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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 Seventeen Offensive MFLA Week Seventeen Defensive 3 Interceptions 3rd Annual L.A. Tourney Of Champions
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MFLA Week Seventeen New England 24, Minnesota 21
36-yard Vinatieri Field Goal saves the undefeated Patriots from being upset by Vikings Titans, Raiders, Packers, and Lions prepare for playoffs; Tampa Bay AT Baltimore postponed |
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April 14, 2001 - Los Angeles Now that Week Seventeen competition has been completed, there is only one more week remaining in The MFLA 2001 Regular Season. Eight out of the ten playoff seedings are now set, with only the #3 Seed and #4 Seed in the AFC still up for grabs. Right now, Jeremy "Jerm Dog" Gardner's MFLA Jacksonville Jaguars are in position to claim the #3 Seed, but they need to defeat DeMarrio "DMAN" Gray's MFLA Minnesota Vikings next weekend in order for it to be official. If by some chance the Jaguars lose to the Vikings, then the MFLA Oakland Raiders, coached by Oscar Torres, can move up from the #4 Seed to the #3 Seed. The Raiders bounced back from their loss to Fred "King Mur" Castillo's Broncos by defeating Craig DeGraff's MFLA New York Jets 37-10. Jerm Dog's Jaguars lost their chance to win the AFC North Division Championship when they lost to Eric "Skew" Askew's MFLA Tennessee Titans 17-11. Jason Lewis and his Defending Super Bowl Champion MFLA Green Bay Packers secured the #1 Seed in the NFC by cruising by Min "SlayerMin" Robertson's MFLA St. Louis Rams 44-8. The Rams will now compete as the #3 Seed in the NFC. Kevin "K-Ham" Ham's MFLA New England Patriots haven't really been tested too much this season, but got an unexpected surprise from DMan's Vikings. The Patriots won 24-21, when Kicker Adam Vinatieri kicked a 36-yard field goal with four seconds remaining to prevent the game from going into Overtime. It was the Patriots slimmest margin of victory this season. This Inter-Conference match-up is our Week Seventeen "Game Of The Week." Paul "Sweetness" Neve's MFLA Detroit Lions earned an automatic 2-0 victory over Tom Bout's MFLA Washington Redskins, due to Bout's resignation after Week Nine. The Tampa Bay AT Baltimore contest is scheduled to be played later on in the week. I don't think anyone would be surprised by who won this game, but I think many would be surprised by the margin of victory. K-Ham's Patriots have pretty much dominated every opponent they've played this season. Their closest contest coming into this game was a 28-23 win over Oscar Torres' MFLA Raiders in Week Two. On the exact opposite end of the spectrum, DMan's Vikings have struggled all season long. They've only won three games, and two of those wins were by forfeit (over Tom Bout's MFLA Washington Redskins; Bout Resigned unexpectedly at midseason). So most MFLA observers would quite naturally expect the Patriots, |
even in an "average" performance, to reasonably dominate the desperate Vikings. Not so. The Vikings got things started in the 1st Qtr when QB Brad Johnson connected with a wide open WR Cris Carter for a 12-yard pass. After a Gary Anderson extra point attempt was good, Minnesota led 7-0. New England answered though. HB Corey Dillon, who earlier in the season set a single game rushing record with 148 yards in a game, set even another one. In this contest, Dillon ran for 201 yards for the Patriots offense. In the opening quarter, his 56-yard run, along with Adam Vinatieri's PAT, tied the score at 7-7. There was very little scoring in the 2nd Quarter. Both defenses played exceptionally well. Patriots QB Drew Bledsoe had probably his least effective game to date. He completed only four of nine passes for 26 yards. His 26 passing yards set a new league record for least amount of passing yards for a team in a single game. RB Raymont Harris did have a 4-yard run that put the Patriots ahead 14-7 at the Halftime break The Vikings offense came alive in the 3rd Quarter, and made sure that the game remained close. WR Marvin Harrison, acquired in a trade earlier in the season, finally was able to get untracked. He caught a 14-yard pass from Johnson, and Anderson's PAT tied the score at 14-14. Later, Vikings TE Charles Walsh caught a 38-yard pass from Johnson to give the Vikings back the lead. Anderson's extra point attempt made it 21-14 after three. In the Fourth and final quarter, another 4-yard run by Harris tied the score at 21-21. Minnesota took over with about three minutes remaining, but couldn't do anything with the ball. New England took over, but was having it's own problems. After driving downfield, Dillon fumbled on 3rd down with approximately eight seconds remaining on the clock, but fortunately for him, the Patriots recovered the ball at around the 19-yard line of Minnesota. On the next play, Vinatieri kicked his game winner. The Patriots remain undefeated, with one more contest coming up next week with the MFLA Detroit Lions, coached by Paul "Sweetness" Neve. The Vikings close out the season against the MFLA Jacksonville Jaguars, who are coached by Jeremy "Jerm Dog" Gardner. This will be the first season that Gray will not have a team in the playoffs.
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In Other MFLA Action. . . Tennessee 17, Jacksonville 11
The MFLA Jacksonville Jaguars chances for an AFC North Division title got sideswiped by the MFLA Tennessee Titans, a team they had beat earlier in the season 46-14. QB Steve McNair threw for 303 yards and one touchdown to lead the offense. HB Eddie George had 113 yards receiving, and WR Carl Pickens had 53 yards receiving and one touchdown. LB Keith Bulluck had six sacks, and FS Marcus Robertson had three interceptions. QB Mark Brunell threw for 242 yards and one touchdown, but was intercepted nine times and sacked ten times. He had one interception that was returned 96 yards for a touchdown, which proved to be the game-winner. LB Lonnie Marts had seven sacks in a losing effort.
Oakland 37, NY Jets 10
Raiders QB Rich Gannon threw for 361 yards and three touchdowns to lead the MFLA Oakland Raiders to victory. Gannon also rushed for 24 yards and one touchdown. WR Tim Brown had 142 yards receiving and one touchdown, while WR Jerry Rice had 135 yards receiving and two touchdowns. LB Junior Seau had two sacks to lead the defense. Jets QB Vinny Testaverde threw for 285 yards and one touchdown, but was intercepted twice and sacked six times. HB Stephen Davis had 124 yards receiving and one touchdown. Shaun Ellis had three sacks for the Jets defense.
Green Bay 44, St. Louis 8
Packers QB Brett Favre threw for 387 yards and five touchdowns to help the MFLA Green Bay Packers secure the #1 Seed in the NFC playoffs. TE Bubba Franks had 45 yards receiving and two touchdowns. WR Muhsin Muhammad had 160 yards receiving and one touchdown. CB Antuan Edwards had three sacks, and SS LeRoy Butler had one interception. Rams QB Kurt Warner threw for 331 yards, but was intercepted seven times and sacked four times. HB Marshall Faulk had 27 yards rushing, 55 yards receiving, and one touchdown. LB Jesse Armstead had three sacks, and SS Billy Jenkins had two interceptions.
Tampa Bay AT Baltimore
Detroit 2, Washington 0
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