No. 2 Michigan and the Wolverines offense made a very questionable play call early in the College Football Playoff semifinal game against No. 3 TCU in the Fiesta Bowl on Saturday.
Coming out of a timeout on 4th-and-goal with two yards to go in a then-scoreless first quarter, the Wolverines tried to get tricky to get in the end zone. Quarterback J.J. McCarthy took the snap and quickly handed the ball off to wide receiver Ronnie Bell, who then tossed it to tight end Colston Loveland.
Loveland was supposed to then get the pass off back to McCarthy, but the quarterback was well-covered, leaving Loveland scrambling to try and get back to the linen of scrimmage, if not the end zone.
Unfortunately for the Wolverines, TCU defensive lineman Dylan Horton tackled Loveland at the TCU 10-yard line.
TCU STOPS MICHIGAN ON 4TH & GOAL FROM THE 2 YARD LINE!!!! FIESTA BOWL IS OFF TO AN ELECTRIC START! pic.twitter.com/yu3wLsxaKB
And just like that, Michigan’s first drive of the playoff game ended with a turnover on downs.
College football fans on Twitter could not believe Michigan not only attempted the play but also failed, and they had so many jokes, including a few jabs at Matt Patricia and some calls to retire the Philly Special.
North Carolina Central grabs the lead in the Celebration Bowl
North Carolina Central was doing its best to ruin Deion Sanders’ exit from Jackson State and the Tigers’ hopes for a perfect season.
The Eagles drove 73 yards over 11 plays in the fourth quarter to take the lead, 34-27.
Latrell Collier finished the drive with a 7-yard run. The Eagles borrowed from the Philadelphia Eagles with a “Philly Special” on the 2-point conversion and it worked.
Eagles Jordan Mailata, Jason Kelce, and Lane Johnson release the third single ‘Merry Christmas Baby’ from their highly anticipated album, “A Philly Special Christmas.”
Eagles Jordan Mailata, Jason Kelce, and Lane Johnson release the second single ‘Blue Christmas’ from their highly anticipated album, “A Philly Special Christmas.”
If your Holiday Spirit is a little more somber this year, you’ll enjoy our latest release from the album. @LaneJohnson65 has the perfect sultry, silky, baritone voice that’s filled with the emotion that hits just right. https://t.co/dl6XueTPY2
The Eagles are undefeated, racing towards a postseason berth, and reportedly in the holiday spirit.
Howard Eskins is reporting that the trio of Jason Kelce, Jordan Mailata, and Lane Johnson will be releasing a holiday album titled, ‘Philly Special Christmas.’
The Broncos practiced their ‘Philly Special’ a few times last week, but not at full speed, according to QB Drew Lock.
Facing a fourth-and-goal situation from the two-yard line against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur called a “Philly Special,” a trick play that has a wide receiver throw the ball to the quarterback.
Mike Boone, the team’s third-string running back, took the ball from quarterback Drew Lock and ran left, giving a pitch to Kendall Hinton, the team’s fourth-string wide receiver. Hinton then looked to pass to Lock, who was open, but there was too much pressure in Hinton’s face for him to get off a timely, accurate throw.
Lock managed to catch Hinton’s pass, but he was tackled well short of the goal line and Denver turned the ball over on downs.
“I thought, from my perspective, Hinton did a heck of a job just being able to get the ball out,” Lock said after the game. “When they’re bringing two guys off that edge, they had a good call against it.
“We were hoping just to have an end and act like a zone read and pull it off. We had a couple of guys coming off the edge, hoping we would get it out, and try to punch it in after we catch it. Good call by them. Good defense by them.”
Lock said the team practiced the play “a couple of times” last week leading up to the game, but because the Broncos had a COVID-19 outbreak that sidelined 12 players, Denver did not have any full-speed practices.
“Never full speed this week; we didn’t really have practice,” Lock said. “We worked on it a couple times, hit it a couple of times.”
Lock injured his right shoulder earlier in the game and left for one series to get a shot before returning. After returning, the Broncos ran a quarterback sneak with Lock to pick up a first down and then later called a pass play to Lock that resulted in another hit on the quarterback.
Those kind of decisions from Denver’s offensive staff help explain why Shurmur is expected to be on the hot seat when Black Monday arrives next week.
There’s a reason that the Bears brought Nick Foles to Chicago, including his experience in this offense. Meet the Bears’ newest QB.
The Chicago Bears kickstarted their quarterback competition with the addition of veteran Nick Foles, who will battle it out with Mitchell Trubisky for the starting job.
There’s a reason the Bears brought Foles to Chicago, including his experience in an Andy Reid offense and his history with some of the Bears’ offensive coaches.
Chicago traded a fourth-round pick to the Jacksonville Jaguars for Foles, where they addressed a quarterback need that’s loomed all offseason. Whether Foles ends up starting remains to be seen, but things will certainly be interesting at training camp this year.
Let’s get to know the newest Bears quarterback:
1. Foles has history with Bears coaching staff
Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
There’s a reason the Bears went after Foles. And a big reason has to do with his history with some of Chicago’s offensive coaching staff. Foles has played under Matt Nagy during his time with the Eagles and the Chiefs, which means that he has experiencing operating an Andy Reid offense.
Given some of the uncertainties with the coronavirus, that gives Foles an advantage as he’ll be familiar with a lot of what Nagy wants to do. Nagy knows that Foles can run this offense. So if Foles wins the starting job over Mitchell Trubisky, he’ll be ready.
But Foles also has history with two new members of Chicago’s offensive coaching staff. Offensive coordinator Bill Lazor served as Foles’ quarterbacks coach in Philadelphia in 2013. Also, quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo was his offensive coordinator last season in Jacksonville and his quarterbacks coach in Philadelphia in 2017.
Previewing the NFL NFC champion futures odds with 1 week left in the regular season, with NFL futures, betting odds, picks and best bets
Battle-tested will be an appropriate adjective for whichever team makes it out of what should be a grueling NFC playoffs. We know five of the six NFC playoff teams but who gets a bye, home-field advantage and the winner of the NFC East are all still up for grabs heading into Week 17. Here are my top three bets to win the NFC Championship.
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1. San Francisco 49ers (+250)
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo (Photo credit: Cary Edmondson – USA TODAY Sports)
Currently the second favorite to come out of the NFC, the 49ers head into their Week 17 matchup against the Seattle Seahawks needing a win to clinch a first-round bye and home-field advantage through the NFC playoffs.
When healthy the 49ers defense could be the best unit in all of football. The 49ers completely overwhelmed the Green Bay Packers in their 37-8 beatdown in Week 12, holding the Packers to just 198 total yards. They kept future MVP, QB Lamar Jackson, and the world-beating Baltimore Ravens in check during their slugfest 20-17 loss to the Ravens in Week 13. The value isn’t great at +250 and there are injury concerns in the aforementioned defense but the 49ers should be ready to roll come playoff time given they’ve played a number of high-intensity games recently, including a three-week stretch against Green Bay, Baltimore, and New Orleans. The latter two games were on the road, too.
2. Philadelphia Eagles (+1400)
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz (Photo credit: Matthew Emmons – USA TODAY Sports)
Obviously, the long odds of +1400 are the selling point here but if the Eagles can win the NFC East title by beating the New York Giants in Week 17 then every NFL bettor should entertain the Eagles’ chances to win the NFC. The Eagles are elite along the offensive line, defensive line and at quarterback. On their run to winning Super Bowl LII, the Eagles coaching staff ran trick plays, played its home-field advantage perfectly and ultimately coached up then backup quarterback, Nick Foles, to a Super Bowl-MVP performance.
Also, all we need is for the Eagles to make the NFC Conference Championship to earn money on this wager. If the Eagles make it to the NFC title game, you can hedge your Eagles to win the NFC futures ticket by betting the other side. So if you placed a $100 wager, which earns a profit of $1,400, betting whoever the Eagles are playing in that game—even if it’s at a juiced-up moneyline—will guarantee a profit.
3. New Orleans Saints (+185)
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (Photo credit: Chuck Cook – USA TODAY Sports)
Again we aren’t in love with the Saints value here at +185, but they are the most complete team heading into the playoffs. Quarterback Drew Brees, ranks first in completion percentage (75.3%), second in QB Rating (115.7), third in QBR (73.7) and third in touchdown percentage (6.9%). His number one target—WR Michael Thomas—is now the record holder of most catches in a season and is a legitimate MVP contender. Everyone expects their offense to be elite, but a sneaky tough defense could make the 2019 Saints special. They rank No. 3 in sacks (49), fifth in rushing yards allowed per game and 14th in total yards heading into Week 17.
Currently the 3-seed, the Saints can still clinch a first-round bye if they win plus the 49ers or Packers lose. Playing in New Orleans gives the Saints a home-field advantage few teams have as Mercedes-Benz Superdome is a scary place for any opposing team. Getting the bye and at least two home games will be crucial for a Saints team that has a 74-38 record at home since Sean Payton took over as head coach in 2006.
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The touchdown and point after makes the Sooners up 17-7 mid way through the second quarter.
This is not the first time Riley has pulled something like this out of his hat. In the 2017 Rose Bowl against Georgia, Riley called a similar play with Baker Mayfield as the receiving quarterback.
Making his first career receiving touchdown, Jalen Hurts threw up the patented Dez Bryant ‘X’.
The play’s name comes from the the originators, the Philadelphia Eagles who ran the play in Super Bowl LII against the New England Patriots. Eagles head coach Doug Peterson was persuaded by then Eagles quarterback, Nick Foles to run the play. Ever since, the play has become an offensive play caller’s not so secret, secret weapon.
Oklahoma leads Oklahoma State 17-7 with 11 minutes left in the second quarter.
