NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Tucker missed a FG, 12-3 Chargers. Chargers have been allowing the Ravens to stick around, but the Raven's offense haven't done anything so far. TD would likely end this game for Chargers

 

And this game is just about over...

 

Ravens should try Flacco, Jackson ain't bringing this team back

 

The refs really messed up that goal line situation. First they screwed the chargers when Watt scored, then they screwed the Ravens when their defense scored.

 

I don't have the time to transfer the money and make a play and I don't want totdo it while the game is live so I am playing black on roulette here.

 

How? Gordon was clearly down before he fumbled. They originally screwed them by saying he scored a TD, but it was reversed on review. Refs did not impact that game much, if at all

 

Colts at +1.5 -1.91 changed to 1.85 when I tried to submit it right before kickoff so I tweaked it to +1 to get 1.91. I should have just taken it on the moneyline honestly but I wasn't thinking as I was rushing to beat kickoff.

 

Oh ya and #FlyEaglesFly

 

I said in the preseason that I expect and will measure success by a playoff win after a bye. Just making the playoffs was a big success with how the season went but it feels like a real success now after winning a playoff game. Any more would be crazy and welcomed but this season is a win already.

 

Chargers hold off Ravens rally to advance...

The Ravens have quarterback questions for the future.

But they had no answers for the Chargers defense in the present, and all the good work done by rookie quarterback Lamar Jackson in the second half of the season was forgotten until the final moments.

The Chargers held off the Ravens 23-17, making Jackson look more like a confused rookie than the versatile runner who propelled the Ravens the postseason by winning six of his last seven starts.

But one of those games was against the Chargers, and given a second chance at the puzzle, they solved it, at least for the first 53 minutes. Jackson was at a net negative passing yards until a late flurry which included a pair of touchdown passes to Michael Crabtree, and finished the game 14-of-29 for 194 yards, with an interception. Of that total, 169 of the yards came in the fourth quarter. He had 54 rushing yards and did make things close, but was the reason they weren’t close most of the game.

But Jackson’s late fumble (his third of the day, and the only one lost) sealed it, with Uchenna Nwosu stripping him as he tried to look downfield.

The Chargers held the Ravens to just 229 total yards, as their ability to stop the run game as well kept the Ravens from any rhythm whatsoever. But even as fans booed, the Ravens kept Joe Flacco on the bench, which likely means today will be the former Super Bowl MVP’s last game as a Raven.

The Chargers advanced to the divisional round, where they’ll face the Patriots next Sunday at 1 p.m.

So complete was their win that they not only survived their special teams, they thrived on them. Michael Badgley had a field goal blocked in the third quarter, but he also hit five field goals (!), giving the Chargers something resembling dependability there.

The Ravens played well defensively also, holding the Chargers to 243 yards, but Philip Rivers did just enough to advance. But mostly, it was their defense, which made plays when they needed to. (PFT)

 

Cody Parkey hits the upright, Eagles win 16-15 in Chicago...

Cody Parkey hit another upright and the Eagles are headed to New Orleans.

The Bears kicker had an unfortunate habit of hitting uprights with his kicks all season and he did it again with five seconds left in Sunday’s game. After a Nick Foles touchdown pass put the Eagles up 16-15 with 56 seconds to play, a big Tarik Cohen kickoff return and two completions to Allen Robinson set up a 43-yard try to win the game.

Parkey, who kept his job despite missing 10 kicks and hitting the uprights five times in the regular season, put a kick through after Eagles coach Doug Pederson called a presnap timeout, but put the second try off the left upright. It hit the crossbar and then bounced back onto the field as a painful silence fell over Soldier Field.

Foles threw a pair of interceptions in the first half, but hit Dallas Goedert for a touchdown to put the Eagles in the lead in the third quarter and then completed five passes to move the Eagles to the 2-yard-line on their final possession of the game. They failed to get in three times before Foles hit Tate to take the lead.

Tate didn’t do much for the Eagles after the midseason trade with the Lions that brought him to Philadelphia, but it’s hard to imagine anyone will be too focused on that after Sunday’s game. He had five catches for 46 yards overall, including a 28-yard gain that saw him hold onto the ball despite taking a big shot from a Bears defender.

He’ll get a chance to add some more positives to the ledger against the Saints next Sunday while Parkey and the Bears will have a much longer wait before another chance to get on the field. (PFT)

 

What a day of football! The Eagles are insane!

 

Foles is insane

 

Next week... check it out.

 

defense wasn't so shabby tonight either holding the bears in check.

 

Al Capone on how he feels about Cody Parkey...

 

***BREAKING***



Packers hire Matt LaFleur…

And then there were seven.

Eight days after the conclusion of the 2018 regular season, the first of eight head-coaching jobs has been filled. The Packers, PFT has confirmed, have hired Titans offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur.

The 39-year-old LaFleur, who played college football at Saginaw Valley State, started his coaching career there in 2003. After five years as a college coach, LaFleur became an offensive quality control coach with the Texans. Two years later, LaFleur joined Washington. Four seasons later, he served as quarterbacks coach in Atlanta, working with Kyle Shanahan. LaFleur then become offensive coordinator with the Rams for one year, before taking that same job in Tennessee (where he was working with a defensive coach, giving him more control over the offense).

Now, LaFleur becomes the man in charge of the Packers, with the No. 1 task of working with, and getting the most out of, quarterback Aaron Rodgers. LaFleur has worked with the likes of Matt Schaub, Donovan McNabb, Robert Griffin III, Kirk Cousins, Matt Ryan, Jared Goff, and Marcus Mariota. Rodgers will, by far, be LaFleur’s best quarterback and, in turn, his biggest challenge.

As Rodgers, only four years younger than LaFleur, enters the stretch run of his career, LaFleur will be charged with trying to get the most out of a guy who, as it relates to the pursuit of championships, has underachieved in recent years. With G.M. Brian Gutekunst ready to spend on free agents, things could get very interesting very quickly in Green Bay.

 

One less team after Muncheck makes this a wonderful hire IMO