“Try to hide your disbelief this morning when someone asks: ‘Did anything cool happen in sports this weekend?'” – @espn via Twitter
To say this weekend brought a plethora of excitement to sports fans nationwide is a huge understatement.
From the pros down to the college ranks, there were spectacular plays and finishes all over the place.
The first exciting game came on Turkey Day (a.k.a. Thanksgiving). And it had a great importance in Pittsburgh.
The Steelers took on the Ravens in a battle for the last wild-card spot as of now. One botched Shaun Suisham field goal attempt and a couple of controversies later, the Ravens escaped the blood fest with a 22-20 victory.
Coach Mike Tomlin was the first cause of debate over the course of the rest of the game and beyond. After Ben Roethlisberger hit Emmanuel Sanders in the end zone for a touchdown, Suisham kicked the ball off to Jacoby Jones, trailing 13-7.
The seas parted for him, as he blew past the kicking team down the sideline. He was being chased by Cortez Allen, but it didn’t appear that he would catch him. Just then, Coach Tomlin appeared oddly close to the field of play, quickly stepping backwards.
But the deed was done. Jones was forced to change direction, and he was brought down by Allen at the Pittsburgh 27-yard line. This cost the Ravens four points in the end, settling for only a field goal on that drive.
Fast-forwarding to late in the fourth quarter with the Steelers trailing 22-14, Big Ben connected with Heath Miller, who appeared to cross the goal line. However, after review, he came up just short of the end zone.
Le’Veon Bell then took the hand off with a full head of steam, hell-bent on scoring. Jimmy Smith was not having any of that. They collided head-on, causing both players to fall motionless to the ground.
Bell landed in the end zone, but, by rule, his helmet coming off blew the play dead right before he crossed the plain. So, on fourth down, Big Ben faked the hand off and found Jericho Cotchery wide open for the touchdown.
Now trailing by two, the Steelers lined up for the two-point conversion. Roethlisberger dropped back and threw a back-shoulder fade to Emmanuel Sanders. The perfectly thrown ball went in and out of Sanders’ hands, thus putting an end to the comeback.
The Steelers fell to the Ravens, 22-20.
Then came the game that everyone was and will be talking about for a long time. Well, maybe just the ending. This was a heavyweight match-up between two National Championship contenders, #1 Alabama at #4 Auburn.
Jumping to the fourth quarter, Auburn tied the game at 28 with under a minute left in the game on a touchdown pass. Alabama, however, quickly moved down the field within field goal range.
With one second left, they lined up for a 57-yard field goal attempt. The kick was, to no one’s surprise, short. The surprise came on the return.
Auburn return man Chris Davis took the ball nine yards deep in the end zone. Running left and cutting to the side line, he blew past every one from Alabama. He tip-toed along the side line before finally scoring the game-winning touchdown to dethrone the two-time defending National Champions.
Certainly, every week from now on will be a let down in comparison.
