Worst Loss of the Year
10. Week 17: Detroit at Green Bay (41-45)
9. Week 3: New England at Buffalo (31-34)
8. Week 7: Baltimore at Jacksonville (7-12)
7. Week 6: New Orleans at Tampa Bay (20-26)
6. Divisional Round: Green Bay vs. New York Giants (20-37)
5. Week 15: Tennessee at Indianapolis (13-27)
4. Week 14: Green Bay at Kansas City (14-19)
3. Week 14: Dallas vs. New York Giants (34-37)
2. Week 8: New Orleans at St. Louis (21-31)
1. Wildcard Round: Pittsburgh at Denver (23-29 [OT])
Comments: For this list I looked at the point spread; the importance of each game to the rest of the season; and the way that a team lost.
Here’s a quick review.
10. Week 17: Detroit at Green Bay (41-45)
It feels weird calling a close loss by the Detroit Lions on the road against the Green Bay Packers a bad loss. This was a big game for the Lions and a meaningless game for the Packers. Green Bay had wrapped up the #1 seed in the NFC and they would be resting many key players, including QB Aaron Rodgers. The Lions needed a win to clinch the #5 seed in the NFC and avoid having to go to New Orleans in the first round of the playoffs. Despite being on the road, the Lions were 6.5 point favorites.
As a Falcons fan, I wasn’t holding out much hope for a Lions loss (which would allow my team to grab the #5 seed with a win against the Bucs), mostly because Rodgers would sit the whole game. By the time this one was over Lions fans would be wishing they had gotten Rodgers and not backup Matt Flynn.
Everything went according to script early on, as the Lions took a 9-0 lead and had the ball looking for more early in the 1st. But they were unable to build on that lead, the Packers got back into the game, and from then on it was a back-and-forth shootout. It still looked like the Lions would prevail late in the game when they took a 41-38 lead with only 2:39 remaining, but they allowed Flynn and the Packers to go 80 yards for a touchdown in just a minute and 29 seconds.
The Lions still had a chance to win, as they had a 1st down at the Green Bay 37 with 33 seconds and 1 timeout left, but Matt Stafford threw an interception to seal the win for the Packers. The Lions ended up with the #6 seed and got blown away by the Saints in New Orleans a week later.
9. Week 3: New England at Buffalo (31-34)
This loss didn’t end up costing the Pats, as they still grabbed the #1 seed in the AFC. But it was still a pretty bad loss. The Patriots were 7 point favorites and they played like it early on, leading 21-0 late in the 2nd quarter, but they allowed 17 straight points to let the Bills back in the game. They were still in great shape for the win with 11 and a half minutes left, leading 24-17 with a 1st down at the Buffalo 23. But Tom Brady was picked off at the 2-yard line to keep it a 1-score game.
The Pats then allowed the Bills to go 95 yards for the game tying score on a drive that consisted of one 48-yard completion, a roughing the passer penalty, a pass interference penalty in the end zone that wiped out an interception, and a 1-yard run for a TD. On the first play of the ensuing New England drive, Brady threw a pick-six to give the Bills their first lead of the game.
The Patriots rebounded to tie the game but the Bills went on a 70-yard drive, eating up all 3 minutes and 25 seconds of clock, and kicking a FG at the buzzer to win 34-31. The Patriots turned the ball over 4 times and committed 93 yards worth of penalties.
8. Week 7: Baltimore at Jacksonville (7-12)
This was a typical Baltimore letdown. The Ravens were 4-1, while the Jags were 1-5 and had lost 5 straight. Baltimore was a 10-point favorite. The Ravens couldn’t even get up for Monday Night Football, as they played like absolute garbage on primetime television.
This wasn’t just a major letdown typical of the Ravens of the current era. It was also a throwback game in terms of completely inept Baltimore offense, similar to the Ravens of the early 2000’s, as the Ravens found a way to lose despite giving up just 205 yards of total offense and 12 points. They converted just 2 of 12 third downs and finished with an unimaginable 146 yards of total offense. They were shutout until the 2:02 mark of the 4th quarter.
Despite the pitiful offensive performance, the Ravens still had a chance to win, trailing only 12-7 with 1:43 to play and the ball at their own 20. But on the 2nd play of the drive, Joe Flacco threw a pick that sealed the loss. Baltimore racked up 85 yards in penalties and turned the ball over twice in the loss.
7. Week 6: New Orleans at Tampa Bay (20-26)
This wasn’t just a bad loss, it was also a costly one, as the Saints would have only needed to win 1 more game during the regular season to be the #2 seed in the NFC. That could have made a major difference in the playoffs.
This was also a much worse loss than it appeared at the time. The Saints were 4-1 and were favored by 6. The Bucs were 3-2, but they had lost 48-3 the week before, 2 of their 3 wins had come against the Vikings and the Colts, and after this game they would 10 straight to finish the season.
The Saints did everything possible to lose this game, committing 53 yards in penalties, turning the ball over 4 times, and scoring TD’s on just 1 of 4 red zone trips. Despite all of this they still should have won, as they had a 1st down at the TB 12 with 4:17 left, trailing only 26-20. But 1st and 10 at the 12 turned into 4th and 2 at the 4, and Brees was intercepted on 4th down with 3:16 to go. They would never get the ball back.
6. Divisional Round: Green Bay vs. New York Giants (20-37)
Look, I understand that the Giants won the Super Bowl, but Green Bay still shouldn’t have lost at home to the G-Men. They certainly shouldn’t have lost by 17 points. Regardless of who they were playing, this Packers team should never have been knocked out in the divisional round. Green Bay was 15-1 during the regular season with a +201 scoring differential; the Giants were 9-7 with a -6 scoring differential. Plus, the Packers were at home, where they were 8-0 on the season. They were favored by 8 points.
Certainly you have to give the Giants credit for the win. But it’s undeniable that the Packers simply played by far their worst game of the season in the most important game of the year so far. They dropped a slew of passes, Aaron Rodgers missed a bunch of open receivers, and they turned the ball over 4 times.
On GB’s first drive, Rodgers missed Greg Jennings wide open inside the NYG 10 on 3rd down, and the Packers had to settle for a FG. It was a tough throw because Rodgers was on the run, but all he had to do was lob it to Jennings, and he badly overthrew him. New York’s first TD came on a 66-yard completion to Hakeem Nicks which featured a hideous tackling attempt by GB safety Charlie Peprah, who tried to blow Nicks up rather than simply making the tackle at the GB 45. Nicks took the hit and stayed up and then beat the rest of the Packers to the end zone to put the Giants up 10-3.
Despite these early mistakes--not to mention a surprise onsides attempt that failed--the Packers weren’t really in any trouble, as they had a 1st down at their 38 with 3:48 left in the half and the score tied. But the Pack would suffer a bewildering meltdown during the final minutes of the 2nd quarter. John Kuhn lost a fumble, giving the Giants the ball at the GB 34, and leading to a FG to give the Giants a 13-10 lead.
Fumbles are unfortunate but they do happen. What happened on New York’s final possession of the half, however, was completely, totally, utterly, and in all other ways entirely INEXCUSABLE.
With just 15 seconds on the clock and no timeouts, the Giants had a 3rd and 1 at their own 40-yard line. They ran Ahmad Bradshaw on a pitch to the left, but instead of running around the left end and heading out of bounds after getting the 1st down, Bradshaw went inside the left end and then cut up the middle of the field at the 40. He then cut across the field at the 50, then turned up field again and went out of bounds at the 37, stopping the clock with 6 seconds left after a gain of 27.
All the Packers had to do was bring him down in bounds and the half would have ended. When you think about it, both the call and Bradshaw’s decision to run down the middle of the field didn’t make any sense. Or I guess I should say that they shouldn’t have made any sense. And yet, that play allowed the Giants to pull off what was probably the single biggest play of the playoffs.
And again, while you obviously have to give NYG a ton of credit, you also have to excoriate the Packers for allowing it to happen. With just 6 seconds, no timeouts, and the ball at the 37, Manning dropped back to pass and threw a Hail Mary into the left corner of the end zone that GB’s secondary somehow allowed Nicks to come down with for a touchdown to make it 20-10 at the half.
It’s hard to exaggerate how big a play that was, but even still the Packers had plenty of opportunities to win. The Packers got the ball first in the 3rd quarter and they drove into NYG territory. On 1st down from the 30, Jennings ran a double move on the left side that NYG CB Aaron Ross bit on as hard as you will ever see in the NFL. But the offensive line had to hold the Giants pass rush off long enough for Rodgers to pump fake and then make the pass. If Rodgers had been given time to throw it would have been a walk-in touchdown. However, Osi Umenyiora busted through a double team and knocked the ball out of Rodgers’ hand as he started to make the throw. It went for a fumble which the Giants recovered.
On the next GB possession, facing 3rd and 5 from the NYG 17, Rodgers threw a perfect pass to Jennings in the left corner of the end zone that went right over the head of the NYG defensive back and right through the hands of Jennings. The Packers had to settle for a FG to make it 20-13.
Despite all of this, the Packers were still down only 7 points and they had 1st down at the Giants 44 early in the 4th quarter. On 3rd and 5, Jermichael Finley was wide open running a slant on the right side of the field, but Rodgers led him too much to the middle of the field and Finley had to dive and it bounced off his hands incomplete. Despite the fact that 13 minutes remained on the clock, the Packers decided to go for it on 4th and 5 from the 39 and Rodgers was sacked at the 45, turning it over on downs and giving NYG great field position.
The Giants would go down and get a FG to make it 23-13 with only 7:48 to play and the Packers would never get closer than that the rest of the way.
5. Week 15: Tennessee at Indianapolis (13-27)
Anytime you lose to a team that’s 0-13 it’s probably a bad loss, right? It’s even worse to lose to that 0-13 team by 14 points. It becomes a nightmarish situation when that loss ends up keeping you out of the playoffs. The Titans came into the game at 7-6, favored by 6.5 over an Indy team that seemed destined to go 0-16. Assuming everything else stays the same, the Titans would have made the playoffs as the #6 seed at 10-6 if they had been able to win this game.
It’s not like the Colts suddenly became some great team for a day. The Titans outgained them 388-287 and had a 21-10 edge in 1st downs. Tennessee just made too many mistakes and blew too many chances to win. They had 3 turnovers and racked up 70 yards in penalties. The Titans scored touchdowns on just 1 of 3 red zone possessions.
Neither team did much offensively early on. The Colts hit a FG on the final play of the 1st quarter to take a 3-0 lead. Tennessee got a 53-yard FG to tie the game with 5:32 left in the 2nd quarter. With 2:38 before halftime the Titans recovered a fumble at the Indy 48. They had a 1st and goal at the 6 with 40 seconds still on the clock, but after Chris Johnson gained 3 yards on 1st down, Matt Hasselbeck threw back-to-back incompletions from the 3 and the Titans had to settle for a FG to take a 6-3 lead at the half.
The Titans got the ball first in the 3rd quarter but they went 3-and-out and punted to the 42. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Titans moved the ball to the Tennessee 43. The Colts took advantage of the field position, driving for the game’s first touchdown to go ahead 10-6. They would never relinquish the lead, as things quickly began to spiral out of control for the Titans.
On Tennessee’s next drive Hasselbeck threw a pick-six to give the Colts a stunning 17-6 lead. Then Marc Mariani muffed the ensuing kickoff and the ball rolled out of bounds at the 1. The Titans managed to pick up a couple of 1st downs and punted the ball to the Colts at their own 20, but as the 3rd quarter ended the Colts were driving inside Tennessee territory and holding a 17-6 advantage.
The Colts ended up getting a FG to make it 20-6 with 12:53 to go. On the 2nd play of the next Titans drive, Hasselbeck hooked up with Jared Cook for a 27-yard completion down to the Indy 38, but Cook fumbled and the Colts recovered at their own 34. The next time Tennessee had the ball they thought they had a touchdown, as Johnson turned a short completion into a 49-yard score, but it was reversed on replay and ended up going as just a 5-yard reception. On 1st down from the Colts 25, Hasselbeck threw a pick in the end zone to give it back to Indy with 7:19 left in the game.
The Titans got the ball back with only 48 seconds coming off the clock but now they had no timeouts. With Jake Locker taking over at QB, the Titans went 69 yards in 8 plays over 2:30, scoring their first TD of the day to make it a 1-score game. There was still 3:43 on the clock but the Titans didn’t have any timeouts. They decided to kick it deep. On the 1st play after the kickoff, Donald Brown went 80 yards for a touchdown to make it 27-13.
Locker led the Titans quickly down the field again, and Tennessee had a 1st down at the Indy 12 with 1:53 still to go. Colts fans couldn’t celebrate just yet, for if the Titans could get a touchdown here and recover an onside kick they would have more than enough time to drive for a game tying score. However, on 4th and 4 from the 6 Locker threw incomplete to turn it over on downs, sealing Indy’s 1st win of the season.
4. Week 15: Green Bay at Kansas City (14-19)
The Packers had been the NFL’s top team all season and they were staring history in the face, needing just 3 more victories to complete a perfect regular season. At 13-0, the Packers were 11-point favorites over the 5-8 Chiefs, or rather, what was left of the Chiefs. Decimated by injuries, KC came into the game having lost 5 of their last 6 games, scoring just 45 total points over those 6 games (average of 7.5 points per game) while allowing 141 points (averaging 23.5 points allowed per game).
What was particularly disturbing about the loss was that it was no fluke. The Packers didn’t turn the ball over or commit too many penalties. They didn’t really blow that many chances because they really didn’t threaten all that often. In fact, it was really the Chiefs who hurt themselves with penalties and missed opportunities.
The Packers were somehow outgained 438-315. The Chiefs held a 23-16 edge in 1st downs and they had a huge 36:11-23:49 edge in time of possession. The Packers just looked completely out of sync on offense and they looked totally inept on defense.
The Chiefs marched right down the field on their opening possession. They had a 2nd and goal at the 1, but Kyle Orton fired incomplete on back-to-back plays and the Chiefs had to settle for a FG to take a 3-0 lead.
On GB’s 1st drive they caught several breaks. They went 3-and-out and punted, but the Chiefs were called for roughing the kicker, giving the Packers a 1st down at the 48. On 1st down from the KC 38, Aaron Rodgers was sacked and fumbled. Green Bay guard Marshall Newhouse recovered the fumble but he tried to advance it and ended up fumbling himself. However, the Packers recovered that fumble as well to keep the drive alive. Mason Crosby attempted a 59-yard FG but missed it wide right. He would get another chance, as the Chiefs were flagged for having 12-men on the field. Crosby now tried from 54 yards out, and once again he missed wide right.
The Chiefs took advantage of the good field position, driving for a FG to make the score 6-0 with just 11 seconds left in the 1st quarter. The Packers had a 1st down at the KC 49 on their next possession, but Rodgers threw 3 straight incompletions and they had to punt. The Chiefs would then march for a long drive against GB’s defense, starting at their own 15, and getting a 1st down at the Packers 12. They had 2nd and 1 from the 3, but they lost a yard on a rushing play, and on 3rd and 2 they picked up only a yard. The Chiefs decided that they had nothing to lose by playing for the win, went for it on 4th and 1 from the 3. Yet another run was stuffed for no gain and the Packers took over at their own 3-yard line with 3:28 left in the 2nd.
Despite this setback, the Chiefs would shutout GB in the 1st half, taking a 6-0 lead to intermission. On their 2nd possession of the 3rd quarter, the Packers drove for a touchdown to finally get on the board, taking a 7-6 lead with 8:04 remaining in the quarter. Momentum looked to be changing, as the Chiefs had to start their ensuing possession at the 11. But the Packers gave up a 39-yard pass completion on the 1st play and the Chiefs eventually got a FG on the drive to retake the lead, 9-7, with 3:45 left in the 3rd.
The Packers had a 3rd and 8 from the KC 39 as the 4th quarter began, but Rodgers fired incomplete for Jermichael Finley. The Packers decided to go for it on 4th and 8 and Rodgers fired incomplete for Finley again, turning the ball over to the Chiefs on downs. The Chiefs threatened to break the game open, driving to the Packers 2 before settling for another FG to make it 12-7 with just 11:28 left in the game.
On 3rd and 10 from the GB 45 on the ensuing Pack drive, Rodgers was sacked and they had to punt. This time the Chiefs did break it open, going 66 yards in 8 plays for a touchdown to go up 19-7 with only 4:53 remaining.
Things looked bad for the Packers. Whether due to the GB offense finally waking up, the Kansas City defense backing off and playing soft, or a combination of the two, the Packers suddenly came to life on their ensuing possession. They went 80 yards in 9 plays over just 2:49, cutting the deficit to 19-14 with 2:04 on the clock and 3 timeouts left. Considering that the Packers had all 3 timeouts plus the 2-minute warning to work with, the fact that they chose to try an onsides kick rather than play defense against one of the most feeble offenses in the game says a lot about just how big of a liability GB’s defense had become.
Crosby’s kick went out of bounds at the KC 44 and the Chiefs took over with 2:03 on the clock. The Packers were still very much in the game, and they had a shot to win it if they could get a stop here. But the Green Bay defense simply couldn’t stop the Chiefs when it mattered most and when the whole world knew Kansas City would run it every play. The Chiefs ran for pickups of 6, 7, 4, and 15 yards to slam the door. Somewhere the surviving members of the ’72 Dolphins kicked off their annual champagne celebration, as the last remaining unbeaten team suffered its 1st defeat of the year.
3. Week 14: Dallas vs. New York Giants (34-37)
Well, we’ve already discussed the events of this game in detail several times, so I’ll try and make this a very brief review. This one was a different sort of bad loss. It wasn’t about losing to an inferior team; it was about losing the most crucial game of the year, and doing so by utterly gagging down the stretch. Favored by 4.5 points, the Cowboys came into the game 7-5, while the Giants were 6-6 and had lost 4 straight. As has been mentioned many times already in this blog entry, this was essentially a must win game for NYG. The Cowboys would allow 510 yards of offense in this one, including 138 yards and 15 points over the final 5:41.
The scoring began when Tony Romo took a sack in the end zone on 2nd and 9 from the 9 to put the Giants ahead 2-0 with 9:42 in the 1st. The Giants drove for a FG after the free kick for a 5-0 lead, but Dallas led 7-5 at the end of 1 quarter. The Boys were leading 14-12 with 1:38 in the half when Felix Jones lost a fumble deep in Dallas territory and the Giants recovered at the 14. The Giants got a FG out of it to take a 15-14 lead, but the Cowboys got a late FG to take a 17-15 lead to halftime.
Trailing by 2 points at the start of the 4th quarter, Dallas went 80 yards in 4 plays for a score to take a 27-22 lead. Eli Manning was picked off at the Dallas 21 on the ensuing NYG drive, and Sean Lee returned it to the NYG 49. 2 plays later Tony Romo hooked up with Dez Bryant on a 50-yard TD pass to give the Cowboys a commanding 34-22 lead with only 5:41 left on the clock. New York had 2 timeouts left.
Folks were celebrating at Jura World, which is kinda weird considering it was a Sunday night and it was the Dallas Cowboys. They should be expecting a disaster at this point. The Dallas defense promptly allowed the G-Men to go 80 yards in 8 plays over just 2:27, scoring a TD to cut the lead to 34-29 with 3:14 remaining. The Giants scored so quickly they could just kick it deep and play defense.
Following NYG’s 2nd timeout, the Boys faced 3rd and 5 from the Dallas 25 with 2:25 on the clock. A 1st down here would basically ice the game. Romo dropped back and Miles Austin came open behind the NYG secondary. All Romo and Austin had to do was complete this pass and it would have all but ended the game. If Romo had hit Austin in stride he would most likely have gone all the way for a touchdown to put the game away for certain. But the pass fell incomplete. Technically you would say the ball was overthrown, but in reality it was more like Austin simply not getting to the ball for whatever reason. He would later claim to have lost it in the lights.
Now the Cowboys had to punt it back to the Giants. Needing a great punt from Mat McBriar, the Cowboys got just the opposite, as the kick went 33 yards, giving the G-Men the ball at their own 42 with 2:12 and a timeout left. The Giants went 58 yards in 6 plays over 1:26, aided by a pair of Dallas penalties. After the Boys had spent all of their timeouts, Brandon Jacobs scored from a yard out to give the Giants the lead. Danny Ware ran in the 2-pt conversion to make it 37-34 NYG.
The Cowboys had 46 seconds and no timeouts to work with. They drove from their own 20 to the NYG 29 and spiked the ball with 6 seconds left. Dan Bailey was brought on to try a 47-yard FG. He banged the kick home, but the Giants had 1 timeout left and they used it here, wiping the kick off the board. For the 2nd week in a row, Bailey would hit his 1st attempt and then fail on his 2nd attempt after being iced (this time by the other team). After the timeout, Bailey’s 2nd attempt was blocked by JPP, sealing the win for the Giants and opening the door for their championship run.
2. Week 8: New Orleans at St. Louis (21-31)
This was the single biggest upset of the season in terms of point spread, as the Saints were favored by 13.5. It’s also the most inexplicable and befuddling loss of the season. And this was certainly a costly loss, as the Saints would have ended up as the #2 seed in the NFC if they had won 1 more game during the regular season. That could have made a huge difference in the postseason.
The Saints came into the game 5-2, having beaten the Colts 62-7 a week before. The Rams were 0-6, having lost their last 2 games by a combined score of 58-10. They had not scored more than 16 points in a game all season. AJ Feeley was starting at quarterback for the Rams.
Perhaps the most mind boggling statistic from this game is that the Saints were outgained 323-283. Yes, 283 yards for the Saints—who led the NFL averaging 467.1 yards per game this season—against the Rams—who finished 22nd in the NFL allowing 358.4 yards per game. The Saints played like garbage, turning it over twice, allowing the Rams to go 2 for 2 on 4th down conversions, giving up a blocked punt, and missing a FG.
After punting on their 1st possession, the Saints drove into STL territory on their next possession, and they had a 1st and 10 at the 36 with 5:50 to go in the 1st quarter. They ended up having to settle for a 49-yard FG attempt and Mason Crosby missed it wide left. The game was scoreless after a quarter.
With 9:29 left in the 2nd, the Rams decided to go for it on 4th and 2 from the New Orleans 40. They got a 17-yard completion for a 1st down at the 23 and ended up getting a FG to take a 3-0 lead with 8:32 in the 2nd. The Saints moved into STL territory on the ensuing possession, but on 3rd and 4 from the 43 Brees was sacked and the Saints had to punt.
The Saints got the ball back at their own 25 with 2:05 remaining in the half, still trailing 3-0. It was pretty shocking to see the Saints still scoreless after nearly 28 minutes of play, but it was about to get much worse. They ended up having to punt on 4th and 19 from their own 30. Rookie defensive end Robert Quinn busted through and blocked Thomas Morstead’s punt. The Rams took over at the New Orleans 15 with 1:36 on the clock. St. Louis took full advantage of the opportunity, scoring two plays later to go up 10-0 with 1:10 left in the 2nd quarter.
There was still time for the Saints to try and do something before halftime and that ended up getting them into even more trouble. On the 1st play of the Saints next possession, Drew Brees was intercepted at the 38. The Rams had 58 seconds to add to their lead. With the aid of 2 New Orleans penalties, the Rams moved inside the 10, and Feeley hooked up with Brandon Lloyd for a touchdown with 17 seconds left. 17-0 Rams was the most shocking halftime score of the 2011 season.
The Saints still couldn’t get it in gear after the break, punting on their opening possession of the 3rd quarter. The Rams knew that eventually the Saints would get clicking and they stayed aggressive. With 7:16 remaining in the 3rd, the Rams again decided to gamble, this time going for it on 4th and 2 from the New Orleans 35. Steven Jackson busted through a hole for 32 yards and a 1st and goal at the 3. Two plays later Jackson scored from 3 yards out, capping off an 11-play, 73-yard drive that ate up 5:44 of clock and extended STL’s lead to an inconceivable 24-0 with just 6 minutes remaining in the 3rd quarter.
Eventually the Rams would have to sweat a little bit, but amazingly it wasn’t the Saints offense that got their rally sparked. On the next New Orleans possession they faced 4th and 2 from their own 36. Trailing by 24 with a little more than 18 minutes of time left, this would have been a reasonable time to go for it. Instead, the Saints sent Morstead on to punt and he boomed a 58 yarder that pinned the Rams at their own 6. On 3rd and 6 from the 10, Malcolm Jenkins came on a blitz and separated Feeley from the ball at the 1. Jonathan Vilma recovered the ball in the end zone for the Saints.
It had taken until the 1:21 mark in the 3rd quarter for New Orleans to get on the board, and it was the defense that had finally broken through. The Rams still held a 24-7 lead as the game moved to the 4th quarter, but at 0-6 you know they had to be a little concerned. The Saints defense stepped up again, forcing a 3-and-out on the Rams next possession, and the Saints got the ball back at their 32 with nearly an entire quarter left to play. Finally the offense woke up, as Brees led the Saints on a 10-play, 68-yard drive for a TD over 4:45, cutting the deficit to 24-14 with a full 10 minutes remaining.
The Saints would get the ball back at their own 33, down 10 with 6:28 on the clock. It was starting to feel like the Rams were the Rams and the Saints were the Saints again. But just as it seemed inevitable that the Saints were going to come back and pull this one out, Brees fired 3 straight incompletions and the Saints had to punt it back to the Rams. By the time the Saints got the ball back at their own 20-yard line there was just 3:01 on the clock and they were down to just 1 timeout. They still needed 2 scores, meaning they would need to score, recover an onside kick, and then score again.
It never got that far, as on the 1st play after the punt Darian Stewart intercepted a Brees pass and took it 27 yards to the house. The Saints scored a meaningless touchdown with 6 seconds left to make the final score look somewhat less embarrassing. The Rams won it 31-21 for their 1st victory of the season. For the Rams, the win was one of only two they would get all season. For the Saints, it was one of only three games they would lose during the regular season. They would not lose again until the Divisional round of the playoffs.
1. Wildcard Round: Pittsburgh at Denver (23-29 [OT])
We’ve covered this one in detail already in this blog entry, but it is #1 on the list so we’d better look at it again. This one had all the components. It was obviously a costly loss, as it ended Pittsburgh’s season. The Steelers played poorly, missed chances to win, and lost in painful fashion. And the Steelers lost to a vastly inferior team. Plus, they lost in a way that was almost hard to believe.
The Steelers were certainly a banged up bunch and they were playing in the altitude on the road, but that doesn’t begin to explain or excuse what happened. Pittsburgh was favored by 7.5. They finished the regular season 12-4 with a +98 scoring differential and they had won 6 of their last 7 games. The Broncos ended the regular season 8-8 with a -81 scoring differential and they had lost 3 straight.
The Steelers hurt themselves with 67 yards of penalties and a turnover on their side of the field. They gave up 5 sacks for -45 yards. But it was the performance by Pittsburgh’s defense—the most respected in the NFL today—that was truly shocking. The Steelers led the NFL in total defense (271.8 yards allowed per game) and passing defense (171.9 yards allowed per game), while the Broncos finished 23rd in total offense (316.6 yards per game) and 31st in passing offense (152.1 yards per game). Yet on this day the Broncos would rack up 447 yards of total offense, 316 of those yards coming through the air. The Pittsburgh defense allowed 5 passing plays for 30 yards or more. They did not register a sack and they had just 1 tackle for loss the entire game.
The game began as expected, with Pittsburgh driving for a FG to go up 3-0 on the opening possession of the game. They stopped Denver 3-and-out on their first 2 possessions. On Pittsburgh’s 3rd drive they got another FG to take a 6-0 lead into the 2nd quarter.
That’s when the trouble began. On the 2nd play of the 2nd quarter, with the Broncos facing 3rd and 12 from their 18, the Steelers allowed a 51-yard pass completion to Demaryius Thomas. Two plays later they gave up a 30-yard TD pass from Tim Tebow to Eddie Royal that put the Broncos ahead 7-6. The Steelers went 3-and-out on their next possession. On the 2nd play of the Broncos next drive the Steelers allowed a pass to Thomas for 58 yards to the Pittsburgh 12. Two plays later they let Tebow go up the middle for an 8-yard TD run that made 14-6.
On the 3rd play of the ensuing Pittsburgh drive Big Ben was picked off at the Steelers 27 and it was returned to the 19. A roughing the passer penalty gave the Broncos 1st and goal at the 9 and they ended up getting a FG to extend their lead to 17-6. Pittsburgh got 1 first down and then punted on their next possession. The Broncos got the ball back and moved 59 yards in 8 plays, kicking another FG to make it 20-6.
The Steelers moved the ball into Denver territory on their final possession of the half. On 3rd and 4 from the Broncos 32 with 39 seconds left the ball was snapped over Big Ben’s head and the Steelers had to fall on the ball back at the 45 for a 13 yard loss. The game went to the half with the Broncos holding a stunning 20-6 lead.
Finally the Steelers got things going in the right direction at the start of the 3rd. They stopped Denver’s first drive of the 2nd half at the Pittsburgh 32, and then drove 87 yards for a touchdown to cut the deficit to 20-13 with 4:29 to go in the 3rd. But the defense couldn’t sustain the momentum. On the ensuing Denver possession, Pittsburgh was hit with a pass interference penalty that moved the ball 32 yards, and the Broncos ended up adding another FG to make it a 2-score game again with 13:10 left in the 4th quarter.
Pittsburgh responded by driving for a FG to make it a 7-point game again with just under 10 minutes to go. On the next Denver possession the Pittsburgh defense finally stepped up, recovering a fumble at their own 45 with 7:35 on the clock. Big Ben led the Steelers down field for a touchdown that tied it up at 23-23 with 3:48 remaining.
The Steelers got the ball back at their own 24 with 1:37 on the clock and 2 timeouts remaining. Big Ben moved the team into Denver territory. They had a 1st and 10 at the Broncos 45 with 29 seconds left and 1 timeout remaining. It looked like the Steelers were going to pull this thing out. But then Big Ben was sacked for a loss of 11, derailing the drive, and the Steelers wound up with nothing.
The game went to overtime. On the first play of the extra session, Tim Tebow hit Thomas over the middle and he went down the right side for an 80-yard touchdown to win the game, 29-23.
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