The Football Diner Big Top 5
2007's Most Memorable Games
by Jody Jamieson
3/1/2008
 
The 2007 regular season has been consigned to the history books, and with 20 teams now looking to the draft, it's time to get all starry eyed and look back at what has gone before us. This week's Top Fives will chronicle those games that we will remember for years to come. Exciting shoot-outs, improbable comebacks and historic games are on the agenda.
 
5. Titans 38 Texans 36 - Week 7
 
Sage Rosenfels had his coming out party in the 4th quarter of this game in relief of Matt Schaub, but it was Rob Bironas who was the star of the day as he was good with 8 field goals, including a game winner when it looked like the Texans had produced a stunning come from behind victory.
 
We join the madness in the fourth quarter. The Titans already lead 32-7 on the back of six Rob Bironas field goals, with Rosenfels at the controls for the Texans, who are playing in front of 20,000 empty seats as the Texan fans seemed to have given up on the game. The Texans score on the third play of the quarter (Rosenfels to Anderson) and convert the two pointer to bring them within 17. On their next possession, starting on their own 2, the Texans complete a 40 yard pass to Kevin Walter, before Rosenfels finds Walter another three times in the drive, including once in the endzone, to cut the defcit to 10. Titans go three and out to give Houston exteded hope, but on the punt Anderson muffs it and gives the ball bck to Tennessee. Tennessee go 3 and out and punt again to the Texans, but Rosenfels throws an interception on the first play to Keith Bulluck, who fumbles but the Titans recover. A seventh Bironas field goal makes it 35-22 with less than 4 minutes to play.
 
The Texans brought the game to within 6 with less than two minutes to play (Rosenfels to Putzier), and recover the onside kick, but an offside penalty means they have to kick it again. No worries for Houston as they recover again. Two plays later and Rosenfels finds Andre Davis deep or a 53 yard score to put the Texans ahead by one with less than a minute on the clock.
 
But the Titans still had Rob Bironas. Collins found Roydell Williams down the left sideline for 46 yards to set up Bironas from 29 yards with 2 seconds remaining. Bironas nailed it and gave the Titans a 38-36 win in a wild one.
 
4. Bengals 45 Browns 51 - Week 2
 
The Cleveland Browns went into this game on the back of a 34-7 beating on day one by Pittsburgh. The Bengals went into it after putting away the Ravens, and were firm favourites with the star power on their offense to take apart a Cleveland defense that was looking weak. In fairness, Carson Palmer and his boys did just that, to the tune of 45 points. Unfortunately, no-one banked on Derek Anderson stepping in from oblivion to throw 5 touchdown passes and take the Browns past 50. Jamal Lewis had a great day too, with 216 yards on the ground to cap a crazy, crazy day in Ohio.
 
The Diner would probably have to sell off the jukebox to afford the bandwidth to cover the highlights of this game, so we will keep it relatively short and sweet. With Cincinnati leading 7-6 to begin the 2nd quarter the madness began. Joe Jurevicius scored early, but Palmer replied with a strike to T.J. Houshmandzadeh to retake the lead. Joshua Cribbs, the most exciting returner in the league not named Devin Hester, returned the ensuing kick-off to the Bengals 10 yard line, and from there Anderson found Jurevicius again in the endzone. However the Bengals replied in kind as Palmer hit a wide-open Chad Johnson to make it 21-20 Bengals. Johnson promised to dive into the Dawg Pound if he scored, but unfortunately (or maybe fortunately for Chad) he scored at the wrong end. The Browns retook the lead when Anderson hit Kellen Winslow for 25 yards and a TD to end the scoring, for the first half at least.
 
Bengals kicked a field goal to bring the score back to 27-24, before Anderson again threw a TD pass, this time to Braylon Edwards for 34 yards. A 65 yard kick off return by Glenn Holt set up the Bengals next score as Palmer found Ocho Cinco, who this time is in the right endzone and is warmly welcomed by the Brown fans with a beer shower and a whacking with a giant inflatable bone. Jamal Lewis was more warmly welcomed by the Brown fans after a 66 yard touchdown run, but after such a long scamper he probably didn't have the energy to jump into the crowd. Houshmandzadeh brought the score back to 41-38 to end the 3rd with a 5 yard TD catch.
 
Bang on 10 minutes to play in the 4th and Braylon Edwards makes an outstanding diving catch and slides into the endzone to make it 48-38, and after a rare punt by the Bengals, Phil Dawson stretched the lead to 10 with a field goal. Palmer to Holt with 3.40 left makes it 51-45, and after the Browns punt, Palmer tried to bring the Bengals down the field to win the game. Chad Johnson made a great grab at midfield with 40 seconds to go, but 2 plays later, Leigh Bodden made a great catch on the sideline to win the game for Cleveland. An absolute thriller in the AFC North. It was the 8th highest scoring game in NFL history and the modest 19-14 scoreline between the two teams in Week 16 looking almost like a snoozefest compared to this.
 
Hmm, maybe some things just can't be kept short and sweet!
 
3. Patriots 27 Ravens 24 - Week 13
 
With New England sitting pretty at 11-0 going into this game, they were resounding favourites. Despite the fact that the Eagles got close to the Pats the week before, surely Baltimore couldn't repeat the trick? In the most watched Monday Night Football game in history, the Ravens came as close as anyone to knocking off the Patriots. So close in fact that if it wasn't for an ill-advised time out called on the sideline with New England failing to convert on fourth down the Ravens would have knocked them off. Perhaps the Baltimore sideline were merely trying to ice Tom Brady? Whatever the reason for it the Patriots failed again but were saved by a false start penalty killing the play. Brady ran for the first down on 4th and 6 and then a few plays later Brady found Jabar Gaffney in the corner of the endzone for the game winning touchdown. Even then it wasn't totally over as Kyle Boller's hail mary pass was caught by Mark Clayton as time expired, but he was tackled on the 2 yard line and the game was over.
 
Before the last couple of minutes of madness, the Ravens had done a good job of containing the Pats. Despite taking three penalties on the Patriots' opening drive and giving them first and goal on their own three, Baltimore kept them to a field goal. The next New England possesion ended with a 3 and out, and on the next drive, Baltimore went 70 yards to the endzone. Another Patriot 3 and out led to a Ravens field goal to give them a 10-3 lead midway through the 2nd quarter. A one yard run by Heath Evans tied the game up at 10, and that's how the first half ended.
 
On the opening drive of the 2nd half Baltimore went 73 yards to go 17-10 up on a Willis McGahee run, but the Patriots responded immediately (Brady to Moss) but on the second play of the 4th Baltimore went 24-17 up (Boller to Wilcox). A Gostkowski field goal cut it to 4 and then Brady to Gaffney at the end won it for the Pats in an absolute thriller.
 
2. Cowboys 25 Bills 24 - Week 5
 
Monday Night Football returned to Buffalo for the first time in 12 years, and if this cracker was anything to go by, they won't wait so long to revisit. With Dallas going into the match 4-0 and scoring freely, and Buffalo sitting 1-3 with loads and loads of defensive injuries, the outcome of this one was fairly predictable. Or was it? The Bills showed their intent to have a go early as they set up to punt, but Brian Moorman ran for a first down instead. They may not have scored on this drive, but Trent Edwards was looking poised and controlled in only his second NFL start.
 
Tony Romo on the other hand had an interesting first half. On his very first pass of the game George Wilson came up with an interception and returned it to the house to give the Bills a 7-0 lead. On their next drive Angelo Crowell picked off Romo's second pass attempt. Romo did have a slightly better drive early in the 2nd, finding Terrell Owens down the left sideline and then Jason Witten in the endzone to tie it up, but his troubles had not been completely left behind. Buffalo went down and kicked a field goal, and then Romo, backed up on his own 11, had his pass batted up and caught in the endzone by defensive lineman Chris Kelsay to give the Bills a 17-7 lead. Romo still found time to throw another INT in the first half, this time finding Jabari Greer for his fourth of the half to cap a disastrous 30 minutes for Romo. Dallas did add a Nick Folk field goal at the end of the half to bring them within seven.
 
Romo looked slightly better on the opening drive of the second half, and Folk made it 17-13, but on the kickoff Terrence McGee returned it to the house. Dallas scored another field goal, but then Romo lost a fumble at midfield with 10 minutes to play. Luckily for the Cowbows Terrence Newman picked off Edwards to keep it within a score. Newman returned the ball deep into Buffalo territory and gave Romo great field position. Romo, not to break the habit, threw his fifth INT of the game to bail out Buffalo.
 
The sign of greatness isn't always how many times you get knocked down, but how many times you get back up. Romo, after a horrible night, led the Cowboys from deep inside their own territory with 4 minutes to play all the way down the field and then brought them to within two with a touchdown pass to Patrick Crayton with 20 seconds left on the clock. The 2-point conversion was brilliantly broken up by Greer to surely win the game for Buffalo! But wait, the onside kick attempt is recovered by Nathan Jones and the 'Boys have new life. Romo found Barber who went out, and then Crayton who stepped out on the 35 yard line with 3 seconds to play. Setting up a 53 yard attempt by the rookie Nick Folk. The kick is up.... and the kick... is good!!!
 
But wait. Dick Jauron called a time out to ice Folk! But Folk is made of sterner stuff, and on the retake he absolutely hammers it right down the middle to give the Cowboys the victory in an incredible game.
 
1. Patriots 38 Giants 35 - Week 17
 
So the quest for history ended on Saturday night in the Meadowlands. For all the achievements Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the rest had accomplished since winning Super Bowl XXXVI, a perfect season would be the icing on the cake, with a Super Bowl win in Arizona this February being the cherry on top. All the pre-match talk was of Tom Coughlin pulling his starters possibly as early as half time, if they played at all.
 
However the Giants showed their intentions when on the first play of the drive, Eli Manning found Plaxico Burress down the field for a huge gain with a perfect throw. That set up Brandon Jacobs to go in from 7 yards. The Patriots could only reply with a field goal, but when the Giants punted the ball away, Brady and Moss tied history on the next drive. It was Brady's 49th TD pass of the season and Moss' 22nd TD catch. That score also surpassed the Minnesota Vikings' 1998 scoring season record of 556. Moss certainly enjoyed it a little too much as he got flagged for over celebrating. The 15 yard penalty may have mattered, but if Domenik Hixon had to return the kickoff to Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo he still would have scored. 14-10 Giants. Two Gostkowski field goals gave the Pats a 2 point lead, but the half ended with Eli Manning finding back-up rookie tight end Kevin Boss to give the Giants the lead going into the half. Boss has really impressed me this year when he has played and while he is no Jeremy Shockey, he is doing a great job in his absense.
 
Onto the second half and while everyone expects the Giants to rest and the Patriots to step up, it's the Giants who score first, as Eli finds Plaxico to make it 28-16. Eli looks terrific in this game, and the path to perfection is suddenly under major threat as New England face their biggest deficit of the year. Laurence Maroney reduces the arrears with a seven yard run, but the Giants still hold a five point lead as quarter number three ends.
 
Brady to Moss comes big on another deep ball except for one minor thing. Moss drops the ball! But the Patriots don't blink, as on blown coverage on the next play, Brady goes deep to Moss for 65 yards and the records. Brady has 50 and Moss has 23. The two pointer is good and the Pats lead by 3. Eli makes his first mistake of the game as he is picked off by Ellis Hobbs on the next drive, and it sets up another Laurence Maroney TD. With the Giants down by 10, they are a little wasteful with the clock, but do leave 64 seconds on it when Burress catches his second six-pointer. 38-35 and the Giants will onside kick. Mr Dependable Mike Vrabel recovers the kick and perfection for the Patriots is a couple of kneel downs away. A stunning season will only really be recognised if the Patriots go on to win the Super Bowl, but for right now, an excellent achievement by the best team I have ever seen.
 
Honourable mention must go to the Dolphins finally winning a game, the Cleveland-Buffalo snow game for the sheer fun of a game played in a foot of snow. And of course there was the little matter of a little game at some stadium called Wembley you may have seen.
 
The Sean Payton Questionable Call Of The Week
 
I have decided to dedicate this weekly award to someone who would have won it last week against Philadelphia for going for it on fourth and goal when their offensive line was very much losing the line of scrimmage, and he made a mess of it with his crazy end around call against Tampa Bay - Mr. Sean Payton. This week there were so many opportunities to kick field goals that he just didn't take, instead turning the ball over on downs. Kicking two field goals would have kept his team within eight late in the game, but instead he didn't give them a shot. Payton is an aggressive coach, but sometimes he really is a bit too aggressive for the Saints good. This award was just meant for him.
 
Interesting Facts
 
Continuing JaMarcus watch, he had his most solid game so far in his first start. 23 of 31 for 224 yards with a TD and a INT is much better than last weeks showing and will have made Lane Kiffin a lot more optimistic about naming Russell the starter next season. Brady Quinn also made his first appearance in short relief of Derek Anderson. His stats don't look great (3 of 8 for 45 yards), but there were 2 key drops, including a drop by Winslow in the end zone which would have given Quinn his first NFL touchdown pass. Quinn threw a couple of incompletions to start off with, but once he got his first completion out of the road on his third pass, he looked very composed.
 
And finally...
 
When I did my post-season primer earlier in the season, I was feeling fairly confident of my picks in both conferences. I got 11 of 12 correct, which I'm pleased with, but the one team I wrote off who have shown a lot of character is the Tennessee Titans. Back then I said that Kerry Collins was the best chance that the Titans had to make the post season, right before Vince Young had a solid game against Denver, albeit in a loss. VY had impressed me a bit, but I didn't think he had the tools at this time to take the Titans to the post season. OK, so he wasn't exactly spectacular against the Colts backups before going out with an injury, but he had put together a run of games as a passer which was excellent.
 
When you evaluate Young's talent around him he has decent backs and a good offensive line, but he's not exactly stacked with big playmakers looking to make clutch catches. Looking back it's clear I was wrong about Vince Young, and he has shown himself to be capable of taking this team very far right now.
 
Whatever happens between now and the Super Bowl, look for Vince Young to really break out in 2008 as a passing threat. Obviously closer to the start of the season we here at the Diner will be evaluating the breakout stars of 2008, but as of this time, if I was doing the list, I'd have Young right at the top.