NFL Recap – Week 17

As 2012 is just beginning, the NFL regular season has come to an end. It went out much the same way it began, with Tim Tebow falling apart, Dallas making far too many mistakes, and Green Bay once again declaring victory over the competition. Throw in an outstanding performance by Tom Brady and a close call between Miami and the Jets and you couldn’t ask for much more from the last week of the regular season in the NFL.

New York Giants 31, Dallas Cowboys 14

The Giants needed Tony Romo to fall apart one more time in order to clinch the NFC East title, and they got their New Year’s wish on Sunday. Eli Manning once again stepped up huge for his team, passing for 346 yards and three touchdowns. One of those touchdowns was a 74-yard pass to Victor Cruz in the first quarter, which helped give the Giants their 21-0 lead at halftime. Dallas tried to come back, scoring two touchdowns to give them 14 points late in the last quarter, but the Giants answered with 10 more points and many more sacks on Romo (who was pummeled six times in total throughout the game.) Romo finished with 289 throwing yards, and two touchdown passes to Laurent Robinson. The Giants will face Atlanta in the first round of the NFC playoffs next Sunday, while the Cowboys will be at home watching the game.

Kansas City Chiefs 7, Denver Broncos 3

You’d think from the score this was a good game to watch but in truth, the Chiefs got all of their points in the first quarter while Denver spent the entire game trying to catch up without succeeding. But even though we saw the Tebow from earlier in the season, rather than the superstar quarterback he turned into later in the season, it wasn’t enough to keep Denver out of the playoffs; they’ll face off against Pittsburgh next Sunday. Kyle Orton finished his game for the Chiefs with 180 throwing yards while Dexter McCluster had 61 total rushing yards and a score. On the other side of the ball Willis McGahee had 145 yards for Denver while Tebow had only 16 rushing yards and completed just 6 of 22 passes for 60 yards.

Green Bay Packers 45, Detroit Lions 41

Even without Aaron Rodgers Green Bay managed to take the win, no matter how hard the Lions tried to serve them their second loss of the season. Matt Flynn, who stepped in for Rodgers, did his part with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Jermichael Finley that won the game with just over 1 minute left. Jordy Nelson also helped, with three touchdowns of his own for Green Bay and nine receptions for 162 yards. Matthew Stafford had an outstanding performance for the Lions with 520 total throwing yards and five touchdowns. It wasn’t enough but the Lions will still continue onto the playoffs, as they face the Saints next Saturday. The Packers, with an almost undefeated season get a bye for the first round and will play next on January 15.

Miami Dolphins 19, New York Jets 17

Mark Sanchez finished his game on Sunday with 207 throwing yards and two scores, but it wasn’t enough to defeat the Dolphins or to give the Jets a spot in the playoffs. That was in part due to Marvin Mitchell, who intercepted Sanchez three times. Matt Moore also intercepted two of the Jets’ passes, as well as finishing with 135 passing yards and a touchdown of his own. Despite a rally from the Jets, the Dolphins took the game. Despite the win, neither Miami nor the Jets will be going to the first round of the playoffs.

New England Patriots 49, Buffalo Bills 21

This was an easy game to call and Tom Brady didn’t disappoint as he finished with 338 passing yards and three touchdowns in a definitive 49-21 win against the Bills on Sunday. It wasn’t a total blowout though, as the Bills got all of their 21 points in the first half, while New England remained scoreless. Stevan Ridley had a total of 81 passing yards for the Pats, while Aaron Hernandez had 7 passes for 138 yards. For the Bills, Ryan Fitzpatrick did his part with 307 throwing yards and two touchdowns. Unfortunately, his four interceptions were four too many against a team that’s been one of the best all season long. The win gave the Pats home-field advantage for the AFC playoffs while the Bills will have to try again next year.

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