Once again, another weekend of playoff football has come and passed, and once again there were highlights and lowlights. The AFC featured two exciting matchups, and more than enough pre-game hype in one of the games, for the whole year. On the other hand, although there was an upset in the NFC neither game was ever close, so let's start there.
Yesterday afternoon, the Falcons matched up with the Packers, in a game that was expected to stay close. However, what unfolded on the field was far from expected. The six seed Packers, and their highly touted offense and defense, were large underdogs, as the one seed Falcons, playing at home, hoped to receive an easy entrance to the Conference Championships. Yet a strong outing by Aaron Rodgers and the Packers defense, resulted in a 48-21 rout of the 13-3 Falcons, in Atlanta. So, one game into the games this weekend an upset had already been recorded, but would the Seahawks be able to continue their 'cinderella story' and win again this morning?
No, no they would not. Jay Cutler finally came to play today, and it showed less than three minutes in. Just before the 12 minute mark in the first quarter, Cutler threw a bomb to tight end Greg Olsen for a 58-yard touchdown. The Bears would proceed to dominate the first half, with two touchdown runs by Chester Taylor and Cutler, to bring the score to an impressive 21-0 at the half. Clearly, at this point, the Seahawks did not look the same as last week, when they beat defending-champion New Orleans.
And although the second half would show promise for Seattle, it was just a case of too little too late. As well, once again, the fourth quarter was crucial in this game, as there were a total of 28 points scored in a short 15 minutes. The score entering the quarter was 28-3, but the Seahawks would quickly show flashes of talent that seemed to be absent for the previous 45 minutes. They held Cutler to only one touchdown pass, and Matt Hasselbeck threw for three of his own (two to Mike Williams), including two over the course of three minutes, as the Seahawks fought to keep playoff hopes alive. Yet their attempts were futile, as the Bears pulled away with the win. I would like to note now, so I can be given credit when it happens, that the Bears are my pick to win the Super Bowl this year. But for now let's switch to the AFC.
As was expected, the Divisional Round in the AFC only mattered on the East Coast, as the depressing efforts of the Chiefs and Colts to represent from beyond the Appalachias resulted in two divisional matchups this weekend. However, maybe it was all for the better, as both games were exciting to say the least. Yet, to avoid mere summary of today's AFC East matchup, I will skim yesterday's game.
But let me first say that yesterday's game was anything but boring. Though the highly praised defenses of the Steelers and Ravens may have been the headline of the matchup throughout the week, neither defense was able to contain the opposing offense too successfully. That's not to say, however, that the greatness of Ray Lewis or Troy Polamalu was not evident. Anyway, once again, by the end of the third quarter, the action was far from over, although the score was tied at 21. In the fourth, the defense took over. Both teams were held to their only field goals of the game early in the quarter, yet the last two possessions of the game were truly the key to the whole matchup. With a little under four minutes left in the game, Ben Roethlisberger marched his Steeler offense down the field and scored with a minute and a half left in the game. After kicking off to the Ravens, Joe Flacco through four consecutive incomplete passes to give the Steelers the ball back with little enough time to kneel three times to close out the game. So for the third time in recent years, the Steelers re-enter the championship game in the AFC after beating division rival Baltimore 31-24.
The AFC game today can also be summarized quickly, so let's do that, and then talk about the week leading up to the matchup. After losing 45-3 to the Patriots this season, the Jets entered this game with a vengance. Tom Brady, who dominated in the former matchup, failed to surpass 300 yards today, as Mark Sanchez' Jets made plays when they needed to, to win 28-21. The Jets lead a well balanced attack, scoring two rushing touchdowns, and passing for two. And don't be fooled by the close score, as the Jets defense basically forfitted the last touchdown to the Patriots. Otherwise, it would have ended 28-14, the same score the Jets won by in their week six win over the Patriots. But, as I mentioned earlier, the game was really played in the week leading up to the game, as more shit-talking happened this last week than in any other in recent memory.
It all started with Jets coach Rex Ryan, who called out Patriots coach Bill Belichick, saying that the game today would truly be played between the two of them. Belichick uncharacteristically responded (for those of you who know his antics, he rarely smiles or is humorous), by saying that he doesn't plan on making any tackles or catches, and if Ryan wants to participate, by all means let him. The talk then turned over to the players, most notably of the Jets (including Antonio Cromartie and Darrelle Revis), who promised victory, and called out the Patriots for only wanting to say anything on the field. The lone Patriot response came from WR Wes Welker, who offended Rex Ryan with comments about feet (I don't know the relation) during a press conference. Yet, as Ryan did not punish his players at all for their comments, Belichick responded by sitting Welker out of the first series of the game, which may or may not have made a difference. Either way, it was clear today, that the loud-mouthed Jets finally got underneath the skin of the quieter Patriots this past week, which I believe was exactly what Rex Ryan wanted. Hopefully, Ryan will find some way to offend Steelers coach Mike Tomlin this week, in preparation for the Championship game. Either way, the game should have its headlines in the coming week.
Yesterday afternoon, the Falcons matched up with the Packers, in a game that was expected to stay close. However, what unfolded on the field was far from expected. The six seed Packers, and their highly touted offense and defense, were large underdogs, as the one seed Falcons, playing at home, hoped to receive an easy entrance to the Conference Championships. Yet a strong outing by Aaron Rodgers and the Packers defense, resulted in a 48-21 rout of the 13-3 Falcons, in Atlanta. So, one game into the games this weekend an upset had already been recorded, but would the Seahawks be able to continue their 'cinderella story' and win again this morning?
And although the second half would show promise for Seattle, it was just a case of too little too late. As well, once again, the fourth quarter was crucial in this game, as there were a total of 28 points scored in a short 15 minutes. The score entering the quarter was 28-3, but the Seahawks would quickly show flashes of talent that seemed to be absent for the previous 45 minutes. They held Cutler to only one touchdown pass, and Matt Hasselbeck threw for three of his own (two to Mike Williams), including two over the course of three minutes, as the Seahawks fought to keep playoff hopes alive. Yet their attempts were futile, as the Bears pulled away with the win. I would like to note now, so I can be given credit when it happens, that the Bears are my pick to win the Super Bowl this year. But for now let's switch to the AFC.
As was expected, the Divisional Round in the AFC only mattered on the East Coast, as the depressing efforts of the Chiefs and Colts to represent from beyond the Appalachias resulted in two divisional matchups this weekend. However, maybe it was all for the better, as both games were exciting to say the least. Yet, to avoid mere summary of today's AFC East matchup, I will skim yesterday's game.
But let me first say that yesterday's game was anything but boring. Though the highly praised defenses of the Steelers and Ravens may have been the headline of the matchup throughout the week, neither defense was able to contain the opposing offense too successfully. That's not to say, however, that the greatness of Ray Lewis or Troy Polamalu was not evident. Anyway, once again, by the end of the third quarter, the action was far from over, although the score was tied at 21. In the fourth, the defense took over. Both teams were held to their only field goals of the game early in the quarter, yet the last two possessions of the game were truly the key to the whole matchup. With a little under four minutes left in the game, Ben Roethlisberger marched his Steeler offense down the field and scored with a minute and a half left in the game. After kicking off to the Ravens, Joe Flacco through four consecutive incomplete passes to give the Steelers the ball back with little enough time to kneel three times to close out the game. So for the third time in recent years, the Steelers re-enter the championship game in the AFC after beating division rival Baltimore 31-24.
It all started with Jets coach Rex Ryan, who called out Patriots coach Bill Belichick, saying that the game today would truly be played between the two of them. Belichick uncharacteristically responded (for those of you who know his antics, he rarely smiles or is humorous), by saying that he doesn't plan on making any tackles or catches, and if Ryan wants to participate, by all means let him. The talk then turned over to the players, most notably of the Jets (including Antonio Cromartie and Darrelle Revis), who promised victory, and called out the Patriots for only wanting to say anything on the field. The lone Patriot response came from WR Wes Welker, who offended Rex Ryan with comments about feet (I don't know the relation) during a press conference. Yet, as Ryan did not punish his players at all for their comments, Belichick responded by sitting Welker out of the first series of the game, which may or may not have made a difference. Either way, it was clear today, that the loud-mouthed Jets finally got underneath the skin of the quieter Patriots this past week, which I believe was exactly what Rex Ryan wanted. Hopefully, Ryan will find some way to offend Steelers coach Mike Tomlin this week, in preparation for the Championship game. Either way, the game should have its headlines in the coming week.
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