Fragen und Antworten » www.steelersfootballauthentics.com

The Buffalo Bills’ long-awaited playoff appearance might not have been so short-lived had their coaching staff played the percentages and not a hunch in their 10-3 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

On first-and-goal from the Jaguars 1 Womens Ben Roethlisberger Jersey , coach Sean McDermott and offensive coordinator Rick Dennison elected to call a run-pass option instead of asking quarterback Tyrod Taylor to either run it in himself or hand it off to running back LeSean McCoy against one of the most vulnerable run defenses in the playoffs.

”I want a running play,” McCoy said. ”It was a play I was lobbying for the whole time and it didn’t work out …”

Instead, Taylor lofted a fade pass toward the left corner of the end zone where Kelvin Benjamin was whistled for offensive pass interference on All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey, pushing the Bills back 10 yards.

The drive stalled from there and Stephen Haushka’s 31-yard field goal was all the Bills had to show for their 18-play, 71-yard drive that took 8:06, their only decent drive all game.

McDermott also botched the end of the first half by calling pass plays on second-and-6 at his 14 (incomplete) and the next down (5-yard completion to Zay Jones in which he was pushed out of bounds).

Instead of taking a knee and heading to the locker room with a 3-0 lead, the Bills gave the Jaguars the ball back with enough time to get into field goal range and score and gain some momentum heading into the locker room.

The Bills’ curious play call, however, paled in contrast to the series of odd calls by referee Jeff Triplette’s playoff crew in Kansas City, where the Tennessee Titans overcame an 18-point halftime deficit to shock the Chiefs 22-21.

”Horrible way to start the playoffs,” tweeted Mike Pereira , the former NFL officiating chief turned Fox sports analyst. ”I hate to say it, but this was not a good performance by the crew. Teams and fans deserve better.”

A day later, Pereira praised both Tony Corrente’s crew in New Orleans and John Hussey’s crew in Jacksonville, adding, ”Yesterday is a memory. I feel bad for Jeff Triplette. He is a great man who was part of a crew that did not have a good game. I feel bad that he is retiring under this cloud.”

After Marcus Mariota caught his own deflected pass for a touchdown Saturday Youth Le'Veon Bell Jersey , Triplette explained that the Titans quarterback was an eligible receiver because he had lined up in the shotgun formation rather than under center.

There is no such rule in the NFL.

Whenever a defensive player deflects a pass, every offensive player is allowed to catch the ricochet, including the quarterback and it matters not where he lined up when the play began.

Then, there was the very quick whistle that negated a fumble recovery by Justin Houston after fellow linebacker Derrick Johnson sacked Mariota in the second quarter.

Mariota fumbled a split-second after contact, but Triplette said the QB’s forward progress had been stopped before the fumble.

Forward progress is usually called when a running back is stopped and defenders are piling on him or several defenders drape a quarterback.

Hardly ever is it applied when a QB is going to the ground on initial contact by a single defender.

As a judgment call, Chiefs coach Andy Reid was helpless to throw his red challenge flag, and Ryan Succop kicked a field goal on the next play.

”The defender hit him and he was driving him back,” Triplette said after the game.

The officials had one more gaffe in them, one that was corrected on replay review.

The crew initially called a fumble on Titans running back Derrick Henry late in the fourth quarter, signaling touchdown when Johnson scooped up the ball and rumbled into the end zone as fireworks lit up the sky.

The replays showed he was down before the ball came loose.

Before wild-card weekend began, there were several notable calls concerning the Cincinnati Bengals.

Bills fans giddy over Buffalo ending the longest playoff drought in North American pro sports made a surge in donations to Andy Dalton’s foundation , their way of thanking the Bengals QB for his role in the Bills’ first invitation to the postseason party in 17 years.

Dalton’s foundation received more than $300,000 in donations after the Bengals beat the Ravens 31-27 in the regular-season finale when Dalton threw a 49-yard TD pass with 44 seconds left to eliminate Baltimore and open a spot for Buffalo.

”I think I’m the hottest guy in Buffalo right now,” Dalton said.

While the Bills’ long streak of playoff futility is over, the Bengals’ streak continues. They haven’t won a playoff game since the 1990 season, the sixth-longest streak of postseason futility in NFL history. They’ve lost all seven of their playoff games since that season Womens Le'Veon Bell Jersey , including an NFL-record five straight first-round defeats from 2011-15.

The Bengals missed out on the playoffs for a second straight season, going 7-9. They won their last two games, knocking the Lions and Ravens out of the playoff race.

That was enough for owner Mike Brown to give coach Marvin Lewis a two-year extension and two more chances to try to get the Bengals that playoff victory that has eluded him for 15 seasons.

Lewis has the second-longest active coaching tenure in the NFL, behind only Bill Belichick’s 18 seasons with New England.

Unlike Belichick, who has won five Super Bowls and made two other appearances in the title game, Lewis is 0-7 in the playoffs, the worst such coaching record in NFL history.

In Denver, John Elway thought long and Edwin Jackson figures he’ll enjoy pitching for as long as teams are willing to put him on the mound.

Jackson tied a record Monday when he played for his 13th major league club, allowing a run in six innings for the Oakland Athletics in their 5-4 victory over the Detroit Tigers. Called up from Triple-A for his first big league appearance of 2018, Jackson matched the mark for most teams set by former reliever Octavio Dotel.

”It’s always good to be wanted,” Jackson said. ”When I can’t find a team that wants to bring me in, then I guess it’ll be time to sit it down. But until then, I like to come out. I like to compete, to have fun. I feel like I still have something in me and that I can bring value to a team.”

Jed Lowrie hit a tiebreaking solo homer in the top of the ninth. The A’s trailed 4-1 after Detroit’s Nicholas Castellanos hit a three-run homer in the seventh, but Oakland scored three in the eighth off Joe Jimenez to tie it. Then Lowrie connected for his 12th home run of the year, barely fair down the line in right field off a cutter from Shane Greene (2-4).

Lou Trivino (6-1) got the win in relief Youth Ryan Shazier Jersey , and Blake Treinen pitched the ninth for his 18th save in 20 chances. The A’s have won seven of nine.

Jordan Zimmermann pitched five scoreless innings for the Tigers, but that wasn’t enough to prevent Detroit’s sixth straight loss.

”I felt good,” Zimmermann said. ”I threw a lot of sliders today, and they were pretty good.”

Stephen Piscotty and Jonathan Lucroy had three hits apiece for Oakland. Piscotty hit a solo homer in the seventh to tie it at 1. The A’s have homered in a record 26 consecutive road games.

The 34-year-old Jackson allowed six hits and struck out seven with no walks. It was his first start since Sept. 28, when he was with Washington.

”For most guys, it’s tough to go to a new team in the middle of a season. There can be some nerves and some uncomfortableness being with a new team,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said. ”This is probably the last guy that you worry about that, being that it’s his 13th team. He seemed real comfortable when he came out of the bullpen, seemed really comfortable when he took the mound. That has a lot to do with experience.”

Down by three in the eighth, Oakland chipped away against Jimenez. Marcus Semien hit a sacrifice fly, and Lucroy followed with an RBI single. Then Franklin Barreto tied it with a run-scoring double.

John Hicks hit an RBI single for Detroit in the fourth to open the scoring.

Oakland center fielder Dustin Fowler made a diving catch with a runner on second to end the seventh.

JOURNEY

Jackson made his big league debut in 2003 with the Dodgers. He’s also pitched for the Rays, Tigers, Diamondbacks, White Sox, Cardinals, Nationals Womens Ryan Shazier Jersey , Cubs, Braves, Marlins, Padres and Orioles. Detroit traded him in 2009 as part of the three-team deal with Arizona and the New York Yankees that brought Max Scherzer to the Tigers.

”I’ve been playing against him forever, so I was pretty familiar with his stuff, just from a hitting standpoint,” said Lucroy, Oakland’s catcher. ”Look, this guy’s an innings eater. He throws strikes. He fills the zone up, attacks guys. Veteran pitcher who knows exactly what he’s doing out there.”

Monday marked eight years since Jackson threw a no-hitter for Arizona at Tampa Bay.

CITIZENS

Before the game, the Tigers held a ceremony for a group of people being sworn in as American citizens. Included were Detroit shortstop Jose Iglesias and outfielder Leonys Martin, both natives of Cuba.

”It’s amazing,” Iglesias said before the game. ”Become an American citizen on a ballpark, and with full uniform and everything. It’s a blessing.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Athletics: Oakland reinstated LHP Ryan Buchter from the disabled list. He’d been on the DL since April 26 with a strained left shoulder. The A’s also purchased Jackson’s contract from Triple-A Nashville, designated RHP Liam Hendriks for assignment and optioned OF Nick Martini to Nashville.

UP NEXT

Detroit sends LHP Blaine Hardy (3-1) to the mound Tuesday night against Oakland RHP Frankie Montas (4-1).

—