Welcome back, it’s your third Coach’s Corner, and we had some fun plays this past week. We also have some surprises among the top contenders. The Eagles lost MVP candidate Carson Wentz, and the Patriots played uncharacteristically bad football against the Dolphins. Let’s take a look at our three moments from week 14.
Big Ben Under Pressure
Sunday Night Football brought us a high scoring, down to the wire football game. Five minutes into the fourth quarter the Steelers were on the Ravens one-yard line, surely about to punch in a potentially game tying score with Le’Veon Bell. Well, like the Redskins-Giants play I covered in the first Coach’s Corner we had a pass play drawn up. In a good use of play-action passing, Ben waited for a receiver to get open, and while getting hit, he got the ball to his fullback in the right flat. Touchdown Steelers, who would go on to win the game.
DeAndre’s Two TD Day
DeAndre Hopkins has performed well all year, both with and without fellow Clemson Tiger Deshaun Watson. In the third quarter this past Sunday, Hopkins ran a fade and laid out for a very nice catch. The Texans, like the Steelers, also used a well designed play-action. The fake to running back Lamar Miller made the defense bite, which gave Hopkins the step-and-a-half he needed to get open.
Beast Mode Can Still Shake ‘Em
In what may end up being a game for pride more than anything for both teams, the Raiders put Marshawn Lynch going downhill following his offensive line to the right. He saw the log-jam in front of him, and showing he still has the moves, put the brakes on and jabbed out to the left for a huge gain, shaking defenders until eventually being stopped and pushed out of bounds. The most Marshawn Lynch thing to happen on the play was being knocked towards the Kansas City bench and taking a seat in front of the Gatorade jugs.
Great vision and adaptability gave Lynch a great run of 27 yards. From lowering his shoulder on a tackler to quick stops and shoulder shakes, Beast Mode let everyone know he’s still got it.
As always, feel free to send plays you think deserve a Coach Mitch breakdown, and maybe you’ll get a shout-out in next weeks Coach’s Corner. I’ll see you then.