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QuikSand · 02-04-2004, 03:44 PM

2021 Postseason

AFC Wild Card Game: Cleveland (12-4) at Houston (7-9)

We are made 10-point favorites on the road here – which is a tall order. Houston has a solid group of offensive skill players, but a pretty spotty defensive front. We’ll try to spot Gus Stewart in for a heavy load this week – he might be our key to winning this game.

Houston outplays us through the scoreless first quarter, but we strike first with our first real drive and a 7-0 lead early in the second. After a 14-7 halftime edge, we rip it opening the third quarter, and pull out to a 31-10 margin. We roll to a 37-10 win, and escape the first round – on to our next road game, against Miami.

Deion Brock threw three interceptions in the first half, and then dropped with an Achilles injury. Our team’s long history of playoff QB injuries is alive and well – it looks like young Glenn Dixon will get the call for the rest of the way, as Brock is definitely OUT.

AFC Divisional Playoff: Cleveland (13-4) at Miami (12-4)

Miami came lie this year after grabbing impact rookie RB Corwin Hutton – they haven’t looked back after adding some flair to their running game. Last year’s rookie pickup was WR Frank Flowers, who posted 1500 yards this year and will go to Hawai’i. They are solid on defense, and adding these key offensive weapons was the right formula, it seems – they are a formidable opponent.

We get the ball first, and with the aid of a couple penalties, drive in for a short FG and the early lead. Miami doesn’t need as much time as we did, and they punch it in for the TD on a 13-yard run by Hutton to take the 7-3 lead. First quarter is gone after just two possessions.

We get the ball, and convert on a gutsy (stupid?) 4th and 2 from our own 45. We keep the drive alive, and Glenn Dixon scrambles in for an 11 yard TD to get us back on top. Now would be a great time for our defense to show up and stone them in. Instead, we are tough on first and second downs, but they convert third-and-long twice, then hit the big hitter for the long TD score. We march right back, and put in Stewart for a TD, and it’s 17-14 with 51 seconds before the half. Halftime comes with no punts and no turnovers – both teams scored on every possession save the one as the half closed out.

The first turnover comes on the first play of the second half, as we get a strip-sack and recover the fumble at the Miami 11. Stewart gets an 11-yard run for the score, and a 24-14 margin looks better. We then force the game’s first punt – the second half might look a lot unlike the first, it seems.

Late in the third quarter, Miami breaks out of the field position battle, and scores another TD run – they are within 3 points, and have some real momentum. However, on their punt with 13 minutes left, we get a block, and take over at the Miami 31. We end up with another FG, and a 27-21 edge with 12 minutes to play.

Miami has a time-consuming drive, hampered by penalties on both sides, which gets them to our 22 yard line – with 5 minutes left. At 3:45 they settle for a FG, and we stay ahead 27-24 – a big stop by our defense.

We get the ball back, looking to eat clock. Gus Stewart takes a nice swing pass foe 23 yards to get a first down and out of our hole. Two more passes to Stewart gets us another first down, and exhaust two Miami time outs. Pritchett makes a big catch to get to their 35, and a new set of downs with 1:13 on the clock. From there, we are able to take the knee, and get away with a hard-fought win, 27-24.

AFC Championship: Buffalo (13-5) at Cleveland (14-4)

I’m very surprised that Pittsburgh lost, but here we are – at home for the Championship game in the most unlikely scenario (the only way we could have possibly played a home game in the postseason was right here, just like this).

Buffalo is a deceiving team, though – they managed to sign last year’s first team QB Bubba Avila to a free agent contract (the ever-present one year, minsal deal) – only to watch him sit behind their starter Martin Tate. Now, Tate is hurt, and Avila is getting the call – and has been great in the postseason. This team is tougher than they seem on paper, especially on offense. No easy opponent here.

On our opening drive, Glenn Dixon is a gambler – but it pays off, and we get in for an 11-yard TD pass to Cornelius Tilton to go ahead, 7-0. Bubba Avila is sharp, too, but they settle for a field goal. After a trade of punts, the first quarter is over, fairly uneventfully.

In the second quarter, we knock Bubba Avila out of the game, and they have to go to their second (third) stringer. We don’t know much about Jason Conti, but he plays pretty well. Avila gets back in after a few plays, and all is back to normal. Avila hits for a 17-yard TD pass, and the Bills go ahead, 10-7. We get in place for a 52-yard FG, and tie the game with the long kick with 1:46 left in the half. Buffalo gets into place, but their long kick fails, and it’s tied at the break.

In the third quarter, we miss a field goal (boo) and the field position battle continues. Dixon connects on back-to-back plays to Pendleton and then Pritchett, and we set up at their 21 yard line – eager to re-take the lead. It’s the other target – TE Sellers – who hauls in the 8-yard TD pass, and we assume a nice 17-10 margin. Buffalo gets to midfield before punting, and overall, we’re pleased with the flow as the third quarter wraps up.

In the early fourth quarter, we cap off another solid drive with a 3-yard rush from Glenn Dixon, and have the game in pretty good shape, up 24-10. But Buffalo, converting on four straight third down opportunities, manages a comeback drive and a TD to get right back within one score. The Bills’ defense is inspired, they step up and stuff our attack, and they have a great chance to get right back even.

With 2:35 remaining, Buffalo takes over at our 48 yard line after a 33 yard punt. A key QB sack by Finch pushes them back, and they face 3rd and 12. They get only six, but this is probably four-down territory for them. LB Andrew Wallace gets through on the fourth down play and comes up with a huge sack, and we take over on downs near midfield!

Run for 9 and 10 yards exhaust their fist two timeouts, and give us a first down. We now can safely assume the victory position, and we run out the clock and get out of town with our 24-17 win, and our bags packed for the Superbowl, yet again!

Glenn Dixon is turning into a cult figure around town – this week, with the season on the line, he goes 20/28 for 2TDs and (again) no picks, plus he runs 10 times for 66 yards and a score. Unbelievable poise by the youngster.

Superbowl: Arizona (16-2) vs. Cleveland (15-4)

We have a real conundrum – Deion Brock has been elevated to “probable” on the injury list, and he wants to play. With Glenn Dixon handling things so well for us, it’s awfully difficult to take the ball out of his hands. I honestly don’t know what to do…

-pausing-

02-04-2004, 03:44 PM	#186
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	2021 Postseason AFC Wild Card Game: Cleveland (12-4) at Houston (7-9) We are made 10-point favorites on the road here – which is a tall order. Houston has a solid group of offensive skill players, but a pretty spotty defensive front. We’ll try to spot Gus Stewart in for a heavy load this week – he might be our key to winning this game. Houston outplays us through the scoreless first quarter, but we strike first with our first real drive and a 7-0 lead early in the second. After a 14-7 halftime edge, we rip it opening the third quarter, and pull out to a 31-10 margin. We roll to a 37-10 win, and escape the first round – on to our next road game, against Miami. Deion Brock threw three interceptions in the first half, and then dropped with an Achilles injury. Our team’s long history of playoff QB injuries is alive and well – it looks like young Glenn Dixon will get the call for the rest of the way, as Brock is definitely OUT. AFC Divisional Playoff: Cleveland (13-4) at Miami (12-4) Miami came lie this year after grabbing impact rookie RB Corwin Hutton – they haven’t looked back after adding some flair to their running game. Last year’s rookie pickup was WR Frank Flowers, who posted 1500 yards this year and will go to Hawai’i. They are solid on defense, and adding these key offensive weapons was the right formula, it seems – they are a formidable opponent. We get the ball first, and with the aid of a couple penalties, drive in for a short FG and the early lead. Miami doesn’t need as much time as we did, and they punch it in for the TD on a 13-yard run by Hutton to take the 7-3 lead. First quarter is gone after just two possessions. We get the ball, and convert on a gutsy (stupid?) 4th and 2 from our own 45. We keep the drive alive, and Glenn Dixon scrambles in for an 11 yard TD to get us back on top. Now would be a great time for our defense to show up and stone them in. Instead, we are tough on first and second downs, but they convert third-and-long twice, then hit the big hitter for the long TD score. We march right back, and put in Stewart for a TD, and it’s 17-14 with 51 seconds before the half. Halftime comes with no punts and no turnovers – both teams scored on every possession save the one as the half closed out. The first turnover comes on the first play of the second half, as we get a strip-sack and recover the fumble at the Miami 11. Stewart gets an 11-yard run for the score, and a 24-14 margin looks better. We then force the game’s first punt – the second half might look a lot unlike the first, it seems. Late in the third quarter, Miami breaks out of the field position battle, and scores another TD run – they are within 3 points, and have some real momentum. However, on their punt with 13 minutes left, we get a block, and take over at the Miami 31. We end up with another FG, and a 27-21 edge with 12 minutes to play. Miami has a time-consuming drive, hampered by penalties on both sides, which gets them to our 22 yard line – with 5 minutes left. At 3:45 they settle for a FG, and we stay ahead 27-24 – a big stop by our defense. We get the ball back, looking to eat clock. Gus Stewart takes a nice swing pass foe 23 yards to get a first down and out of our hole. Two more passes to Stewart gets us another first down, and exhaust two Miami time outs. Pritchett makes a big catch to get to their 35, and a new set of downs with 1:13 on the clock. From there, we are able to take the knee, and get away with a hard-fought win, 27-24. AFC Championship: Buffalo (13-5) at Cleveland (14-4) I’m very surprised that Pittsburgh lost, but here we are – at home for the Championship game in the most unlikely scenario (the only way we could have possibly played a home game in the postseason was right here, just like this). Buffalo is a deceiving team, though – they managed to sign last year’s first team QB Bubba Avila to a free agent contract (the ever-present one year, minsal deal) – only to watch him sit behind their starter Martin Tate. Now, Tate is hurt, and Avila is getting the call – and has been great in the postseason. This team is tougher than they seem on paper, especially on offense. No easy opponent here. On our opening drive, Glenn Dixon is a gambler – but it pays off, and we get in for an 11-yard TD pass to Cornelius Tilton to go ahead, 7-0. Bubba Avila is sharp, too, but they settle for a field goal. After a trade of punts, the first quarter is over, fairly uneventfully. In the second quarter, we knock Bubba Avila out of the game, and they have to go to their second (third) stringer. We don’t know much about Jason Conti, but he plays pretty well. Avila gets back in after a few plays, and all is back to normal. Avila hits for a 17-yard TD pass, and the Bills go ahead, 10-7. We get in place for a 52-yard FG, and tie the game with the long kick with 1:46 left in the half. Buffalo gets into place, but their long kick fails, and it’s tied at the break. In the third quarter, we miss a field goal (boo) and the field position battle continues. Dixon connects on back-to-back plays to Pendleton and then Pritchett, and we set up at their 21 yard line – eager to re-take the lead. It’s the other target – TE Sellers – who hauls in the 8-yard TD pass, and we assume a nice 17-10 margin. Buffalo gets to midfield before punting, and overall, we’re pleased with the flow as the third quarter wraps up. In the early fourth quarter, we cap off another solid drive with a 3-yard rush from Glenn Dixon, and have the game in pretty good shape, up 24-10. But Buffalo, converting on four straight third down opportunities, manages a comeback drive and a TD to get right back within one score. The Bills’ defense is inspired, they step up and stuff our attack, and they have a great chance to get right back even. With 2:35 remaining, Buffalo takes over at our 48 yard line after a 33 yard punt. A key QB sack by Finch pushes them back, and they face 3rd and 12. They get only six, but this is probably four-down territory for them. LB Andrew Wallace gets through on the fourth down play and comes up with a huge sack, and we take over on downs near midfield! Run for 9 and 10 yards exhaust their fist two timeouts, and give us a first down. We now can safely assume the victory position, and we run out the clock and get out of town with our 24-17 win, and our bags packed for the Superbowl, yet again! Glenn Dixon is turning into a cult figure around town – this week, with the season on the line, he goes 20/28 for 2TDs and (again) no picks, plus he runs 10 times for 66 yards and a score. Unbelievable poise by the youngster. Superbowl: Arizona (16-2) vs. Cleveland (15-4) We have a real conundrum – Deion Brock has been elevated to “probable” on the injury list, and he wants to play. With Glenn Dixon handling things so well for us, it’s awfully difficult to take the ball out of his hands. I honestly don’t know what to do… -pausing-