Update: Larry Fitzgerald caught seven passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns in the Cardinals 27-23 loss to the Steelers in Super Bowl XLIII, becoming the only player to record 100-plus receiving yards in four consecutive playoff games. His postseason totals -- 30 receptions, 546 yards and seven touchdowns -- are all NFL records, and enough for me to propel him into first place on this list. If Arizona would have won the Super Bowl, Fitzgerald would likely have been MVP (quarterback Kurt Warner certainly would have been considered) after an incredible fourth-quarter performance in which he gave Arizona its first lead of the game.
Update (4/16/11): I decided to see if any performances from the last two playoffs qualified for my list. Green Bay's Greg Jennings had pretty strong 2010 postseason numbers -- 21 catches, 302 yards, two touchdowns (both in the Super Bowl victory) -- but he had the luxury of four games and I never got the sense his performance was dominant. Minnesota's Sidney Rice (10 catches, 186 yards and four touchdowns in two games) and Indianapolis' Pierre Garcon (21 catches, 251 yards and two touchdowns in three games) both made legitimate arguments in 2009. I may reconsider in the future or expand the list to 25, but I'm not convinced yet. That said, I am going to move Fitzgerald to the top (he was originally No. 2) and I have to actually put Tom Fears (16 catches, 334 yards and three touchdowns in two games in 1950) on the list.
Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald is having an outstanding postseason -- he has 23 catches for a playoff-record 419 yards and five touchdowns -- with the Super Bowl still to play. He is one of four players (Randy Moss, Jerry Rice, Tom Fears) to have three consecutive playoff games with 100-plus receiving yards, and a blog post on NFL.com documents exactly how strong Fitzgerald's start to his playoff career has been.
I thought it would be interesting to compile the other great wide receiver performances in NFL postseason history, so I compiled a completely unscientific top 20 list. I assessed no direct penalty for losing (because wide receivers don't play defense, etc.) although not winning prohibited a deeper postseason run. I rewarded consistency throughout the playoffs, but also weighted any performances in the Super Bowl and conference championships.
21. Wes Welker, New England Patriots, 2007
27 catches, 213 yards, two touchdowns
Three games, lost Super Bowl
Welker tied the record for most receptions in a postseason, and became the first to accomplish the feat in three games.
20. Ricky Sanders, Washington Redskins, 1987
15 catches, 285 yards, two touchdowns
Three games, won Super Bowl
Sanders set a Super Bowl record (since passed by Jerry Rice) with 193 receiving yards, scoring twice on nine receptions.
19. Sterling Sharpe, Green Bay Packers, 1993
11 catches, 229 yards, four touchdowns
Two games, lost divisional round
In his only two career playoff games, Sharpe recorded 100-plus yards in each game and scored four of Green Bay's five offensive touchdowns.
18. Michael Irvin, Dallas Cowboys, 1992
18 catches, 288 yards, two touchdowns
Three games, won Super Bowl
Irvin was consistent -- recording six catches for 80-plus yards in each game -- but saved his best performance for last, scoring twice in the Super Bowl.
17. John Stallworth, Pittsburgh Steelers, 1979
12 catches, 259 yards, three touchdowns
Three games, won Super Bowl
Stallworth caught one touchdown in each game, including a 73-yard score in the Steelers' fourth Super Bowl victory of the 1970s.
16. Antonio Freeman, Green Bay Packers, 1997
17 catches, 307 yards, three touchdowns
Three games, lost Super Bowl
Freeman picked up steam in each game, culminating in a nine-catch, 126-yard, two-touchdown performance in the Super Bowl.
15. James Lofton, Buffalo Bills, 1990
13 catches, 323 yards, three touchdowns
Three games, lost Super Bowl
Lofton caught 12 passes for 216 yards and three touchdowns in the two games before the Super Bowl, where he was limited to one 61-yard reception.
14. Isaac Bruce, St. Louis Rams, 1999
13 catches, 316 yards, two touchdowns
Three games, won Super Bowl
Both of Bruce's touchdowns were 70-plus yards, including the game winner with less than three minutes remaining in the Super Bowl.
13. Randy Moss, Minnesota Vikings, 1998
14 catches, 315 yards, three touchdowns
Two games, lost divisional game
Fitzgerald was still a ballboy for the Vikings when Moss caught two touchdowns of 40-plus yards and picked up 188 yards in the divisional loss.
12. Steve Smith, Carolina Panthers, 2003
18 catches, 404 yards, three touchdowns
Four games, lost Super Bowl
Smith picked up 298 yards in two games and his 69-yard touchdown catch on the first play of double overtime sent the Panthers to the NFC Championship.
11. Lynn Swann, Pittsburgh Steelers, 1978
13 catches, 274 yards, three touchdowns
Three games, won Super Bowl
In addition to his seven-reception, 124-yard, one-touchdown performance, Swann made one of the most acrobatic catches in Super Bowl history.
10. Tom Fears, Los Angeles Rams, 1950
16 catches, 334 yards, three touchdowns
Two games, lost NFL championship
Fears scored three consecutive touchdowns (43, 68 and 27 yards) and compiled 198 yards to lift the Rams to the title game.
9. John Stallworth, Pittsburgh Steelers, 1978
14 catches, 278 yards, four touchdowns
Three games, won Super Bowl
Stallworth scored in every game, including twice in the Super Bowl, and had a 10-catch, 158-yard performance in the divisional round.
8. Charlie Brown, Washington Redskins, 1983
14 catches, 401 yards, one touchdown
Three games, lost Super Bowl
Brown set the record for most receiving yards in one postseason (he is now fourth all-time), and averaged 28.6 yards per reception.
7. Andre Reed, Buffalo Bills, 1993
19 catches, 313 yards, three touchdowns
Four games, lost Super Bowl
Reed caught three second-half touchdowns in the NFL's best comeback, and his 151 receiving yards in the Super Bowl are the most for any losing player.
6. Anthony Carter, Dallas Cowboys, 1987
23 catches, 391 yards, two touchdowns (1 catch, 1 return)
Three games, lost conference championship
Carter's 227-yard performance in the divisional round set a playoff mark that stood for 11 years, and he added an 87-yard punt return in the wild-card game.
5. Steve Smith, Carolina Panthers, 2005
27 catches, 335 yards, five touchdowns (3 catch, 1 rush, 1 return)
Three games, lost Super Bowl
Smith set a playoff record for most catches, recorded a 12-catch, 218-yard receiving performance and became the only player with a receiving, rushing and punt return touchdown in the same postseason.
4. Fred Biletnikoff, Oakland Raiders, 1968
14 catches, 370 yards, four touchdowns
Two games, lost conference championship
Biletnikoff's seven catches for 190 yards and a touchdown in the conference championship was his worst performance of the postseason. He had seven for 180 yards and three touchdowns -- of 24, 44 and 54 yards -- one week prior.
3. Jerry Rice, San Francisco 49ers, 1989
19 catches, 318 yards, five touchdowns
Three games, won Super Bowl
Rice is the only player to catch three touchdowns in a Super Bowl (he tied his mark in the 1994 playoffs), catching seven passes for 148 yards. He previously scored twice, including a 73-yard touchdown in the divisional round.
2. Jerry Rice, San Francisco 49ers, 1988
21 catches, 409 yards, six touchdowns
Three games, won Super Bowl
Although Fitzgerald broke his postseason yardage record, Rice still has the most receiving touchdowns in a postseason, most receiving yards (215) in a Super Bowl, and is tied for most receptions (11) in a Super Bowl.
1. Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals, 2008
30 catches, 546 yards, seven touchdowns
Four games, lost Super Bowl
Fitzgerald has set the postseason record for most receiving yards, recorded two games of 150-plus receiving yards and caught three touchdowns in the first half of the NFC Championship to send Arizona to its first Super Bowl.
Nota bene:
- Jerry Rice (Nos. 2 and 3), Steve Smith (Nos. 5 and 11) and John Stallworth (Nos. 9 and 16) are the only wide receivers to make my top 20 list twice.
- NFC teams have a 13 to 7 edge over AFC teams in the number of representatives. The Pittsburgh Steelers are represented three times, while the Green Bay Packers, Washington Redskins, Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers are all represented twice.
- Sixteen of the 20 players advanced to the Super Bowl -- 8 won, 7 lost and Fitzgerald's Arizona Cardinals face the Pittsburgh Steelers on Feb. 1.
Showing posts with label Larry Fitzgerald. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Larry Fitzgerald. Show all posts
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Divisional round, all at once
Update: Posted Donovan McNabb's career record in conference championship games.
We'll go with some quick hits for this Divisional Playoff weekend:
Baltimore 13, Tennessee 10
1. Ray Lewis's helmet-popping hit on Ahmard Hall was a good reminder why Lewis will eventually be in the Hall of Fame. Lewis didn't celebrate, perhaps because Hall still picked up an important first down in terms of field position, but his jarring shot was a poignant image for the leader of the Baltimore Ravens' defense.
Lewis is a two-time Defensive Player of the Year (2000, 2003), six-time first-team All-Pro (I trust journalists' opinions more than fans' and Pro Bowlers only represent their conference), and the 2000 Super Bowl MVP in a season when he carried the Ravens on his back (with help from Jamal Lewis).
2. One of my biggest pet peeves is quarterbacks who call timeouts at inopportune times, only to escape the ire of their misguided coaches.
Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco called a timeout to avoid a five-yard penalty for delay of game when facing a third-and-18 in the middle of the first quarter. I don't have exact numbers, but the difference in probability between converting a third-and-18 and a third-and-23 has to be negligible. Timeouts, however, are extremely valuable because they greatly increase the probability of scoring at the end of halftime. (Wow, that would be an extensive research project)
If I was a coach, I would tell my quarterback to always take the delay-of-game penalty unless it a critical juncture of the game (i.e. likely leading directly to points): Only on third or fourth down, or on the edge of field goal range or the end zone. Timeouts should be used liberally on defense, however, because one blown coverage can result in a touchdown.
You can call my complaint void because Flacco threw a 48-yard touchdown to Derrick Mason on the play following the timeout, but we should make our decisions based on probabilities, not post hoc information.
Cardinals 33, Panthers 13
1. If Arizona wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald breaks the 100-yard receiving mark in the NFC Championship game, he will join Tom Fears, Jerry Rice and Randy Moss as the only players to post three consecutive playoff games of 100 or more receiving yards.
Fitzgerald caught eight balls for 166 yards, including an impressive diving touchdown, against the Panthers. In his playoff debut against the Falcons, he caught six balls for 101 yards and a touchdown.
2. You can add Carolina's Jake Delhomme to my list of miserable quarterbacking performances in the playoffs. Sports Illustrated's Peter King suggests that considering the circumstances, Delhomme's six-turnover day may have been the worst.
Eagles 23, Giants 11
1. After missing only three field goals during his Pro-Bowl worthy regular season, New York kicker John Carney missed two against the Eagles in the wind tunnel known as Giants Stadium.
Carney did make three field goals on Sunday, but both of his misses could have swung the momentum of the game because they would have given the Giants the lead. His unfortunate timing following a 35-for-38 performance in the regular season (the best field goal percentage of his 21-year career) reminds me a lot of Gary Anderson's wayward kick in the 1998 playoffs.
Anderson had the first perfect regular season in NFL history, making all 35 field goal attempts and all 59 extra point attempts for the 15-1 Vikings, but missed a 38-yard field goal with two minutes remaining in the NFC Championship game against the Falcons. The Vikings failed to take a two-possession lead, and the Falcons ended up winning in overtime.
Speaking of Anderson, Eagles kicker David Akers broke his record on Sunday by converting his 17th and 18th consecutive field goal attempts in the postseason.
2. I wrote earlier about Donovan McNabb's success in the postseason. Now that he is prepared to start his fifth conference championship game (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2008), where does that total rank in NFL history?
Joe Montana has seven appearances, going 4-3 and winning four Super Bowls.
Terry Bradshaw has six appearances, going 4-2 and winning four Super Bowls.
Roger Staubach has six appearances, going 4-2 and winning two Super Bowls.
John Elway has six appearances, going 5-1 and winning two Super Bowls.
Tom Brady has five appearances, going 4-1 and winning three Super Bowls.
Jim Kelly has five appearances, going 4-1 and winning zero Super Bowls.
Ken Stabler has five appearances, going 1-4 and winning one Super Bowl.
Donovan McNabb has five appearances, going 1-4 and winning zero Super Bowls.
Let me know if I missed any quarterback who started in at least five conference championship games. In case you were curious, Steve Young threw passes in six, but only started four and Brett Favre only played in four.
And, other than Baltimore rookie Joe Flacco, the other quarterbacks in the conference championship games do have some experience. It's the third career trip for both Arizona's Kurt Warner and Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger.
Steelers 35, Chargers 24
1. Both the CBS announcers and I expected a quick kick from Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in the first quarter once he backed up several more yards out of a shotgun formation. Roethlisberger managed a 29-yard punt that was downed on the 9-yard line, but don't give Steelers coach Mike Tomlin all of the credit for the call.
I would be extremely surprised if Tomlin would have made the same decision if Patriots coach Bill Belichick hadn't pulled out the rarely-used play in New England's season finale. With New England leading 13-0 in the fourth quarter of a game where wind gusts reached 55 miles per hour, quarterback Matt Cassel pulled off a 55-yard quick kick that was downed at the 2-yard line.
What an excellent, and throwback, call.
As an aside, Randall Cunningham punted 20 times for an impressive 44.7 yard average while with the Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings. Perhaps most impressively, the quarterback has the fourth-longest punt in NFL history with a 91-yard bomb against the Giants in 1988.
2. Yes, you read it right. San Diego only had possession of the ball for 17 seconds in the third quarter. After an eight-minute touchdown drive to start the second half, Pittsburgh intercepted Philip Rivers on the Chargers' first play from scrimmage. The Steelers' second drive stalled, but they recovered a muffed punt, and continued the ensuing drive into the fourth quarter.
There's really nothing else to say about that. It's ridiculous.
We'll go with some quick hits for this Divisional Playoff weekend:
Baltimore 13, Tennessee 10
1. Ray Lewis's helmet-popping hit on Ahmard Hall was a good reminder why Lewis will eventually be in the Hall of Fame. Lewis didn't celebrate, perhaps because Hall still picked up an important first down in terms of field position, but his jarring shot was a poignant image for the leader of the Baltimore Ravens' defense.
Lewis is a two-time Defensive Player of the Year (2000, 2003), six-time first-team All-Pro (I trust journalists' opinions more than fans' and Pro Bowlers only represent their conference), and the 2000 Super Bowl MVP in a season when he carried the Ravens on his back (with help from Jamal Lewis).
2. One of my biggest pet peeves is quarterbacks who call timeouts at inopportune times, only to escape the ire of their misguided coaches.
Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco called a timeout to avoid a five-yard penalty for delay of game when facing a third-and-18 in the middle of the first quarter. I don't have exact numbers, but the difference in probability between converting a third-and-18 and a third-and-23 has to be negligible. Timeouts, however, are extremely valuable because they greatly increase the probability of scoring at the end of halftime. (Wow, that would be an extensive research project)
If I was a coach, I would tell my quarterback to always take the delay-of-game penalty unless it a critical juncture of the game (i.e. likely leading directly to points): Only on third or fourth down, or on the edge of field goal range or the end zone. Timeouts should be used liberally on defense, however, because one blown coverage can result in a touchdown.
You can call my complaint void because Flacco threw a 48-yard touchdown to Derrick Mason on the play following the timeout, but we should make our decisions based on probabilities, not post hoc information.
Cardinals 33, Panthers 13
1. If Arizona wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald breaks the 100-yard receiving mark in the NFC Championship game, he will join Tom Fears, Jerry Rice and Randy Moss as the only players to post three consecutive playoff games of 100 or more receiving yards.
Fitzgerald caught eight balls for 166 yards, including an impressive diving touchdown, against the Panthers. In his playoff debut against the Falcons, he caught six balls for 101 yards and a touchdown.
2. You can add Carolina's Jake Delhomme to my list of miserable quarterbacking performances in the playoffs. Sports Illustrated's Peter King suggests that considering the circumstances, Delhomme's six-turnover day may have been the worst.
Goat of the Week
Jake Delhomme, QB, Carolina. Has any quarterback had a worse playoff game than Delhomme's five-interception, one-lost-fumble disaster Saturday night against Arizona? Unlikely. Brett Favre, in the 2001 playoffs, threw six picks against the Rams, but in that game, Favre was just throwing balls up throughout the second half trying to hit the lottery. Delhomme went 17 of 34 for 205 yards, with one garbage-time touchdown and the five picks, and only one of the turnovers came with the game legitimately out of hand. Here's the amazing thing: You watch all five of those interceptions, and you'll see that every one was thrown into something like double-coverage. "To put into words, I can't," Delhomme said. "I am at a loss for words. I had a hand in six turnovers ... I should get the blame. It's inexcusable."
Eagles 23, Giants 11
1. After missing only three field goals during his Pro-Bowl worthy regular season, New York kicker John Carney missed two against the Eagles in the wind tunnel known as Giants Stadium.
Carney did make three field goals on Sunday, but both of his misses could have swung the momentum of the game because they would have given the Giants the lead. His unfortunate timing following a 35-for-38 performance in the regular season (the best field goal percentage of his 21-year career) reminds me a lot of Gary Anderson's wayward kick in the 1998 playoffs.
Anderson had the first perfect regular season in NFL history, making all 35 field goal attempts and all 59 extra point attempts for the 15-1 Vikings, but missed a 38-yard field goal with two minutes remaining in the NFC Championship game against the Falcons. The Vikings failed to take a two-possession lead, and the Falcons ended up winning in overtime.
Speaking of Anderson, Eagles kicker David Akers broke his record on Sunday by converting his 17th and 18th consecutive field goal attempts in the postseason.
2. I wrote earlier about Donovan McNabb's success in the postseason. Now that he is prepared to start his fifth conference championship game (2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2008), where does that total rank in NFL history?
Joe Montana has seven appearances, going 4-3 and winning four Super Bowls.
Terry Bradshaw has six appearances, going 4-2 and winning four Super Bowls.
Roger Staubach has six appearances, going 4-2 and winning two Super Bowls.
John Elway has six appearances, going 5-1 and winning two Super Bowls.
Tom Brady has five appearances, going 4-1 and winning three Super Bowls.
Jim Kelly has five appearances, going 4-1 and winning zero Super Bowls.
Ken Stabler has five appearances, going 1-4 and winning one Super Bowl.
Donovan McNabb has five appearances, going 1-4 and winning zero Super Bowls.
Let me know if I missed any quarterback who started in at least five conference championship games. In case you were curious, Steve Young threw passes in six, but only started four and Brett Favre only played in four.
And, other than Baltimore rookie Joe Flacco, the other quarterbacks in the conference championship games do have some experience. It's the third career trip for both Arizona's Kurt Warner and Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger.
Steelers 35, Chargers 24
1. Both the CBS announcers and I expected a quick kick from Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger in the first quarter once he backed up several more yards out of a shotgun formation. Roethlisberger managed a 29-yard punt that was downed on the 9-yard line, but don't give Steelers coach Mike Tomlin all of the credit for the call.
I would be extremely surprised if Tomlin would have made the same decision if Patriots coach Bill Belichick hadn't pulled out the rarely-used play in New England's season finale. With New England leading 13-0 in the fourth quarter of a game where wind gusts reached 55 miles per hour, quarterback Matt Cassel pulled off a 55-yard quick kick that was downed at the 2-yard line.
What an excellent, and throwback, call.
As an aside, Randall Cunningham punted 20 times for an impressive 44.7 yard average while with the Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings. Perhaps most impressively, the quarterback has the fourth-longest punt in NFL history with a 91-yard bomb against the Giants in 1988.
2. Yes, you read it right. San Diego only had possession of the ball for 17 seconds in the third quarter. After an eight-minute touchdown drive to start the second half, Pittsburgh intercepted Philip Rivers on the Chargers' first play from scrimmage. The Steelers' second drive stalled, but they recovered a muffed punt, and continued the ensuing drive into the fourth quarter.
There's really nothing else to say about that. It's ridiculous.
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