NFL’s First Half in Review: The games of the (half) season

We’re looking back on the first half of the 2014 NFL season and picking our superlatives at the midway point, with Shutdown Corner writers Eric Edholm, Jay Busbee and Frank Schwab weighing in.

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Here are each of our picks for the best game of the first half:

Eric Edholm: Cowboys 30, Seahawks 23, Week 6
I had to think hard about this one. The Broncos-Seahawks overtime game was great for the final five minutes of regulation, but we’ll go with the Cowboys pulling off the semi-stunner in Seattle. There were big plays in all three phases of the game for both sides, and the excitement was tangible. It was the first real sign that there might be cracks in the champs’ armor.

Jay Busbee: Seahawks 26, Broncos 20 (OT), Week 3
Yes, Seattle is a shell of its Super Bowl-winning self, and Denver has flaws. This was still a hell of a game, everything you’d want in a matchup of greats.

Frank Schwab: Bengals 27, Ravens 24, Week 8
All anyone wanted to talk about from this game was one play, but really it was an entertaining game throughout, with first place in the AFC North on the line. The Bengals were in control until Haloti Ngata’s great strip of Andy Dalton, which was recovered by the Ravens and led to a touchdown, turned the game in Baltimore’s favor. Then Dalton had a great drive and scored on a gutsy fourth-and-goal quarterback sneak call with 57 seconds left. Then came Steve Smith’s pass interference call on what looked like his game-winning score, which was maybe the most talked-about play of the first half of the season. What a fun game.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab

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