It looks as though the bye is just what the doctor ordered for Eli Manning last week as he put in a great performance this week. Eli Manning and the Giants faced off against the Green Bay Packers in a replay of one of last years Playoff fixtures. Personally I had written Eli off for this year and even dropped him from my fantasy team as he was playing that badly.
How wrong I was, as this week in the style of 'The Undertaker' we witnessed the re-birth of 'you can't spell elite without Eli!'
How wrong I was, as this week in the style of 'The Undertaker' we witnessed the re-birth of 'you can't spell elite without Eli!'
With the help of his usual suspects in Ahmad Bradshaw and Victor Cruz, Manning threw for 249 yards and three touchdowns. Eli has now thrown for a total of 200 career touchdowns which is a great achievement for any quarterback. The Giants defence also joined in on the party by sacking Aaron Rodgers five times, intercepting him once and holding them to only 10 points. I have to say that this week has also taught me to never underestimate the importance of a late bye week as the Giants took this game 38 - 10.
Now we have my Eli segment out of the way, I hope all of my American readers had a great thanksgiving. Thanksgiving also always means that we are treated to three great matches which this year were Detroit Lions vs Houston Texans, Washington Redskins vs Dallas Cowboys and finally New England Patriots vs New York Jets. The first of the three fixtures was possibly my favourite game of the week thanks to Megatron and his fellow Lions. I think the fact that Matthew Stafford is also my starting fantasy quarterback also had something to do with it :)
I have included the game highlights below for you all to enjoy but before you do I want to talk about the touchdown that never should have been! It was a call so bad you would have mistakenly thought the replacement referees had come back to cover the national holiday. With just about seven minutes left in the third quarter and the Lions up by 10 points, Justin Forsett took the hand off and ran about seven yards before being tackled. Unfortunately the referee decided that despite Forsett being tackled he wouldn't blow his whistle and Forsett subsequently got up and ran the length of the field for a score!
I can not believe this was ruled a touchdown on the field and to make matters worse coach Schwartz instinctively threw his challenge flag forgetting it was automatically reviewed as a scoring play. It would appear that instead of the referees having a quiet word and reminding him of this, they called a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct making the play non reviewable!
This to me is a joke and common sense should prevail, he clearly was not trying to waste time as the rule was intended for but had a momentary lapse in concentration. I ask you what is throwing a challenge flag when something will be reviewed anyway or allowing a score that in no way should ever have been allowed in a million years!
Okay so my rant is over for now, please enjoy the highlights by clicking on the image below:
This to me is a joke and common sense should prevail, he clearly was not trying to waste time as the rule was intended for but had a momentary lapse in concentration. I ask you what is throwing a challenge flag when something will be reviewed anyway or allowing a score that in no way should ever have been allowed in a million years!
Okay so my rant is over for now, please enjoy the highlights by clicking on the image below:
I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did ;). Let's move onto the next turkey day game on offer which was the divisional clash between the Redskins and Cowboys. It was also another chance for everyone to see just how great young Robert Griffin III really is!
I have been so impressed with this kid all season and for someone who is mostly known for his athleticism and running ability, he sure can throw a great deep ball too. In the first quarter Dallas managed to contain RG III and took the lead with a field goal. When the second quarter arrived we saw the full array of Griffins talents as he completed all eight of his passing attempts for 178 yards and throwing three touchdowns in the process. There is no doubt in my mind that Griffins second quarter played sealed the victory for the Redskins as they went on to win the game 38 - 31. To see just how special this kid is please check out his highlights below:
I have been so impressed with this kid all season and for someone who is mostly known for his athleticism and running ability, he sure can throw a great deep ball too. In the first quarter Dallas managed to contain RG III and took the lead with a field goal. When the second quarter arrived we saw the full array of Griffins talents as he completed all eight of his passing attempts for 178 yards and throwing three touchdowns in the process. There is no doubt in my mind that Griffins second quarter played sealed the victory for the Redskins as they went on to win the game 38 - 31. To see just how special this kid is please check out his highlights below:
The last game on Thanksgiving was the New England Patriots vs New York Jets. If I were to say that this game was a blow out it still does not do it justice. As soon as the first whistle went there was only going to be one winner as the Jets offense was spluttering the Patriots just did not stop scoring and the final score was 49 - 19. Lets take a look at all the scores from week 12:
Houston 34, Detroit 31 (OT)
Washington 38, Dallas 31
New England 49, NY Jets 19
Chicago 28, Minnesota 10
Cincinnati 34, Oakland 10
Cleveland 20, Pittsburgh 14
Indianapolis 20, Buffalo 13
Denver 17, Kansas City 9
Miami 24, Seattle 21
Atlanta 24, Tampa Bay 23
Jacksonville 24, Tennessee 19
Baltimore 16, San Diego 13 (OT)
St. Louis 31, Arizona 17
San Francisco 31, New Orleans 21
NY Giants 38, Green Bay 10
Carolina 30, Philadelphia 22
Bearing in mind that this week was Thanksgiving I have decided to give everyone a week off being shamed and will go straight into my award winners.
Washington 38, Dallas 31
New England 49, NY Jets 19
Chicago 28, Minnesota 10
Cincinnati 34, Oakland 10
Cleveland 20, Pittsburgh 14
Indianapolis 20, Buffalo 13
Denver 17, Kansas City 9
Miami 24, Seattle 21
Atlanta 24, Tampa Bay 23
Jacksonville 24, Tennessee 19
Baltimore 16, San Diego 13 (OT)
St. Louis 31, Arizona 17
San Francisco 31, New Orleans 21
NY Giants 38, Green Bay 10
Carolina 30, Philadelphia 22
Bearing in mind that this week was Thanksgiving I have decided to give everyone a week off being shamed and will go straight into my award winners.
MEGATRON AWARD WEEK TWELVE
This week there was only one winner of this award for me and without further ado, it is Ray Rice of the Baltimore Ravens. I have picked Ray Rice this week for his one play when the Ravens were down by three points with less than two minutes on the clock. The Ravens were stuck on fourth and 29 on their own 37 yard line when Flacco tossed a short pass to Mr Rice who then preceded to take the ball over 30 yards getting the important first down. This play led to the game tying field goal and Baltimore then went on to win in overtime.
RAY LEWIS AWARD WEEK TWELVE
This week in an effort to keep things fresh, I have decided to hand the week 12 Ray Lewis award winner over to you my faithful readers. Below I have created a poll of candidates for you to select from and there is also the option to add your own choice, enjoy!
Well that's it from me for another week but until next time, take care, stay safe and keep enjoying the NFL!