Lang on NFL: Tebowmania strikes back
Posted January 9, 2012 12:18 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
There is much to get to after this weekend’s playoff games, let’s get right to it.
1) Tebow 3:16
Star of the game:
How can it be anyone else but Tim Tebow? In the final three weeks of the regular season Tebow looked lost as he struggled with his accuracy and turned the ball over too much. In the first quarter of Sunday’s game against the Steelers he had zero yards passing. From the second quarter on Tebow ended up with 316 yards pass and two touchdowns. He also ended up with an impressive quarterback rating of 125.6.
Tebow saved his best for last as he hit Demaryius Thomas for an 80-yard game-winning touchdown on the first play of overtime.
Up until overtime, the Broncos almost always ran the ball on first down. Mike McCoy desgined a brilliant play, as Tebow executed a nice fake handoff out of the shotgun formation and hit Thomas in stride with a money throw. I think that’s what John Elway meant when he wanted Tebow to “pull the trigger” in this game.
The fact that Tebow threw for 316 yards and averaged 31.6 yards per completion is more important than his favourite Bible passage; John 3:16. Keep in mind that Tebow put up his best numbers of the season against the No. 1 pass defence in the league.
Stiff of the game:
Poor Ike Taylor had a nightmare of a game in the Steelers secondary. I know the Steelers missed the steady influence of safety Ryan Clark, but that doesn’t excuse Taylor getting burned by Tebow time and time again. After getting beat in pass coverage throughout the game, Taylor was stiff armed by Thomas on the game-winning score.
Unsung Hero:
The entire Broncos offensive line deserve this award. Facing the ferocious Steelers pass rush, the Broncos did not allow a single sack during Tebow’s 21 pass attempts. The offensive line also paved the way for the Broncos running game, which kept the defence honest throughout the game.
Turning point:
The turning point of this game took place when the Broncos won the coin flip to begin the overtime period. That’s really all it took because on the first play of the new overtime format, Tebow hit Thomas for a touchdown that Broncos fans will be talking about for years to come. An injury-riddled Ben Roethlisberger did all he could to give the Steelers a chance to win. He just couldn’t overcome another example of “Tebow Time”.
What’s next?:
Tebow and the Broncos will meet Tom Brady and the Patriots on Saturday night in a rematch of their Week 15 showdown.
2) Brees strikes again
Star of the game:
Drew Brees might not win the MVP award this year, but that’s not stopping him from putting up ridiculous numbers week after week. Trailing 14-10 after two quarters, Brees led the Saints to five touchdowns on their first five possessions in the second half. He ended up with a staggering 466 yards passing and three touchdowns as the Saints shredded the overmatched Lions secondary.
Stiff of the game:
Anyone and everyone who plays in the Lions secondary. Eric Wright, Louis Delmas, Chris Houston, Aaron Berry and anyone else the Lions dropped back into pass coverage were repeatedly victimized by Brees and the Saints offence. Brees completed five passes in the second half that went for at least 30 yards. In total, the Lions allowed the Saints to gain 626 total yards, a new NFL playoff record.
Unsung hero:
Saints cornerback Jabari Greer wins this award on a night where he intercepted two Matthew Stafford passes. The Lions kept coming at the Saints and Sean Payton was in need of someone on his defence to make a play and get the ball back in Brees’ hands. Greer did it twice.
Turning point:
With the Saints holding on to a 31-21 lead in the fourth quarter, the Lions took possession of the ball on their own 20 yard line. Matthew Stafford threw a deep pass only to have it picked off by Greer. Four plays later, Brees hit Robert Meachem for a 56-yard touchdown and it was party time in New Orleans.
One look at how wide open Meachem was on this 56-yard touchdown will tell you all you need to know about the kind of night from the Lions secondary suffered through.
What’s next?:
Up next the Saints travel to San Francisco to face the 49ers in a show-down between the league’s leading offence and the No. 1 ranked defence.
3) The bad boys from New York
Star of the game:
Honourable mention goes out to running back Brandon Jacobs for gaining 92 bruising yards on only 14 carries. But the star of this game was Eli Manning after the way he overcame some adversity early in the game and ended up throwing three touchdown passes. Early in the game Manning and the Giants offense looked out of sync as the team recorded a safety in the second quarter. From that point on Manning led the Giants to 24 unanswered points. At the end of the day, the Giants taught the Falcons a brutal lesson on what it takes to win the playoffs.
Stiff of the game:
Where do I start; Matt Ryan for another playoff failure, Michael Turner for being held to 41 yards when the Falcons desperately needed him to have a big game? They are all good candidates, but the biggest stiff in his game was Falcons head coach Mike Smith. Twice Smith ordered his team to go for it on 4th-and-1. The first time he called a quarterback sneak that went nowhere. The next time it happened the Falcons ran the exact same play with predictable results.
Unsung Hero:
This award is shared by Giants defensive tackle Chris Canty and linebacker Chase Blackburn. No matter how hard the Falcons tried to run the ball, Canty and Blackburn were there to shut them down.
Turning point:
The turning point in this game took place in the third quarter with the Giants leading 10-2. The Falcons decided to go for it and instead of handing the ball to Turner, the Falcons decided to ask Ryan to get the first down on a sneak. Blackburn and Jason Pierre-Paul stuffed Ryan and three plays later Manning hit Hakeem Nicks for a 72-yard touchdown.
What’s next?:
Now the Giants will travel to the Frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field to face Aaron Rodgers and the Packers in a classic showdown of two of the NFL’s classic franchises.
4) In Foster they trust
Star of the game:
There really was only one way the Texans were going to win this game; Arian Foster had to run the ball down the Bengals throats. Facing a defense built around stopping him, Foster delivered as he ran for 153 yards on 24 carries. Late in the fourth quarter Foster wrapped up the game when he rambled 42 yards for his second touchdown of the game.
Stiff of the game:
Andy Dalton wins the award after a brutal day at Reliant Stadium. The kid that starred at TCU could not have looked much worse as he tossed three interceptions against Houston. One of intercepti
ons was a pick-six to J.J. Watt, a defensive lineman for crying out loud.
Unsung hero:
Watt wins this award after returning an Dalton interception 29 yards for what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Watt is only the fifth defensive lineman in the last three decades to return an interception for a touchdown.
Turning point:
The turning point in this game took place late in the third quarter. With the Texans holding on to a seven point lead, T.J. Yates put the game out of reach when he noticed that Andre Johnson had beaten Bengals cornerback Pacman Jones. Yates then hooked up with Johnson on a on a 40-yard touchdown that broke the Bengals back.
What’s next?:
The Texans will be in Baltimore to face the Ravens in a re-match of their Week 6 game.
