The Football Diner Big Top 5
Best Games of 08
by Jody Jamieson
4/1/2009
That didn't half go by fast! It just seems like last week that Washington didn't have a two minute offense in the Meadowlands and Tom Brady was getting injured against the Chiefs. Another annoyingly short NFL regular season is in the books and the playoff picture has taken shape. With 20 teams now looking towards free agency and the Draft, 12 teams will playoff for the right to be the Champions. But before anyone looks forward to January and the thrills and spills of the playoffs, it's time to take a look back to what makes the NFL regular season one of the most compelling in sports. Top Fives remembers 5 of the best games of 2008.
5. New York Giants 14 Cleveland Browns 35 - Week 6
 Sometimes one of those incredible games where the undoubted favourite gets walloped by the previously not so plucky underdog, it can cause both teams to start heading in opposite directions. Bizarrely this game ended up being more of a blip and a fluke than any other game in recent memory. The 1-3 Browns who had looked awful previously (with just an unconvincing with over the Bungles so far) put in without question their best performance of the season while the then 4-0 Giants, who hadn't lost since going down to New England 38-35 9 games previously, laid an egg that was reminiscent of the 2007 Regular Season when Eli Manning looked like he'd never become a decent quarterback and the Giants defense looked far from the irresistible force they had become. The Eli doubters had seemingly proven he was a fluke, and Derek Anderson's big contract looked justified at last after a shaky start.
The Giants took a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter when Brandon Jacobs went in from 7 yards, and it looked like business as usual. Jamal Lewis from 4 yards and Darnell Dinkins with a 22 yard TD catch game the Browns a 10 point lead, before Plaxico Burress made a touchdown grab late in the half to cut the deficit to three. With only a Phil Dawson field goal in the 3rd making it 20-14 going into the final quarter, the bad Eli made a return. Manning threw 3 picks in the game, and a couple were absolute shockers. Anderson to Edwards increased the lead to 13 before Manning found Eric Wright for a 94 yard interception return to cap off a blow out in Cleveland.
What is most bizarre about this game is that going by the rest of the season you'd be hard pushed to believe this actually happened. Cleveland finished the season 4-12 and scored one offensive touchdown in the last 6 games. The Giants went on a 7 game winning streak and clinched home field advantage for the NFC playoffs.
I didn't just make this game up, did I?
4. Pittsburgh Steelers 13 Baltimore Ravens 9 - Week 15
Some people think a low scoring game is boring. That all depends. If it's low scoring because the two offenses are so pathetic they can barely get a first down then yeah, it's pretty boring. When a game is low scoring because the two best defenses in the league are on the field you can have an instant classic, and that's exactly what we got as the Steelers clinched the AFC North against the hated Ravens. Both offenses are pretty solid, but when these two defenses are on the field it's going to be a slugfest.
Baltimore were leading 9-6 in the 4th quarter after 5 field goals and no threat of a touchdown, even when Ed Reed recovered a fumble in the Pittsburgh redzone. Defense was well and truly on top with rookie Joe Flacco struggling, and Ben Roethlisberger being treated to yet another beatdown. But when Pittsburgh got the ball on their own 8-yard line with less than 4 minutes to play, Roethlisberger put the cape back on and led his team to victory. A 92 yard drive capped off by some classic scrambling to keep the play alive before throwing a strike to Santonio Holmes on (or around) the goalline. I still don't think there was enough evidence to overturn the call on the field and award the touchdown, but Roethlisberger deserved huge credit for showing the resilience after yet another tough day to get the ball down the field when it mattered the most.
I still don't believe the Steelers offense can get it done in the playoffs. Roethlisberger does take too many sacks despite his playmaking abilities, and they have no running game. But if the defense can continue to be irresistible and Roethlisberger changes in the phone booth prior to the final drive, they will always have a chance.
3. Philadelphia Eagles 37 Dallas Cowboys 41 - Week 2
 Monday Night Football tends to throw up at least one absolute classic a season. It's now becoming tradition that said classic will involve the Dallas Cowboys. Last year it was the roller coaster comeback in Buffalo, and this time round it was a classic shootout with the hated Eagles to open up the last year of Texas Stadium with a classic. This game had absolutely everything. Loads of points. Big plays. Romo turnovers. Defensive touchdowns. Kickoff return touchdowns. Incredible rookie mistakes. Terrell Owens killing the Eagles. And of course, A DaMarcus Ware sack at the most important time.
The Eagles opening possession ended in a David Akers field goal. The Cowboys were in no mood to tie the game up as Tony Romo hit Terrell Owens for 72 yards and a 7-3 lead. Akers again was good for 3 points to make it a 1 point game, but before the Eagles defense could get on the field to make up for the big play on the previous drive, Felix Jones took the kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown. Philly punted on their next possession but then Romo had a meltdown to allow the Eagles to score 2 touchdowns in the first 20 seconds of the 2nd quarter. Moments before the end of the 1st Romo escaped a sack, only to find Asante Samuel wide open for the interception. McNabb to Westbrook on the wide receiver screen made it 14-13 Cowboys on the 1st play of the second quarter, and on the Cowboys next offensive play, Romo fumbled in the endzone, picked it up, fumbled again, and Chris Gocong recovered for Philadelphia's first defensive touchdown since 2006. Romo made up for his crazy couple of minutes by taking Dallas down the field and again finding TO in the endzone to give Dallas the lead. Then the play no-one will forget as McNabb found DeSean Jackson over the top for a 60 yard gain. The reason it wasn't a 61 yard touchdown pass was Jackson casually threw the ball down at the 1. Luckily no-one in the Dallas secondary was alert to the situation and Philly kept possession. Westbrook went in on the next play. Akers and Folk traded field goals to end the half as the Eagles went into the locker room up 30-24 in a pulsating first half.
The second half was much quieter. Barber went in from 17 yards on a Romo fade pass for the only score of the 3rd quarter, but Westbrook scored to begin the 4th and give the Eagles another 6 point lead. Dallas' next drive cut the deficit to 3 on a Folk field goal, and then with 4 and a half minutes remaining Marion Barber scored from a yard out to end the scoring. Philadelphia threatened at the end, but on 3rd and 13 DeMarcus Ware sacked McNabb to set up 4th and 17, and a hook and ladder play was predictably unsuccessful on 4th down as Dallas held on to win a thriller.
Amazingly, this wasn't even the best game of the week, never mind the season...
2. San Diego Chargers 38 Denver Broncos 39 - Week 2
This game will always be remembered for one thing. Hochuli-gate. There's no doubt San Diego had this game won until Hochuli blew a call on a fumble to allow Denver another chance. Fair play to Hochuli for being so honest and taking the fall for the decision, as it would have been easier to hide or even tweak with the rules, but he stood firm. Of course, until Week 17 when the Chargers finally took charge and won the division, this was the moment that was going to cost them a playoff place, but justice was done thanks to Denvers pitiful late season collapse. What is a shame though is that the only thing everyone remembers from the game was the call. One of my best friends is never shy to tell me how much he dislikes the NFL and even he was captivated by this excellent game.
The Broncos were comfortably leading 21-3 early in the second quarter after Tony Scheffler hauled in his second TD catch of the day. But Darren Sproles cut the lead to 11 by taking the kickoff 103 yards to the house. A Matt Prater 52 yarder made it 24-10 and just when the Chargers thought it would be a one score game at the half after Chris Chambers scored, Brandon Marshall made one of his 18 grabs on the day with 2 second remaining to make it 31-17 at halftime. It was all Chargers in the 3rd with Chambers going in again and then Nate Kaeding cut the deficit to 4. Another Kaeding field goal was followed by a Darren Sproles catch and run from his own 34 yard line to make it 38-31 Chargers with 4 minutes to play. Then Hochuli-gate reared it's head as Cutler "threw incomplete" at the Chargers 1 yard line. What actually happened was Cutler had a case of the empty hand which was recovered by San Diego.
Because the whistle had blown the play was dead and Denver retained the ball at the spot of the fumble. On 4th and 4 Cutler threw to Eddie Royal for the TD to cut the lead to one and set up overtime after the extra point. But Mike Shanahan had other ideas! Denver went for the win with a 2 point conversion and Cutler again found Royal to win the game 39-38. It's a shame the call was the big story as this was a fantastic game with Denver turning an 18 point lead into a 7 point deficit, only to come back and win the game. The Chargers quite rightly felt hard done by as the game was over on the recovered fumble if the call was correct, but if like me you were watching this game as a neutral you'd have loved every minute.
1. Chicago Bears 20 Atlanta Falcons 22 - Week 6
 This was such a compelling game which went back and forth right to the end. It may not be the most memorable game, but sitting through this one from start to finish was probably the best decision of the season for me as this was the best game I watched this season. You may have missed it as it was the Sky red button game, but you missed a cracker. Hopefully when Oakland were looking pathetic in getting whacked 34-3 by the Saints on the main game you switched over.
You look at the box score and wonder what the excitement was all about. Atlanta led 12-3 midway through the 3rd quarter on 4 Jason Elam field goals. But what was apparent from watching this contest was the rookie signal caller Matt Ryan was for real. The week before he'd taken apart a very good Green Bay secondary at Lambeau and he was a joy to watch against another tough defense in the Bears. At the end of the 3rd quarter another rookie
Matt Forte scored from 3 yard out and it was a 12-10 game heading into the 4th. Ryan led his team down the field on their next possession and found Roddy White in the endzone to make it 19-10. Robbie Gould made it a six point game, but Ryan again led Atlanta down the field and Elam stepped up for his 5th field goal of the game to surely put the Bears out of reach. The ever reliable Elam amazingly shanked it from 33 yards and gave Chicago new life. New life that Kyle Orton seized as he marched his team 77 yards for the win with just 11 second remaining. Orton to Rashied Davis for a 17 yard touchdown was surely the winning play but Matt Ryan wasn't finished yet. Harry Douglas returned the kick off the the Falcons 44 with 6 second remaining. The Bears fell into a base cover 2 defense and Ryan took advantage, hitting Michael Jenkins down the sideline for 26 yards with a second remaining, setting up a 48 yard field goal attempt for Elam. Elam's miss was no a distant memory as he boomed one through the posts for a fantastic last second victory in an absolute thriller.
You may not have picked this one as your favourite game, but trust me, this was as enjoyable a contest for the neutral as any other.
Random Thoughts
Peyton Manning as the MVP of the league was absolutely the right choice in my eyes. MVP is handed out a lot on the back of statistics, but this time round, the true value of a fantastic player was recognised. I still believe Manning shouldn't have been playing in the first 6 weeks of the season, but playing Jim Sorgi instead didn't make sense for obvious reasons. Manning gutted out the first few weeks before putting the team on his back and carrying them to the post season in a year that 11-5 didn't guarantee you a Wildcard in the AFC. Considering the running game spluttered, the offensive line was very interchangeable due to injuries, and the defense couldn't get off the field, it's amazing what Peyton did and I would argue this was a better season than when he threw for 49 touchdowns in 2004.
The Dallas Cowboys performance at the Linc on Sunday was nothing short of an embarrassment. While I've not been shy in my criticism of Andy Reid this year, I have never once doubted his ability to get his team motivated for a game. It's his ability to put them in the best position to win the game that riles me. But while the Eagles played as if their lives depended on it, Dallas looked disinterested and completely devoid of the passion needed to win on Sundays. Tony Romo played like he came across in his press conference after the game (aloof), Roy Williams looked completely lost. The defense couldn't get off the field, and the offense couldn't stop turning the ball over. I'm no Terrell Owens fan, but at least he looked like he cared and was giving 100%. It's a shame for Cowboy fans that he seemed to be the only one. While I shouldn't complain as an Eagles fan, heads should roll in Big D as they were an absolute disgrace.
And Finally...
The last 6 weeks on the New York Jets season summed up perfectly why Brett Favre should have stayed retired. Other than the fact that his last pass was an interception, last year's 13-3 season and a trip to the NFC Championship game was a pretty good way to go out. If you remember Favre's press conferences in the 2007 pre-season he was really frustrated and worrying that the Packers weren't ready to do anything, so to have the season they did was beyond his wildest dreams. It's tough to criticise someone who has that burning desire, but it's better to go out on a relative high than to go through what he went through this year.
The Jets were 8-3 and looking good for a first round bye after walloping the Titans in Tennessee. Since then it's been an absolute disaster, and only an absolute disaster from J.P. Losman in the final two minutes at the Meadowlands stopped the Jets going .500. Favre was very much to blame, with numerous multi-interception games down the stretch to kill his side. An anonymous Jets player criticised Favre, and then Thomas Jones ripped into him. While some of what they said may be seen as quite harsh, you can't disagree with it all. Favre is the main reason that the Jets aren't in the playoffs, and I do think Eric Mangini was really unfortunate to lose his job because of it. I doubt Favre will be back this time, and it's such a shame it's ended like this for such a legend of the game. Unfortunately, he has no-one to blame but himself.
|
