end zone. He had time to throw but found no one open and then suddenly pressure came late from Justin Tuck. Brady appeared to panic a bit, firing deep over the middle of the field to no one in particular. The refs ruled it intentional grounding, resulting in a safety to give NYG a 2-0 lead with 8:52 remaining in the opening quarter. It’s still hard to believe the refs made the call, although the Patriots really didn’t seem to argue that much.

In any event, the Giants got the ball after the free kick and quickly marched down the field. On 3^rd and 3 from the 11, Eli Manning completed a pass to Victor Cruz for 4 yards but Sterling Moore stripped Cruz at the 7 and the Patriots recovered the fumble. However, the Patriots were penalized for having 12 men on the field, resulting in a 1^st and goal for the Giants at the 6. On 2^nd and goal Cruz caught a 2-yard TD to make it 9-0 NYG with only 3:24 left in the 1^st quarter.

The G-Men dominated the 1^st quarter but the Pats started to get rolling early in the 2^nd. They moved 60 yards on 10 plays on their 2^nd drive, eventually settling for a FG to get on the board, now trailing 9-3. On the next NYG drive, Manning and the G-Men again moved the ball. On 3^rd and 15 from the NYG 48 Manning went to Ahmad Bradshaw for a gain of 11, setting up 4^th and 4 at the Pats 41. The Giants decided to punt but this time Weatherford couldn’t keep it from going into the end zone for a touchback.

The Patriots went 3-and-out and the Giants offense went back on the march. On 3^rd and 1 from the NE 46 Brandon Jacobs busted through a hole for a gain of 10 and a 1^st down at the 36, but the Giants were flagged for holding, making it 3^rd and 10 from the NYG 45 instead. This was obviously a huge call. Manning fired incomplete on 3^rd and long and the Giants had to punt. This time Weatherford pinned the Pats at the 4.

After a false start, the Patriots were looking at 1^st and 12 from their own 2-yard line with only 4:03 on the clock in the 2^nd quarter. Up to this point the Giants had been in complete control, but things would now shift to NE’s side. Brady and the NE offense went on a classic 14-play, 96-yard scoring drive over 3:55, with Danny Woodhead catching a TD pass on 3^rd and 3 from the 4 to give the Patriots their first lead of the game, 10-9, with just 8 seconds left in the 2^nd quarter.

Despite dominating the action during the first 30 minutes, the Giants went to intermission trailing by a point. The Patriots would get the ball first in the 3^rd quarter and momentum continued to slide their way. They went 79 yards in 8 plays for a score, with Aaron Hernandez hauling in a 12-yard TD to make it 17-9 Pats early in the 3^rd.

The Giants responded on their first possession of the 2^nd half, driving for a 1^st down at the NE 25. But the Pats defense stiffened, forcing 2 incompletions to bring up 3^rd and long. Mario Manningham caught a pass on 3^rd down but picked up only 5 yards to make it 4^th and 5 at the NE 20. The Giants settled for a FG to make it 17-12 with 6:43 left in the 3^rd quarter, ending the Pats’ 17-0 run.

Next, the Giants defense stepped up, forcing a 3-and-out on the ensuing NE possession. The Giants got the ball right back in great field position at the New England 48. Things were now tilting back to New York in a hurry, but they nearly lost the momentum on the 2^nd play of the drive. On 2^nd and 9 from the 47, Manning went to Hakeem Nicks for a big gainer, but Jared Mayo jarred the ball loose from Nicks at the 30. Out of nowhere, blocking back Henry Hynoski recovered the ball for the Giants at the 33 to save the possession.

Having dodged that bullet the Giants moved soon moved inside the NE red zone, but on 3^rd and 8 from the 9 Manning was dropped for a sack back at the 15 and the G-Men had to settle for another FG, cutting the deficit to 17-15 with just 35 tics left in the 3^rd quarter. The Patriots really needed to respond.

On the 2^nd play of the 4^th quarter, the Pats took a shot on 1^st down from their own 43. Brady was immediately bumrushed by Linval Joseph, who dusted Logan Mankins and came crashing up the middle virtually unabated, but Brady used that head of steam against Joseph, shrugging to let him fly by and holding onto the ball as the big DT try to rake it free on his way past. Brady was flushed to his right with Osi Umenyiora in pursuit. Mankins now did show something by staying in the play and identifying the new threat and taking Umenyiora out below the waist to eliminate that threat. But Jason Pierre-Paul was also in pursuit from a few yards in front of Brady.

As Brady was running to his right he looked down field and thought he had a big play, as star TE Rob Gronkowski—despite playing on a severe high ankle sprain—appeared to have gotten behind the Giants secondary. Gronk was drifting down field and towards the middle of the field moving from right to left. LB Chase Blackburn had flinched when Brady got into trouble and that allowed Gronk to meander 10 yards or so behind him and Gronk raised his hand to try and alert his QB to this situation. Brady stopped, loaded up, and fired deep down the middle of the field just as JPP smacked into him. The ball hung up and Blackburn made a hell of a play, racing back and leaping and shielding Gronk out while making the pick at the 8-yard line.

It has been suggested to me that Brady may have held back on the throw due to his knowledge that Gronkowski wasn’t running well and because he didn’t want to risk overthrowing him. I do think Gronk’s injury inhibited his ability to make a play on the ball, and if not go up and snag it, at least keep Blackburn from intercepting. However, I don’t think Gronk’s health had anything to do with Brady putting too much arc on the pass and badly underthrowing his target.

To me it was obvious right away. Brady was loading up to fire what might have been a 57-yard TD to Gronk, but as he was completing his delivery he had to deal with the specter of JPP, who had slightly overrun the play when Brady stopped and had to come back and then put his arms out and hit the QB just after the ball was away. Everyone knows that great defensive big men only block a few shots per game but they impact many, many shots. They are not just shot blockers but shot changers. JPP is like this, in that he doesn’t have to register a sack or a PD to impact a play.

On this particular play, JPP was a “pass changer” if you will. I think JPP effected Brady’s delivery both physically and mentally. I think Brady put more arc on the ball in reaction to JPP’s ability to bat balls down with his incredible length, and also think Brady put less juice on the throw in order to get the pass away before JPP could make contact with him and break the play up.

There were two other factors. Brady was running hard to his right, then stopped, and fired back across the field. If you just imagine that scenario in your mind you can see how it would be easy to underthrow that pass due to momentum and the fact that throwing across your body is naturally a more difficult throw. Finally, Gronk really wasn’t as open as it seemed, especially by the time Brady got the throw off. Blackburn recovered quickly and had time to find Gronk, run back to the spot where he thought the ball would be, and shield Gronk from the ball.

Had Brady been standing in the pocket when Gronk raised his arm it would have been a touchdown because he would have rocketed the ball to Gronk and gotten it there with Blackburn still 5 yards off. But this play took time, and while the early pocket pressure is what allowed Gronk to get open in the first place, Brady having to stop, setup, and then fire back across the field allowed Blackburn to close the gap. This was a huge play in the game.

The Patriots had missed a chance for a big play and score that would have made it a 2-score game and they had given the ball right back to New York. The Giants nearly gave the ball right back to New England. On the 2^nd play after the turnover, Manning handed off to Bradshaw on 2^nd and 10 from the 8 and he picked up 5 yards before Brandon Spikes laid into him and forced the ball loose.

If the Patriots had recovered this fumble they would have had the ball inside the NYG 15, meaning they would almost certainly come up with a FG to make it a 5-point game again and they would probably score a TD to make it a 2-score game early in the 4^th quarter. However, it was NYG guard Chris Snee who fell on the ball at the 11. That made it 3 open field fumbles for the Giants and no fumble recoveries for the Patriots (the one that was recovered was negated by penalty).

Following the near turnover the Giants were late getting the play called and had to burn their first timeout to avoid a delay of game, stopping the clock with 13:23 left. It was now 3^rd and 7 from the 11 and Manning threw incomplete to bring up 4^th down, but Rob Ninkovich was called for an offsides penalty, making it 3^rd and 2 from the 16 instead. This worst part about this turn of events for NE was that it didn’t appear that Ninkovich actually was offsides. This time Manning found Nicks for a pickup of 12 and a 1^st down at the 28.

The Giants were soon across midfield and into NE territory, needing only a FG to take the lead. Facing 3^rd and 5 from the 38, the Giants again had to burn a timeout when it looked like they wouldn’t get the snap off in time, leaving them with only 1 timeout and 9:35 still to play in the game. After the timeout the Giants were whistled for a false start making it 3^rd and 10 from the 43. Manning threw incomplete and the Patriots defense had held. Weatherford pinned NE at their own 8 with 9:24 to play and the Pats still leading 17-15.

The Pats had been stymied for most of the 2^nd half but now the offense got going again and they looked to be putting together a drive to finish off the championship. On 2^nd and 11 from the NYG 44, Tom Brady took the snap with just 4:06 left in the game and dropped back to pass. Wes Welker came wide open and Brady fired down the left seam to the NFL’s #1 reception machine at the 20-yard line.

Had Brady made a great throw Welker would have caught the pass in stride and scored a TD to put the game away. However, Brady put the throw on Welker’s left shoulder to steer clear of safety Kenny Phillips who was in coverage to Welker’s right. Again, if Brady had made great throw Phillips wouldn’t have been able to do anything about it, but if Brady put the throw to Welker’s inside shoulder and he misfired it could have resulted in an INT. This was a safer throw.

Brady also didn’t zing the pass. He put some touch on the pass and so Welker ended up getting turned around and back pedaling and trying to make the catch that way. The result was that he stopped the ball with his hands but he didn’t catch it cleanly. When the ball popped out of his hands he couldn’t make the catch off the bobble because his momentum was carrying him backwards.

It was an excruciating play to watch. It appeared that Brady wanted to avoid the risk of a turnover and increase the chance of at least getting a completion for a 1^st down inside the red zone. And that actually probably would have been good enough, as the Giants had only 1 timeout left. In any event, it was a pass Welker should have caught, but it certainly wasn’t the best pass Brady could have made.

Now it was 3^rd and 11 at the 44. Brady threw for Deion Branch incomplete to bring up a punting situation. Zoltan Mesko kept the punt out of the end zone but he wasn’t able to pin the G-Men really deep. The Giants took over at their own 12 with 3:46 on the clock and 1 timeout, trailing by only 2 points.

It might have seemed like the Patriots were still in a good position to win the game, but in reality there was plenty of reason to be pessimistic. The New England defense had been on the field a lot in the game and they were tired. The Giants had moved the ball on NE’s defense all game and you really had the feeling that the Patriots defense had just been hanging on all game. It was going to be hard for the NE defense to stop all 3 of the NYG receivers from getting open at this point.

In addition, now that the Giants had the ball back, the lack of timeouts wasn’t really a factor because they had 3:46 left and they only needed a FG to win. And that was the biggest reason to think the Giants were actually the team in the better position to win: the score. If the Giants had needed a touchdown in this spot then you could give NE’s defense a decent chance. But they only needed to go 55 or 60 yards to be in range for a game winning kick. That was going to be hard for the Pats defense to prevent, especially now that we were in 4-down territory.

The field position wasn’t an issue because they weren’t backed up enough to be worried about a safety. And it didn’t take long for the Giants to turn the pressure up to 11 on the NE defense. On the first play of the possession, Manning dropped back to pass and fired deep down the left sideline for Mario Manningham. Manning dropped an absolutely pin point perfect pass down over the receiver’s shoulder and Manningham made a spectacular play to keep his feet in bounds while making the catch at the 50 for a 38-yard completion.

Replay confirmed the catch and all of the sudden the Giants were at midfield. The failed challenge cost the Pats a timeout, but at that point it was worth it because in the eyes of many if Manningham’s play stood as called the Giants were more than likely going to win regardless of the timeout situation. After Manningham’s catch only a turnover could stop New York from taking the lead.

On 2^nd and 10 from the 50, Manning hit Manningham again for a pickup of 16 yards and another 1^st down at the 34. Now the clock was working against New England. It was blindingly obvious that the Patriots weren’t going to be able to keep the Giants from picking up chunks of yards, which would mean the G-Men could salt the time away and then kick the FG.

It was at this point that I thought the Patriots should come with an 8 or 9 man blitz. If they got a sack for a big loss it would give them some shot at holding the Giants and winning in a conventional manner. If the they didn’t get the sack it might result in a touchdown which would give the Pats enough time to mount a legitimate drive of their own. Otherwise I thought they would be screwed, because they wouldn’t be able to play them straight up and hold them and the Giants could melt all the time away and leave the Pats no chance of answering.

The Pats weren’t thinking this way yet. A 2-yard completion to Manningham ate up another 40 seconds of time, and then Nicks caught a pass for 14 yards and a 1^st down at the NE 18 as the we reached the 2-minute warning. Now I thought the Patriots simply had to at least try and let the Giants score, although New York would probably be aware of the scheme and might not oblige. Some macho men might not respect such tactics but that sentiment is simply one of unintelligence.

Now that the Giants were within range for an easy FG they switched to the ground game, and Bradshaw carried for a gain of 7 yards to the 11. Manning then hit Nicks on a short pass for 4 yards and another 1^st down as he was pushed out of bounds at the 7, stopping the clock with 1:09 left. Bradshaw was stopped for a 1-yard gain on the next play and the Pats called their 2^nd timeout with 1:04 on the clock.

The Giants could have taken a knee, forced the Pats to burn their 3^rd timeout with a minute left, and then taken a knee again, running the clock down to 15 seconds or so. They could have then hit the chip shot FG and it would have left the Pats with just 12 seconds or so to pull off a miracle. I don’t know why the Giants didn’t do that. I don’t know why the Patriots didn’t let the Giants score on the 1^st down run which would have allowed them to save a timeout.

Anyway, on 2^nd and goal, the Patriots did try and let the Giants score. It was obvious that the Giants had covered this scenario during the timeout, as after bursting through the line Bradshaw attempted to slam on the breaks at the goal line but his momentum carried him begrudgingly over the plane for a touchdown with 57 seconds left on the clock. Tom Coughlin was livid on the sidelines. This was the only somewhat realistic scenario in which the Patriots could win.

The Giants went for 2 just for the hell of it and Danny Ware was stopped to keep the score 21-17. Lawrence Tynes didn’t have to kick the winning FG, but he came through on a very important kickoff, driving the ball for a touchback to force the Pats to go 80 yards in 57 seconds with only 1 timeout.

In Super Bowl XLIII, the Patriots had less time to work with but they only needed a FG to tie. Still, Brady nearly hooked up with Randy Moss on a long bomb down the left side. This time the Patriots would have to go the distance; a FG was worthless.

Sometimes there are big plays that get lost and covered up by all of the other plays, and over time they just aren’t part of the story that is retold again and again. The only time you may here about them is during an in-depth recollection of the game such as the NFL’s Greatest Games series made by NFL Films.

An example of such a play is the long pass completion from Danny White to Drew Pearson following “The Catch” in the 1981 NFC Championship Game. 99 times out of 100 when that game is discussed you will only hear about SF’s final drive and of course “The Catch.” It’s only in one of those in depth recollections that you hear about that long pass completion and Eric Wright’s shirt tail tackle of Pearson at midfield that saved the game and was arguably as big of a play as “The Catch.”

I believe there was such a play on the final drive of Super Bowl XLVI. Actually, it may not be seen by most people as being such a big play, so it may truly become a footnote, not even recalled in those in depth recollections. However, I believe it was a very important play, and I think it could potentially have been the biggest play of the game.

I’m talking about the first play of New England’s final drive. Tom Brady took dropped back to pass and had ample time and no pressure. With the Giants playing soft coverage and guarding against fly routes and deep outs, the middle of the field was open. Brady had time to look to several different receivers and wait for someone to get open and finally he found Deion Branch wide open at the New England 45. Brady put the ball on the money and Branch flat out dropped it.

At the time it was like just a drop and seemed only to make the Giants win even more inevitable. After the game it got grouped in with the rest of the drops. However, I think this was the most underappreciated play of the game. Branch was wide open, and while he was “sitting down” in the zone for the catch and not heading downfield, he still had plenty of room to run. I think a conservative guess of where Branch would have gotten to before being stopped is the New York 45.

If the Pats chose to use their timeout at that point they would have had about 45 seconds (conservatively) to go the remaining 45 yards. If they wanted to save the timeout and just spike the ball then they would have had something like 32 seconds. They would have had time for another throw into the middle of the field and then they could have taken 3 or 4 shots at the end zone. It’s not hard for me to envision the Pats scoring.

I’m not saying that Branch’s drop cost the Patriots the Super Bowl. I’m not even saying that I think New England would have won if Branch hadn’t dropped the ball. I’m just talking about the odds here.

Let’s talk hypothetically. I’m just going to pull some numbers out of my ass here but they aren’t the point. Let’s say the Patriots had a 7% chance of scoring the TD to win before the 1^st play of the drive (Branch’s drop). Let’s say that after Branch’s drop the chances were like 6% (although in reality, I would say they dropped to something like 2% because I think the Giants made an error in allowing Branch to get that open that they wouldn’t have repeated). Well, if Branch makes the catch and takes the ball to the Giants 45, maybe the chances are like 20%. That’s only a 1 of 5 chance of winning, but it’s still a huge deal.

Anyway, enough what-if’s and what-may’s. On 2^nd and 10, Brady threw over the middle to Hernandez at the 30 and again the ball was dropped. This wasn’t as big of a deal, however, because Hernandez would have been lit up immediately in the middle of the field and the clock would have run until the Patriots lined up and got another play off. It actually might have been better for Hernandez to drop it than catch it.

On 3^rd and 10, Justin Tuck simply dusted Mankins and rocked Brady back at the 14 for a loss of 6. The Patriots had to burn their final timeout with 39 seconds left. On 4^th and 16, Brady fought through pressure to buy time and hit Branch near the left sideline for a completion of 19 yards and a 1^st down at the 33, with Branch getting out of bounds to stop the clock with 32 tics left.

Brady then fired over the middle to Hernandez who made a nice diving catch at the 44 and Brady spiked it with 19 seconds left. At this point it was all about getting close enough for a Hail Mary, so the 11 yards was worth the 13 seconds. On the next play Brady threw incomplete for Hernandez but the Giants were called for having 12 men on the field, moving the ball to the 49 but with just 9 seconds to go. Brady tried once more to get a bit closer but threw incomplete to Branch to bring up 3^rd and 5 at the 49 with 5 seconds to go.

On the final play, Brady did a good job staying clear of the rush and waiting for his receivers to reach the end zone and then he threw about as good of a HM pass as you can. It came down in the middle of the end zone and Aaron Hernandez jumped to try and catch it but 3 NYG defenders jumped with him and broke it up. The ball fluttered in the air momentarily and Gronk lunged for it but it was about 2 feet out of his reach and it hit the turf, ending the game and giving the Giants the title.

It’s interesting to wonder if Gronk would have made up those 2 feet if he was 100% healthy, but of course, if Gronk was 100% healthy I don’t think the Pats would have needed a Hail Mary.

1. Divisional Round: San Francisco vs. New Orleans (36-32)

This was a classic. It was entertaining, thrilling, dramatic, and obviously very competitive. It featured perhaps the game’s best offense against perhaps the game’s best defense. It was the QB matchup of Alex Smith and Drew Brees; the coaching matchup of Sean Payton and Jim Harbaugh; and the two great NFL cities, one enjoying the golden age of their history, the other starving for a return to glory after years of losing. There was Vernon Davis’ performance and the amazing back-and-forth finish. It was certainly a game for the ages.

The Saints began the game on offense and right away it was clear that they would be able to move the ball on SF’s great defense. On 3^rd and 5 from the SF 44, Drew Brees went deep down the right side for Jimmy Graham, who slammed his head hard against the turf as the pass was broken up. A pass interference penalty gave the Saints a 1^st down at the 21, but Graham had to come out of the game.

Graham would end up having a big game, but he was also unable to catch several passes that he normally would have, and I believe he might still have been feeling the effects of getting his bell rung. New Orleans missed Graham right away, as he wasn’t available when the Saints got inside the 10. On 3^rd and 6 from the 7, Brees went to Pierre Thomas for a completion inside the 5, but Donte Whitner separated Thomas from the ball and Patrick Willis recovered for the Niners at the 2. Thomas was shaken up badly on the play and would be done for the game. San Fran took over possession for the first time in the game with just 8:44 left in the 1^st quarter.

The 49ers couldn’t do anything the first time they had the ball, but on the 2^nd play of their 2^nd drive Vernon Davis got behind the secondary and Alex Smith hit him down the left sideline for a 49-yard TD to put the Niners ahead 7-0 with 2:08 left in the 1^st. On the ensuing New Orleans drive the 49ers turned the Saints over again. On 1^st and 10 from the 25 Brees went deep down the right side for Adrian Arrington and was intercepted by Dashon Goldson at the 45. Goldson returned the ball 41 yards all the way back to the 4.

As great as Brees and the Saints offense are, they were starting to feel the effects of injuries. With Mark Ingram, Lance Moore, and now Thomas out and Graham shaken up earlier, Brees was facing one of the best defenses in the NFL and having to throw to guys like Arrington, who had only 2 catches for 31 yards during the regular season. Still, the Saints offense is perhaps the most explosive in the game today, so it was imperative that the Niners take advantage of this great scoring chance. On 3^rd and goal from the 4, Smith hit Michael Crabtree for a touchdown to make it 14-0 in favor of the home team with 41 seconds to play in the opening quarter.

The snowball of mistakes continued to grow for the Saints on the ensuing kickoff. During the regular season Darren Sproles had 40 of the Saints 42 kickoff returns and he had both of their kick returns in the WC game against Detroit. However, after SF’s score of this game the Saints had reserve receiver Courtney Roby return a kick for the first time all season (17 yards to the 14). In fact, Roby had never returned a kickoff before in his NFL career. Roby hadn’t caught a pass or returned a kick of any kind for the Saints all year, and I have to assume that he was only back there now because Pierre Thomas’ injury had changed Sproles’ role.

Roby’s first kickoff return wasn’t great; his second kickoff return would be a disaster. He waited to catch David Akers’ boot at the goal line but the ball went right through his arms and kicked off his leg, rolling all the way out towards the 10. Normally a bobble or a muff on a kickoff return isn’t the end of the world because there’s time to recover, but in this case the ball rolled so far away that by the time Roby went to pick up the ball at the 11 there were SF cover guys crashing in from all sides.

Roby did manage to pick up the ball but he didn’t have it secured as he tried to get the most that he could out of the return. He was hit almost immediately at the 13 and the ball was jarred free and the Niners recovered. Everything was going SF’s way, but again they needed to get as much as possible out of these chances. However, on 3^rd and 4 from the 7 Smith fired incomplete for Crabtree and the Niners had to settle for a FG to make it 17-0 less than a minute into the 2^nd quarter.

It was obvious that the 49ers had come into the game with a plan to be extremely aggressive ripping and tearing at the ball as soon as the ball carrier was stopped. The Saints still hadn’t figured it out, as they nearly turned it over again on their next possession. On 1^st and 10 from the SF 44, Brees dumped a pass off to Sproles and Whitner forced another fumble and recovered it at the 41. However, this time the call was reversed by replay.

With another mistake averted, the Saints went on to finish a 9-play, 80-yard drive with a 14-yard TD pass to Graham to get on the board with 9:32 left in the 2^nd. Now the Saints defense stepped up, forcing a 3-and-out to get the ball right back in the hands of the offense. Brees and the Saints went 66 yards in 7 plays, with Marcus Colston catching a 25-yard pass for the touchdown. All of the sudden it was 17-14 with 4:09 remaining until halftime.

San Fran’s offense really needed to do something with the ball on their next drive, and they were able to reach the New Orleans 40, but on 3^rd and 10 Smith was sacked for a loss of 9 and Andy Lee punted the ball into the end zone for a touchback with 2:14 on the clock. The final minutes of the 1^st half were strange. It’s not like anything of note really occurred; it was just bizarre.

The Saints faced 3^rd and 8 from their 22 following the 2-minute warning. Brees went deep and was picked off again, this time by Tarell Brown at the SF 29. It worked sort of like a punt. On 3^rd and 9 from the SF 44, Smith completed a pass to Kyle Williams but he was stopped at the 50. Lee’s punt gave the Saints the ball at their 15 with 59 seconds until halftime. The Saints went 3-and-out and punted the ball back to the Niners in good field position at their own 45 with 29 seconds remaining. On 2^nd and 10, Smith was sacked and fumbled and Jonathan Vilma recovered for New Orleans at the 45 with 17 seconds left. Brees fired 3 incompletions and the game went to halftime with the 49ers holding a slim 17-14 lead.

The 49ers got the ball first in the 2^nd half but they picked up only 1 first down before punting from their 21. However, the turnover bug would bite New Orleans one more time, as Sproles fumbled on the return and the Niners recovered at the New Orleans 26. The Saints defense bowed up and the Niners weren’t able to take advantage of great field position, going 3-and-out and settling for another Akers FG to make it 20-14.

The Saints responded with a drive into SF territory, but on 3^rd and 8 from the 41 Brees was sacked by Justin Smith for a loss of 8 and they had to punt. The New Orleans defense forced a 3-and-out, the Saints marched into SF territory again, but once more they had punt after the drive stalled at the 48. San Francisco’s defense was just tough to score on, no matter what kind of offense you have. The 49ers took a 20-14 lead into the 4^th quarter.

Early in the 4^th the Saints got a 48-yard FG from veteran kicker John Kasey to pull back within 3. The teams traded 3-and-outs after that and the Niners took over at their own 36, leading by 3 with 10:38 on the clock. On the first play of the drive, Frank Gore busted up the middle for 42 yards, taking the ball to the New Orleans 22. The Saints defense was again able to keep the Niners out of the end zone, with Akers hitting yet another FG to make it 23-17 with 7:36 left.

The Saints offense couldn’t be stopped forever. At some point they were going to get back in the end zone. On their next possession, the Saints converted a pair of 3^rd downs to keep the drive going, and then Sproles took a short pass over the middle and went 44 yards for a score to put the Saints ahead for the first time in the game, 24-23, with 4:02 on the clock.

Now we would find out what Alex Smith was made of. On 2^nd and 10 from the SF 33, Smith went deep down the left side for Vernon Davis who made the catch and took the ball to the New Orleans 30 for a gain of 37 yards. Just like that the Niners were in FG range for a guy who made more than any kicker in history during the regular season.

The Niners were facing a 3^rd and 3 from the 23 when they were flagged for having a 12^th man on the field. They called timeout to regroup with 2:18 remaining in the 4^th quarter. On 3^rd and 8 now from the 28, Smith took the snap and ran around the left end. The play was wide open. He went down the sideline, somehow staying in bounds by a tenth of an inch, and took it all the way for a 28-yard touchdown.

There was a lengthy replay to determine whether Smith had stayed in bounds, and even though the touchdown would force the Saints to score a touchdown to win, I did wonder if it might be best for SF if it was determined that Smith did go out of bounds after picking up the 1^st down. My concern, of course, was that they might have scored too quickly. This concern became even more relevant when the Saints defense stopped Gore short of the end zone on the 2-pt try, leaving the score 29-24 with 2:14 left for Brees and the Saints offense.

There was no time left to be cautious, so Sproles would be returning this kickoff. He gambled and decided to return Akers kick from deep in the end zone and only brought the ball out to the 12. That’s where Brees and the Saints took over with only 2:07 left and 1 timeout. They wouldn’t need anywhere close to that much time to score.

On 1^st down from the 34, Brees threw a pass down the middle of the field that might ordinarily be seen as too risky, but that’s how the New Orleans offense works. Patrick Willis was all over Graham, staying with him stride for stride during the entire rout, but he had his back to the line of scrimmage, and Brees has shown time and again that he will throw against blanket coverage if the defender’s back is to him. Willis couldn’t see the flight of the ball, and this worked out perfectly for New Orleans, because the pass was to Graham’s outside shoulder and he was able to leap and reach out and snag the ball at the SF 42 without Willis even being able to make a play on it.

I think Brees just threw it in the vicinity and was only worried about not underthrowing the pass because he was under pressure when he threw it. I don’t know; maybe he consciously threw it to the outside knowing that Graham could adjust and Willis wouldn’t be able to. Either way, the location of the pass turned out to be doubly bad for San Francisco.

With the Saints needing a touchdown, the most important thing was for the SF secondary not to get totally burned. Whitner was coming up from behind the play and he would have been able to drill Graham right as he caught the ball and if not break up the play at least stop it from being any bigger. However, the ball happened to be heading right for him, and so when he arrived on the scene he jumped and brought his hands up as if to try and make a pick. At the last moment he realized that Graham was going to snatch the ball out of the air, and he tried to get his arms around him, but for all intents and purposes he whiffed.

The final key factor was that Willis had fallen to the ground. He may not have even seen Graham turn and run past him down the field, going all the way for a 66-yard touchdown that put the Saints back on top with only 1:37 left in the game. A stunned crowd watched as Brees passed to Sproles for the crucial 2-point conversion that made it 32-29, protecting the Saints from losing on a FG.

Like Sproles had done earlier, Kyle Williams decided to take a deep kickoff out of the end zone and he only reached the 15, leaving the Niners with 1:32 and one timeout. It didn’t look good for the Niners, as they had already gotten one late touchdown drive out of Alex Smith, and it seemed like a lot to ask to get another one. But there was hope because Smith and the Niners had Vernon Davis, who had made big play after big play all game long.

On 2^nd and 10 from the 33 Smith went deep down the left side for Davis and once again he came through, making the catch and taking the ball all the way down to the New Orleans 20 yard line for a gain of 47. Amazingly, the Niners were already in field goal range with 31 seconds and a timeout left to work with. Moments later on 3^rd and 4, Smith fired over the middle for Davis who took a shot and hung on a few yards into the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown, putting the Niners back on top with just 9 seconds on the clock.

The scenario, the play, and the reaction afterwards were all similar to the Steve Young-Terrell Owens play in that classic WC round battle between SF and GB back in the day. That play had been labeled “The Catch II,” and so I have been referring to this play as “The Catch III.” Davis’ catch won it for the Niners, sending them on to the conference championship, while sending the Saints home.