The NFL’s final day of the regular season is one of the most unique days in sports. CBS and Fox both have doubleheaders for the only time. The schedule, much like the last days for Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer and the English Premier League, is worked out so teams in similar situations play at the same time. Finally, the last game of the day (in this case, Titans vs. Colts on Sunday night), has the most playoff implications.
While this particular Sunday is a great day for football, many fans find themselves rooting for teams with nothing to play for on the final day. I know that, since I follow the Giants, I am one of those fans. Here is a look at my football-filled day. Hopefully, it is indicative of the “every man” out there.
(All times are Eastern)
12:48 p.m.: As a Giants fan, I tend to watch the Fox Pregame Show, which usually proves to be a mistake. Although some of the members of the team are harder to take, the worst by far is Rob Riggle, who gets his own segment every week. This time, is was an outlandish car commercial-like spoof of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and his New Year’s Eve party. Fox should be ashamed for allowing Riggle on television after they rejected Jeff Dunham, one of the best ventriloquists in the country.
12:55: Final check on my fantasy team. I’m frustrated with James Connor’s game-time decision status, but at least my two starting running backs play in the late afternoon. Fox takes us to New Jersey, where Charles Davis and former Mets field-side reporter Kevin Burkhardt are on the call.
1:03: Let the games begin! Corey Coleman ran the opening kickoff back 37 yards to give host New York good starting field position.
1:06: A quick, effective New York drive ends when Eli Manning under throws Bennie Fowler and is intercepted by Chiodobe Awuzie in the end zone.
1:21: Another Manning pass was tipped by Cowboys defensive star DeMarcus Lawrence and intercepted by Antwaun Woods (later ruled a fumble). I’m starting to wonder if I should have said a few more Hail Marys in church this morning.
1:48: The Cowboys strike first. Dak Prescott ended an early second-quarter drive with a 13-yard touchdown pass to tight end Blake Jarwin, who split three defenders in the Giants’ zone “coverage.” After an earlier missed field goal, Brett Maher kicks the extra point to put Dallas up 7-0.
1:52: A quick commercial fantasy check shows that Deshaun Watson rushed for a touchdown to give me the early lead in my league’s third-place match against my best friend from college. Playing in this match is quite a disappointment, considering I finished 12-2 and was a two-point loss and a one-point, stat-corrected defeat in the final week away from an undefeated regular season.
1:56 After the Giants had a three-and-out (shocking, I know), another commercial break allowed my to check my picks. I have everything but the Giants, Tampa Bay and Carolina correct (stupid NFC South J).
2:08: Prescott and Jarwin hook up on a 19-yard scoring pass, the second of both the game and Jarwin’s career. Cowboys lead 14-0 with 1:50 left in the first half. The score was set up by a 23-yard pass interference penalty by B.W. Webb, who continually proves why he shouldn’t be on an NFL field with glaring mistakes like this (which I noted quite eloquently in my first swearing rant of the day).
2:18: A fantastic one-handed catch by former Bronco Corey Latimer with 15 seconds left gets Manning and the Giants back in the game. Dallas leads 14-7 at halftime.
During halftime, Fox recaps the games and Aaron Rodgers’ injury while I pry open a shrimp ring I inexplicably forgot to take out of the freezer for Christmas.
2:55: With Tae Davis closing in, Prescott finds Jarwin, who makes his way to the end zone from 39 yards out to give Dallas a 21-10 lead with five minutes left in the third. This is the first 3 TD game by a Cowboys tight end since Billy Joe Dupree in 1973.
3:01: Barkley brings the MetLife crowd alive with a 68-yard run, giving the rookie 101 on the ground for the game and makes him just the third rookie running back with more than 2,000 yards from scrimmage (Eric Dickerson in 1983 and Edgerrin James in 1999).
3:03: Manning finishes off the drive with a six-yard scoring pass to tight end Evan Engram, who dove and stretched the ball across the goal line. After a pass interference on the first attempt, Manning finds Engram in traffic for the two-point conversion, bringing the Giants to within 21-18 with 1:53 left in the third.
3:21: A 51-yard pass from Manning to Engram leads to the Giants finally taking the lead, 25-21 with 10:38 remaining in the fourth. Wayne Gallman carries in from three yards out for his first score of the year.
3:27: Prescott finds former Jaguar Allen Hurns, who beats Tony Lippett for a 49-yard gain to the Giants’ two yard line.
3:29: After former Jaguar Allen Hurns beats Tony Lippett for a 49-yard gain, Dallas retakes the lead, 28-25, on a Rod Smith one-yard run. Maher’s extra point attempt bounces off the right upright and through.
3:41: Another amazing catch by Latimer! A one-handed tip to himself finished off the 31-yard pass from Manning to the Dallas 7.
3:43: Barkley scores with a Jordan-esque leap from the 3-yard-line, giving the Giants take a 32-28 lead with 3:21 left.
3:48: Kerry Wynn knocks the ball out of Amari Cooper’s hands and B. J. Goodson recovered for the Giants and returned it to the Dallas 10.
3:52: In other action, Jameis Winston hit Chris Godwin with a 19-yard scoring pass. Even though the 2-point conversion failed, the Buccaneers take a 32-31 lead over the Falcons.
3:53: A Rosas 38-yard field goal extends the Giants’ lead to 35-28 with 2:29 remaining.
4:04: Another GIANT collapse! On 4th-and-15, a fantastic catch by Cole Beasley diving in the back of the end zone was first ruled incomplete. The right knee touches in the end zone before the right elbow came down out of bounds. The play was overturned upon review with 1:12 left. Prescott rolled right and found Michael Gallup with the 2-point conversion, giving Dallas a 36-35 lead.
4:12: Manning’s final pass attempt to Latimer was knocked away. Two kneel downs give the Cowboys a 36-35 win in the finale. These Giants are unbelievable! I’m not sure why I stay a fan. They lose more games in the final two minutes than any other. They led the league this year in one-score games. Meanwhile, the Cowboys won 7 of their final 8 regular season contests and finished with a 10-6 record.
The other close game is over as well. Ex-Giant Matt Bryant kicked a 37-yard field goal as time expired, giving the Falcons a 34-32 win over the Buccaneers.
4:18: In his final game, Bills defensive lineman Kyle Williams had three tackles and even caught a 9-yard pass from Josh Allen. Saints tight end Benjamin Watson picked up three receptions for 29 yards in his last regular season game.
4:22: As a last-second call, I put in James Conner, who went undrafted in my fantasy league, and take out David Johnson, who I drafted second overall. Baltimore’s Gus Edwards occupies my other starting spot. Let’s see how this backfires.
4:25: The late afternoon games are starting. Since no games involve teams I follow, I have more leeway in what games I watch. The Eagles-Redskins game has Chris Myers and Daryl “Moose” Johnston on commentary, while Kevin Harlan and Rich Gannon call the Steelers-Bengals.
4:39: Fantasy Update – I am trailing 57-55 after the early games in the third-place match in the fantasy league I run, and I have a 27-11 lead in my other match. New England’s Rob Gronkowski finished with two points, and he is barely among the top 10 in points by tight ends this season. I wonder if he’s just sick from eating too many Tide Pods.
As a stat fanatic, I will be taking a break from watching the games in-depth while I update my records from the early games.
5:08: Fantasy pick-six. Shawn Williams (who occupies the DB spot on my team) intercepts Ben Roethlisberger and takes it to the end zone to give the Bengals a 7-0 lead on the Steelers.
5:30: Nick Foles finds Alshon Jeffery on the Redskins logo of the end zone, extending the Eagles’ lead to 10-0 just before halftime.
5:41: Lamar Jackson’s third touchdown run was overturned after review. Rather than being up 27-7, the fumble gave the ball back to the Browns. Maybe if the Ravens used Gus Edwards more…
5:50: With most games at halftime, I am trailing by 25 points in my third-place match and hold a 64-60 lead in the other league.
6:30: Roethlisberger’s touchdown pass to another of my fantasy gems, JuJu Smith-Schuster, ties the game 10-10 with the Bengals.
6:35: Score Update: Mike Davis’ scoring run gives the Seahawks a 21-13 advantage over the Cardinals, and Philip Rivers is doing his best to provide for his nine kids, hitting Mike Williams with a 3-yard touchdown pass and giving the Chargers a 14-3 lead over the Broncos.
6:37: Uh oh, Foles heading to the locker room for the Eagles. He tied the record with 25 straight completions in this game (which Rivers set earlier this season), but it looks like our quarterback matchup could now be Josh Johnson vs. Nate Sudfeld.
6:47: Hey, maybe this Sudfeld guy belongs here. A scoring pass of 22 yards to Agholor gives the Eagles a 24-0 lead. Now, we hear the soothing tones of Curt Menefee saying Fox is sending us to the “more competitive” Bears-Vikings game. However, I’m not sure it’s worth the tradeoff of having to listen to Joe Buck and Troy Aikman on commentary.
7:10: Time for another score update: the Chiefs won the top spot in the AFC with a 35-3 drubbing of the Raiders, and the Eagles finished up their shutout of the Redskins, 17-0. Looks like the Vikings are mailing their game in, so the Eagles will get to defend their title.
7:26: After the Steelers hold off the Bengals, CBS switches to Jim Nantz and Tony Romo calling the Browns and Ravens. Let’s see if Baker Mayfield has any more magic left.
7:29: Sebastian Janikowski kicks a 33-yard field goal as time expires and the Seahawks escape with a 27-24 win over the Cardinals. I thought Seattle was supposed to be nearly unbeatable at home, so how come they need a last second kick to beat the team who owns the first pick in the draft?
7:38: C. J. Mosley tipped and then intercepted Mayfield’s fourth down pass with 1:02 left. The Ravens go on to win the game and the AFC North title, 26-24.
7:42: The Rams finished off the 48-32 win over the 49ers. Let’s look at the numbers of the last day of the regular season heading into the final game:
Top passers (5 with more than 300 yards) – Prescott 387, Ryan 378, Mayfield 376
Top rushers (9 with more than 100 yards) – CJ Anderson 132, Carson 122, Dixon 117
Top receivers (9 with more than 100 yards) – Kittle 149, Hopkins 147, Julio Jones 138
An important (but I hope meaningless) note: The winner of the Titans-Colts game will take the last spot unless the game ends in a tie, in which case, those two teams as well as the Steelers will be 9-6-1, and Pittsburgh will get the final spot.
Fantasy update: With no one left to play, I win my third-place matchup, 173-167, but will lose in the other league. I am down 93-90 and my opponent has Derrick Henry tonight.
In terms of picks, I am 10-5 so far (missed GB, NO, NYG, WSH and CLE).
8:13: My second favorite part of the late game is seeing Carrie Underwood sing the theme song. Mike Fisher is a lucky, lucky man!
8:15: My favorite part of the Sunday Night game is listening to possibly the greatest sports announcer of all-time, Al Michaels. Oh, and Cris Collinsworth isn’t bad, either!
8:34: After the Titans punted on their first drive, the Colts went 92 yards in 12 plays, leading to an 11-yard touchdown pass from Andrew Luck to Dontrelle Inman.
8:59: Another touchdown from the big man! Luck hits Eric Ebron with a scoring pass for a 14-0 lead. The Colts’ drive was 16 plays for 90 yards and more than eight minutes off the clock. This is Ebron’s 13th TD of the season and the first allowed by the Titans to a tight end.
9:10: Rumor has it the Jets have fired head coach Todd Bowles.
9:17: Luck’s pass was intercepted by Javon Brown and returned for a touchdown to cut the Titans’ deficit to 14-7 with 6:35 left in the second quarter.
9:38: Ageless wonder Adam Vinatieri, the NFL’s all-time leading scorer, kicks a 53-yard field goal with 39 seconds left in the first half for a 17-7 Colts lead.
9:46: Ryan Succop hits a 38-yard field goal as time expires in the first half to cut the Titans’ deficit to 17-10. Time for me to heat up some homemade mac and cheese for a late dinner.
10:10: A 29-yard pass from Luck to Inman sets up a Luck one-yard pass to Ryan Hewitt, giving the Colts a 24-10 lead less than five minutes into the second half. I’m starting to experience my first yawns during a long day of football.
10:38: A 33-yard run by Derrick Henry sets up a Gabbert to Luke Stocker 22-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 24-17.
11:18: Mack finishes off the game with a touchdown run, giving Indianapolis a 33-17 lead with 2:24 left. The almost automatic Vinatieri misses the extra point, though.
11:23: One last-gasp drive was snuffed out, as Gabbert was intercepted by rookie phenom linebacker Darius Leonard, who returned it to the Tennessee 8 with 1:50 left. I’m not sure anyone voted against this kid for the Pro Bowl.
11:26: The NFL regular season comes to a close with the Colts earning the final playoff spot after a 33-17 win over the Titans. Indianapolis finished the season with nine wins in their final 10 games after a 1-5 start.
Sorry to cut this short, but I need to get some sleep. I’m tired, and I have a long day of recording fantasy football stats and keeping track of coach firings ahead (well, that and planning a New Year’s Eve dinner for my wife).
I hope all of you won your fantasy matches (unless you faced me, of course) and enjoyed yourselves on the busiest day of the NFL regular season.
By Kevin Rakas
