Week 17 - For 49er fans, the 2018 season couldn't end soon enough. And with a Week 17 meeting at the L.A. Coliseum against the (12-3) Los Angeles Rams, the chances of finishing the year on a high note seemed slim to none heading into their season-finale. Despite being without their best player on offense in Pro Bowl running back Todd Gurley, Sean McVay's Rams would have no problem disposing of their NFC West rivals with the No. 2 seed in the playoffs on the line. Defensive monstrosity Aaron Donald who's a shoo-in to win Defensive Player of the Year and is vying to become only the third defensive player in NFL history to take home league MVP honors, entered Sunday's game needing three sacks to tie Michael Strahan's single-season sacks record of 22.5 sacks. And after tallying a career-high four sacks against the Niners in their Week 7 meeting in San Francisco earlier this year, tying or surpassing the record was certainly a possibility. And though there would be a new NFL record set in this one, it would be by an offensive player and on the opposing team as 49ers tight-end George Kittle etched his name into the record books once again.
Three weeks after setting the NFL record for the most receiving yards in a first half with 210 and falling just four yards shy of tying the all-time mark in a single-game by a tight-end, the second-year Iowa alum who's already been named to his first career Pro Bowl this season, did it again. This time Kittle would break a record that was set less than an hour earlier. Patriots tight-end Rob Gronkowski's record of 1,326 receiving yards set back in 2011 stood for six seasons until Chiefs tight-end Travis Kelce surpassed him in K.C.'s win over the Raiders on Sunday. But that mark would fall just minutes later as Kittle did him one better by scoring a 43-yard touchdown to nab the record in style and finish the season with 1,377 receiving yards. In a season that provided very few bright spots for the 49ers and was predominately marred by injuries, disappointment and so forth, Kittle was one of the lone bright spots in an otherwise dismal game for San Francisco.
The Niners offense would get off to as bad a start as possible in the opening quarter when they committed three turnovers via a Kyle Juszczyk fumble and a pair of interceptions by quarterback Nick Mullens. Entering the game having scored 99-points off of turnovers this year, the Rams would add to that total just minutes in as they jumped out to a 14-0 lead following the first two San Francisco miscues. Kicker Robbie Gould would get the Niners on the board with a field goal before the end of the first, but Mullens' third interception of the half would be a pick-six that forced head coach Kyle Shanahan to consider benching Mullens in favor of C.J. Beathard who began to warm up. Fortunately, Mullens would settle in from there and began manufacturing a solid drive of his own before connecting in the end zone with rookie receiver Richie James Jr. for a 9-yard score, logging the first receiving TD of James' career. But by then, the score was already 28-10 and the Rams would add another field goal just before the half. L.A. would pick up right where they left off to open the second half as Rams QB Jared Goff connected for touchdown passes on consecutive drives to receiver Josh Reynolds.
Already thin at the running back position, San Francisco's Jeff Wilson Jr. would need to be carted to the locker room in the first quarter which opened the door for a big game from veteran Alfred Morris who scored a touchdown and eclipsed the century mark for the first time this season with 111 yards rushing. Like Morris, Rams running back C.J. Anderson would also have a big day on the ground while filling in for the ailing Todd Gurley as he followed up last week's 167 yard, one touchdown performance against Arizona with another 132 yards and a touchdown against the Niners. Nick Mullens would toss a touchdown pass to Kendrick Bourne to start things off in the fourth quarter before connecting with Kittle on his record-setting score as he was mobbed in the end zone and congratulated by his teammates. Unfortunately by then the game would be well out of reach as the Rams walked away with the 48-32 victory to clinch the No. 2 overall seed in the NFC. Mullens would finish with a game-high 282 yards passing with three touchdowns and three interceptions. However, the biggest difference between the two quarterbacks would be in the turnover department as Goff would steer clear of committing any miscues while throwing for 199 yards and four touchdowns. As for Aaron Donald, the Pro Bowl defensive tackle would log only one sack on Sunday, falling two shy of Strahan's record and finished the season with a career-high 20.5 sacks.
Beating San Francisco for the second time in as many games this season, the Rams would complete the sweep of their NFC West rival for the first time since 2004 to log their third 13-win season in franchise history (first since 2001). While the Rams would finish the season as the only team to go unbeaten within their division this year, the 49ers failed to win a single game on the road in 2018 (0-8) for the first time since 1979. Even more frustrating would be San Francisco's inability to force turnovers in 2018 as they failed to log a single takeaway on Sunday which led to Robert Saleh's 49ers defense setting a dubious record of only 7 turnovers forced this season which is four fewer than the previous mark of 11 shared by the 1982 Baltimore Colts, 2013 Houston Texans, 2015 Dallas Cowboys and 2016 Chicago Bears. Finishing 4-12 on the season, the 49ers will own the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, selecting behind only the Arizona Cardinals.
More Kittle - George Kittle led both teams in both receptions (9) and receiving yards (149) on Sunday as he put a stamp on his busy day by also setting a franchise record for most catches in a single-season by a 49er tight-end with 88 and is one of only seven tight-ends in NFL history to finish a season with 75+ receptions and 1,200+ receiving yards. While his unforgettable season will certainly go down as one of the greatest ever at the tight-end position, the fact that he nearly set both the single-game and single-season receiving records in the same year is insane. And with both fans and the coaching staff looking forward to next season, Kittle is one name everyone in the league will be keeping an eye on moving forward.
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Super Bowl 50 - Two years ago at Super Bowl 48, Peyton Manning was thrashed by a defense that led to a 43-8 dismantling of the Denver Broncos. This time around, it was the defense that carried him to his second Super Bowl victory on Sunday and the team to its third. In a game that featured little excitement on offense for either team despite Carolina owning the highest-scoring offense in the league, it was defense that took center stage in this one. While both teams entered the golden game with defenses among the league's best, nobody expected the struggles on offense to play out quite like they did come kickoff. With "Keep Pounding" being Carolina's motto all season long, the only pounding they'd see on their side was from reigning NBA MVP and avid Panthers fan Steph Curry who helped introduce Carolina onto the field by banging a black and teal drum draped with the motto. The rest of the pounding would be at Carolina's expense and supplied by Denver's dominant front seven as there would be no dabbing or selfies taking place by members of the Panthers on this day.
With Carolina winning the coin toss and electing to differ, Denver had no problem receiving the ball first and getting things started as Manning threw a strike to his tight-end Owen Daniels for an 18-yard gain on the game's opening-play. He would follow it up just three plays later with a 22-yard connection to receiver Andre Caldwell. A pair of nice runs from running back C.J. Anderson would help Denver march into field goal range as kicker Brandon McManus capped what would be his team's best drive of the day with an early field goal to put his team on top. It would mark the first time that Carolina trailed at any time during the postseason all year. And from that point on, Denver never looked back. After exchanging punts, Carolina took over on offense deep in their own territory, spelling doom for Cam Newton and company as Von Miller broke through and wisely went for the ball instead of a sack, stripping it away from the quarterback as teammate Malik Jackson scooped up the ball in the end zone for the defensive touchdown. Despite playing in a record-tying eighth Super Bowl, it was the first in which they've ever scored a touchdown on defense. The big play on defense and first sack of the game would be the first of many by the Broncos D.
And just like that, Carolina found themselves in a hole, down 10-0 on the biggest stage imaginable. Though the 10-0 deficit wasn't completely foreign to the Panthers who trailed by 10+ points on three occasions this season and came back to win all three games, being asked to make such a comeback against a defense like Denver's would be a different story. During the two weeks in between the Conference Championships and Super Bowl Sunday, all we heard from Carolina's side was the debate of whether or not this Panthers team would be touted as one of the all-time great teams if they could come out on top. But the team that entered the big game a combined 17-1 on the season, resembled an entirely different group come game time. And no one player looked more uncomfortable during the game than quarterback Cam Newton who was named the league MVP the night before. Hoping to become the first league MVP to win the Super Bowl in the same year since Kurt Warner of the 1999 St. Louis Rams, Newton was held in check and looked like a shadow of the QB that entered the game having dominated along his journey to get there.
Not accustomed to playing from behind, Newton did manage to temporarily kick those jitters to the side as the Panthers offense finally got things going to start the second quarter. After having good field position wiped out by an illegal block penalty on the kick, Carolina stringed together their only decent drive of the game, with running back Jonathan Stewart soaring into the end zone from a yard out to put the Panthers on the board. After the touchdown that made it a 10-7 game, both teams exchanged punts. During Carolina's punt, however, the Panthers special-teams made the terrible mistake of assuming Broncos return man Jordan Norwood had called for a fair-catch. The brain cramp would cost them as Norwood returned the punt for a record-setting 61-yards, the longest punt return in Super Bowl history. The return would set the Broncos up for a second field goal by McManus, increasing Denver's lead to 13-7. Things would go from bad to worse for the Panthers on offense as fullback Mike Tolbert fumbled at midfield for the first time all year, recovered by the Denver defense. Luckily for Panthers head coach Ron Rivera and company, it wouldn't cost them.
With the Broncos offense threatening one final time before the half and looking to make it a double-digit ballgame, the Panthers defense came thru with an interception in Carolina territory as defensive end Kony Ealy stepped in front of a pass intended for Emanuel Sanders. While it would be his only mistake in the game, the interception by Manning snapped a postseason career-best 164 consecutive pass attempts without an interception and gave him at least one in all four of his Super Bowl appearances, tying a mark held by his boss and Broncos Vice President -- John Elway. The Panthers were unable to cash the turnover in for points, but it did keep the game within striking distance as Denver took their 13-7 lead with them into the half. With how many self-inflicted miscues the Panthers committed in the first half, they were fortunate enough to head into the locker room staring down a deficit of only 6-points. Having entered the game on the opposite side of things by outscoring opponents 55-7 during the first half this postseason, Carolina found themselves in uncharted waters.
And just when you thought the Panthers had flipped the switch to open the second half, they continued to shoot themselves in the foot once again. After connecting with receiver Ted Ginn Jr. on the second play of the half for the longest reception of the game -- a 45-yarder, the Panthers seemed bound to put a dent into Denver's lead, if not pull ahead. Instead, kicker Graham Gano missed a 44-yard field goal attempt, doinking it off the right upright. As for his counterpart, McManus continued to bang 'em thru as Manning marched the offense into field goal range once more, adding to their lead. With Carolina in need of a response, Cam Newton unloaded a deep pass that was snatched in the air by a leaping Corey Brown for a 42-yard pickup. Sadly, the drive would hit a brick wall with much of the same for Carolina as Newton was picked off just four plays later on a pass that was too hot to handle intended for Ginn. Safety T.J. Ward came up with the interception before fumbling the ball on the return and being saved by a Broncos teammate who made the recovery.
Carolina would show some late signs of life in the fourth as it was their defensive end Ealy who came up with yet another big play on defense, stripping Manning of the ball and forcing the turnover. They would capitalize the fumble recovery with a field goal that Gano converted on to inch closer and make it a 16-10 affair. Taking over with less than five minutes remaining and down by six, Denver dealt the final blow on a strip by Von Miller, recovered by Ward. The play drew quite the scrum for the ball and quite the discussion as Newton appeared to have given up on the play by electing not to dive for the loose ball. Taking over from the 4-yard line, Denver would provide the last nail in the coffin as C.J. Anderson ran it in from 2-yards out to make it a two-score game. And just for extra measure, Denver converted on the two-point conversion to seal it, pulling off the 24-10 victory.
With the win, Broncos head coach Gary Kubiak became the first to ever win a Super Bowl as a player and coach for the same team. He's also only the fourth coach in NFL history to hoist a Lombardi Trophy in his first year at the helm. As for Manning who surpassed Brett Favre for the most wins all-time with win No. 200, Peyton becomes the 12th QB to win two Super Bowl titles and the first to do it with different teams. As for his future, Manning has refused to tip his hand as to whether or not he'll be retiring and says he plans to take some time to weigh his options now that the season is over. A move Elway approves of and encouraged Manning he took as much as he needs to think it over. Though winning his second ring should make his decision to step away from the game a bit easier, Denver's defense is so good that it just might entice him to come back for one last rodeo in hopes of winning back-to-back titles and retiring the same way Elway did, even if Manning is half the quarterback he once was. One player who won't garner nearly as much credit and appreciation that he deserves during Denver's title run is backup QB Brock Osweiler who would be getting the short end of the stick if Manning does return in 2016.
As much as we would like to remember this game as Manning's last hurrah (potentially), it was all about Denver's defense which tied a Super Bowl record with seven sacks and paved the way to victory. Not since Super Bowl 48 have we seen as dominant a performance like the one we saw on Sunday. But after that 43-8 shellacking at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks, it's safe to say that Denver not only learned from their lesson, but tried duplicating the same formula that they were on the receiving end of last time around. In the win, Manning threw for just 141 yards with zero touchdowns and one interception as Denver's 194 total yards were the fewest ever for a Super Bowl-winning team. On the losing side of things, Newton threw for 265 yards while also going touchdown-less and throwing an interception as the Panthers were held one-dimensional by the dominant Denver D.
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