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Good morning! Here are the plays everybody will be talking about on Monday:
The Saints lost because the Broncos wear white shoes. With less than 90 seconds to go, the Saints scored what appeared to be a go-ahead touchdown against the Broncos. However, the extra point was blocked appearing to leave the game tied. But the Broncos scooped up the ball and ran it all the way back for a 2-point conversion return of their own to take a dramatic two-point lead. But wait. It sure looked like Will Parks inexplicably stepped out of bounds during the return. Several replays appear to show half of his right foot on the line. However, when officials looked at the replay they could not find definitive proof, in large part because his shoe and the sideline were both white. So the score was upheld (read more here).
Ezekiel Elliot blitzed the Steelers for a game-winning run in the closing seconds. The Cowboys and Steelers combined to score three touchdowns in the final two minutes, including two touchdown runs by Elliot and a perfectly executed fake spike by Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown. But that score left too much time on the clock as the Cowboys came back down and got the win on Elliot's 32-yard touchdown run right up the middle with just nine seconds to play (read more here).
Jameis Winston scrambled for his life before hitting a long bomb. The Buccaneers blew out the Bears 36-10. But early in the third quarter, when the game was still in doubt, Winston had a scramble for the ages. On a play that began at the 23-yard line, Winston scrmabled all the way back to his own end zone, avoided several tackles, and eventually found Mike Evans streaking down the middle of the field for a 39-yard pass. The Bucs would score a touchdown on the next play and never look back (read more here).
The Gronk no-call bonus. The Seahawks and Patriots had another memorable finish. With the Patriots down seven, they worked the ball down to the one-yard line in the final minute. After Tom Brady fumbled the snap attempting a quarterback sneak on third down, they were down to their final play on fourth down. Brady tried to hit Rob Gronkowski in the corner, but despite a lot of contact and both Gronk and Kam Chancellor falling to the ground, no flag was thrown and it was game over. Did Chancellor hold? Maybe. But it also looks like Gronk initiates the contact to begin with. Announcer Chris Collinsworth thought it was a good no-call.