My favorite players of the week were…

Offense

Derrick Henry Ravens running back

I still don’t understand why the Titans let Henry walk in the offseason.  Maybe they thought he was slowing down, although he rushed for 1,167 yards in 2023. Against the Steelers he had 26 carries for 186 yards & 2 touchdowns with one of them for 44 yards.

Ladd McConkey Chargers receiver

McConkey had 9 catches for 197, with an 86-yard touchdown scoring the only touchdown for the Chargers.

Jayden Daniels Commanders quarterback

The announcers beat this into the ground during the game, but they were correct that Daniels didn’t play like a rookie in his first playoff game.  He completed 24 of 35 passes for 268 yards & 2 touchdowns with no interceptions.  His mobility helped limit the Buccaneers to 1 sack.  The team couldn’t get much going on the ground & Daniels led them with 36 yards.  He had a key scramble on 3^rd & 2 in the 4^th quarter.  He was hit behind the line but managed 4 yards.  That allowed them to take a knee & run the clock down before Zane Gonzalez clanked in the game winning kick off the right upright & the crossbar.

Josh Allen Bills quarterback

Allen completed 20 of 26 attempts for 272 yards passing and two touchdowns with no interceptions.  He completed passes to 8 different players as the Bills blew out the Broncos.

Defense

Houston Texans defense

This might be a bit of a cop out, but I thought it was worth mentioning the amazing job the Texans did against a team that had scored at least 34 points in their last 3 games.  Justin Herbert had more interceptions in this game (4) than he had during the entire regular season (3).  He was constantly harassed with 4 sacks & 9 more hits when he dropped back. They also held the Chargers to 50 yards on 18 carries, a 2.8 yards per carry average.  Aside from an 86-yard catch & run by McConkey, the defense kept the Chargers’ offense bottled up all day.

 Derek Stingley Jr Texans Cornerback

I did want to single out one Texan on defense.  Stingley was targeted 10 times on defense by Justin Herbert.  He managed 2 interceptions & a pass breakup.  He had 70 return yards.  He added 4 tackles.

Nolan Smith Eagles linebacker

Smith recorded 2 sacks on Jordan Love among his 8 tackles.  The Packers stifled the Packers, who didn’t seem to play with intensity at all.

Rams defense

I was going to just give this to Jared Verse, but it was really a team effort.  Even on Verse’s 57-yard fumble return for a touchdown, it was Akhello Witherspoon who sacked Sam Darnold & caused the fumble.  Six Rams defenders were credited for at least a partial sack on the way to 9 sacks of Darnold.  I don’t know if Darnold was seeing ghosts again, but I’m pretty sure this game will haunt him.  He threw for 245 yard & a touchdown, but also threw an interception & repeatedly tried to move back instead of forward in the pocket, so he racked up 82 yards in losses.  This was a game that likely cost him money that he would have made next season in free agency.

Special teams

Denico Autry defensive end & D’Angelo Ross cornerback Texans

I had to make this a two for one.  After McConkey scored it looked like the Chargers might still have a chance.  Instead, Autry blocked the extra point & Ross recovered it & ran it back for a 2-point conversion.  So instead of getting 7 points closer with the score, they only got 4 points better.  The Chargers didn’t score again.

Tommy Townsend Texans punter

4 kicks with 1 downed inside the 20 for a 45.8-yard average.  His longest punt was 67-yards.  He consistently helped with field position when the Texans offense was sputtering to start the game.

My favorite wine of the week is…

Rudi Pichler Ried Kirchweg Smaragd Riesling 2023 Wachau Austria $90

100% Riesling 13.5% ABV

Austria might not be as well known for Riesling as Germany, but they produce some amazing examples.  They tend to be dry & fuller bodied than dry German Riesling.  This is an excellent example.

Most of Austria uses a similar system to Germany to classify their wines, using terms like Spätlese & Auslese based on must weights.  Wachau uses 3 classifications that are somewhat similar based on alcohol potential. Steinfeder is the lightest & is at or below 11.5%.  Federspiel is used for wines between 11.5–12.5%.  Smaragd wines are over 12.5%.  Smaragd wines are required to be aged in bottle until at least May 1^st on the year after harvest, although many hold them longer.  They are wines that tend to improve with age & can last up to 20 years as they develop additional flavor & texture.  They are generally considered the highest quality wines of Austria.  That’s impressive because the Wachau region only accounts or 3% of Austrian wine. For those that care about such things, the name is based on the green lizard (Lacerta bilineata) called the Smaragdeidechse in German (meaning emerald lizard).  These lizards lay around on stone terraces in the area soaking up the sun as the Smaragd grapes also soak up the sun to make ripe & flavorful wines.

Picking the grapes is the tough part of making this wine.  The grapes are generally handpicked in a series of “tries” where the crew goes out & picks only the bunches that are truly ripe, ferments them in small batches, & then over a week or so repeats the process so that they can ensure that every grape is at peak ripeness.  The wine making process is very simple.  The grapes are crushed by foot rather than a press.  The skins stay with the juice for 12 hours, which gives the wine more structure & some phenolic notes.  The wine is fermented in stainless steel tanks, malolactic fermentation is blocked, & no oak is added.  The wine is anything but simple though.

This wine has excellent structure with broad shoulders from ripe fruit & phenolic grip that is balanced by high tangy acidity.  All good Riesling has high acidity, but there is something almost tangy & zesty about Austrian Riesling.

It is complex with peach, apricot, mineral (wet stone), petrol, & citrus notes.  The peach becomes more concentrated as it sits.  It has a long peach & mineral finish.  In Austria there is a peach known as “vineyard peach” which, as the name suggests, grows in the vineyards there. Its distinctive taste is somewhere between a peach and apricot.  This wine seems to echo that flavor.

The wine really blossomed in the glass.  At first, I really just tasted the petrol & mineral notes.  The longer it was in the glass, the better it was, with the fruit notes deepening from a hint of peach to ripe up front peach as it sat.  This is a great sign that this wine will improve with age.  I think it should be enjoyable for the next 15+ years.  I don’t usually suggest decanting a white wine, but if you have time, it is worth it in this case.