Your quarterback left the game with an injury. Your star runner joined him later. Your team trails, your playoff hopes are essentially on the line against a team you're heavily favored to beat, and you have to find a way to win the game in the closing minutes.
Prisco's Points
Monday Musings: Are the Giants done if Eli Manning is done with a bad foot? Read more
Chris Redman. That's who.
Who?
Redman has 10 starts on his résumé, despite being 32 years old and in the league seven seasons. His last start came in 2007, but when Matt Ryan went out with a foot injury, the Falcons (6-5) turned to Redman.
Redman didn't exactly light it up, but he did drive the Falcons 59 yards in 15 plays to the winning touchdown in a season-saving 20-17 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Redman fired a shot into Roddy White's arms with 26 seconds left on a fourth-down play to give the Falcons a victory they had to have to stay in the playoff hunt.
Now comes the tough part: Games against Philadelphia and New Orleans at home with Ryan likely out.
Redman has to show that he can be more than just a good relief pitcher, which can be tough to do. In relief, they have no scouting tape on you. Now they do.
But you have to give him credit. He played well. He made some timely throws and he wasn't afraid to throw into tight windows.
The Falcons didn't earn a glowing grade here in our CBSSports.com Weekly Grades -- they get a C+ -- but getting that victory has to feel so much better than that.
The Falcons have a chance to have back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in their history, but losing this game would have made that tough to do.
Packers: Aaron Rodgers had a big day throwing it, and the defense was dominant. Charles Woodson had two picks, one returned for a score. This is a Packers team that could be a factor in the playoffs.
B
2.78
D
Lions: Matt Stafford toughed it out on a bum shoulder. But should he have played? He threw four interceptions and struggled all day. The defense had no chance of stopping the Packers passing game.
Cowboys: Tony Romo got it going again and Miles Austin had a big day, catching a touchdown pass and putting up big numbers. It was a day for big plays on offense. The defense also played well, except for one big drive.
C
2.97
C-
Raiders: They were hit by a lot of big plays on defense. The offense couldn't keep up, although Bruce Gradkowski played a solid game.
Broncos: This one goes to the defense. The Giants had 38 yards in the first half. It was dominant. The offense had a good day as well. They ran it and Kyle Orton played well. Brandon Marshall made some big catches.
D
2.95
F
Giants: They weren't good on offense. They couldn't run it and Eli Manning took a beating. The defense also had a tough time getting off the field. This was a bad game in a big situation.
Seahawks: Justin Forsett had a nice day subbing for Julius Jones, going for 130 yards and two touchdowns. The defense gave up some passing yards, but made two big picks to stop scoring drives, one returned for a score by Josh Wilson.
F
1.82
C-
Rams: They moved the ball, but Kyle Boller made two bad throws to end drives. Wilson's pick was huge. The defense played well for much of the game but wore down late.
Eagles: They started slow, but got it going in the fourth quarter. Donovan McNabb drove his team to scores when he had to. The defense didn't play that well against the pass.
B
2.78
C
Redskins: For the second consecutive week they played well on the road, but lost. They are still fighting. Jason Campbell played a solid game despite not having much help from the running game.
Jets: This one goes to the defense. That unit had four interceptions and Darrelle Revis returned one for a touchdown. The offense didn't have to do much, and it didn't. The Jets did have a costly turnover on the goal line with a chance to blow the game open.
C-
2.50
C
Panthers: Jake Delhomme was terrible. It was one of those Jake the Fake days. It's hard to overcome the inability to make plays in the passing game. The defense actually played pretty well, forcing three turnovers.
Colts: They can fall behind, and with their offense it doesn't matter. Peyton Manning got hot and the defense came alive. The interception for a score by Clint Session was huge. Coming from down 17 on the road is impressive.
B
3.15
C-
Texans: They just aren't good enough in the secondary. They can't protect a lead against a good offense. Matt Schaub's second half wasn't very good. That pick was terrible.
Bengals: They ran it all day with Larry Johnson (107) and Bernard Scott (87) filling in for Cedric Benson. The defense did the rest, which wasn't hard against an inept Cleveland offense.
C-
2.95
C-
Browns: They had 169 yards of offense, which won't win many games. They just can't move the ball. The defense had trouble tackling against the run, but stiffened inside the 20.
Bills: Ryan Fitzpatrick played well for the Bills, better than most expected. But this went to the defense. They had four interceptions, which was the difference in the game, especially late.
C-
1.95
C-
Dolphins: Chad Henne didn't play very well and you have to question the decision to throw a pass out of the Wildcat formation early in the game on the goal line. Ouch. The fourth quarter was a disaster.
Falcons: With Ryan down, Chris Redman came in and played well. They seemed to be in comeback mode all day long. The defense struggled again with the pass, but giving up 17 points was good enough to win.
C-
2.53
C-
Buccaneers: Josh Freeman moved the ball through the air and had no help from the running game. The defense played a good game and pressured the quarterback all day long. This was a stinging loss.
49ers: The defense had six sacks and hit David Garrard a lot more than that. The Jaguars moved the ball, but the 49ers stiffened in the red zone. Alex Smith was hot early throwing the ball, which helped them get out to a 17-0 lead.
C-
2.37
C-
Jaguars: They moved the ball through the air, but had so many problems when they had scoring chances. Garrard took too many shots. The defense actually played well in the second half after a slow start.
Chargers: This was dominating. They are in stride now. Philip Rivers played big and the defense forced four turnovers, scoring on one of them. The Chargers never were threatened in this game.
A
2.90
F
Chiefs: You can't win many games turning it over four times. And that pass defense was horrible. They offered little resistance. They do not have the offense to keep up.
Titans: Vince Young was sensational. Did I just write that? That game-winning, 99-yard drive might be his signature moment. He had to bail the special teams out after they allowed a kickoff return for a score. Chris Johnson had another big day.
B+
2.15
C
Cardinals: There's no way they should ever let Young drive 99 yards to win it. They had this game. Matt Leinart played well starting for the injured Kurt Warner and did drive the Cardinals to the go-ahead score.
Vikings: Brett Favre was great again, throwing for 392 yards and three touchdowns. The defense did the rest. They didn't allow the Bears to do much of anything in the second half when they turned it into a blowout.
A
3.17
F
Bears: With their season on the line, they folded in the second half. That defense couldn't do anything to stop the Vikings and the offensive line was whipped. They aren't playing good football.
Ravens: The defense did a nice job for most of the game, but did let up a long run by Dennis Dixon. It was a lot easier defending the Steelers without Ben Roethlisberger. Paul Kruger made a nice play with that interception to set up the winning field goal. Joe Flacco was solid.
C+
2.75
B-
Steelers: Dixon did a nice job except for the bad throw at the end on the bad read. They should have played him more in the shotgun. The defense got after it in the second half with seven sacks. They hung around without Roethlisberger, which is all you can ask.
Saints: Drew Brees was sensational, throwing five touchdown passes. The Saints offense could not be stopped. The defense played just as well. They picked off Tom Brady twice and hit him a lot. That was impressive.
B
3.30
D
Patriots: They didn't do anything really well. Brady looked jumpy and his receivers were covered. The defense was terrible. They couldn't stop Brees at all. What has happened to that side of the football?
Well, Pete, I think you gave us apretty good report card this time. Why do the Lions play on Thanksgiving day anymore? They have to have their head examined for playing Matthew Stafford...why? Here's your franchise QB, and let's see how he likes being a punching bag for the Packers.
If the Cowboys would stop making mistakes, they could have put 40 on the Raiders. As it w
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You are being way too kind when saying that the Bears arent playing good football. The are absoutely stinking up the joint. As a die hard Bears fan that has tried to keep looking at the stupid glass as half full I have finally had enough of this wreck of a team. I would love to say its injuries or something like that as to why the Bears are so god awfull but its not. When y
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Let me start by saying, this isn't directed at ALL Steelers fans, just the ignorant ones who can't type a post or have a conversation without mentioning 6 Super Bowl wins, and when I say "Steelers fans" I'm referring to these ignorant ones...
The Steelers don't have more championships than other other franchise. In fact, they're not even in the top 3. The current leaders are t
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The Ravens at home on a Sunday night playing a divisional game against a team without starting QB Ben Roethlisberger, Guard Chris Keamouteau, safety Troy Polamalu, and DE Aaron Smith...the most 4 important people for the Steelers, and the Ravens playing against Dennis Dixon only win in OT because of the kid's interception in his first start ever. I say the Ravens should be getting a C-.
Why is it that the Cowboys can play a team like the Eagles and beat them but the media either calls it a weak league and but when we lost earlier in the season to the Giants they were on their way back to the Superbowl. I know the Cowboys are the team people love to hate but my goodness what happened to us being just plain Good. I'm not saying we are Superbowl material yet but we are making some s
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Come on Prisco, you're giving Indy an A for that win? Did you miss the first half when they were horrible on D and not that great on offense? A team should not get an A unless they play a complete game OR blow out a team enough in the first half that it doesn't matter if they ease up in the 2nd with the 2nd stringers.
I also noticed in that power rankings video you have kept Indy #1 w
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I'm a Packer fan, but to say they deserve an A for this game is more then just a stretch. The Special Teams play was bad once again coughing the ball up on the opening drive, missing a 43 yard field goal, and giving up 2 34 yard returns. The offense had trouble scoring TD's in the red zone and also gave up a Safety. The penalties problem continued, the Atari Bigby block in the ba
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This is a plea to Prisco to start grading teams OBJECTIVELY rather than based on expectations. Please explain to me how the Chiefs earn an A while the Steelers earn a D, when the game went into overtime? Just because a team that normally plays poorly manages to win a squeaker against a good team, they get an A? You gotta be kidding me. Did you watch the game??? The Chiefs were dominat
Prisco probably should have said that playoff races are usually a bunch of good teams chasing each other for a few coveted spots, usually while playing a decent level of football. The problem is that even the mediocre 6-4 clubs continually play up and down each week, there are only a few teams that play consistently well almost each week and the rest are basically struggling to put together any ki
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"Steelers: They outplayed the Chiefs and lost, which will make this one sting. They have had trouble covering kicks all season. The interception was the big play, turning things around in a big way."
They got a D and the Chiefs got an A??? They got outplayed and got an A? Strange grades indeed.
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I am not a Colts fan, but how can a team that is PERFECT on the season only have a 3.15? Isn't a PERFECT record equivalent to a 4.0? if not, why the heck not? What else is supposed to happen in this league other than win ALL of your games?
I am so sorry Pete to douse water on your platonic love affair with Peyton ....but no team ever deserves an "A" when they fall behind 17-0 against an opponent they own...and your "special boy" Peyton throws 2 picks(again!!)
Even your "binky buddy" Manning said they did not play a complete game....... they get an "A" for playing a 1/2 gam
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Prisco - I usually love your writing despite what everyone else on here has to say about it. However, your argument does not make mathematical sense. For example, you mentioned that the Bengals would have virtually locked up the AFC North if they had beat the Raiders. They would have a two game lead plus tie breaker with 6 games to go.
The problem with that thinking is that it assumes
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How can you say that? Because you read the stats and saw the yardage that McNabb put up? Or did you actually watch the game?
The Chargers offense was scoring at will and the defense held Philly to a field goal on, what?... 3 redzone situations - one being 1st and goal at the 1 yard line. So the Chargers went to playing prevent D most of the game. T
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