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**REGULAR SEASON** **MFLA 2001 PLAYOFFS** AFC Wild Card Game NFC Wild Card Game AFC Conference Playoffs NFC Conference Playoffs AFC Conference Championship NFC Conference Championship MFLA SUPER BOWL III
MFLA Week Sixteen Offensive MFLA Week Sixteen Defensive 7 Sacks 3rd Annual L.A. Tourney Of Champions
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MFLA Week Sixteen Denver 38, Oakland 27
HB Davis runs for 171 yards to put Broncos on the verge of second straight AFC North title Jaguars, Packers, Patriots, and Ravens improve records; Detroit AT Jacksonville postponed |
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April 11, 2001 - Los Angeles It may just be one of the tightest intra-Division races in MFLA history: Fred "King Mur" Castillo's MFLA Denver Broncos may be on the verge of claiming their second consecutive AFC North Division title, but Jeremy "Jerm Dog" Gardner's MFLA Jacksonville Jaguars are knockin' on the door. MFLA Week Sixteen had at least two or three games that had major playoff implications: the Broncos 38-27 win over Oscar Torres' MFLA Oakland Raiders gave King Mur a big edge towards becoming the #2 Seed in the AFC; the Jaguars come-from-behind 42-27 victory over Craig DeGraff's MFLA New York Jets kept them in the race for the AFC North Division crown, and the #2 Seed as well; and Jason Lewis' Defending Super Bowl Champion MFLA Green Bay Packers could secure the #1 Seed in the NFC if they defeat Min "SlayerMin" Robertson's MFLA St. Louis Rams in Week Seventeen, after knocking off DeMarrio "DMAN" Gray's MFLA Minnesota Vikings 43-25. Another Week Sixteen contest that has yet to be played that also has playoff implications is the match-up between the NFC North's MFLA Detroit Lions, coached by Paul "Sweetness" Neve, and Brian Smith's MFLA Tampa Bay Buccaneers. If the Bucs win their last two games against the Lions and Ravens, and the Ravens then lose to the Jets in Week Eighteen, the Bucs would claim the #4 Seed in the NFC, knocking the Ravens down to the #5 Seed. There was one other Week Sixteen game played, and Kevin "K-Ham" Ham's MFLA New England Patriots crushed Eric "Skew" Askew's MFLA Tennessee Titans 44-14. Tim "Bigg Badd Bevv" Beverly's MFLA Baltimore Ravens earned an automatic 2-0 victory over Tom Bout's MFLA Washington Redskins, due to Bout's resignation after Week Nine. Well, it comes as no surprise that the Broncos crucial win over the Raiders is the Week Sixteen "Game Of The Week." The last time these two teams met in Week Seven, King Mur's Broncos jumped out to a 28-0 lead early in the 3rd Quarter, only to see Torres' Raiders battle back to win the game 31-28. This time ... King Mur was ready. And so was WR Joey Galloway and HB Terrell Davis. Broncos backup QB Trent Green got his offense jumpstarted on his first drive, going 80 yards in nine plays, with eight of those nine plays primarily runs by heavy-duty back Terrell Davis. Davis has been kind of quiet this season, but he chose the right game to make a statement. Although he didn't score in the contest, he rushed 37 times for a league single-game rushing record of 171 yards. "No disrespect to the Raiders defense, but Davis had his way with them" said King Mur, who will rap up the AFC North Division crown with either a Jacksonville loss or a win over the Packers in Week Eighteen. WR Eric Moulds caught the only pass of the drive, and that was for a 5-yard touchdown. After a Jason Elam |
extra point kick, the Broncos led 7-0. Later in the quarter, Raiders QB Rich Gannon led his troops on a seven play, 65-yard drive downfield, but they got stalled around the Broncos 30-yard line. Seconds later, dependable Kicker Sebastian Janikowski booted a 48-yard field goal to cut Denver's lead to 7-3 after one. You can sum up the 2nd Quarter in two words: JOEY GALLOWAY. Galloway had been quiet himself in the second half of the season, but like Davis, he came alive when he was most needed. Ultimately, it was the running of Davis and the key catches of Galloway that did Oakland in. Galloway's first touchdwon came at the end of a four play, 71-yard drive. A 22-yard strike to Galloway put Denver ahead 14-3. Oakland answered with another Janikowski field goal, this one a 28-yarder to make the score 14-6 in favor of the Broncos. But Galloway wasn't finished. His second catch of the game was a 26-yard reception that put Denver up 21-6. It was rumored that those in Mile High stadium were chanting "M-V-P! M-V-P! M-V-P!" But of course, that's not confirmed. In the 3rd Quarter, Galloway put some frosting on the cake. After a three play, 65-yard drive by the Broncos early in the quarter, a wide open Galloway caught a 36-yard touchdown reception to make it 28-6 in favor of Denver. But the thing was, wasn't Denver leading 28-0 early in the 3rd the last time against the Raiders? Exactly. Sure enough, Oakland suddenly came alive. After a five play, 44-yard drive by the Raiders, TE Rickey Dudley caught a 4-yard pass in the endzone. Torres called for a two-point conversion, but the attempt failed. Denver now led 28-12. After an Oakland defensive stop, Janikowski was able to kick his third field goal of the game on the next possession, this one a 33-yarder. At the end of three, it was Denver 28-15. King Mur was in no mood to become complacent, and allow another Oakland comeback. On their first drive of the 4th Quarter, they extended their lead when seldom used WR Andre Reed caught his first pass of the season, which happened to be a 13-yard touchdown reception. Elam's extra point made it 35-15. After a crucial defensive stop by the Broncos, the Denver offense drove down again. They weren't able to score another touchdown, but Elam did boot a 27-yard field goal to pretty much put the game out of reach at 38-15. Gannon found WR Jerry Rice on two touchdown connections late in the quarter, but it was a case of too little, too late. For Denver, it was a case of "two many," two much. When King Mur raps up his second AFC North title, he'll have to hand game balls to Davis and Galloway. Next up for the Raiders, they play host to Craig DeGraff's MFLA Jets. Denver has an Open Date / "BYE" during Week Seventeen.
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In Other MFLA Action. . . Jacksonville 42, NY Jets 27
The MFLA Jacksonville Jaguars kept their hopes alive for an AFC North Division title by coming back from a 20-0 deficit to defeat the MFLA New York Jets. QB Mark Brunell threw for 425 yards and five touchdowns, and HB Fred Taylor rushed for one touchdown. WR Jimmy Smith had 154 yards receiving and two touchdowns, and TE Kyle Brady had 130 yards and two touchdowns. LB Lonnie Marts led the defense with 7 sacks, while LB Kevin Hardy had five sacks. FS Carnell Lake had three interceptions. Jets QB Vinny Testaverde threw for 319 yards and two touchdowns, but was intercepted five times and sacked eleven times before being replaced by backup QB Ray Lucas. WR Raghib "Rocket" Ismail had 151 yards receiving and one touchdown. CB Shawn Springs had three interceptions to lead the Jets defense.
Green Bay 43, Minnesota 25
The MFLA Green Bay Packers moved one step closer to securing the #1 Seed in the NFC with a win over the MFLA Minnesota Vikings. QB Brett Favre threw for 267 yards and five touchdowns, and HB Dorsey Levens had 66 yards rushing. WR Muhsin Muhammad had 113 yards receiving and two touchdowns, and WR Tony Martin had 74 yards receiving and two touchdowns. DE James Thierry had three sacks (including a safety), and CB James Hasty had two interceptions. Vikings WR Cris Carter had 193 yards receiving and three touchdowns in a losing effort.
New England 44, Tennessee 14
Patriots HB Corey Dillon tied an MFLA single game record for rushing touchdowns with five, to lead the MFLA New England Patriots to a victory over their Division rival, the MFLA Tennessee Titans. QB Drew Bledsoe threw for 349 yards and one touchdown, and WR Tony Carter had 44 yards receiving and one touchdown. DE Willie McGinest had five sacks to lead the defense, while CB Lance Schulters had two interceptions. Titans QB Steve McNair threw for 336 yards and two touchdowns in a losing effort. WR Kevin Dyson had 195 yards receiving and one touchdown. SS Marcus Robertson had two interceptions for the Titans.
Detroit AT Tampa Bay
Baltimore 2, Washington 0
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