0 Seattle demolish 49ers playoff hopes after a 20-17 loss. Posted by DieHardFans | at 2:18 AM

Back in Week 2, the San Francisco 49ers dismantled the Seattle Seahawks with an old school game plan. They ran the football and played sound defense. Thus, it would have only made sense to enter Seattle with a similar game plan. Instead, with their backs against the playoff race wall, the Niners did a complete 180 and it didn't work, as they lost 20-17.

Alex Smith attempted 45 passes and Frank Gore had just nine rushing attempts. The result was a ton of 310 passing yards from Smith and a loss. The Seattle Seahawks won the football game despite being outgained by 64 yards, due to timely defense and moving the chains when it mattered. They may have allowed over 300 yards passing, but they took the ball away from the Niners twice, including a huge fourth quarter fumble recovery by Josh Wilson. Also, the Seahawks held the 49ers to just one third down conversion on 13 chances and made them kick field goals in their two red zone trips. That was enough to limit the Niners, but they were still tied at 17-all with less than a minute left in the game. And the Niners had the ball. It was time for more timeliness. They took the ball with 51 seconds left at their own 11. So they had less than a minute, one timeout, and almost the length of the field to go. It was questionable, to say the least.

A 21-yard Nate Burleson punt return, a defensive holding penalty and a 32-yard strike from Matt Hasselbeck to Deon Butler all-of-a-sudden had the Seahawks ready for a game-winning field goal. This after the 49ers took the ball with 51 seconds left in a tie game. San Francisco head coach Mike Singletary's head had to have been spinning. A quick setup run by Julius Jones was all the Seahawks then needed before having Olindo Mare kick a 30-yard field goal as time expired to win the game. It was a big blow in more ways than one. Seattle’s kick virtually ended any chance of the 49ers making a run at the Wild Card. With the Arizona Cardinals victory over Minnesota Sunday night, the writing is on the wall for both of these 5-7 teams. They are playing strictly for pride in 2009, as neither has a realistic shot at the postseason. Still, it had to be nice for the Seahawks to ruin the season of a division rival.

0 Young pulls of a stunning Final Drive as they beat the Cards 20-17! Posted by DieHardFans | at 1:18 AM

In a semi replay of the Rose Bowl dating back to 2006, Vince Young once again out played Matt Leinart, in dramatic fashion as the Titans beat the Arizona Cardinals 20-17. It’s the first time that a team that started 0-6 has won five games on the spin. But that’s exactly what the Titans have done since starting the season left for dead. Young, who also had a shaky start, is set to receive award for “comeback player of the year” as a result of his last few outings. Sunday was by far his best, as he threw for a career-high 387 yards, and hit rookie WR Kenny Britt on the last play of the game from 10 yards. This completed the win. Chris Johnson had another great game on the ground for the Titans, as he ran for an 85-yard score and wrapped up the win with 154 yards. It’s his sixth straight game that has seen him rush over 125 yards. Britt caught 7 passes for 128 yards, including the final one that sealed the deal.

The final drive saw the Tennessee Titans go 99 yards, as Young hit big conversion after conversion, including 3 four down conversions. Leinart went 21 of 31 for 220 yards, executing a solid attack in his replacement for the injured Kurt Warner, who sat out the game with a neck injury, picked up in the last match up. The Titans will need to go all out next week if they want to go to 6-6, as they play against the undefeated Colts.

0 Giant stumble at home as they embraced a loss against the Cards... Posted by DieHardFans | at 3:45 AM

The New York Giants spent the week shrugging off the last week’s loss and promised to be better this week at home against the Cardinals as it was a ‘Get Right” game. The defense promised more blitzing and less trepidation. The offense promised to be sharper. To a man, the Giants were certain they'd come up with a big win Sunday night over the reigning NFC champs... and then they lost.

The Cardinals played their own style of takeaway on Sunday night at the Meadowlands against the Giants, stunning the big blue with a 24-17 win. It’s the third straight win on the road for the Cards. They stopped Giants QB Eli Manning all night, forcing four Giants turnovers, including two on their last two possessions as Ahmad Bradshaw fumbled and then Manning threw a pick after the Giants appeared to be driving towards what could have been the tying score.“Tonight,”, “we definitely fed off our defense” said Kurt Warner who was 20-for-36 for 231 yards with a touchdown to running back Jason Wright that put the team up 24-14 with 2:32 left in the third quarter.

The Cards were outgained by New York 327 to 288 in the passing dept., but the turnovers by Manning helped the birds take advantage of the chances they were given. Safety Adrian Wilson had an interception and a fumble recovery, Antrel Rolle picked off Manning to seal the win for Arizona. The Arizona Cardinals (4-2) scored 17 straight points from the end of the second quarter to late in the third quarter to go up 10 points at 24-14, putting all the pressure on Manning and the Giants offense.

Arizona spent most of the night taking advantage of great field position. They had three touchdown drives that went no farther than 55 yards, taking advantage of field position via poor punting and turnovers. Their drives of 46, 55, and 20 yards were enough to hand the Giants their second straight loss to drop them to 5-2 after a 5-0 start. The Cards are now by themselves in the NFC West, a game up on the 49ers. Next week they host the Carolina Panthers (2-4). It's all part of a weird and surprisingly substandard vibe the Giants are giving off the past couple of weeks.

After two years as a dominant NFC force, they have looked lately like a team that still has a ways to go before we can call it a Super Bowl contender.