Are You Ready for Some Football

[Jonny]

Let's go Phins!

[Lord Avalon]

Originally posted by Jonny
Let's go Phins!

0-0 under 9min in the 3rd. Lemon was put in for Harrington earlier this quarter.

D'oh! Jets just downed a punt at the 1. Here's hoping the Dolphins can get some sort of drive going, so as not to give up really good field position. A 'Phins score would be even better.

Uh-oh, Jason Taylor out, having been poked hard in the eye. Reports are he's having trouble seeing out of it. Jets at the 39, driving. D'oh, pass interference at the 10!

How bad is the Colts' run D? Ron Dayne (remember him?), who hasn't had a 100-yd rushing day in 5 yrs, had a career day: 153 yds, and on a bad ankle to boot.

Dayne-fueled Texans prevent Colts from clinching bye

HOUSTON (AP) -- Ron Dayne has been called everything from a disappointment to an all-out bust in his NFL career.

On Sunday nothing was going to stop him from proving -- if only for one afternoon -- that he was anything but a flop. The 1999 Heisman Trophy winner had a career-high 153 yards rushing and two touchdowns despite playing three quarters on an injured ankle, and Kris Brown kicked the winning 48-yard field goal as time expired, giving the Houston Texans their first win over Indianapolis, 27-24.
Dayne was injured on the first play of the second quarter when linebacker Gary Brackett hit him helmet-first on his right ankle. He sat out the rest of the series to get his ankle taped, something he said he'd never done in a game, and returned to carry the ball 20 more times.

"It was real sore," Dayne said. "I just kept going out there and every time I'd run and somebody might fall on it, I would come out. Then I would just go back out there even without them telling me to. I just wasn't going to be denied today."

The loss kept the AFC South champions from a chance to clinch a first-round playoff bye.

It was the first time Dayne, released by both the Giants and Broncos before landing in Houston, gained 100 yards since September 2001 with New York.

"The Texans believed in me and they gave me the opportunity, and I knew I could run the ball," he said. "I'm just trying to take advantage of it each week. When I get the ball I'm going to try to show coach that I want to be here and I want to help this team win."

The Texans (5-10) used Dayne and rookie Chris Taylor to eat up the clock and exploit the Colts' suspect run defense, ranked last in the NFL, while taking pressure off David Carr and the struggling passing game. The win broke a nine-game losing streak to the Colts (11-4).

The performance capped a span of four straight solid games in which Dayne had 429 yards rushing and five touchdowns.

"Bottom line, I don't care who you play, when you play or where you play, we've got to play better than we played today," said Colts defensive tackle Anthony McFarland.

Houston led through most of the game until Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison connected for their second touchdown, a 7-yard pass that tied it 24-24 with 2:41 remaining.

Carr and the Texans then engineered a six-play, 31-yard drive that ended with Brown's winning kick. The much-maligned Houston quarterback was 16-of-23 for 163 yards and a touchdown and was not sacked.

"It was really disappointing for us not to come through with a win down here," said Colts coach Tony Dungy. "But that's the way everything's been this year."

Dayne scored on runs of 3 and 6 yards on Houston's first two drives, and fullback Vonta Leach added a touchdown just before halftime. The Texans added a 42-yard field goal by Brown to stretch their lead to 24-17 in the fourth quarter.

The loss ruined another record day for Manning, who set an NFL mark by reaching 4,000 yards passing for the seventh time in his nine-year career. Manning was 21-of-27 for 205 yards and had three touchdown passes.

"This is a critical time for us," Manning said. "This is the time when people on the outside will start pointing fingers. As a team we need to stay together and guys just need to do their jobs a little bit better across the board and all three phases of the game."

He entered the game needing 90 yards to reach the mark and got it when he found Harrison on an 8-yard pass in the second quarter. His second touchdown pass of the day, a 9-yarder to Aaron Moorehead, came four plays later and tied it 14-14.

Indianapolis had a chance to get even again late in the third quarter, but Manning's feet got tangled up with his center and the pass fell short, forcing the Colts to settle for a 33-yard field goal that made it 21-17.

No. 1 overall pick Mario Williams finally emerged for Houston after a quiet few weeks. He forced Dominic Rhodes' fumble on the Colts' second play. Anthony Weaver recovered the ball on the Indianapolis 47.

Dayne's second touchdown run helped the Texans capitalize. He lowered his head and shook off a defender to cruise into the end zone for a 6-yard score that put Houston ahead 14-0.

The Colts needed a win over Houston and a loss by Baltimore on Sunday to secure a playoff bye. Now, that is in jeopardy.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=261224034

How lucky was it that Jeff Garcia broke his ankle last year? If he had played the whole season, might he still be with the Lions?

[Lord Avalon]

Zach Thomas' ankle tackle saves a TD. Jets' punter/holder comes out with gloves on, Jets get FG.

[ixnay]

With the Eagles win, the clinching scenarios for the last NFC wild card spot are clear now:

NYG can clinch a playoff berth with one of the following:
- Win + Strength of Victory tiebreaker over GB (currently .438 to .317)
- Win + GB loss/tie
- Tie + GB loss/tie + STL loss/tie + ATL loss/tie + CAR loss/tie
- GB, STL, ATL and CAR all lose.

GB can clinch a playoff berth with one of the following:
- Win + NYG win + SoV tiebreaker over NYG (currently .317 to .438)
- Win + NYG loss/tie + STL loss/tie
- Win + NYG loss/tie + CAR win
- Win + NYG loss/tie + ATL win
- Tie + NYG loss + STL loss/tie + CAR loss/tie

CAR can clinch a playoff berth with one of the following:
- Win + NYG loss/tie + GB loss/tie
- Tie + NYG loss + GB loss + STL loss/tie + ATL loss/tie

ATL can clinch a playoff berth with one of the following:
- Win + CAR loss/tie + GB loss/tie + STL loss/tie
- Tie + GB, NYG, CAR and STL all lose.

STL can clinch a playoff berth with one of the following:
- Win + NYG loss/tie + CAR loss/tie + ATL loss/tie
- Tie + NYG, CAR, ATL and GB all lose.

[Lord Avalon]

TD Miami!!

McMichael fights the last 3 yds to score!

[Darsnan]

Originally posted by Lord Avalon
TD Miami!!

McMichael fights the last 3 yds to score!

This IS Miami's playoff game this year - gotta stick it to the Jets!


D

[Imran Siddiqui]

Wow... this 4th Q has really gotten going doesn't it?

[Lord Avalon]

Yeah, that 1st score sometimes breaks things open.

Unfortunately, it looks like the Jets may have a TD.

Edit: That missed INT really hurt. Right to the DB, and he let it through his hands so it hit him in the helmet.

[Imran Siddiqui]

J-E-T-S!, JETS!, JETS!, JETS!!

[Imran Siddiqui]

I don't think anyone wants to win this game really.

[Lord Avalon]

The Jets need to, to help secure a wild card spot. (Edit) I believe they said they need to win this and their last game.

Freaky bounce on a punt! Bounced backwards into a blocking Jets player, Miami recovers!

[Jaguar]

I'm rooting for the Jets because I want them in the playoffs. They scare me a lot less than, say, the Bengals. It would be nice if the Colts had a cakewalk game in the first round.

[Lord Avalon]

I think it will help the Colts to have a 1st playoff game, rather than a bye. Having a bye seems to hurt their rhythm, IMO.

Edit: Of course whoever they face could run all over them and send them home.

[Jaguar]

The Jets can't run all over anyone. Not with the three-headed monster of Cedric Houston, Kevan Barlow, and Leon Washington. Although it would help if they'd recognize that Washington is by far the best back of the three, and actually give him carries and stuff.

[Jaguar]

LOL! I jinxed it.