The Final Drive: Week 15, 2011

I’m not sure what else you could have wanted from week 15 in the NFL. Two impressive streaks ended, the “Trap of the Week” proved to be true once again and one win never mattered as much as it did for Indianapolis. (And Candlestick Park was sans light… for a few second before auxiliary lighting come on. Not as much drama.) Many a-loser won on this day. Oddsmakers be damned! Get ready for The Final Drive!

Oh Tennessee. How could you? You somehow managed to give their first lowly Colts a victory whilst in the midst of your own playoff hunt. For shame. While it’s nice to get a win (I’m sure), Jim Caldwell should still get effing fired.

Another streak brought to a necessary conclusion! Honestly, as much as we generally thought the Packers COULD do it, it’s probably better that they didn’t. Injuries to their offensive line killed them yesterday against the Chief pass rush, just one facet of a defense that made it difficult on Aaron Rodgers. Well done Romeo Crennel. Oh yeah, and the Chiefs can somehow still get into the playoffs.

BOOM! You got TRAPPED Eli! This was such an obvious upset to pick, even in a day that ended up with a metric ton of stunning results. How the Giants could come out and lay an egg like this when they had a chance to put some distance in front of the Cowboys is appalling. (And hilarious.)

What a heart attack this game must have been. Or it would have been… if either of these teams could actually make any noise in the playoffs. Yay for Detroit and all though. It was another good comeback from the Lions, who are making a habit of falling behind early.

THANK YOU TOM BRADY. That being said… I suppose I have to pay up my debt. (This bet has a 24-hour time limit or it becomes null and void. Any Patriot fan that reads this best get in touch with New England’s PR department in a hurry.) We all thought the Broncos couldn’t hang with an actual offense and we were right. All of their victories have come against teams with decent defenses but inconsistent offenses.

IN YOUR F###ING FACE TEBOW!!!!  

(6-8) Philadelphia Eagles 45
(8-6) New York Jets 19
Yet another New York team drops a key game. The Jets defense got absolutely roasted, giving up a 28-0 lead to the Eagles with just under ten minutes left in the second quarter. Mark Sanchez had another pedestrian performance, tossing two picks and failing to get his team in the endzone. Each team had four turnovers, but the difference was Philly’s ability to turn those opportunities into touchdowns. I can’t believe they have a chance to win the division.

(7-7) San Diego Chargers 34
(10-4) Baltimore Ravens 14
That’s it Baltimore. I’m done with you. Your utter lack of intensity versus “sub-par” teams is ridiculous and pathetic. I don’t care how good your defense is supposed to be or how great you think Joe Flacco’s season has been, you clearly don’t want to win your division or get a home playoff game. Have fun losing on the road again, slackers.

(11-3) San Francisco 49ers 20
(10-4) Pittsburgh Steelers 3
Amidst two power outages, subsequent delays and mind-numbing analysis of the delays (“Who does this delay favor?” SCREW YOU. They’re both f###ing delayed!), there was an actual game here. San Fran, you’re legitimate. I’m still not sure you can hang with an offense that has a fully healthy quarterback (because you still have Alex Smith, natch), but you’ve beaten the Steelers are their own game. (Playing great defense and controlling the ball.) Now try to hold off the Saints, yeah?

That was one helluva week NFL fans. Does week 16 have what it takes to follow it up? Check back for The Opening Drive before Saturday’s action!