The Hangover: Week 15

By Adam Cancryn

Week 15: When most everybody is knocked out of their fantasy football league, and they start rooting actual teams, rather than some combination of Denver defense/Ray Rice/Tom Brady butonlyifhe'sthrowingto Welker.

• Rex Grossman kicked off the Redskins-Giants derpfest in fine fashion, throwing an interception on the first play from scrimmage. It came off a flea flicker that had wideout Santana Moss a step out in front of his defender, but Grossman underthrew it and allowed Corey Webster to pick it off.
• Six passes later, Grossman would throw another one. Yet neither translated into any points for the Giants.
• Before exiting with an injury, A.J. Green put on quite a show. He ran under a severely overthrown ball early in the first quarter, diving to make a 55-yard catch that set up Cincinnati within the five.
• He then got targeted twice, both times making acrobatic catches that ended up out of bounds. The Bengals got a field goal out of the possession, and Green ended the game with six catches for 115 yards.
• The Rams wore their old-style uniforms in honor of Marshall Faulk, who was inducted into its Ring of Honor. The uniforms mimicked the style from St. Louis' 1999 championship.

• Jets castoff Kellen Clemens got the start for the Rams, throwing his first touchdown since 2007.
• Meanwhile, Seattle running back Marshawn Lynch continued to roll, scoring a touchdown in his 10th consecutive game. 
• The TD helped the Seahawks to another win, and they are quietly putting together an above-average season. They've now won five of their last six games.
• Also in the rundown of TD milestones, Drew Brees wasted little time in registering a touchdown pass for the 41st consecutive game, leaving him just six behind record holder Johnny Unitas.
• He also completed a pass to nine different receivers during the game.
• At 3-0 at the end of the first quarter, the Colts led a game for the first time since Week 5.
• How's this for tone deaf: An ESPN spokesman tweeted that Tim Tebow was mentioned 133 times on NFL Sunday Countdown, like it was an accomplishment to be proud of.
• Eli Manning finished the first quarter v. the Redskins 0-6 passing, which was the worst start of his career. His first completion came with just under 14 minutes left in the second quarter, which was then followed by an acrobatic interception by OJ Atogwe. 
• The New York Giants have trailed in every single game this season. 
• Lance Moore's touchdown dance, via SBNation:

• Chicago's Johnny Knox suffered a rough injury, when his back got twisted awkwardly during a tackle. Reports are that he will undergo surgery but should come out of it okay.
• Kyle Orton played his first full game for the Chiefs, and did he look impressive. The former Denver quarterback threw for 299 yards and led Kansas City to a win over previously undefeated Green Bay.
• The Packers went 363 days in between losses, and it was the first time all season they've trailed in the fourth quarter.
• It was also Romeo Crennel's first game as the Chiefs' head coach, and his defensive knowledge came in handy. The Chiefs were the first team to successfully limit Green Bay's offense, frustrating Aaron Rodgers all day and shutting down wide receiver Donald Driver.
• Rodgers nevertheless threw his 40th touchdown, setting a new team record.
• The Panthers pulled a trick out of Little Giants, running a variant on the fumblerooski for a score. It's tough to see in the video, but quarterback Cam Newton takes the snap, hands it off between the upback's legs and then takes off right. Meanwhile, the back ran it left and into the end zone.
• This week should seal the deal for Matt Hasselbeck's time as a starter for the Titans. He couldn't get anything going against the Colts' porous defense, and threw two picks to boot. He's looked increasingly unsteady just as rookie Jake Locker has hit his stride. Locker threw for 108 yards and a touchdown in relief of Hasselbeck.
• Speaking of laying down and playing dead, the Giants let it all fall apart this week. Eli Manning threw three interceptions and the defense couldn't stop Rex Grossman, and by the second half it was pretty much over. The Giants now need the Eagles to beat the Cowboys next week, as well as win their last two games.
• The Redskins had six interception coming into the day. They added three more in New York.
• The Giants are now 25-37 in the second half of the season under coach Tom Coughlin.
• Washington is now 5-9 for the sixth time in the past 10 years, according to WaPo's Dan Steinberg.
• This is the first time in NFL history that two rookie quarterbacks (Cam Newton and Andy Dalton) have thrown for 3,000+ yards.
• More stats on the Packers: they had trailed for just 103 minutes all season coming into the week. Against the Chiefs, they trailed for 55 minutes.
• Tom Brady came into his game against the Broncos with a 1-6 all-time record v. Denver.
• New England's defense is absolutely terrible, and it showed in Denver's first two possessions. The Broncos ran for more yards in the first quarter than anyone else during coach Bill Belichick's time with the Patriots.
• However, turnovers are the great equalizer. Two straight fumbles in the second quarter resulted in 14 points for the Pats, and helped them grab a lead they would never relinquish.
• Tim Tebow's fumble on an option play showed the consequence of making a poor read in the NFL. In college, a blown read will result in a short loss. In the NFL, that mistake allows the defense to get right up on the quarterback, forcing a significant loss or a hurried pitch.
• Ochocinco sighting! And this time it was for a deep touchdown early in the game. It was Chad Ochocinco's first TD as a Patriot and his 14th catch of the season.
• Calvin Johnson returned from a two game lull in a big way, catching nine balls for 214 yards and two touchdowns. That included a 51-yard TD early in the game.
• In the Jets-Eagles tilt, it was all about the turnovers. Seven combined in the first half, to be exact. Like the Giants, however, the Jets couldn't take advantage of theirs and consequently fell behind early and never recovered.
• At some point during the Tim Tebow Apologists' Hour, "announcer" Phil Simms suggested that Tebow misses some of his throws so badly because he wants to make sure they're not intercepted. Which would seem to imply that Tebow throws some of his passes with no intention of completing them, but merely not having them intercepted. Seems a little counterproductive, but that's the kind of anti-logic that persisted throughout the game.
• The halftime entertainment for the Broncos-Patriots game was a monkey riding a dog. That is all.

• Apparently there's a whole troupe that does this sort of thing: 

• Via Andrew Siciliano, Greg Little's touchdown was the Browns' first in the third quarter this year.
• The Jets really missed injured safety Jim Leonhard, who would have covered tight end Brent Celek. He was not there, and Celek racked up 156 yards an a touchdown on just five catches.
• For the second straight week, the Raiders played well for most the game and then lost it down the stretch. This time it was a 98-yard drive that culminated in a Lions touchdown to take the lead with 39 seconds left.
• The Lions have won nine games in a season for the first time since 2000, and are well on their way to a playoff appearance. Much of the credit goes to Matt Stafford, who has carried the team since it lost Jahvid Best and, with him, their entire running game.
• Detroit's win came at the expense of not getting to see Oakland's Sebastian Janikowski attempt a 65-yard field goal. The potential record setter was blocked as time expired.
• Finally, let's leave you with perhaps the funniest moment of the day, Tim Tebow's 29-yard sack. This was a pure Tecmo Bowl moment for a second, before devolving into a rookie quarterback with no idea how he got so far in the backfield and no intention of giving up.   

• Don't worry, "announcer" Phil Simms complimented Tebow for being fast enough to run that far backwards.

It's an actual good game on Monday night! Pittsburgh and consistently injured Ben Roethlisberger match up against the suddenly shaky yet still playoff-bound 49ers.