Back in the first quarter of the Frozen Tundra schedule the New York Yanks participated in our first featured game. The Houston Texans are on the cusp of being a playoff team, while the Yanks are fighting to earn one of the top playoff seeds. These two teams met in week 13 for the Frozen Tundra quarter four featured game.
What we know about New York is that they can generate points led by the passing of Aaron Rodgers, while the ground game features the Bush's Michael and Reggie. The Houston Texans feature the sublime running of Jamaal Charles with the young but somewhat inconsistent Josh Freeman manning the passing game. The Yanks received the opening kickoff and began at their own 26 yard line. New York wanted to set the tone early and on their first play from scrimmage Rodgers flung the ball deep downfield into the arms of Michael Williams resulting in a 74 yard touchdown pass and a very quick 7-0 lead for the Yanks. Houston took the kickoff and then methodically began marching in an attempt to tie the game. Mixing some short passes with Charles runs, Houston moved the ball 55 yards in ten plays down to the New York 25 yard line. Freeman found Brett Celek in 1 on 1 coverage on a post route but Josh Freeman fluttered his throw just off target and Yanks safety Michael Huff picked it off for a touchback. The Texans defense forced a New York punt but return man Darius Reynaud was stripped on the return and the Yanks were back in business on the Houston 34 yard line. New York took the ball all the way down to the Houston 3 yard line but eventually settled for a Matt Prater chip shot and a 10-0 lead. Down by two scores the Texans began their second drive with two handoffs to Jamaal Charles. The first carry went for seven yards and the second one was an end run that Charles carried 62 yards to the end zone! Houston was right back in the game trailing 10-7. The Yanks came back and began mixing some runs by Michael Bush with some short passes. Then Aaron Rodgers threw deep again looking for Michael Williams. Williams took the ball away from DeAngelo Hall for a big 45 yard completion down to the Houston 13 yard line. On the final play of the first quarter Bush took the ball off tackle for a 13 yard gain giving New York the lead after one quarter 17-7.
Houston needed to try and keep pace so Freeman began mixing some short passes with Jamaal Charles runs. The strategy was perfect as the Texans dinked and dunked their way 66 yards to the end zone. Brent Celek pulled in a 4 yard scoring toss from Freeman to close the gap to 17-14 with just over 5 minutes gone in the second quarter. Finally Houston found their rhythm on the defensive side of the ball stalling the New York offense on their next two possessions. The Yanks defense responded making some key stops of their own and the two teams entered halftime with New York up by a field goal 17-14.
Houston took the second half kickoff and repeating their short pass strategy they were able to mount a drive. Freeman was finding the mark on tosses to Celek and Terrell Owens as the Texans moved the ball to the Yanks 24 yard line. They could get no closer and settled for a game tying kick from Ryan Succup deadlocking the score at 17-17. New York's Aaron Rodgers took a page from the Houston offense and began mixing some short throws with some Reggie Bush runs. The result was the Yanks' best sustained drive of the day, 11 plays and 56 yards. Houston eventually forced a field goal attempt which Matt Prater connected on to put the New York back on top 20-17. At this point the game's focus flipped from the offensive side to the defense.
In the fourth quarter after Houston went three and out on offense, New York looked like they would seize the game. Rodgers moved the Yanks down to the Houston 30 yard line. Having burned the Texans twice with long tosses to Mike Williams, Rodgers tried once again. This time DeAngelo Hall responded with a touchdown saving interception for a touchback. Freeman and the Houston offense could do nothing and punted back to New York. After a short Rodgers pass to Steve L. Smith, Michael Bush took a handoff and rumbled for 30 yards down to the Houston 29 yard line. Two more quick outs to Smith placed the ball on the Texans 13 and Rodgers moved in for the kill. Looking for Anthony Fasano, the veteran Ed Reed anticipated the play perfectly and Rodgers was picked off for the second time in the game. Next came Houston's longest drive of the day. Beginning at their own 33 yard line Freeman and the Texans methodically pushed the ball ahead. With Charles finding little running room, Freeman distributed the ball among four different receivers keeping the New York defense on their heels. In a pivotal first down play from the New York 12, Charles was stuffed for a two yard loss. Houston couldn't get any closer than the Yanks 5 yard line and with two minutes left in the fourth quarter Succop hit his second field goal tying the game at 20-20. There was no more scoring in regulation so the two teams headed for overtime.
New York would get the ball first in overtime. After one first down the Yanks punted away to Houston. Beginning from their own 19 yard line the Texans went to work. Two incomplete passes set up a third an ten situation. Freeman tried to work the ball to Calvin Johnson but New York's defense was ready. Leon Hall stepped in front of Johnson and the Yanks had possession on the Houston 34 yard line. The Texans were hoping for one more defensive stop and the opportunity came with a 3rd and 6 from the Houston 30 yard line. Hoping to force a long field goal attempt the Texans came with pressure but Rodgers crossed them up by handing the ball to Michael Bush who just managed enough yardage to get the first down. New York would push the ball down to the Houston 16 and Matt Prater converted his third field goal of the day to give the Yanks the victory 23-20.
For Houston, Jamaal Charles had 126 yards rushing almost half of those on this 62 yard scamper while Brent Celek had 8 catches for 93 yards and a touchdown. New York's Michael Bush rushed for 110 yards and Michael Williams had three catches for 126 yards a 42.0 yards per catch average!
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Seattle makes it's second appearance in the Frozen Tundra featured game, this time traveling to Tampa Bay to take on the Buccaneers. The two teams squared off with identical 6-2 records after the first half of play in the Frozen Tundra. Seattle with Peyton Manning at QB and Clay Matthews leading the defense look to be title contenders. Tampa Bay with Matt Schaub under center and a running back committee approach was using this game as a yardstick to determine if they truly have playoff mettle. The first break of the game went Tampa's way. After an early Ryan Longwell field goal put the Buc's up 3-0 Seattle fumbled the ensuing kickoff with Tampa Bay recovering on the Seahawks 25 yard line. The Buccaneers couldn't convert a 3rd down and settled for Longwell's second field goal to stretch the lead to 6-0. Seattle responded with a 46 yard drive highlighted by a Manning to Vernon Davis pass play which netted 27 yards. An Adam Vinatieri field goal narrowed the Bucs lead to 6-3 as the first quarter ended.
The second quarter looked as though there would be no scoring. A long field goal try from Longwell came up empty and both offenses stalled until late in the first half. Finally with just over 2 minutes to go until halftime, the Seahawks took possession with great field position starting at the Tampa Bay 46. A big 3rd down pass to Hakeem Nicks was good for 27 yards putting Seattle in business at the Tampa Bay 2 yard line. Peyton Manning snuck the ball in from the 1 with 15 seconds left on the clock to give Seattle a 10-6 lead at the half.
Seattle received the second half kickoff and picked up where they had left off. Hakeem Nicks hauled in his second 27 yard pass as part of a 73 yard drive which ended in a Brad Smith 14 yard T.D. pass from Manning. After the conversion the Seahawks were up 17-6 early in the third quarter. The Bucs could get nothing going on offense and Seattle looked to have the game under control. Seattle's Brad Smith then lost his second fumble of the game giving Tampa Bay new life. Ryan Longwell was good on a 34yard field goal and Tampa Bay narrowed the deficit to 17-9. Seattle was still rolling on offense. This time Manning found Marques Colston free for a 43 yard reception. The drive eventually stalled but a Vinatieri field goal put the Seahawks back up by eleven 20-9 as we headed to the fourth quarter.
Early in the fourth quarter Bucs running back Cedric Benson turned the ball over on a fumble with Seattle taking over near midfield. This was the opportunity for Manning to land his knockout punch. Peyton seemed willing to apply the coup de gras but was picked off by Daryl Smith. The turnover seemed to revive the moribund Buccaneers offense. Schaub immediately hit TE Zach Miller with a 59 yard bomb placing the ball on Seattle's 2 yard line. Schaub followed Center Ryan Kahlil up the middle for six cutting the Seattle lead to 20-15. The two point conversion pass was picked off but Tampa Bay was back in the game. The Seahawks now were facing a revved up Tampa Bay defense and Manning began to look more mortal. Neither team could move on their next possession. Seattle took over the ball on their own 37 with under 4 minutes to play. Trying to keep the drive and the clock moving a Manning pass was picked off by Johnathan Joseph. Tampa Bay took over on their 31 with 2:24 left on the clock. Patiently executing the offense, the Tampa Bay offensive coordinator made a great run call for Keiland Williams. Williams ripped off a 20 yard gain and with 1:45 remaining Tampa was on the Seattle 36 yard line. On the next play Jeremy Maclin took a flat pass 36 yards to paydirt and Tampa Bay was back in front 21-20. Cedric Benson this time ran in for the two point conversion putting the Bucs up by a field goal 23-20 with a minute and a half to play. After the kickoff Seattle started with the ball on their own 23 yard line. Facing a fourth and five Manning found Davis in the flat for 16 yards to keep the drive going. Still Seattle was on their own side of midfield with under :30 to play. After two misfires Manning found Brad Smith for 25 yards down to the Bucs 31 with :01 seconds left. Mr. Clutch Adam Vinatieri delivered on a 48 yard field goal sending the game to overtime tied at 23-23.
Overtime was tense but ultimately anti-climatic. Tampa Bay won the toss, got a first down and then punted putting Seattle deep in their own half of the field. The Seahawks managed a couple of first downs before having to punt. The punt placed Tampa Bay deep in their zone. The Buccaneers responded with a couple of first downs before punting back to the Seahawks. Seattle went three and out, punting back to Tampa with :30 left in the game. Matt Schaub took a knee twice to end the contest.
The game ultimately answered Tampa Bay's question coming into the game, yes they are a true contender. Meanwhile Seattle again demonstrated that when you have Peyton Manning you are never out of a game. Two teams played a playoff like game, however if they meet again the next outcome won't be a tie.
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The San Francisco 49ers went through the first quarter of their Frozen Tundra schedule without much resistance earning a 4-0 mark. The next quartet of games promised to be a tougher task. Meanwhile the Seattle Seahawks struggled to an even 2-2 record but looked to establish themselves as a serious contender starting with their next 4 games including a week 7 home game versus San Francisco. As the game started the Forty Niners got the ball first. Drew Brees started the game by hitting a first down pass to Brandon Lloyd for 11 yards. The Seattle defense stiffened and forced a punt, however Return man Kyle Wilson muffed the punt and S.F. recovered putting them back in business at the Seattle 27 yard line. Two sacks on Drew Brees forced the Niners to settle for a field goal and an early 3-0 advantage. After the kickoff Seattle began by trying out the running game but quickly moved to their passing attack led by Peyton Manning.
Manning was mixing his targets, keeping the defense guessing. Then with the defensive line softened back came Brad Smith gashing the defense with some nice runs. Finally the 11 play drive stalled at the Niners 25 and Seattle's Adam Vinatieri was brought on to tie the game. The normally sure footed Vinateri shanked this attempt and San Francisco maintained their 3-0 lead. Forty Niners Halfback Ray Rice was finding little running room and Drew Brees also had his struggles with the Seattle defense. Later with Seattle offense pinned on their own 16 yard line Manning was intercepted by Safety Eric Weddle on a long pass attempt to Vernon Davis. The quarter would end with S.F. up 3-0 and threatening with possession on the Seahawks 33 yard line.
Second quarter and Seattle would again frustrate the San Francisco offense forcing a field goal try by David Akers. This try also missed so the score remained S.F. 3 - Seattle 0. Taking the ball after the missed field goal Seattle began to find their offense. Brad Smith again started peeling off some nice runs for Seattle to move into San Francisco territory. A successful 4th down conversion kept the drive going and Manning combined with Vernon Davis on a 16 yard scoring toss to give Seattle the lead 7-3. San Francisco went three and out and punted back to Seattle who took over near midfield. The Seahawks pushed into field goal range and this time Vinatieri's kick was good to up the Seattle lead to 10-3. After this kickoff it was the Forty Niners turn to crank up their offense with an 80 yard march. The big play of the drive was a 30 Brees to Lloyd connection and the score came on a 2 yard Ray Rice touchdown run knotting the game 10-10 as the game went to halftime.
Seattle got the ball to start the second half. Again Brad Smith began by chewing up yardage on the ground but Jonathan Vilma stripped him and San Francisco recovered in Seahawks territory. It took six plays for the 49ers to regain the lead as Mike Karney chugged in from the 1 yard line to put S.F. back in the lead 17-10. Seattle took the kickoff and moved to the San Francisco 34 but losing the ball on downs. The two teams slugged it out defensively and after 45 minutes it was San Francisco up by 7 heading into the 4th quarter.
A Peyton Manning interception set up another David Akers field goal to put San Francisco up 20-10 one play into the fourth quarter. Seattle would answer with a 10 play 62 yard drive set up by a 22 yard Brad Smith run. The drive would only yield another Vinatieri field goal and San Francisco still led 20-13. At this point Seattle asserted it's defensive strength and neither Brees' arm nor Rice's legs would be able to elude the defensive onslaught. First it was a three and out for San Francisco. Next was the key possession of the ballgame. From their own 25 yard line Niners Quarterback Brees called TE Joel Dreessen's number. Seattle correctly called for a double team on Dreessen and Jairus Byrd picked off the pass returning it to the S.F. 12 yard line with less than 5 minutes on the clock. Just one play later Manning hit Brad Smith on a screen pass for the tying score 20-20. The 49ers managed one first down but couldn't get in scoring rand and punted back to Seattle. Seattle nearly ran out the clock before punting back to San Francisco and regulation play ended with the teams tied at 20-20.
With these two potentially explosive offenses each team wanted the ball first but it was San Francisco that won the toss and received. The fired up Seahawks defense again stymied the Niners, they couldn't get a first down punted to the Seahawks. For Seattle Brandon Jacobs was now in at Running Back and he promptly pulled off a 39 yard gallop all the way down to the Forty Niners 14 yard line. Three runs actually lost 5 yards but it was still chip shot range for Vinatieri and his 36 yard kick went through the uprights giving Seattle a hard earned 23-20 victory.
Both Quarterbacks Brees and Manning struggled combining for more interceptions than touchdowns!
Seattle's running back Brad Smith had 102 yards on 11 carries and Jacobs had the huge 39 yard scamper.
San Francisco's Eric Weddle picked off Peyton Manning twice.
The player of the game was Seattle linebacker Clay Matthews. He led the team with 10 tackles including 4 sacks of Drew Brees. Seattle had a total of six sacks in the game!
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The New York Yankees football team traveled across the country to take on the San Diego Chargers in an early season preview of what could be a playoff match up. This was a contest between the expansion Yankees coached by Anthony Tangorra and an old guard powerhouse Charger club led by Paul Mankiewicz. The two teams have some striking similarities. Both San Diego and New York feature 3-4 defenses, which rate as Good versus both the run and pass. The Chargers and Yankees each average 25 points per game on offense and allow under 16 points per game on the defensive side. The Chargers offense is capably led by Quarterback Eli Manning. San Diego has multiple quick strike weapons when they have the ball. Halfback Arian Foster is among the elite running backs while receivers Dez Bryant, Lee Evans and the versatile tandem of Darren Sproles and Dexter McCluster provide San Diego with threats not only on offense but also on special teams. New York has the great Aaron Rodgers leading their offense. Aaron has a number of inviting targets for his passes. WR's Malcolm Floyd, rookie Mike A. Williams and the veteran Steve L. Smith join TE's Aaron Hernandez and Anthony Fasano to give any secondary a huge problem defensively. Out of the backfield New York can batter the line of scrimmage with Michael Bush or use Reggie Bush and Beanie Wells to gash the defense. With both teams looking good enough to make serious playoff runs this game shaped up to be a tough early season test.
New York got the ball first, beginning their initial drive from the N.Y. 25 yard line. It looked like business as usual for Rodgers and company as the Yankees marched 59 yards on 7 plays, highlighted by a 42 yard reception by Mike A. Williams. San Diego's defense stiffened at their 16 and New York's Matt Prater's 33 yard field goal gave the Yankees an early 3-0 lead. San Diego took the kickoff and was completely stymied by the New York defense, gaining zero yards on three plays and punting back to the Yanks. Beginning with good field position on their own 48 yard line New York again marched into San Diego territory mixing the run with the pass and getting a big 18 yard run on a scramble from Aaron Rodgers. Again the Chargers were able to stop the drive deep in San Diego territory forcing a second Prater field goal to make the score N.Y.-6 S.D.-0.
After two Yankees drives that consumed nearly 8 minutes it was time for San Diego to respond on offense. Late in quarter one and carrying into the second quarter the Chargers began a 12 play, six minute drive of their own. Behind Arian Foster and some key Eli Manning third down completions, San Diego methodically moved the ball 50 yards before stalling at the N.Y. 30 yard line. Matt Bryant was true on a long 47 yards field goal try and early in the second quarter the New York lead was cut to 6-3. From this point the rest of the first half was ruled by defensive stops by both the Yanks and Bolts. Rodgers did manage another 18 yard scramble, but that would be the biggest play for either offense until halftime Although there were a few first downs the longest drive by either team was 24 yards. Both defensive coaches were putting their people in the right positions to make plays and the players were up to the task.
San Diego got the ball to start the second half. Mixing runs by Foster with a short passing attack the Chargers established a 4:30 minute drive taking the ball into New York territory. The Yankees halted the drive on their 31 yard line and Matt Bryant converted another long field goal attempt to even the game at 6-6. New York took the kickoff but Rodgers couldn't connect on three attempts and the ball went back to the Chargers. San Diego hit a big pass to Lee Evans but then couldn't move against the Yanks defense and punted back to the Yankees who took over on their own 21 yard line. This time New York got their offense going. Mixing some strong runs by Michael Bush with some tosses into the flat to Aaron Hernandez the Yankees marched into San Diego territory. Finally from the S.D. 14 yard Michael Bush scored on a great individual effort and with under 4 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter we finally had a touchdown from these two great offenses and New York led 13-6. San Diego took the kickoff and then began a comeback drive of their own.
The Chargers still controlled the ball as the game headed into the final stanza. Eli Manning was able to locate Dez Bryant during the drive for a 46 yard connection pushing the ball into New York territory. Arian Foster was still having trouble finding holes in the Yanks defensive line and on 4th down from the Yankees 6 yd. line the Chargers were forced to settle for a Matt Bryant chip shot to cut the lead to 13-9. There was still over thirteen minutes left to play, plenty of time for both offenses to get cranked up. New York took the kickoff and despite a couple of beautiful 17 yard runs from Michael Bush they would have to punt the ball back to San Diego. Punter Donnie Jones executed a perfect coffin corner punt that placed the ball out of bounds at the San Diego 2 yard line. The Chargers trailing by 4 now had 98 yards to go to take the lead. A heavy dose of Arian Foster and a nice reception by Dez Bryant got the ball up near midfield before San Diego was forced to punt. New York took over at their 11 yard line so the Chargers were successful in turning around the field advantage. Aaron Rodgers tried to pass the Yankees down field but a pass targeted for Mike A. Williams instead was intercepted by Terrence McGee and San Diego was in business with a 1st and 10 at the N.Y. 26 yard line. Just two plays later Eli Manning was under pressure and forced a pass that was picked off by Brett Keisel. With 4 minutes left to go in the 4th quarter Aaron Rodgers remained aggressive, setting up to pass 3 times but not being very successful. With two minutes to go in the game The Chargers got the ball back at their own 15 yard line still trailing 13-9. In full attack mode it just took three plays for San Diego to score. Manning found Dexter McCluster uncovered and he took his first reception of the game 72 yards to pay dirt. With 1:45 left in the contest the Chargers were back on top 16-13. After the kickoff New York had the ball on their own 28 yard line with 1:22 remaining to get into field goal range to tie the score. Going back to pass Aaron Rodgers was forced to scramble and dumped it off to Beanie Wells who turned the catch up field for a 30 yard gain. With over a minute left the Yanks are at the Chargers 42 yard line. Rodgers hits Smith for 13 more to the 29. An incompletion and then a 9 yard toss to Hernandez sets up a 3rd and 1 at the S.D. 20. Michael Bush breaks a tackle for a 16 yard run down to the Chargers 4 yard line. New York lines up in a full house backfield and Greg Jones takes it the final four yards putting New York on top 20-16 with 22 seconds to play. After receiving the kickoff San Diego only had time for two plays and on the final play of the game the Yanks Cullen Jenkins sacks Manning causing a fumble to end the game.
How even was this game?
Total offense: New York - 359 yards for San Diego - 348 yards.
Time of possession: New York 29:51 for San Diego 30:09
Average Drive Start: New York 24 for San Diego 27
Both teams came away with plenty of praise and respect for their opponents. As Coach Tangorra shook hands with Coach Mankiewicz before leaving for the locker room he said "I'll see you in the playoffs". It's hard to imagine that these two teams won't be there at the end of the year.
