Week 14: Sunday Recap

Whoever decided to schedule a Downton Abbey marathon on a Sunday when the know I am supposed to be watching football is on my list...the bad one. I know that Public Television is funded by viewers like me but you mean to tell me they couldn't do the marathon today when they know I am off work? Selfish. The good news is that, thanks to carefully observing my husband's technique, I have become a master of the remote control. I am now able to keep up with 3 football games AND the lives of post World War I English aristocrats. It's not easy, but no sacrifice is. Now on to the 14th Sunday of this NFL season.

I am so in love with this show, hopefully someone is donating money to keep it going.

-It was another emotional week in the NFL, this time for the Dallas Cowboys. Early Saturday morning a practice-squad linebacker for the Cowboys, Jerry Brown, dies in a one-car accident. His roommate and best friend, Josh Brent, was driving the car and has been arrested for intoxication manslaughter. Just like the Kansas City Chiefs were playing for much more than a W last week, this week the Cowboys were playing for their own fallen teammate. Dan Bailey kicked a game winning 40-yard field goal as time expired and the Cowboys beat the Cincinnati Bengals 19-20. 

- The Panthers may be in last place, but they have not given up. That much was certain when they took on the Atlanta Falcons who are tied for the best record in the NFL with the Houston Texans. I was at the game when these two teams played the first time and the Falcons came back to win the game and I would have said that this game would go much the same way if not worse for the Panthers. But we have all learned over the course of this football season that I really have no idea what I am talking about. Cam Newton was like a man on fire. Not only did he throw for 287 yards and 2 touchdowns, but he also led the team in rushing with 116 rushing yards including one 72-yard run that ended in a somersault into the end-zone. The Panthers won 20-30 and I have another all-to-rare excuse to google images of Cam Newton. 

That, my friends, is how you score a touchdown. Nevermind that they are last in the league.

- The Washington Redskins pulled of an overtime victory over the Baltimore Ravens. What's more impressive is that they pulled the win off with back-up quarterback, Kirk Cousins, leading the team in place of RG3 who went down with a sprained knee during the last drive of the fourth quarter. "Impress Him" Face: Kirk Cousins is also a rookie who has played in ONE GAME this season. The Redskins were down by 8 points when Cousins threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Pierre Garcon and then ran the ball in himself for a 2 point conversion to tie the game and send it into overtime. The Redskins won 28-31 and while RG3 did not tear his ACL, the Redskins are still waiting to see who their starting QB will be next week.

- The Seattle Seahawks beat the Arizona Cardinals 0-58. I don't really know if I need to say anything else about that.

- It was all about Adrian Peterson when the Minnesota Vikings took on the Chicago Bears. Peterson rushed for 154 yards and 2 touchdowns in the Vikings 14-21 win over the Bears. "Impress Him" Fact: Peterson has 7 straight games with 100+ rushing yards. He has 1600 rushing yards this season with 3 games to play, putting him closer to the goal of a 2000 yard season. Oh and remember that he basically just had his whole knee reconstructed before this season. Man or robot? You decide. The Bears, who were already without linebacker, Brian Urlacher, also lost Jay Cutler in the fourth quarter with a neck injury. 

There are your highlights from Sunday #14! There are 2 regular season Sunday's to go and then the Playoffs start and basically everything that happened the 16 weeks before doesn't matter. Of course, Downton Abbey will also have it's season 3 premier during these "playoffs".... so when you make your donation to PBS (I would donate, but my husband hid my credit card) could you please ask them to start playing Downton Abbey on Saturdays, when I don't have anything to do? That would be great.

Week 8: Off The Grid

This week I have been a bad little blogger. I skipped re-capping Monday night's game, mostly because it was a snoozer (the Chicago Bears beat the Detroit Lions 13-7) and I will likely not be able to recap tonight's game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Minnesota Vikings...but I have a good excuse! I am heading up to Sewanee, TN for my 10 year college reunion. For those of you who don't know anything about Sewanee, it is literally on top of a mountain called the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee...somewhere in between Nashville and Chattanooga. Aside: While Sewanee does not make many (or any) ESPN headlines these days, it was once quite the football powerhouse. Sewanee was actually a founding member of the SEC and in 1899 the football team shutout 5 southern teams (Texas, Texas A&M, Tulane, LSU, and Ole Miss) in 6 days...making it one of the most accomplished football teams in history. When I was a student in Sewanee I don't think that wireless internet existed; while I am sure that technology has made itself up The Mountain, I don't think I will be looking for it this weekend. So instead of a recap of tonight's game tomorrow, how about a preview of it tonight?

"...and on the 7th day the rested"; the legendary 1899 Sewanee Football team, intimidating aren't they?

-The Minnestoa Vikings are looking to their star running back, Adrian Peterson, to get them the 5th straight home win tonight against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It would be their first 5-0 home start since 2009. The Vikings will also need wide receiver, Percy Harvin to step up during this game. QB, Christian Ponder has completed 53 passes to Harvin despite the Vikings being at the bottom of the barrel in the league when it comes to the passing game.  'Impress Him" Facts: The Vikings are ranked 27th out of 32 teams in passing yards per game. They are averaging 203.4 passing yards per game. Perterson is just 10 months removed from major knee surgery but is tied for 3rd place with 652 rushing yards.

- On the flip side, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have lost 9 straight on the road. However, they are third in the league when it comes to rush defense...which could come in handy against the Vikings who have been relying heavily on their running game. Tampa Bay is only allowing an average of 3.1 rushing yards per game

What's the bottom line? Tampa Bay is terrible on the road but talented when it comes to stopping the run. If they can shake off their jitters and just do what they do best, they are going to force Minnesota to try to throw the ball, and that is where the Vikings run into trouble.

Now I may have left you high a dry this week, but don't worry, I will be back online in time for Sunday Football. I hope everyone has a great weekend, I know I will...I mean, how could I not??

not a bad place to spend the weekend...or 4 years.