little plays that make a big difference

Ravens @ Titans

Of course the Titans turnovers were killer. But there were other plays that made a difference.

1. The Ravens were trailing 7-0 and had a 3rd and 18 at their own 47. Then Vanden Bosch goes offsides making it 3rd and 13. The ensuing play: Flacco goes deep to Mason for a 45-yard touchdown. I think it's likely that on 3rd and 18 the Ravens would have been conservative, as they had been to that point.

2. Early in the 2nd, it's 7-7 and the Titans have a 3rd and 3 on the Ravens 25. They complete a 5-yard pass and on 4th and 8 from the 30 they decide to go for it, apparently because they were kicking into the wind. But I wonder if Fisher knew the game was going to be 10-10 in the 4th, if he would have rather had a 47-yard field goal attempt instead of a 4th and 8 attempt.

3. Still 7-7 in the 3rd when the Titans appear to complete a 5-yard pass to the Ravens 28, which would have brought up 4th and 2. Even though it wasn't a first down and it appeared to be a completion, the Ravens challenge it--they were right, he was juggling the ball. That made it a 51-yard field goal (with the wind) and Bironas missed it wide left.

In a 13-10 game, every little thing counts.

Cardinals @ Panthers

The game started with an opening touchdown drive by the Panthers, and then their defense forced the Cardinals into 4th and 23 at the Panther 39. At this point it seemed like this was on it's way to be a blowout. Here are some sample comments from Deadspin:


1. Then Graham punted 30 yards pinning the ball inside the Panthers 10. This led to a 3 and out on 3 runs, a Panther punt, which gave the Cards good field position.

2. Up 17-7 with 5 minutes left in the 1st half, the Cards had a 4th and 1 on the Panther 13. They sent out Rackers for the figgie. A guy (I think it was Daryl Johnston) on Fox thought this was a terrible decision saying that "everything is going their way, and it'll be 21-20 right away if they kick the field goal." While normally I am pro-going for it, I though kicking was the right call. You have all the momentum and 20-7 is a good place to be with 35 minutes remaining.

As it turned out, kicking looks pretty smart. If they go for it, and don't get it, the Panthers are only down 10 with the ball and some momentum in the 2nd quarter.

Oh yeah, and Delhomme's 5 turnovers, no wait 6, didn't help either.