Posted on 12/26/2005 4:44:14 AM PST by mainepatsfan
Boller, Ravens knock Vikings out of NFC playoff race
BALTIMORE (AP) -- All season long, the Minnesota Vikings relied on their defense to win.
The unit collapsed Sunday night, and so did Minnesota's flickering playoff hopes.
Kyle Boller went 24-for-34 for 289 yards and three touchdowns, and the Baltimore Ravens eliminated the Vikings from the postseason hunt with a 30-23 victory.
Needing a win to stay alive, the Vikings (8-7) came up with their worst defensive performance in two months. Minnesota, which hadn't given up more than 23 points since Oct. 30, allowed the Ravens to go 10-for-15 on third down.
"We didn't play well at all. Our offense gave us enough points to come out with a win," cornerback Antoine Winfield said. "What hurt was third down. They kept drives going. We can't do that."
The loss gave the New York Giants (10-5) a playoff berth.
"The two biggest things in the game are not staying on the field on third down, and not getting off the field on third down," Minnesota coach Mike Tice said. "Defensively, the coaches tried a lot of different things."
None of them worked.
"We're sick to our stomachs for not getting this win," tight end Jim Kleinsasser said.
Baltimore (6-9) was long ago eliminated from playoff contention, but the Ravens came up with a solid performance anyway.
"We tried to frame it as a playoff-caliber game because it was for them, and therefore it was for us," Ravens coach Brian Billick said. "The whole team -- and Kyle -- stepped up to the challenge."
(Excerpt) Read more at sports.espn.go.com ...
The NFC playoff picture currently looks like this:
Carolina at NYG and Washington at Tampa
Seatte and Chicago bye
Here are the NFC playoff scenarios for week 17:
NFC East
• The Giants have clinched a playoff spot.
• The Giants can clinch NFC East with: 1. A win 2. A Redskins loss or tie
• The Redskins can clinch a playoff spot with: 1. A win
• The Redskins can clinch the NFC East with a win and a Giants loss
The Cowboys can clinch a playoff spot with a win and either a Redskins or a Panthers loss.
NFC South
• The Buccaneers can clinch the NFC South with: 1. A win 2. Panthers loss 3. A tie and a Panthers tie
• The Panthers can clinch a playoff spot with a win.
• The Panthers can clinch the NFC South with a win and a Bucs loss or tie.
Nothing like backing into the playoffs. Next week will be more important for the NFC East. If the Giants and the Redskins both loose and my Cowboys win then do they win the NFC East? One other question I don't know the answer to is how did the Cowboys end up in the NFC East?
So what you're saying is, there is a huge
toss up in the NFC to find out who's gonna
play the Patriots in the SB this year?
Nonsense. The Vikes are ranked 23rd in the league in defense. They've relied on blind luck and perhaps the easiest schedule in the NFL to win. Their off-season pleasure cruise begins today.
The 'Boys have no chance of winning the NFC East; the "Skins are the only team that has a shot to overtake the G-Men.
That's at least plausible now, although it's hard from a fan's standpoint to build hatred for the Colts considering their situation.
That's a shame. /sarc/
The Cowboys can't win the NFC East this year.
The Cowboys had been in the same division with the Redskins and Eagles (the Capitol division). When the NFC East was formed in 1970 the league decided to keep those three teams in the same division and then they added the Giants and Cardinals.
Basically.
That and their search for a new head coach.
We all know it's going to be the Seahags that are the NFC sacrificial lamb :-)
More than likely.
Didn't Maddona have a similar complaint? I had no idea she was a Vikings fan.
Seattle - .436 (and only getting easier with the Packers left on it)
Chicago - .440
Miami - .446
Carolina - .448
Cincinnati - .462
Tampa Bay - .462
Minnesota - .467
The common denominator (except for the Dolphins) is that each team has played the Packers.
It's been a miserable season for Packer fans. Brett had four INTs yesterday. I think he was going for a record high.
He was sacked twice in a row within seconds.
One game left against Seattle. Yay.
Seattle and Chicago both had the benefit of playing in lousy divisions.
Another thing to consider is that the closest playoff team to Seattle in travel distance is Chicago. Thats a long flight that Seattle usually has to make throughout the season.
Seattle will be in the Superbowl.
The AFC is the toss up conference. I do like the Patriots, but Pittsburgh and Denver, especially if the Colts lose and the road goes through Denver, could be very dangerous.
My prediction: Seattle vs. Denver in an old AFC west match up.
True. What's impressed the heck out of me is Washington; they have the 2nd-toughest schedule (and in all likelyhood, once the Niners and Texans play each other, it will end up being the toughest).
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