Making it to the Super Bowl was no easy task for the Redskins, as they struggled through close games against the Chicago Bears in the Divisional Round, and the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship Game.  However, they would have a much easier time in the title game, as they set Super Bowl records for total offensive yards (602), total offensive rushing yards (280), most touchdowns in a game (6), most points in a quarter and half (35), and most touchdowns in a quarter (5).

The Redskins did most of their damage against the Broncos during the second quarter, as they erased a 10-0 deficit by recording five unanswered touchdowns, giving them the 35-10 halftime lead.  They would add one more touchdown in the fourth quarter with the outcome all but decided.

Redskins quarterback Doug Williams finished the game with 340 passing yards and four touchdowns, as he became the first (and remains the only) African-American quarterback to win Super Bowl MVP honors.

Here is a look at the highlights from Super Bowl XXII.

Notable Birthdays

Mario Williams, NFL – Born on January 31, 1985 (age 27) in Richlands, North Carolina

Vernon Davis, NFL -Born on January 31, 1984 (age 28) in Washington, D.C.

Yuniesky Betancourt, MLB – Born on January 31, 1982 (age 30) in Santa Clara, Cuba.

Tom Brady

With the Pats leading by a touchdown late in the fourth quarter, Brady drove his offense all the way down to the Redskins’ four-yard line.  At that point, a touchdown or field-goal would have put New England up by two scores and all but solidified the road victory for them.  Instead, Brady did the worst thing he possible could have done in that situation; throw an interception.

After returning to the bench following his error, Brady had some words for wide receiver Tiquan Underwood, who was the intended receiver on the play.  Those words seemed to make an already angry O’Brien even more upset with his quarterback, leading to a heated argument between the two of them.

Luckily for Brady, Underwood, O’Brien and the rest of the Pats players, their defense was able to make one final stand, intercepting a Rex Grossman pass in the red zone during the final seconds to secure the victory.  And when it was all said and done, Brady and O’Brien were able to put aside their differences, hug it out, and enjoy the win.

Here is a look at the sideline altercation between Brady and O’Brien.

After scrambling out of the pocket and making his way down to the Redskins’ 40-yard line, Vick was pushed out of bounds and ran right into a teed-up football on the Washington sideline, which he proceeded to kick in the direction of several of the Redskins’ lovely cheerleaders.  That drew the ire of Redskins fans and other personnel along the sidelines.

At least Michael Vick was kind enough to apologize following the incident, which is more than we can say about the Giants’ Michael Boley.

Hat Tip – [Shutdown Corner]

Should Romo play on Monday, those are the materials that he will be using to protect his broken ribs and punctured lung, which he suffered during last week’s game against the San Francisco 49ers.

The people at Impact Gel demonstrated the effectiveness of the flack jacket that Romo is expected to wear during the important division match-up, and if the following trial run is any indication, the quarterback will not only be protected against any hit to the ribs he takes from Hall during the game, but he will also be safe from any disgruntled, bat-wielding Cowboys fans.

On a first-and-goal play from the Jags’ one-yard line, the Redskins went with play-action, leaving Rex Grossman with a wide open Cooley in the back of the end zone.  Grossman delivered a perfect ball to Cooley, but the 7-year veteran couldn’t hold onto it.  One the very next play, Grossman went to his back-up tight end, Fred Davis, who had no problems hanging on to what may have been the greasiest ball Cooley has ever played with.

The drop in the end zone was just one of many dropped balls for Cooley on the day, but it will undoubtedly be the one that you will see on bloopers packages for weeks to come.

Vick was absolutely dominant, registering a near-perfect quarterback rating of 150.7.  He threw the ball 28 times and completed 20 of those passes for 333 yards.  He also tossed 4 touchdowns and had no interceptions.  If you have seen Vick play at all in the last 8 years or so, you know that his passing numbers are not where the story ends.  He also rushed 8 times for 80 yards and scored twice on the ground.  That’s 6 total touchdowns for Vick.  He became the first player in NFL history with at least 300 yards passing, 50 yards rushing, four passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns in a game.  The man has been spotless this season as he has yet to throw an interception or fumble even once.

The Eagles are a legitimate team in the NFC and with the Giants losing on Sunday, they move into a tie for first place in the division.  Vick looks like a new man this season as well.  No one ever questioned his athleticism or arm strength, but this season he seems to have found the accuracy he had been lacking all those years.  He earns the “Stat Line of the Night” for his performance in yesterday’s game.

I know there has always been a strong belief among some that cheerleaders are bimbos.  Those who know anything about these women know that is far from the truth, but this image certainly doesn’t help disprove such claims.

So that leaves me with just two questions:

1.  How did this spelling mistake manage to slip past everyone on the assembly line?

2.  After spotting the mistake, why would these cheerleaders even bother wearing the jackets?

(Note: The pink underlines were not part of the jacket.  There are there to point out the embarrassing spelling error, for those who didn’t notice it.)

Hall’s 4 interceptions tied 18 others for the record, and he is the first to accomplish the feat since Deltha O’Neill did so in 2001.  The biggest interception of all, though none of them could be considered insignificant, was the one he made late in the 3rd quarter which all but sealed the victory and put the ‘Skins ahead for good.  Hall took that pick back for 92 yards and a touchdown.  What was most amazing about it was that it seemed like a nearly impossible one-handed grab.  He was also very active beyond those interceptions, racking up 7 tackles as well.

Hall came into the league as one of the most hyped “shutdown” corners to be drafted in many years.  He has lived up to that label to varying degrees over the last few years, but yesterday his exceptional performance will definitely be classified as “shutdown”.  It also earned him “The Stat Line of the Night”.

So it was interesting to see Shanahan’s own tactic come back to bite him in the ass during the Redskins’ game against the Texans on Sunday.

With the game tied 27-27 in overtime, the Redskins drove the ball to the Houston 35-yard line, and faced with a decision on 4th & 7, coach Mike Shanahan decided to send out kicker Graham Gano for a 52-yard field goal attempt.  Gano’s first attempt was good, soaring right between the pipes, but the celebration was short-lived as the referee’s whistle blew the play dead after Texans’ coach Gary Kubiak had called a timeout from the sidelines.  Gano’s next attempt would sail wide right and the Texans would take their next drive down to the Redskins’ 17-yard line and win the game on a Neil Rackers 35-yard field goal.

It was an amazing come-from-behind win for the Texans, which is bound to have people asking, “did Mike Shanahan just get Shanahaned?”  Take a look and judge for yourself.

One week after Aryeh Foster set the franchise record for rushing yards in a game, Schaub set another offensive record, completing 38 of 52 passes for 497 yards.  Although he did get sacked 5 times, he was able to throw 3 touchdowns and just one interception.  Andre Johnson and Kevin Walter each had well over 100 yards receiving to help Schaub reach 497 yards.  With just 2 minutes remaining in the game, Schaub connected with Andre Johnson for a 34 yard touchdown pass to tie it up.  In overtime, he was able to move the Texans in position to score the game-winning field goal.

The Texans have beaten two good teams in the Colt and the Redskins.  Every year they are a sexy pick to win, but this year it looks like the offense is really clicking on all cylinders.  Grab any Texan you can off waivers in your fantasy leagues if they are still available.  Today, however, Schaub is the man and takes the “Stat Line of the Night”.