Wild Card Weekend game thread (non-Pats)

snowmanny

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Did Dak forget why he was running plays to the sideline the previous four times? To get out of bounds and stop the clock?
 

Dollar

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Why do the cowboys get to decide where the spot is?
They don't. It just seemed funny that the ref was arbitrarily just putting it down without looking at the line judge or anything.
He was doing them a favor. It was like three yards back.
Good point. I don't think it was the ref's fault, you have to account for that time if you're going to keep the clock running, but it was just kind of funny how it happened.
 

curly2

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Both teams kept trying to give the game away. Jimmy G bad INT, Cowboys keep committing defensive holding on runs, Niners don't get set on the sneak and then let the Cowboys get 40 yards in no time, then that ending. Awful football, but not boring. :)
 

CFB_Rules

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It was a dumb play call knowing the situation. The lineman got in formation and slowed down the ref which didn't help. But then he triple tapped the ball on the ground. It was completely arbitrary spotting and the 6 inches didn't matter for the final hail mary

The triple touch and not getting up there more efficiently annoys me. If we are doing what is 'good for the game' - like ignoring whistles mid play - then give them a second back.
I think the ball slipped out of his hand the first time. It MAYBE cost a second, but I don't think the Cowboys were only 1 second away from getting that ball spiked.

Generally we tell teams that if the ball is dead with more than 10 seconds on the clock, they should expect to get another play. With less than 10 they probably won't. The crew went about as fast as humanly possible here and the the play didn't get off, it's not fair to the 49ers to essentially give the offense a timeout and reset the clock to 1 second because the U didn't get there as fast as Usain Bolt might have.
 

joe dokes

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Love that people are blaming the official, as though the Cowboys get to spot the ball themselves. Maybe they get the ball spiked if they hand the ball to him and let him do his job.
Or if dak slides 5 yards earlier, like he was probably told to do. (Still a suboptimal call....)
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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It seemed to me that the problem was that the ref moved the ball back a yard. Why did he think the spot was a yard back?
I think because he knew the clock was low and he just wanted to get it spotted without even looking for the line judge’s spot to get the Cowboys a chance to clock it.

The ump sets the ball but he doesn’t mark the gain.
 

snowmanny

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Tony Romo’s total number of words spoken in that last 1:30 or so has to have set some sort of record.
 

JokersWildJIMED

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The play made no sense and had little chance of success for a very marginal reward. Why not take 2 shots into the end zone.
 

PedroKsBambino

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It’s a bad look that ref crashed into two players and prevented snap. I get it. But he’s actually doing his job, and the Cowboys should have known how to make it go faster—-it’s like they don’t have coaches or practice situational football at all. On top of which, whether that was Moore, McCarty, or Dak running it in middle of field with no time outs was spectacularly dumb idea.
 

TFisNEXT

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The play made no sense and had little chance of success for a very marginal reward. Why not take 2 shots into the end zone.
Yeah it theoretically would have worked if Dak slides 5 yards sooner but the cost/benefit analysis isnt there. You’re now getting 1 more play from the 30 yard line instead of maybe 3 heaves from the 40? I like the 3 heaves from the 40 much better.
 

Philip Jeff Frye

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The only thing that I could think while that play was happening was "Does Dallas think Dak can reach the end zone all by himself?" because it just made zero sense for him to slide there. That's an all-time stupid play call.
 

joe dokes

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Yeah it theoretically would have worked if Dak slides 5 yards sooner but the cost/benefit analysis isnt there. You’re now getting 1 more play from the 30 yard line instead of maybe 3 heaves from the 40? I like the 3 heaves from the 40 much better.
Unless McCarthy builds "we're gonna commit a penalty anyway" into his thinking.
 

Senator Donut

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I think the ball slipped out of his hand the first time. It MAYBE cost a second, but I don't think the Cowboys were only 1 second away from getting that ball spiked.

Generally we tell teams that if the ball is dead with more than 10 seconds on the clock, they should expect to get another play. With less than 10 they probably won't. The crew went about as fast as humanly possible here and the the play didn't get off, it's not fair to the 49ers to essentially give the offense a timeout and reset the clock to 1 second because the U didn't get there as fast as Usain Bolt might have.
Shouldn’t the umpire have been in the defensive backfield for the two minute drill?
 

Fred in Lynn

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It seemed to me that the problem was that the ref moved the ball back a yard. Why did he think the spot was a yard back?
Because the line judge on the Cowboys’ sideline marked the progress of the last play precisely on the 25 yard line. The down judge just moved it to the 24 from the 23.5, which is where the Cowboys set themselves up. If the down judge deserves any criticism, it’s for not moving the Cowboys back to the 25.
 

PedroKsBambino

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Do we think that was a called play or Dak freelancing?

I tend to think freelancing, but I can’t rule out they thought they could get the yards and get a play in, either
 

ngruz25

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If you guys haven't had the pleasure of watching Big Ben much this season, he is REAL bad these days. He's a statue and his arm is shot. Not quite swan song Manning bad, but close.
 

BaseballJones

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Pittsburgh's pass rush and running game give them a puncher's chance in this game. Need to control the game with Harris and turn the pass rush loose and hope to force Mahomes into a couple of bad turnovers, which he's capable of.
 

Fred in Lynn

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Pittsburgh's pass rush and running game give them a puncher's chance in this game. Need to control the game with Harris and turn the pass rush loose and hope to force Mahomes into a couple of bad turnovers, which he's capable of.
I like your enthusiasm. Only three teams ran for fewer yards than the Steelers this year. Harris is a beast, but the OL is raw and not all that good, and the OC is just plain bad.
 

Deathofthebambino

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The fact that Pitt and Las Vegas got into the playoffs and Justin Herbert and the Chargers are at home depresses me.
 

BaseballJones

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Playoff QB performances so far:

Allen: 21-25 (84.0%), 308 yds, 5 td, 0 int, 66 yds rushing
Brady: 29-37 (78.4%), 271 yds, 7.3 y/a, 2 td, 0 int
Jimmy G: 16-25 (64.0%), 172 yds, 6.9 y/a, 0 td, 1 int, 1 yd rushing
Dak: 23-43 (53.5%), 254 yds, 5.9 y/a, 1 td, 1 int, 27 yds rushing, 1 rush td
Hurts: 23-43 (53.5%), 258 yds, 6.0 y/a, 1 td, 2 int, 39 yds rushing
Mac: 24-38 (63.2%), 232 yds, 6.1 y/a, 2 td, 2 int, 18 yds rushing
Burrow: 24-34 (70.6%), 244 yds, 7.2 y/a, 2 td, 0 int, -2 yds rushing
Carr: 29-54 (53.7%), 310 yds, 5.7 y/a, 1 td, 1 int, 20 yds rushing

So far here's how I'd rank their performances:

1. Allen
2. Brady
3. Burrow
4. Mac
5. Carr
6. Dak
7. Jimmy G
8. Hurts