🏈 NFL 2020 Week 16 Saturday Games Review 🏈

                 

  

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NFL Week 16 Saturday Games Review

Tampa Bay 47, Detroit 7 – Wow! The Buccaneers really were on fire. They were determined to win, and made it happen, leaving no doubt from the beginning. They jumped out to a decent sized lead in the first quarter, and then simply put the game out of reach with an explosive second quarter, taking a rather unbelievable 34-0 lead into the lock rooms at halftime. It was an insurmountable lead, and the Lions the Lions never even came close to getting into this game. Tampa Bay just had their way with Detroit all day, and clinched a playoff berth by leaving absolutely no doubt. So Brady and Gronk will be back in the postseason together. If they play this well, you never know just how far they can go! My pick: Accurate              

San Francisco 20, Arizona 12 – The 49ers played well on this day, and avenged an earlier season loss to the Cardinals by beating them at a time when Arizona absolutely needed to win. Indeed, the Cardinals could ill afford to drop a game, and this loss may very well prove costly in terms of their playoff hopes. Niners third string quarterback CJ Beathard stepped up in a big way and completed 13 of 22 passes for 182 yards, with three touchdowns, to stun Arizona. Overall, the 49ers produced just shy of 400 yards of offense, while the defense was reminiscent of the dominant unit that San Francisco enjoyed last season, and which was instrumental in allowing them to capture the NFC Conference title and getting to the Super Bowl. Kyler Murray had a decent day passing, completing 31 passes for 247 yards, but also had one INT. He also picked up 75 yards on eight carries, but it just was not enough in this game.  This was the last home game for the 8-7 Cardinals, who next travel to Los Angeles to take on the Rams in the season finale next weekend. They will surely need to win that game. Even if they manage to win, a playoff spot is no longer guaranteed for them now. As for the 49ers, they improve to 6-9 on the season, and will host the Seahawks in the regular season finale next weekend. My pick: Inaccurate              

Miami 26, Las Vegas 25 – Now this was an exciting game! It was so good, so unpredictable and riveting, that it should serve as an example of how good this game can be when it is at it’s best. It featured a fake punt that got the Dolphins a crucial first down that was reminiscent of the Giants in the NFC Championship against the 49ers many years ago. A backup quarterback stepped in and saved his team, and possibly the team’s playoff chances, from the brink of what could have been a disastrous loss. A back and forth affair where the Raiders were winning for the vast majority of the contest, until late in the fourth quarter. By then, rookie Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was benched after an ineffective game, and Ryan Fitzpatrick took over. Not a moment too soon, evidently. Fitzpatrick has made  career of having huge games at rather surprising times, and this was one of them, luckily for Miami. He was got, completing 9 of 12 passes for 182 yards, including a 59-yard touchdown bomb to Myles Gaskin with less than three minutes left to give the Fins their first, and to that point only, lead of the game, after the extra point conversion. The Raiders, however, were not done, and orchestrated an impressive 71-yard drive in seven plays that gave them a field goal to take the lead with just 19 seconds left to play. Yet, Fitzpatrick was not done. He completed a deep pass to Mack Hollins that got the Fins to the Las Vegas 41-yard line, and then tacked on another 15 yards after a roughing the passer call against the Raiders. That put them into field goal range, and the place kicker for Dolphins, Jason Sanders, managed to split the uprights on the 44-yard field goal attempt to stun the Raiders, and keep the Dolphins hot. The victory was not quite enough to ensure Miami will be in the playoffs, but it certainly helped boost their chances in a big way. The Dolphins improved to 10-5 on the season, winning their second in a row and their fourth overall in a span of five games. They finish their season next weekend at Buffalo. For the Raiders, this was just another in a long line of disappointments this season, particularly late in the season, as Las Vegas imploded, dropping five of their last six games following a promising 6-3 start to the season. The loss drops them to 7-8 on the season, and is their third loss in a row. They will now go to the Mile High City to take on the Broncos in the regular season finale next weekend. These two teams might not be what they once were, back in the salad days of the seventies and eighties, yet they both put on a good showing here in this game. Again, what a game this was! My pick: Accurate