Things That Made Me Giddy
Jimmy Garoppolo’s Season-Saving Drive: Needing to go 88 yards for a touchdown, with no timeouts, in 87 seconds, the 49ers needed only 61 seconds to get into the end zone and extend their season. Garoppolo’s late-in-the-down throw to Deebo Samuel, just past the fingertips of a diving Jalen Ramsey and resulting in a 43-yard catch-and-run, ended up being the drive-defining play. On a day when the rushing attack wasn’t as dominant as it has been at times this season, the 49ers needed Garoppolo to deliver in the fourth quarter. And even despite a fluky tipped interception that erased a scoring chance early in the fourth, Garoppolo and the offense did just that.
That 49ers Pass Rush: It looked like 2019 all over again, and the Niners will need that front four to dominate in the postseason like they did on Sunday if they're to cover up for their shaky cornerbacks.
Jauan Jennings Emerges: I like a reliable veteran familiar with a highly schemed system just as much as the next guy, but how was Mohamed Sanu playing over this guy? Jennings’s two touchdowns were mostly schemed up, but he was also a handful after the catch on a number of plays.
The Steelers, Somehow, Live: At least heading into Sunday night, when only a Raiders-Chargers tie can eliminate them. That is an accomplishment. This is a team that goes into just about every game needing multiple takeaways or a punt block or something along those lines if they’re going to beat a quality opponent, and they just kinda… did it. They squeaked by in Baltimore thanks to a 3–0 advantage in turnover margin—including a key end-zone interception on a very ill-advised Tyler Huntley throw in the fourth quarter. And now, the Steelers will (likely) head into the playoffs and try to ugly their way to a few more wins.
T.J. Watt’s Record-Tying Day: Sacks aren’t the end-all-be-all, but Watt’s 22 sacks in 15 games pretty well reflected just how dominant he was this season. And a Steelers team that couldn’t score points or stop the run needed every play they got from him this year.
The Jaguars Just Punched the Colts in the Mouth: It was a borderline dominant performance by the Jaguars’ front four, holding Jonathan Taylor in check (including a fourth-and-goal stop from the 1) and running circles around Indy’s starting tackles in the pass rush.
Trevor Lawrence Is a Stud: Sunday was a reminder that this guy was as close to idiot-proof as it gets for a QB prospect (but, as we learned, not 100% idiot-proof). He carved up the Colts on a couple of third-and-long throws, and his second touchdown pass started with a bad snap and ended with an escape and then a perfect touch throw to Mavin Jones working the back line. (And, as usual, the Jaguars mixed in two dropped touchdowns, but on Sunday it didn’t matter.)
Stafford to Kupp: With the Rams reeling in the fourth quarter, Stafford dropped two perfect throws to Kupp. The first was on a third down with Arik Armstead bearing down on him to keep the drive alive, the other in the back corner of the end zone to regain the lead.
Texans Have Something in Davis Mills: Something good enough that they can largely ignore the underwhelming quarterback draft class coming in—if you dropped Mills into that group, he’d undoubtedly be No. 1.
Danny Amendola: He had seven catches for 113 yards and two touchdowns against the AFC’s top seed. He also once caught passes from a rookie Sam Bradford, as a three-year veteran.
Rashaad Penny, Finally: An ill-fated first-round pick back in 2018, Penny finally delivered on that draft billing late in the year (we’ll ignore the fact that it was only when the games had become meaningless). In Sunday’s season finale in Arizona, Penny carried 23 times for 190 yards, including an almost-clinching 62-yard touchdown run, then a game-clinching first-down conversion on the final possession.
Sean McVay High Five:
