WEEK 15
I took my first DNP of the year for last night's Pats' victory. A sore throat and a Christmas tree that needed decorating with my daughters kept me on the couch for what was expected to be an easy win against the Packers. Anyone who doesn't know by now just hasn't been paying attention... there are no easy wins in the NFL.
Matt Flynn (no relation, because apparently he can throw a spiral) played the role of a young Tom Brady against the real -- if a little older -- thing. And he almost pulled it out the win. But the Patriots rallied from nine down in the fourth quarter to claim a key victory that moves them one step closer to the AFC's top seed.
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WEEK 15: Season's greetings. |
The Packers -- without starting QB Aaron Rodgers -- were not being given a chance to give the Pats a game. But Green Bay is an NFC playoff contender with one of the best defenses in the league. It was going to be a battle. The Pack started with an onside kick and continued to put the pressure on the whole game. After a few blowouts, a battle was a good challenge for the Patriots. Once again, they met the challenge and won.
Brady continued his streak of great games, throwing two more touchdowns and making very few mistakes. Bennie and Woody averaged more than six yards a carry. The offensive line kept the QB alive against a fierce Packer pass rush. And the defense did just enough against Flynn. (One benefit of not going to the game was not having to sit with 60-plus thousand yelling "Flynn. You suck!") My namesake put up 250 yards but gave up a key interception that Kyle Arrington took back 36 yards for a touchdown. Arrington's pick was just another example of a Patriot stepping up and making a big play. It's the difference between this year's team and 2009.
Maybe the biggest big play of the year was made by one of the biggest men.
Flynn led the Pack on an impressive six-minute touchdown drive to take a 17-7 lead late in the first half. The Patriots needed someone to step up again. Right guard Dan Connolly turned out to be that guy -- by making a 71-yard kickoff return. A kickoff return! All the way down to the Green Bay 4-yard line. It was the longest return by an offensive lineman in the history of the league. I'm guessing by quite a few yards, too.
The Pack's kicker squibbed the ball down the middle of the field and it bounced into the hands of the big blocker. As Connolly wrapped the ball in a bear hug and started to run, my daughter Amy and I started shouting "Go down! Go down!" for fear that he would fumble. Suddenly Connolly got near midfield and realized that everyone was waiting for him to go down -- including the Packers. So he tucked the ball under his right arm and started rumbling down the field. "Run! Run!" we started yelling. He stiff-armed a would-be tackler at the Pack 30 and then made a move -- that's right a move -- inside the 15 before being taken down just short of the goal line.
My phone buzzed with a text from Mark. "That has got to one of the ten best plays in the team's history. Right?" I replied yes. If he had scored it would be top five. Flynn tried to lead a game-winning drive and made it all the way down to the Pats 15, but it ended with Tully Banta-Cain knocking the ball loose and Big Vince recovering the fumble to put the Pack away.
As I flipped through the post-game highlights and "analysis," I came upon Felger asking Tweedledum and Tweedledum (Curren and Borges) if the loss was a reminder to all those who thought the Patriots were going to waltz their way to Dallas. Of course Borges couldn't wait to pounce on that, once again offering caution to all those kool-aid guzzling fans that the 11-2 Pats are very beatable. Problem is that I don't know of any fans who were under the delusion that the Pats had already earned a ticket to the Super Bowl. That's -- as usual -- total media hype. Have they looked good the last month? Hell ya. But there are lots of tough games still ahead.
Starting Sunday in the iceland that is Buffalo.
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