Divisional Round Game Notes

Jets over Patriots

Adam: -The Patriots were the best team in the regular season, but that was because Tom Brady played at a surreal level all year.  On Sunday he played just pretty good, and it wasn't enough.  He had ages to throw in that pocket, but nobody was open.  Credit amazing Jets coverage.

-If I had told you the Patriots would win the time of possession battle by a substantial margin and would lose by a touchdown, would you have believed me?  That's exactly what happened, in part because Mark Sanchez was incredibly efficient.  He tossed three scores with no picks and had a passer rating of 127.

-I thought when David Harris returned his interception to the Patriots' 20 yard line and the Jets got nothing that it would be the Pats' day, but the resilient Jets fought the whole game and were the better team on this day.

-We are set for an incredibly physical showdown between New York and Pittsburgh next week.

Eric: -Sanchez missed some throws early, but came on strong to polish off a resounding win over the hated Patriots.  He finished 16/25 passing for 194 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 0 interceptions.

-The real star of the show though was the New York defense.  They made Brady uncomfortable all day.  They didn't bring the blitz every down, but they created enough pressure to notch five sacks on the Justin Bieber lookalike.

-The single play that really turned the game was the Patriots' failed fake punt right before halftime.  New England had the ball at roughly their own 40 yard line with about a minute left in the half.  Lining up for a punt, the Jets probably would have gotten the ball deep in their own territory and been content to go into halftime with a 7-3 lead.  Instead, Patrick Chung drops the direct snap to the upback and can't regain his momentum to convert the fourth down try.  The Jets get the ball in Patriots territory and finish off the half with a Sanchez-to-Braylon Edwards touchdown connection.  That was all the validation the Jets needed the rest of the way to put the Patriots on ice.

-The Jets talked the talk all week, and walked the walk on Sunday, earning a berth in the AFC Championship Game for the second year in a row.  The only question is, how will New York follow up their extremely emotional win heading to Pittsburgh?

-This marks New England's third straight postseason loss.  Now, winning a playoff game is never easy, but we expected more from a crew that obliterated all doubts in the regular season.  Moving forward, there's not much the Patriots should have to improve on.  Just get that young defense more experience and keep Brady healthy on offense, and this team should be right back in the postseason mix a year from now.

Steelers over Ravens

A: -A tale of two halves if I've ever seen one.  The Ravens had this game in the bag with a 21-7 halftime lead, but Ray Rice and Joe Flacco turned the ball over second half, the opening Pittsburgh needed.

-Ray Lewis' comments after the game revealed a decade of pent up frustration with an offense that is just never quite good enough.  Rice only ran the ball 12 times, not nearly enough, and the Baltimore receivers repeatedly dropped catchable balls.

-The clock is ticking on Lewis and Ed Reed, and they may never get a chance as good as the one they squandered on Saturday.

-The Steelers just hung around, and when the Ravens opened the door, they walked right in.  Ben Roethlisberger got sacked a bunch, but he didn't throw a pick and he passed for two scores.

-This wasn't quite the 9-6 game we thought it would be, but it was still a blood bath.  I think the better team won the day.  Roethlisberger was better than Flacco as he usually is.

E: -Where did Baltimore go the second half?  After a dominating first half that included converting two Pittsburgh turnovers into easy scores, the Ravens disappeared, allowing another Roethlisberger comeback victory.

-Flacco played as well as could be expected, but key drops by his wide receivers–Anquan Boldin dropped a sure fourth quarter touchdown and TJ Houshmandzadeh dropped a fourth down pass that would have moved the chains on the Ravens' final drive–and the normally sure-handed Rice's fumble on the 2 yard line put the kibosh on Baltimore's chances.

-Pittsburgh moves on to their third AFC title game in the last six years, where victories were followed by Super Bowl championships in each of the past two occurrences.

-I see things getting a little worse for the Ravens in the near future.  The core nucleus of their team is very old and an influx of youth is needed to rejuvenate the roster, which is a tough thing to do all of a sudden.  Lewis, Reed, Derrick Mason, Boldin, Houshmandzadeh; I'm not saying these guys don't have anything left, but the Ravens need to start preparing for the day when they don't see #52 and #20 in the locker room.

Packers over Falcons

A: -Hello Mr Rodgers!  If there was a better quarterback performance all year, I didn't see it.  In fact, I'm not sure it would have been possible to play any better.  Keep in mind that Greg Jennings fumbled away a big completion as well.

-James Starks wasn't great, and certainly didn't validate the outrageous "The Packers have a running game" claims, but he did just enough to keep the defense off Rodgers and allow for effective play action.

-If James Jones plays to his potential, he can be a Pro Bowler.

-Clay Matthews was a natural disaster out there.

-Tramon Williams is the MVP of the postseason thus far.  First, he saved the day against Philly, then he slowed down Atlanta on a big drive, and essentially ended the game with his pick six just before half.

-BJ Raji was a monster, creating penetration on almost every play, and Cullen Jenkins was a force as well.

-Matt Ryan has never won a playoff game.

-Roddy White, who may have been the best receiver in the league this year, was held to only 57 yards on 6 catches.  Again that points to the stellar play of Williams.  Tony Gonzalez also had just one grab for 7 yards.

-The Falcons got eliminated in its first playoff game for the second time in three years.  The Falcons are a very good team, but if they turned the ball over and got behind, you knew they would struggle.  

-The Packers held the ball for 38 minutes against a Falcons team that specializes in holding the rock, what a performance.

-This defense is nasty, and if they can just survive the Bears next week, the Pack will get to be in a nice dome environment for the Super Bowl.  Aaron Rodgers is the best player left in the playoffs.

-The Packers have beaten the Giants, Bears, Eagles, and Falcons all in a row, proving they are the team to beat in the NFC.

E: -Anything Rodgers wanted to do in this game, he did it.  The Falcons had no answers for his laser-like throws, his escapability, or for Mike McCarthy's ingenious play calling.  Dig these numbers: an 86.1% completion percentage that went 31/36 passing for 366 yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 interceptions, and he ran for a score as well.  By the way, that completion percentage?  The fifth-best playoff performance ever.

-The Packers' defense meanwhile made it look like we made the wrong Pro Bowl selection; Matt Ryan's two first half interceptions basically sealed it for Green Bay.  With one pick in the end zone and another that Williams turned into a house call to end the first half, about as good as Rodgers was, Ryan was equally bad.

-No one's hotter right now than Rodgers and the Pack.  Look out, Windy City.

-This game got out of hand for the Falcons very quickly.  The unstoppable Packers, racking up touchdown after touchdown, knocked Atlanta out of its "pound the ball and manage the tempo" gameplan.  (Even the Eric Weems kickoff return touchdown took them out of their element.  Yes it meant points, but they gave the ball right back to Green Bay rather than draining clock, which was probably the best defense against Rodgers anyway.)  That's as good a formula to win as any, so with the right offseason moves and if they can stay healthy, this team should challenge for the NFC South crown again next year.

Bears over Seahawks

A: -The Bears were never really tested in this one, though Seattle threw a couple garbage touchdowns up late.  The 28-0 start said everything about this game.  Seattle was nowhere near good enough to be a solid team on the road.

-Jay Cutler had two touchdowns to no interceptions, and the Bears ran 45 times for 176 yards.  If they can do that, they can beat anyone with a good defense that's shutting people down.  Still, the Bears are 28th in passing yards per game, 22nd in rushing yards per game,and  20th in pass yards allowed.  Yes they are very good against the run, but that's the only thing they're great at.  Well that and Devin Hester.

-The Seahawks exposed a major chink in the Bears' armor  by throwing the ball vertically down the field, but it was too little, too late.  Rodgers to Jennings and Donald Driver won't be as easy to contain as Matt Hasselbeck and company.

-Now we get set for the oldest rivalry in football to determine who gets a spot in the biggest game in football.  Absolutely can not wait!

E: -The Seahawks could not replicate the outcome of their shocking victory over the Saints last week, and frankly, laid an egg versus the Bears.  The score was 28-0 at one point, and though Hasselbeck threw up some garbage points, the final 35-24 score was not indicative of the game at all.

-The Bears run stuffers handled their duties with aplomb, forcing the Seahawks into one-dimensionality.  As a pass-only offense, Seattle's dearth of playmakers on the outside manifested with drop after drop and general ineptitude.

-Even when he doesn't touch the ball, Hester is the Bears' greatest weapon.  Just the fear of kicking to him causes opposing to punters to angle their punts or go high and short, which inevitably puts the Bears' offense at about the same position if Hester was kicked to normally and allowed a big return.  Teams must trust their coverage units, or else they will be defending short fields all day long.

-The Bears and Packers will play for the Halas Trophy this week for the right to play for the Lombardi Trophy in three weeks.  Is there a better possible NFC Championship Game matchup?  To answer my own rhetorical, no.

-The Seahawks are putting the pieces together and ended much better off than where they started the season, but no one really knows what this offseason–or even what the upcoming regular season–will mean for the NFC West.