 |
PK Adam Vinatieri
sent the game to OT
with a 45-yard FG
and then won it with
a 23-yarder
|
Trailing 13-3 in the fourth quarter, I don’t think anyone watching thought that
New England would come back to defeat Oakland Saturday night. But come back is just what
the never-say-die Patriots did, and PK Adam Vinatieri’s 23-yard field goal in
overtime capped a remarkable rally and gave the Pats an improbable 16-13 victory. The win
advances New England to the AFC championship game next Sunday.
The Pats (12-5) appeared to be doomed as they struggled to move the ball against the
Raiders (11-7) in snowy Foxboro Stadium. But second-year QB Tom Brady was brilliant in the
second half and led the Pats on three scoring drives as they came back to win.
Brady, who ended up completing 32-of-52 passes for 312 yards and scrambled for a key
touchdown in the fourth quarter, was also involved in the biggest play of the game. With
less than two minutes remaining and the Pats trailing 13-10, Brady was hit by Raiders CB
Charles Woodson, a college teammate of Brady’s at Michigan, on a blitz and appeared
to fumble. The Raiders recovered, but the play was reviewed by instant replay and was
ruled to be an incomplete forward pass.
The crucial reversal gave the Pats new life, and they drove for the game-tying field
goal, then won it in the extra session.
Here’s a look at random thoughts and comments accumulated throughout a classic
division playoff game:
First quarter
Did a Hollywood movie director script this setting? With the huge snowflakes falling
against the dark January sky, this game has all the makings of a classic. And they
haven’t even played a down yet! How cool is it to watch a snow game? Am I the only
one who loves it? Heck, I’d watch Columbia play Cornell on TV if you could promise me
heavy snowfall and a couple of inches of the white stuff on the field.
As cool as the snow on the ground is, it’s not cool when you’re trying to
keep track of yardage gained and first downs. Thank God for CBS’ yellow first-down
indicator!
Would someone please tell me why Jon Gruden is wearing a visor in this kind of weather?
A visor’s great to shield your eyes from the sun, but it seems rather useless when
the snow is falling. I mean, the snow’s just piling on top of his bare head. Strange
choice of headgear, that’s for sure.
The first pass of the game is completed to Raiders WR Tim Brown, and he skids out of
bounds. The spot leaves him short of the first-down marker, and Gruden challenges the
call. Referee Walt Coleman reviews the call and decides that the spot should be a little
ahead of where it was originally marked. It still is not enough to get a first down,
however. Good effort by Gruden — it shows you how hard he thinks it will be to score
points in this weather. He values each possession.
Gotta love seeing the snow collecting on the players’ helmets and shoulder pads,
don’t you?
New England’s first series starts promisingly as QB Tom Brady connects on three
straight screen passes. This is a great strategy for two reasons: Brady hasn’t been
great throwing the ball downfield in recent weeks, plus he’s a young player who is
probably nervous in his first-ever playoff game. Giving him high-percentage passes early
is a great idea to give him confidence and calm him down. Kudos to Pats offensive
coordinator Charlie Weis.
The Pats elect to go for it on fourth down in Raiders territory. It’s too far away
to try a field goal and too short to punt. They don’t get the first down. It sure
looks like there won’t be much kicking done tonight.
Gannon comes out firing on his second possession and finds Tim Brown for a good gain.
He also hits WR Jerry Porter for a nice gain, but Porter injures his shoulder as he slides
awkwardly out of bounds. There’s no question that injury was caused by the elements.
I wonder if we’ll see more injuries like that?
Not that I’m a gambler, because I’m not, but I’ve got to think that
alert gamblers were all over betting the under on this game as soon as they heard the
weather forecast. The bookies across the country have to be praying for points. I just
don’t see how they’re not gonna have a rough night — this game looks like a
lock to go under the 39.5-point total.
Interesting: The grounds crew is keeping the yard lines cleared of snow by using leaf
blowers. I guess shovels and brushes are passé, huh?
Second quarter
The Raiders march forward on the deepest drive of the night, all the way to the
Pats’ 13.
Once again, I’ve got to give credit to CBS for a great job on the graphics.
Besides the invaluable yellow line marking first downs, it has now added a "Ball
on" graphic, telling you what yard line the ball is on. Because I’ve got to be
honest, there’s no way you can tell while watching. There’s just too much snow.
Gannon finds rarely used WR James Jett for a 12-yard TD pass, and PK Sebastian
Janikowski boots the PAT without any problem to give the Raiders a huge 7-0 lead. How
little-used was Jett this season? He caught two passes for 19 yards during the regular
season. I’ve got to think he was in the game because Porter is out with the shoulder
injury. Great call no matter who was on the receiving end.
Brady attempts his first throw downfield, and it’s intercepted by S Johnnie Harris
at the New England 46.
Just got a flashback of QB Drew Bledsoe throwing in similar conditions when he was in
college during a Washington State-Washington game in Pullman. I know he’s used to
playing in the snow. I wonder if Pats head coach Bill Belichick will go to him if Brady
struggles?
Boy, is Gannon getting great protection by the Raiders’ offensive line! He’s
not being touched by the Pats’ pass rush.
Here’s another crazy play that never would’ve happened without a snow-covered
field: Raiders S Derrick Gibson loses track of where he is on the field and, instead of
downing P Shane Lechler’s punt at the Pats’ one- or two- or three-yard line, he
mistakenly runs into the endzone and then tries to down the punt. Oops. That could’ve
been huge if he had pinned the Pats in the shadow of their own goal posts.
The New England crowd seems to be growing restless as Brady misfires on a pass
downfield and RB Antowain Smith runs for no gain.
Is it me, or does the hitting seem more vicious than normal in the snow? It just seems
like the hits are louder and harder. I could be wrong, but regardless, the Pats and
Raiders are really pounding each other.
Hmmm. As Lechler attempts the 10th punt of the game, the thought occurs to
me: These teams could set a record for most punts in a postseason game.
Brady finally connects on a good-looking bullet pass downfield as he finds WR Troy
Brown. The drive ends with another punt, but it’s a good sign for the Pats to see
Brady throw the ball that well.
Third quarter
It’s amazing how much snow has fallen on the ground, especially considering the
fact that the field was covered by a tarp all day long until before the warm-ups. It just
shows you how hard it’s snowing.
Brady marches the Pats downfield and looks good doing it. He’s throwing the ball
well, finding WR David Patten twice. When Antowain Smith runs the ball to the
Raiders’ five, the Pats have the ball 1st-and-goal. The drive stalls as Brady
misfires to Patten and TE Rod Rutledge, so Vinatieri boots a 23-yard field goal to make it
7-3.
It appears as if the snow is much lighter than it was earlier in the game, and the
Raiders take advantage. They come right back to restore their seven-point lead, thanks to
a 38-yard field goal by PK Sebastian Janikowski. Gannon was brilliant on the drive,
completing 5-of-7 passes for 40 yards.
After a failed Pats drive, the Raiders move the ball into New England territory once
again, and Janikowski boots a 45-yard field goal. It’s now 13-3, and the Raiders are
in full control.
Gannon is playing better than Brady, and RB Charlie Garner is running better than
Antowain Smith. Plus, the Raiders’ offensive line has been outstanding.
The Patriots need to score, and they’re on the move as the third quarter ends.
Brady hits TE Jermaine Wiggins to get a little momentum going.
Fourth quarter
Great blitz call by Raiders defensive coordinator Tom Bresnahan as LB Elijah Alexander
and DT Chris Cooper bust through to sack Brady. I just don’t see the Pats being able
to score twice to tie this game. I’m afraid they had their shot earlier in the
quarter when they drove to the Raiders’ five and only came away with a field goal.
How about this great stat for the Raiders’ offense? They’ve gone seven-plus
quarters without committing a turnover. That’s gonna lead to playoff success.
Again, I’ve got to commend the Raiders’ offensive line for picking up
Patriots blitzes and giving Gannon time to throw. It has been great.
Troy Brown owes teammate Larry Izzo a dinner because Izzo bails Brown out big-time by
recovering Brown’s fumbled punt deep in Pats territory.
Working out of the shotgun, Brady finds Patten out to his own 47 and then hits RB Kevin
Faulk for eight yards. Let’s see where this drive leads — the Pats MUST score on
this. Brady is 14-for-28 for 196 passing yards. Not bad, but not good enough to beat
Gannon on this night.
Troy Brown makes up for his muffed punt by making a great shoestring catch. The Pats
are in a hurry-up mode and, for the first time all night, seem to have a sense of urgency
about them. They better or else their season will be over.
Brady looks to be in rhythm now as he hits Wiggins and Patten. CBS commentator Phil
Simms says that the Pats’ conservative play-calling early in the game could come back
to haunt them. They’re definitely moving the ball effectively though the air.
The catch of the day comes when Patten bobbles a pass along the sideline and is hit by
Raiders CB Tory James. The ball pops right into Wiggins’ hands, and he manages to
keep both feet inbounds and controls the ball before falling out of bounds. Is destiny
starting to shine on the Pats?
Brady finds Patten again, and then Wiggins catches another pass. Amazing, considering
that he caught just 14 passes all season long. Brady is an impressive 9-for-9 passing on
the drive.
Was that Donovan McNabb? Brady finds no one open on a pass play, so he puts the ball
away and scrambles for a six-yard touchdown run. That is a big, big score.
Vinatieri’s PAT makes it 13-10 with 7:52 left. Amazingly, we have a game again.
The Raiders were in total control, and now the game’s up in the air. I’ve got
to admit, I was getting bored with this one in the third quarter, but now things are
getting very interesting.
I’ve got to say that Brady really proved to me on that last drive that he deserves
to be the Patriots’ quarterback next season. He was decisive, he lifted his team up
when it was struggling and he made the big play when he had to. He looks like a winner.
Amazingly, Brady’s touchdown run was the first score by a Pats QB in the postseason
in team history.
Garner comes right back for the Raiders with a nine-yard run, then gets a first down.
Simms points out that a lot of credit for that first down should go to Gannon for quickly
lining up the Raiders, then using a quick snap count to catch the Pats off-guard.
The Pats finally halt the Raiders at their own 45 and take over after a punt that puts
the ball at the New England 20 with 3:30 left.
Brady guns a pass to Wiggins for a first down. At that moment, Simms yells out,
"Whaddaya? Whoa!" and an audible thud is heard. Simms then mentions that a fan
just turned and threw a snowball at Simms and his broadcast partner, Greg Gumbel. Is this
great TV or what?
Big decision by Belichick on 4th-and-10 with 2:47 left. He elects to punt.
We’ll see if that decision backfires.
Garner shows his elusiveness as he turns a five-yard loss into a seven-yard gain. What
a great run, and that could kill the Pats. On 3rd-and-1, FB Zack Crockett is
stopped short of a first down, and the Raiders elect to punt with just over two minutes
left.
Troy Brown makes a good punt return but fumbles for a second time. And for a second
time, Izzo bails him out by making the fumble recovery at the New England 46. Brown might
owe Izzo a week’s worth of dinners now.
Was this the play of the game? On 1st-and-10 at the Oakland 42, Brady is hit
by CB Charles Woodson on a blitz. Brady fumbles the ball, and Raiders LB Greg Biekert
recovers. That should be the end the of the game, but the officials choose to have the
play reviewed. It sure looks like a fumble to me. Brady cocked his arm to pass and it
moved forward, but he looked to be pulling it in when Woodson, his former college teammate
at Michigan, hit him.
A long, long review gives lots of air time to Phil Collins’ "In the Air
Tonight," blaring on the Foxboro P.A. system. God bless Phil Collins! The play is
ruled to be an incomplete pass. The Pats have new life!
Brady finds Patten for a first down, then scrambles ahead for a couple of yards before
Vinatieri comes on to attempt a game-tying 45-yard field goal into a driving snow. He is
kicking with the wind, and it’s a good thing as his low, line-drive kick just carries
over the crossbar to tie the game, 13-13. Amazing!
Are the Raiders demoralized? Just 27 seconds left in a game that they had to think they
had won. The reversal of the Brady fumble was devastating.
I can’t decide if there’s more snow in the air or on the ground. Either way,
there’s a lot of snow in Foxboro.
Overtime period
The Pats win the coin flip for overtime and elect to receive. You can see the dejection
on the Raiders’ sideline. We’ll see if Gruden can rally the troops.
Great screen pass from Brady to RB J.R. Redmond for 21 yards. Brady has been absolutely
brilliant in the second half. What a difference a half makes.
Wiggins catches two more passes, giving him 10 for the game. Talk about coming out of
nowhere!
Brady completes consecutive passes, one to Troy Brown for 12 yards on 3rd-and-16
and one for eight yards to Patten on 4th-and-4. What a clutch play by both
Brady and Patten. Patten has done a great job all night of making sure he catches the ball
by going down to his knees and anchoring himself before making catches.
Antowain Smith makes his presence felt by plowing ahead for eight yards and a first
down at the Raiders’ nine. This drive has taken up more than eight minutes. The
Raiders look beaten.
Gruden calls a timeout before the game-winning field-goal attempt. Dunno if that’s
such a great idea since it gives the Pats time to clear off the ground where Vinatieri
will be kicking from. Vinatieri has no trouble at all booming a 23-yard field goal to win
the game. What an amazing finish!
Vinatieri is now 6-for-6 on game-winning kicks in overtime in his career.
I’m drained after watching this classic. Only one question is left to be answered:
Was this Gruden’s last game as Raiders coach? |
