DIvisional Playoffs Recap

Here is a quick take on the results of the divisional playoffs this weekend:

Game 1: Pittsburgh 31 Baltimore 24:
Baltimore squandered a golden opportunity here.  Pittsburgh was far and away their biggest nemesis in the playoffs.  Both teams played similar, physical styles.  You had to figure the winner of this game would feel pretty good against a finesse time like New England in the AFC title game (ummmmmmm.........see below).  Given the prior bad blood between these two, you had to figure a 12 round slobberknocker was in store.  Oddly enough, more points were scored in this game than in the first two games between these two combined (55 to 54).  Despite this, defense ruled the day with 5 total turnovers and 31 points scored off of those turnovers.  The difference was the second half, as Baltimore lost their composure on offense and things started to snowball (which usually happens with a turnover laden game).  Baltimore held a 21-7 lead, but a Ray Rice fumble deep in Baltimore territory gave Pittsbugh a chance for a quick strike that made it 21-14.  Ryan Clark's pick of Flacco 2 drives later set Pittsburgh up for the tying score.  One more Flacco fumble set up a Shaun Suisham field goal that gave Pittsburgh their first lead since 7-0.  Meanwhile, while the Ravens were tripping all over themselves, the Steelers were steady.  They made their mistakes in the first half, allowing Baltimore to build their lead, but as the tide started the turn in the 3rd quarter, they took settled down.  They took advantaged of opporutnites provided by takeaways from their defense and did not give the ball away themselves.  In the end, the Ravens offense could not get back in gear.  Neither could Pittsburgh, but a long pass to Antonio Brown on 3rd and 19 down to the Baltimore 4 set up Pittsburgh for what proved to be the winning points. 

Game 2: Green Bay 48 Atlanta 21
Jaw dropper.  Atlanta dominated their way through the NFC this season on their was to a 13-3 record, but even still, you just could not get the sense with this team that they were built for a deep run in the playoffs.  Matt Ryan was untested in January, whereas Aaron Rodgers had 1 game of playoff experience and scored 45 points (albeit in a loss).  The Falcons probably one of the shakiest #1 seeds in a long time.  Green Bay exposed several flaws.  After mostly going point for point in the first half, the key play was a pick 6 by Tramon Williams that was eerily similar to the James Harrison play that ended the first half of Super Bowl XLIII.  In that play, Arizona had the ball on the 1 yard line, but Kurt Warner's pass was read perfectly by Harrison who used a convoy of blockers to race 99 yards for the backbreaker.  In this game, Williams' play was not quite as long, but still provided the same dramatic effect.  At the time, Green Bay held a 21-14 lead, Atlanta was driving for the tie, but instead went into the locker room down 2 touchdowns.  From there things snowballed.  Green Bay took the 3rd quarter kickoff, drove and scored.  After an Atlanta 3 and out, Green Bay took the ball again and scored, and before you could blink, it was 42-14 and this quickly turned into a laugher.  Atlanta had an opportunity to quite some critics who said that they were not built for a long playoff run.  Matt Ryan had an opportunity to establish himself as an elite passer over Aaron Rodgers.  Neither happened, and one half of the dream NFC Championship matchup was set.........

Game 3: Chicago 35 Seattle 24
This game was not as close as the score indicated.  The Bears did to Seattle what everyone THOUGHT New Orleans was going to do to them in the Wild Card game.  Let's face facts here.  Seattle was 7-9.  They won by far the weakest division in the Super Bowl era (and that's NOT hyperbole).  They had no business in the playoffs, and if they were to make any deeper of a run than they did, the screams for playoff realignment would have grown that much louder.  Now that Chicago dispatched them, the caterwauls will quiet down somewhat, but they will not go away entirely.  This game was not close from the beginning as the Bears raced out to a 28-0 third quarter lead.  By the time the Seahawks started scoring, the game was out of reach.  They started to score in the 4th quater, but that was just window dressing and the Bears advance to the conference championship for the first time since 2006.  Cutler did not have to do much to beat an inferior Seattle secondary in his first playoff game as a starter.  His real test will come against Charles Woodson and the Green Bay secondary, which is slightly better than anything Seattle had to offer.

Game 4: New York Jets 28 New England 21
The upset of the weekend to say the least.  Pittsburgh you would think is feeling pretty good about themselves right now since they get to host the AFC Championship Game.  They better not overlook the Jets, however.  The leadup to this game focused mostly on what everybody was SAYING about each other.  However, the Jets used a very simple gameplan to shut down the Patriots vaunted passing attack.  Darrelle Revis took Deion Branch out of the game, forcing Brady to look underneath for the likes of Welker, Hernandez, and Woodhead.  The Patriots could not establish a vertical game.  The key though was pressure.  The Jets were able to get 5 sacks (versus none for the Patriots), and that was mostly with 4 man fronts and very few blitzes from the secondary (as the Jets are known to do).  Even when Brady did have time, he could not get the ball downfield.  The coverage was so good, there were several plays where you could see Brady dancing in the pocket looking for a downfield receiver, but to no avail.  You have to give credit to the Jets' defense, which talked smack all week, bolstered by their coach, and actually backed it up for a change.  This sets up a very intriguing matchup in the championship game, as Pittsburgh was probably expecting New England, but now will have to focus on a strong defensive Jets team that also features a very different offensive attack than what the Patriots had to offer. 

Thus we have reached the final four:
Packers at Bears (NFC Championship) 3:00PM
Jets at Steelers (AFC Championship) 6:30PM

Get your popcorn ready...what?