Monday Football Afterword: 49ers vs Falcons

Though he was called for offensive pass interference on this catch,
Michael Crabtree had a great game for the 49ers in Monday night's win.

Cory Puffett

Navorro Bowman shut down Candlestick Park in style with a game-winning, playoff-clinching 89-yard pick-6 with 1:10 left in the game.

The San Francisco 49ers will open up a new stadium next year, but they closed this one with a victory over the Atlanta Falcons to clinch a playoff spot and stay in the running for home field advantage.

Colin Kaepernick and the offense struggled to do anything in the first half and trailed 10-3 at the half. Something clicked in the second half though as they went 83 yards on six plays to score on their opening drive of the second half. Phil Dawson added a field goal late in the third quarter to give his team a 13-10 lead over the Falcons entering the final quarter.

The floodgates opened after that and the two teams combined for 35 points in the final fifteen minutes.

Matt Ryan had a fantastic game for Atlanta. He completed 37 of 48 passes for 348 yards and two touchdowns. His first interception was Bowman’s pick-6, which was bobbled by Harry Douglas. The second came on a last-second Hail Mary that really didn’t need to be run and shouldn’t count against him in terms of how Ryan played on Monday.

Roddy White helped keep Atlanta in the game, grabbing 12 catches for 141 yards and a touchdown. Tony Gonzalez also had a touchdown catch in the final Monday night game of his career.

San Francisco did a lot of running. Frank Gore fell just shy of 100 yards and Kaepernick and Kendall Hunter each added 51 yards. The team totaled 199 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries.

Atlanta recovered a perfect onside kick late in the game, and San Francisco’s defense bent but did not break.

The 49ers’ win locks up a playoff spot and they could still clinch home field advantage next week. Meanwhile, it puts Arizona in a tough spot next week. The Cardinals will have to beat San Francisco and have the Saints lose at home to Tampa Bay to enter the playoffs. If Arizona and New Orleans both win, the Cardinals will be 11-5 and miss the playoffs.

Atlanta hosts Carolina next week and if they can win, and St. Louis manages to knock off Seattle, they could help San Francisco into the NFC #1 seed.

Final Score:

Atlanta Falcons – 24

San Francisco 49ers – 34

Monday Football Afterword: Lions vs Ravens

The Ravens continued to focus on the passing game in Detroit, but
Ray Rice still gained 56 yards on just 12 carries in Baltimore's win.

Cory Puffett

Matthew Stafford has hit a bit of a rough stretch. He’s thrown 13 interceptions in the last seven games. Monday night was his fourth multi-interception game in that stretch. To put in perspective, he had just four interceptions and no multi-pick games in the Lions’ first seven games of the season.

But last night wasn’t just about Stafford playing poorly. Calvin Johnson’s stat line is respectable on first look – six catches for 98 yards. But just six catches on 14 targets isn’t so hot. He had two very unusual drops in the first half and another play on the sideline where he could have gotten his feet down but didn’t. Sure he’s hurt, but he’s been playing well through this injury all season.

Detroit’s defense struggled to stay disciplined, getting called for eight penalties for 89 yards, including a big one on 3^rd & long when they were called for unnecessary roughness on Ravens receiver Marlon Brown, allowing Baltimore to move into position for a 32-yard field goal by Justin Tucker.

Of course, even if the Lions hadn’t been penalized on that play, it may have just been a second 61-yarder for Tucker.

The Ravens kicker was the player of the game, no doubt. He converted all six of his field goal attempts including a 61-yard game winner with 38 seconds to play. The Lions had scored a touchdown on their previous drive but failed to convert their 2-point try, which would have made this a game-tying kick. Instead, Tucker drove the ball just inside the right upright.

On Detroit’s final drive, Stafford threw his third interception of the night, this one to Matt Elam who made headlines earlier in the week when he questioned Calvin Johnson’s physical ability.

The Lions have failed to take advantage of their NFC North rivals’ lack of consistency at the quarterback position and right now are behind both the Bears and the Packers. They’ve lost four of five and though their last two games are both against very weak opponents, nothing is guaranteed with this team.

The Ravens are still in the fight for the AFC North. It won’t be easy. They have to win out to do so. They host New England next week and then they play at Cincinnati, who is 6-0 at home, in Week 17. But their win on Monday also put them back in control of the AFC #6 seed over Miami.

Final Score:

Baltimore Ravens – 18

Detroit Lions – 16

Monday Football Afterword: Bears vs Cowboys

Second-year receiver Alshon Jeffery hauled in the NFL's 100th touchdown of
Week 14 on his way to yet another great performance in Chicago's win on MNF.

Cory Puffett

Tony Romo has some of the best stats of any quarterback in NFL history in November. In November, his stats are also among the best. But his won/loss records always seem to take a hit when the calendar turns to the final month of the season.

11-for-20 for 104 yards and 3 TDs, a 109.2 passer rating; those were Tony Romo’s stats on Monday night. Pretty good numbers all told.

You certainly can’t fault the Cowboys’ run game. DeMarco Murray carried 18 times for 145 yards. The team gained a total of 198 yards on the ground and 144 through the air.

But the defense was awful. The Bears scored on all eight of their offensive possessions, I don’t include Josh McCown’s kneel to run the final few seconds off the clock.

Early in the game, it looked like it was simply the Bears overpowering the Cowboys. The offensive line executed perfect blocking schemes. Josh McCown delivered great passes (he finished 27/36 for 348 yards and 4 TDs and a 141.9 passer rating). Matt Forte found running lanes. Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery were uncontainable.

But as the game wore on, it was impossible to ignore how much Dallas had to do with the Bears’ dominant offensive performance. The Cowboys were my favorite to pull out the NFC East title. Now they trail the Eagles by one game and, if they even get that far, will have to face the Eagles in Week 17 to decide who makes the playoffs.

But even that is no guarantee. Aaron Rodgers could be back next week for the Packers. Then in Week 16 they play in Washington, and though the Redskins are awful, they’ve played competitive games against Dallas even in their worst seasons.

The Bears are now tied with the Lions for first in the NFC North. They play at Cleveland and at Philadelphia the next two weeks before hosting the Packers in Week 17, and Green Bay could be playing for something at that point if Rodgers does return this week.

Final Score:

Dallas Cowboys – 28

Chicago Bears – 45

Monday Football Afterword: Seahawks vs Saints

In Monday's game featuring two short quarterbacks, Russell Wilson shone,
throwing for  more 300 yards and 3 TDs, as well as gaining 47 rushing yards.

Cory Puffett

Monday night’s game has been anticipated for weeks now. It pitted the two best teams in the NFC. If the Saints won, they would have a chance for home field advantage. If the Saints lost, they would all but guarantee that, barring an earlier exit from the playoffs, they’ll have to go right back into the heart of the 12^th Man for a chance to go to the Super Bowl.

Not only did the Saints lose, they lost badly. The Seahawks defense was everywhere early, forcing two three and outs on the Saints first three possessions. The lone exception was a sack fumble returned for a touchdown.

The Saints appeared to make a game of things when Drew Brees led a dink and dunk drive ending with a short touchdown pass to Jimmy Graham. But when New Orleans went three and out on their next drive and the Seahawks scored again to take a 27-7 lead entering halftime, things didn’t look good.

It got no better for New Orleans. A more conservative approach by Seattle led them to just one score in the second half, but the Saints offense, though they had a few promising drives, failed to sustain any of them.

Seattle now has a two game lead in the NFC with four weeks to go. They hold just about every tiebreaker out there, so it would take a major collapse for them not to clinch home field advantage.

The Saints are now tied for the NFC South lead with the Carolina Panthers, who they face twice in the regular season’s last four weeks. The first of those matchups will be next Sunday night in the Superdome.

For Drew Brees, his 147 yards made this the first time since the last game of the 2010 regular season that he failed to record at least 200 passing yards. He threw for 196 in that 23-13 loss to Tampa Bay. He falls just two games short of Dan Fouts’s record 45 consecutive games with 200+ passing yards.

Final Score:

New Orleans Saints – 7

Seattle Seahawks – 34

Monday Football Afterword: Redskins vs 49ers

Landover's cold conditions were no match for Colin Kaepernick,
who broke out of his season-long slump to beat the Redskins on MNF.

Cory Puffett

Two teams on two game losing streaks, two quarterbacks struggling in their second years as NFL starters. Monday Night Football set the perfect stage for one or both of them to break out of their shells.

Colin Kaepernick grabbed the bull by the horns, completing 15 of 24 passes for 235 yards, three touchdowns and no picks. The 49ers have had to rely on Frank Gore most of this season for their offense to work. He only gained 31 yards on 13 carries, but Kaepernick’s big day was more than enough for San Francisco.

The Redskins, coming off three straight games with 400+ yards on offense for the first time since 1983, did not fair so well. Alfred Morris had a tough game finding a rhythm and Robert Griffin III struggled, completing 17 of 27 passes for just 127 yards and an interception.

The Redskins were already firmly out of the NFC playoff race, but they still had a chance to play a role in how the playoff picture comes into focus during these final few weeks.

But San Francisco’s victory helps them leapfrog the Arizona Cardinals into the sixth spot in the NFC playoffs, for now anyway.

San Francisco has two important home games coming up. They’ll host the Rams, who have been hot lately, next Sunday. Then the Seahawks come to town and the 49ers will try to return the favor for the embarrassing loss they suffered in Seattle earlier this season on Sunday Night Football.

Final Score:

San Francisco 49ers – 27

Washington Redskins – 6

Monday Football Afterword: Panthers vs Patriots

Cam Newton posted an excellent 125.4 passer rating and was in total control
of the Panthers' offense in their 24-20 win against New England on Monday night.

Cory Puffett

The ending raised some eyebrows, and New England fans will no doubt be upset by the way it ended. It looked to me to be the right call. And interception works the same as a tip. A tipped pass in front of the receiver negates any pass interference. However, there may be a legitimate complaint that Luke Kuechly impeded Rob Gronkowski’s ability to come back to the football.

In any case, the Panthers won the game and extend their winning streak to six games, including two straight against winning teams.

Carolina never really got their rushing attack going. Cam Newton picked up 62 yards on seven carries but nobody else topped 20 yards.

The passing game was enough this week, though. Cam Newton hit three different receivers for touchdowns and did not throw an interception. In fact, the Panthers did not turn the ball over at all.

LeGarrette Blount and Steven Ridley combined for nearly 100 yards on the ground for New England, and Tom Brady had a good game throwing the ball. But Carolina’s defense kept long drives from becoming scoring drives.

Once again, the Panthers held an opponent scoreless in the first quarter. They’ve only given up eight points all season in the opening quarter. New England converted a field goal in the second quarter, but Carolina has still now only given up one touchdown in the first half of games this season.

Carolina is red hot right now. They’re 7-3 now with a fairly weak schedule coming up outside of two matchups with the New Orleans Saints, the first of which will be in the Superdome in three weeks. Though I don’t think the Saints have much to worry about, the Panthers are definitely in position for a wild-card spot in the NFC.

The Patriots have now lost their last three games on the road. They host Denver next Sunday night, which certainly could be their first home loss of the season. And with road games against teams like Miami and Baltimore yet to come, there are still a lot of questions this team has to answer before the playoffs.

Final Score:

New England Patriots – 20

Carolina Panthers – 24