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.
Going into the final weekend of the NFL season I was extremely enthralled at the amount of chances to watch good football games all weekend. There were many games with playoff implications, but there was a game on Saturday night that had more than playoff implications. There were many things about Saturday night’s game that intrigued me. The New England Patriots were in pursuit of a perfect season and both the New York Giants and the Patriots were already locked into their playoff spot. While excited about this game, I was nervous that the old adage of resting players for the playoffs would play a part in this historical game. I was also nervous that I would not be able to watch the game because it was on a subscription channel.
At the end of Saturday night I could not have been happier. The NFL Network caved to public outrage and aired the game for everyone to see. Most importantly the Patriots and the Giants threw “caution” to the wind and played their starters the entire game. The end result could not have been better…..Randy Moss and Tom Brady set their personal records….the Patriots set every record in the book including the first ever 16 and 0 regular season…..and Eli Manning and the Giants played like their name suggests, Giants, to compete with history despite the fact they did not even have to show up. The game on Saturday night made me ponder some interesting points.
As Sunday rolled in I wondered what teams would be “Manning” enough to put a product on the field despite the fact they did not have to show up. Washington needed a win and Dallas did not have to play because they already had home field locked up. Dallas played their starters in the beginning but got beat early by a better team. New Orleans and Minnesota both lost not only their game but any chance at the playoffs. Due to their opponents and the fact they could not help their seeding in the playoffs, Jacksonville did not need to play and nor did Seattle or Tampa Bay.
We were left Sunday night with an awesome scenario for the “Flex” game. Tennessee wins and they’re in…they lose they’re out and Cleveland is then in. Standing in Tennessee’s way was the high powered and dangerous Indianapolis Colts.
Would Indianapolis “Manning Up” and play to win? Of course not. In typical Tony Dungy-Peyton Manning fashion, Indianapolis ole’d their way to a pathetic loss, sitting their starters at the said designated time.
Kudos to the Patriots and the Giants and the “lesser” Manning. They showed up and gave the fans what they wanted and needed…..Quality effort…..Quality entertainment…..and a product worth the money that is put into it. Shame on the Indianapolis Colts and the “greater” Manning for not giving the Cleveland Browns a chance to make the playoffs and not giving the average sportsdude a product to watch on Sunday night.
What I find to be the best part of the story is that the Pats went 16 and 0, people got to see it and they were put to the test by one Manning that was willing to “Manning up” and play.
With two weeks left in the NFL season there are multiple games with playoff implications Sunday and also games that mean nothing. I am going to give you my predictions on each game starting with Cleveland @ Cincinnatti.
Cincinatti has nothing to play for since they are elimanted from playoff contention. With that said this is still a divisonal game between two rivals and there are a bunch of players on the Bengals who will be free agents next year. Cleveland needs to win to keep pace with Pittsburgh in the division after Pittsburgh won on Thursday night. I see Cleveland dominating in this game with Jamal Lewis running wild all over the Bengals porous defense.
Cleveland 31 Cincinnatti 14
Green Bay and Brett Favre face off in another divisional battle this weekend against the Chicago Bears. Again we have another team playing for nothing but pride (Chicago) against a team who needs to win in order to have a chance at home field advantage throughout the playoffs in the NFC. With Kyle Orton leading the Chicago offense, I have trouble seeing Chicago putting up any points against a very improved Packer Defense. Favre will have his usual game and the Pack should win easily.
Green Bay 24 Chicago 3
Houston travels to Indianapolis to face Petyon Manning and company. Neither team have much to play for since Houston has been eliminated from playoff contention and the Colts cannot improve their seeding in the AFC. Tony Dungy insists he won't be resting any of his starters but if Indy gets out to a decent lead, which they should, I doubt you see Manning or Addai finish the game. Indy's talent will be too much for Houston to handle and the Colts should win but it will be closer than you might think.
Indianapolis 24 Houston 20
Kansas City will be in the Motor City of face the falling Lions. Before the season started John Kitna guaranteed the Lions would go 10-6 this year, unfortunately he forgot to show up and play for the last six weeks. This week shouldn't be much different. Even though Kansas City doesn't have anything to play for, I don't see Detroit stopping their losing streak until next season.
With three weeks left in the NFL season the playoff picture is starting to take focus. Other than maybe one spot up for grabs left in each conference for a wildcard spot, everything else looks pretty much set. More
