After the Bengals jumped out to an early 7-0 lead (every team that scored first lost this weekend), they were outscored 31-3 thereafter. There were three fumbles in the first 20 minutes (all recovered by the fumbling team), as postseason jitters were evident (Arian Foster needs to correct this problem, although he'll almost certainly be at the top of my draft board in 2012 regardless)…This was the first ever matchup between two rookie quarterbacks in the playoffs…Marvin Lewis made two bad challenges early on plays that were quite likely not going to be overturned, effectively burning two timeouts and ending any chance of Cincy correcting a possible injustice later in the game. He deserves the fault here, but why doesn't the NFL just turn to the college system when it comes to replays?...What a play by J.J. Watt! In a Wild Card weekend filled with numerous drops, his catch was the most impressive…
Police getting caught planting evidence by their own camera. Despicable.
Man misses mouse and shoots roommate, revealing child rapist.
With a sick hurdle, now Jerome Simpson is just showing off…The "effort" while trying to tackle Arian Foster on his 42-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter by the Bengals was among the worst I've ever witnessed…After the Bengals completed a 16-yard pass on 3rd-and-19 early in the fourth quarter in a 14-point game, what was Gary Kubiak thinking calling a timeout when Cincy lined up to punt? After reconsidering during the break, the Bengals (predictably and rightfully so) went for it on 4th-and-3. Although they didn't pick up the first down, Houston then made another curious decision, as Jonathan Joseph decided to catch an interception that cost them 23 yards of field position, making it ultimately like a punt anyway…Tom Hammond referred to Matt Schaub as Matt "Schoop" three times…Speaking of announcers, how great is Mike Mayock? Dude is so over the top, honest and most importantly, passionate. He's the NFL's equivalent to the NBA's Jeff Van Gundy, and that's a good thing.
Marriage proposal fail.
With all due respect to the Packers, who remain rightfully the favorites to win the Super Bowl, there's little question in my mind the single toughest challenge in the NFL right now is to play the Saints in New Orleans. That said, there's even less of a question the Lions should have had a 21-7 lead Saturday night, as they were absolutely robbed of a defensive touchdown thanks to an errant whistle (Drew Brees lost a fumble that would have easily been returned for a touchdown). Seriously, what was that ref thinking? The line judge even threw his beanbag, letting it known he ruled it a fumble...After letting it be known I liked the Saints versus the field to score the most points this weekend, it wasn't ideal to first watch the Texans drop 31 points and then have New Orleans have just 10 points at halftime (with the Giants/Falcons upcoming matchup projected to be something of a shootout too). Well, whatever adjustments the Saints made during the break worked, as they scored 35 points (which could've been 42 if they wanted) over the game's final 30 minutes…
I'm not sure I'd describe him as the "dumbest," but this criminal certainly isn't the smartest.
Man named "Beezow Doo-Doo Zopittybop-Bop-Bop" arrested.
New Orleans is 9-0 at home against the spread this season…The Saints had the fewest fumbles in NFL history during the regular season this year. They had two during the first 25 minutes of Saturday's game…Over his last four contests, Calvin Johnson has 36 catches for 771 yards and six touchdowns. He's topped 210 yards in three of those four games. Only Jerry Rice, Randy Moss and Terrell Owens are in the conversation with Johnson when it comes to best wide receivers in NFL history…Robert Meachem had a big game with no Lance Moore, but he also dropped a perfectly thrown ball while wide open that would have resulted in a 60-yard touchdown…Not sure why Drew Brees was rewarded a first down on a fourth down sneak when he jumped over the line holding the ball out like all that mattered was if it crossed the goal-line for a touchdown, since he landed well behind the first down marker, but apparently it worked…Speaking of bad referring, and this was the worst weekend I can think of in recent memory, how about them allowing the clock to run out after the Saints kneeled the ball on FOURTH DOWN at the end of Saturday night's game? I understand it's inconsequential, but this is a billion dollar industry, so they might want to get the details right. I mean, there were still gambling ramifications, no matter how unlikely.
Watching these flagrant fouls by high schoolers is surprisingly (and depressingly) intriguing.
Basketball team loses at the end of a game because the other squad has six players on the court, and the coach is fired hours later.
Roddy White led the NFL with 15 drops this season and had a couple (back breakers) more Sunday. You'd have to be Gary Busey level crazy to take him over Julio Jones next year…The Hakeem Nicks versus Victor Cruz debate, however, is much closer. I haven't made up my mind yet…Matt Ryan had a 10:0 TD:INT ratio with an 8.2 YPA over the final four games of the season, and he posted a 17:3 TD:INT ratio with a 100.6 QB rating over Atlanta's last nine contests during the regular season, taking just seven sacks over that span. Another interesting note is that despite the narrative that suggested otherwise, his YPA jumped from 7.2 indoors to 7.8 outdoors while his INT|PERCENT| dropped (from indoors to outdoors) in 2011. Still, he picked apart bad teams and struggled against good ones, so it's no surprise he was a no-show during the Falcons' embarrassing performance against the Giants on Sunday…I'm beginning to think Eli Manning's past (and only) two ugly home games during the postseason weren't predictive of his next one. Seriously, how pathetic were the Falcons in short-yardage situations?...
Tim Howard scores a goal from 100 yards out.
Tattoo gives guy permanent erection.
What a hilarious ending to the first half. First the Giants call a timeout with 2:05 left with the Falcons facing a 3rd-and 21. The decision itself was questionable at the time, since Atlanta was likely to attempt a pass anyway, but it certainly wasn't indefensible. But it was humorous when Joe Buck later went out of his way to praise the timeout after the next play resulted in a Julio Jones 18-yard catch in which he went out of bounds. Emphasis on the out of bounds. So the difference was the Giants having 1:58 left versus 1:53 left plus a timeout, yet Buck was applauding the former. Man is he awful. Troy Aikman is insufferable as well…Soon thereafter, Hakeem Nicks' catch should have been ruled a first down. And instead of getting a measurement, the Giants quickly threw an incomplete pass out of shotgun needing just inches for a first, resulting in a punt…Then Atlanta pushed all its chips into the table and raised the level of incompetence, deciding not to call a timeout with more than 30 seconds left on a 3rd-and-4 play, so their ensuing first down at midfield gave them a whole four seconds to work with (not sure what was more weak, Mike Smith's cowardice or Matt Ryan's arm on his following Hail Mary attempt)…Seriously, who loses 24-2? It's more embarrassing than getting shutout when your defense produces more points than your offense.
Man employs skeleton so he can use HOV lane.
Woman caught sleeping in front row during NBC News/Facebook debate.
As someone who had the Steelers at the back end of a teaser and loaded up on them in my home fantasy playoff league, Sunday's game was a miserable experience. At first I found it funny the Broncos were putting up a fight, but in the end, the joke was clearly on me…Pittsburgh was the only team this year not to allow a 100-yard game from a receiver. Demaryius Thomas had 109 receiving yards on two catches during the second quarter Sunday…There was a "12 men in the huddle" penalty in all four games this weekend…As much as I criticized the draft pick at the time, it's very possible Demaryius Thomas over Dez Bryant was the right move, although according to Pro Football Focus' rankings, Bryant (#10) rated well ahead of Thomas (#57) among wide receivers this season…Not only did the refs blow another call on a clear fumble by Ben Roethlisberger that was ruled an incomplete pass, it also highlighted another error(s) made the previous day…
Man has massive 200-pound tumor removed from leg, looks happy regardless.
Papa John's apologizes for racial slur.
The Steelers finished the year allowing just 5.6 YPA – a significant 0.6 fewer than the next lowest. They also allowed the second-fewest rushing touchdowns in the NFL. So it was a surprise to see Tim Tebow throw for more yards against them Sunday than any QB had in 2011. Ryan Clark was out (why did he travel with them?), while Brett Keisel and Casey Hampton both left with injuries, but give me a break. Ike Taylor got abused, and while there's an argument Dick LeBeau is the second most valuable coach in football, he deserves to be criticized heavily. It's great that his containment scheme worked (3.9 YPC), but how that also resulted in both a non-existent pass rush (this game was mostly decided at the line of scrimmage) and his corners left on an island one-on-one is beyond me. Tebow actually deserves a ton of credit for some of his throws downfield, which were pinpoint accurate, but it's embarrassing to give up a long touchdown (with no safety help) in a new overtime format in which allowing a field goal could be considered a win…I love the Tebow story as much as anyone, but I'd argue what happened is crazier than most give credit for (says the person who backed Pitt) – he rolls to his right side as often as I do, as in never, so there was a serious coaching issue with Pittsburgh on Sunday. I'm not surprised by an upset in the NFL, but I was shocked at how the Broncos beat the Steelers…That's what I deserve for picking a serial rapist over a pious virgin.