What a weekend of playoff football we had to enjoy this past weekend! Not only did we have two huge upsets but both games on Sunday came down to the final few seconds. About six weeks ago I predicted a Green Bay vs New England Superbowl and that is now close to the reality. Green Bay looked like the best team in the NFC on Saturday as they trounced the Seahawks 42-20 in snowy Wisconsin. The Seahawks could not stop Ryan Grant or Brett Favre and if it wasn't for the two turnovers early in the first quarter by Grant this game would have been a larger blowout.
Jacksonville gave New England all it could handle for 3 quarters on Saturday but in the end the Patriots took control and kept their undefeated season alive. It was fitting the Tom Brady completed 26 of 28 passes and broke yet another record in this game for completion percentage. If Brady plays that well how can New England lose?
In, what I consider, the biggest upset of the playoffs, the Chargers beat the Colts in Indianapolis. Not only did they beat the Colts but they did it with their star players on the bench for most of the second half, Rivers and Tomlinson. How can the reigning World Champs lose to second string chumps? It just goes to show you how far heart can take you. The Chargers wanted to win more than the Colts and it showed in the final score.
The Giants surprised everyone but upsetting the Cowboys 21-17 and left TO crying in his press conference. Neither team played very well and the Giants won this game with better special teams. They worked a short field for most of the game whereas the Cowboys had to drive the length of the field in most cases. You cannot but this loss on the backs of their defense though because when it mattered they forced the Giants to two, three and outs. Romo just couldn't find any open receivers down the stretch and the Cowboys extended their streak of not winning a playoff game to at least 12 years.
So the conference finals are set. The San Diego Chargers have to travel to New England to face the Patriots in the early game and the New York Giants travel to Green Bay to face the Packers. Both games will be played outdoors in cold winter weather, could we ask for a better situation? There is nothing like watching a playoff football game that is being contested outdoors in the cold. I will be wishing for snow in both locations. No matter what the weather is like I feel pretty confident in my earlier prediction for the Super Bowl.
