NFL Week 15 review: Jackson seals magnificent Eagles comeback

Big clashes, on-side kicks of varying success and two record-breaking kick returns all added up to another topsy-turvy weekend in the NFL.

By Sean Nolan

The slate of games for week 15 was packed with crucial divisional games, designed by the schedulers to make the final weeks of the season more important than ever. It worked a treat.

In the AFC South, Indianapolis hosted the Jags for the right to be top of the division and a great bet for the post-season. Indy’s stumbles had given hope to Jacksonville and with their excellent running game facing the misfiring offence of Peyton Manning, Jack Del Rio’s side felt it was finally the year to topple a side that had held them in check for the best part of a decade.

Sadly, perhaps inevitably, Indianapolis controlled matters to win 34-24. Manning had a good game with his arm, but it was the rushing of Donald Brown that was the most destructive force. The Colts ground game has been desperate this year, but Brown ran for 129 yards from 14 carries, and grabbed a TD.

Possibly the best running back in the NFL was on the other team, but Maurice Jones-Drew only had 46 yards from 15 attempts, snapping his streak of six-straight games with over 100 yards.

But with less than two minutes to go, there was just three points in it. However, a very poorly executed on-side kick by the Jags near the end bounced into the arms of Tyjuan Hagler who ran it in for the deciding score.

Dan Connolly: An unlikely hero

That game effectively finished with an on-side kick, but the Packers v Patriots started with one. Entering the fortress of Gillette Stadium, without starting QB Aaron Rodgers, most observers expected Green Bay to suffer at the hands of the on-fire Tom Brady.

But the Packers kick-off was successfully retrieved and it set the tone for 59 minutes of composed play by back-up QB Matt Flynn. The lead changed six times as the Packers kept the Patriots defence on the field, a brilliantly simple way to nullify the threat of Brady.

The play of the game came just before half time. With Green Bay leading 17-7, Mason Crosby re-started with a squib kick. It fell into the arms of 313 pound offensive lineman Dan Connolly. Moving like a glacier in a helmet, Connolly returned it for 71 yards, falling just two yards short of a TD.

It was the longest kick-off return by an offensive lineman in history, and it set up a Patriots TD to narrow the half-time margin. But trailing by just four points, Flynn had another possession to win the game. With time, and time-outs running out, his lack of game management experience cost the team as vital seconds were wasted in the final minute and the game ended 31-27 with a sack fumble on Flynn as he looked for an open receiver.

He will learn from this experience, and when he is given a bit of time, Flynn showed he can be a very accurate arm, but you can’t help thinking if Rodgers was taking snaps, Green Bay would have won this one.

Vick and Jackson inspire massive comeback

Dramatic and intriguing as those two games were, the game of the day was in New York as the Eagles faced the Giants in a critical NFC East clash. Thanks to Eli Manning, the Giants led 24-3 at the half, and then 31-10 with just eight minutes to go in the game. It should have been over but Philadelphia are a bit special this year.

Firstly, Brent Celek caught a 65 yard pass From Michael Vick to narrow the gap. Then another successful on-side kick put the ball in Vick’s hands again and after a couple of big passes, he ran in one himself. Manning couldn’t get the Giants into field-goal range and Vick got the ball back with less than three minutes to go.

Four first downs and two minutes later the teams were level as Vick found Jeremy Maclin. A three-and-out by the Giants led to a punt by Matt Dodge. Instructed to kick it out and take the game to OT, he miskicked it straight to one of the best punt returners in the game, DeSean Jackson (pictured above).

Jackson fumbled it before running back 65 yards for the winning score, the longest ever run-back on the final play of a game. As the Eagles celebrated wildly, NY coach Tom Coughlin lost it, and went to confront Dodge for his mistake and weak attempt at stopping Jackson as he ran past.

It was an unseemly end for the Giants, and it put them behind the Eagles and into a battle for a wild-card slot. It’s one they should win but a loss like that can take a lot out of a team.

"I've never been around anything like this in my life," Coughlin said. "It's about as empty as you get to feel in this business, right there." Vick called it the one of the greatest comebacks of his career. Considering he was in prison less than two years ago and is now the leading candidate for MVP, it puts the magnitude of the result into perspective.

Sean Nolan is away for the next two weeks. The US Sports column will return on Tuesday 11 January.

Week 15 scores

San Diego 34, San Francisco 7

Cincinnati 19, Cleveland 17

Dallas 33, Washington 30

Tennessee 31, Houston 17

Indianapolis 34, Jacksonville 24

Kansas City 27, St. Louis 13

Buffalo 17, Miami 14

Detroit 23, Tampa Bay 20 (OT)

Carolina 19, Arizona 12

Baltimore 30, New Orleans 24

Philadelphia 38, NY Giants 31

Atlanta 34, Seattle 18

NY Jets 22, Pittsburgh 17

Oakland 39, Denver 23

New England 31, Green Bay 27

Chicago 40 Minnesota 14