Week 13 Game Review- Part 2

I went two for four with this grouping of games.  The New England loss was not as shocking as the Pittsburgh loss, because Miami matches up well against them and has given them fits over the past couple of seasons.  I'll review both games further below.

Denver at Kansas City

This was Denver's second dominant game in a row.  They forced Kansas City to make a change at quarterback, not that Brodie Croyle was much better than Matt Cassel.  The Broncos went 67% in six opportunities in the red zone, while gaining nearly 200 more yards of offense, and held the ball for 12 more minutes.

New England at Miami

I teased this game at the top.  The numbers indicate that this game was indeed as close as the final score showed.  New England gained 30 more yards, but turnovers and red zone went in Miami's favor.  If the Patriots want to advance in the playoffs, they have to win the turnover battle and convert higher than 33% in the red zone.

Oakland at Pittsburgh

This was the game that shocked me this week.  I thought the Steelers would have dominated this game with the return of Ben Roethlisberger, and gashed the Raiders with Rashard Mendenhall.  The yards were even and Bruce Gradkowski took six hits.  Oakland won because they were perfect in the red zone, while holding Pittsburgh to 40%.  And they won the turnover battle.

New Orleans at Washington

Talk about an exciting game!  The yards were even.  Washington actually were more effective in the red zone, but three for seven against the Saints isn't good enough, even if their defense held them touchdownless in the red zone.  The story was the turnover battle.  New Orleans was +3 in that department, which directly effected the outcome of the game.