Showing posts with label Bengals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bengals. Show all posts

Saturday, January 5, 2013

Texans and Packers Winners Saturday

The NFL playoffs started today with two games in the Wild Card round.

The first one featured a rematch from last year's Wild Card round with the Bengals once again making a trip to Houston to take on the Texans. Houston managed to win last year's game and pulled off the same result today. It was a low scoring game throughout and the Bengals offense didn't do much failing to convert all 9 of their 3rd down attempts, only getting 12 first downs compared to Houston's 24, and only having 198 total yards compared to Houston's 420. The Bengals' only TD came off a Leon Hall interception in the 2nd quarter. Cincy's defense might've kept them in the game until the end but their offense didn't have the spark. Houston wins 19-13.

The 2nd game was less exciting despite the match up. After beating the Packers in Minnesota just to get into the postseason, the Vikings now traveled to Green Bay to face the cheeseheads for a 2nd week in a row. This time, however, they had to do it without Christian Ponder at QB. Joe Webb came in off the bench to play having not thrown the ball once this season. On top of that, the Green Bay defense played Adrian Peterson much better allowing him to get just 99 rushing yards on 22 carries. That combined with Joe Webb equaled a Packers win 24-10.

Both home teams win and know who they will face in the next round. The Texans will travel to New England to face the Patriots while the Packers go to the Bay Area to play the 49ers. Both the Texans and the Packers played their upcoming opponents during the regular season. The Pats beat the Texans in week 14 while the 49ers beat the Packers in week 1.

Monday, December 24, 2012

Steelers Out, Cowboys and G-Men Lose, Packers in Line for a #2 Seed and More

Week 16 was a big week in the NFL for the playoff picture and some playoff hopefuls. The Steelers, however, have gone down to playoff "Nopefuls."

The Cincinnati Bengals have lost their last 5 games against the Pittsburgh Steelers but could make up for all of that by clinching a playoff spot at Heinz Field. It was a close game throughout being tied up at 10-10. The Steelers had the ball with 44 seconds left in the game and were trying to get within field goal range for their kicker. Ben Roethlisberger then made a mistake and threw an interception to Safety Reggie Nelson of the Bengals on a pass intended for WR Mike Wallace. After a 21 yard pass from Andy Dalton to AJ Green, the Bengals kicker Josh Brown hit a 37 yard field goal to win the game with 4 seconds left. Bengals win 13-10 clinching a playoff spot while also eliminating the Steelers from the postseason picture.

Meanwhile, there were a lot of big games involving the NFC East teams. First, the Redskins were able to hold off the Eagles to win it 27-20. Robert Griffin III made his return after a week off due to injury and went 16/24 for 198 passing yards, 2 TD passes, and one INT. Meanwhile, the Cowboys fought back from14 down against the Saints and managed to tie the game forcing OT. However, the Saints got the ball after the Cowboys initial possession and managed to hit the game winning FG after a fumble by Marques Colston went their way and the ball was recovered by Saints TE Jimmy Graham at the Dallas 2. Garrett Hartley hit the 20 yard chip shot to win it for the Saints 34-31. As for the G-Men, they get manhandled for a 2nd week in row (though not shutout) with this loss coming at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens 33-14. The Ravens had 25 first downs in this game compared to the G-Men's 11 and had the ball for nearly 40 minutes.

As for other games in the NFL, the Packers destroyed the Jaguars 55-7 as Aaron Rodgers threw 3 TD passes in this game. That win combined with the 49ers loss gives Green Bay control of the #2 seed in the NFC heading into the last week of the season. Andrew Luck and the Colts clinched a playoff spot with a win over the Chiefs 20-13. The Colts get back into the playoffs after the horrible season last year. Last I'll mention that the Patriots and the Broncos win their respective games while the Texans fall to the Vikings 23-6. Houston still has control of the #1 seed in the AFC with the tie breaker over Denver while the Broncos have a 1 game lead over the Pats for the #2 seed.

One more week means some great games to finish the season. The biggest one might be the Redskins and the Cowboys taking over Sunday Night with the NFC East title on the line.

P.S. For a recap on the 49ers loss, click here. Be sure to check out the 49ers section at prosportsblogging.com before and after every game.

Friday, November 30, 2012

No Big Ben vs. Ravens

The Steelers woes at QB remain stagnant to put it at best. It seems that Ben Roethlisberger will not be playing Sunday's game in Baltimore due to his injured shoulder. Apparently his arm is throwing balls soft enough so that I can catch them. So Ben sits as the team will likely go with Charlie Batch, their third string starter, to see if he can win the day against the Ravens who beat the Steelers in the first meeting of these two teams 13-10 in Pittsburgh.

This is a dangerous for the Steelers. While their schedule does get easier and the likelihood of Big Ben coming back increases, they still would have zero room for error if they lose this Sunday. They would fall to 6-6 on the year and possibly fall behind the Bengals if Cincy wins their game in San Diego. Pittsburgh's schedule might favor them the rest of the way but who knows what can happen over the last few weeks of the season.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

2012 AFC North Preview: I Say "Mulligan"

The AFC North is hard to call. Thank goodness the Ravens' Terrell Suggs got injured and might miss the rest of the season in order to make this decision a little easier.

This division has been known for the Steelers-Ravens rivalry over the last few years. While I can't say which of these two teams will take the division, I know it will be one these two teams. Sure, the Bengals were a surprise team getting into the playoffs under Andy Dalton but to get in again seems unlikely, especially when they didn't beat the Ravens or the Steelers once last season. As for the Browns, they are turning to a 28 year old QB rookie. Enough said.

Now who has edge between the Steelers and the Ravens? It's got to be the Steelers and just barely. Joe Flacco of the Ravens could come out of his shell and throw like an elite QB but short of that, the Steelers are my pick. They have a slightly better defense with Suggs out of the picture in Baltimore and even though Mike Wallace is coming back to the team after trying to holdout, Big Ben Roethlisberger is still the Steelers' QB and he knows how to exploit a defense. Or is it women?