Lang on NFL: Wild card weekend that was
Posted January 11, 2011 12:25 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It was an exciting and wild weekend of playoff football in the NFL so let’s take a look at what happened in the four games.
Seattle Seahawks beat New Orleans Saints 41-36
It’s a funny thing about the playoffs in the NFL; nobody really cares about your record in the regular season once you start playing the game. The fact the Seahawks won the NFC West with a paltry 7-9 record and were hosting the mighty 11-5 Saints caused much outrage throughout the week. Well, someone forgot to tell Pete Carroll and the Seahawks about their record because they came off looking like a damn good 7-9 team.
Star of the game
After missing last week’s game because of a hip injury, a less than 100 per cent healthy Matt Hasselbeck threw four touchdowns in the Seahawks’ shocking win over the Saints. Hasselbeck’s best throw came on his 38-yard touchdown pass to Mike Williams.
Stiff of the game
Saints safety Roman Harper sure picked a bad time to have the worst game of his life. No matter how good you are, a safety in the NFL is bound to get beat for a touchdown now and then. But to get beat for three touchdowns in a single playoff game is beyond unacceptable.
Unsung hero
Seahawks tight end John Carlson caught just one touchdown in the 15 games he played during the regular season. On Saturday, two of Carlson’s three catches went for touchdowns. It was just that kind of day for Seattle.
Play of the game
This wasn’t just the play of the game — this was the best play of the weekend! Decades from now, football fans in Seattle will still be talking about Marshawn Lynch’s 67-yard touchdown run. With 3:22 left to play in the fourth quarter and the game very much in doubt, Lynch took the handoff on an innocent looking second-and-10 play at the Seahawks’ 33 yard line. Lynch proceeded to break no less than eight tackles as he willed himself into the end zone on a spectacular touchdown run. Along the way, Lynch broke tackles from the likes of Darren Sharper, Jabari Greer and Scott Shanle and gave Tracey Porter the mother of all stiff arms.
What we learned
We once again learned that on any given day, any team is capable of winning a football game, no matter how big an underdog they are. We learned that Qwest Field in Seattle really is one of the loudest stadiums in the NFL. We learned once again that repeating as Super Bowl champions is as difficult as it has ever been.
New York Jets beat Indianapolis Colts 17-16
Rex Ryan made no bones about his obsession with beating Peyton Manning. All those endless hours of preparation and game planning paid off for Ryan as the Peyton Manning monkey is finally off his back.
Star of the game
Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis received some votes for holding Reggie Wayne to one catch and one yard. But the ultimate star of the game for the Jets was running back LaDainian Tomlinson. The only way the Jets were going to beat the Colts was by running the football and winning the time of possession battle. LT averaged 5.1 yards per carry during a must-win game and ended up with 82 crucial yards and two touchdowns.
Stiff of the game
Colts coach Jim Caldwell wins this award for his bizarre decision to call a timeout with 29 seconds left to play in the fourth quarter. At that point in the game, the Jets looked like they had to attempt a 50-yard field goal. Caldwell’s timeout gave the Jets a chance to regroup and, on the next play, Mark Sanchez hit Braylon Edwards with an 18-yard pass to set up a much easier 32-yard attempt for Nick Folk. The look on Manning’s face told you that he couldn’t believe Caldwell would call a timeout in that situation.
Unsung hero
This award goes out to Jets’ offensive tackles Damien Woody and D’Brickashaw Ferguson for the job they did against Colts’ defensive ends Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis. Ferguson and Woody did not allow a sack and helped open holes for the running game.
Play of the game
After struggling in the first half, Sanchez really manned up when the Jets needed it. With the game on the line, Sanchez hit Edwards with a beautiful 18-yard, back shoulder throw along the sidelines to set up the game-winning field goal.
What we learned
We learned that when the Jets really needed to ground n’ pound the ball, they could. Tomlinson and Shonn Greene combined to run the ball 35 times for 152 yards and two touchdowns. If LT and Greene can do that next week in New England, the Jets will be tough to beat. We also learned that as great as Manning is, he is also one-and-done in the post-season seven times in his career. Sanchez has now gone the first two years of his career without being one-and-done … just saying.
Baltimore Ravens beat Kansas City Chiefs 30-7
The older, wiser Ravens taught the younger, more inexperienced Chiefs a hard lesson in what it takes to win in the playoffs. Led by Joe Flacco and their customary punishing defence, the Ravens improved to a remarkable 7-3 on the road in the post-season.
Star of the game
Flacco had an outstanding effort for the Ravens. Proving once again that he’s unafraid of playing on the road, Flacco threw for 265 yards, two touchdowns and had a quarterback rating of 115.4. Flacco even came up with a season-high 28 yards running the football.
Stiff of the game
As good as Flacco was, Matt Cassel was bad. One week after a terrible effort against the Raiders, Cassel followed that up with a disastrous showing against the Ravens. Cassel ended his day from hell with 70 yards passing, three interceptions and a quarterback rating of 20.4.
Unsung hero
Ravens safety Dawan Landry gets the call for his inspired play at Arrowhead Stadium. Landry had seven tackles, knocked down a pass and came up with a crucial interception in the third quarter. Landry and the Ravens’ secondary held the Chiefs’ best receiver, Dwayne Bowe, to zero catches.
Play of the game
While he may no longer be the force of nature he was when he was younger, Ray Lewis still knows a thing or two about playing defence. In the third quarter, Lewis forced a fumble from Dexter McCluster after laying him out with a textbook open-field tackle. Five plays later, the Ravens kicked a field goal to make it 16-7 and it was game over.
What we learned
The Chiefs still can’t win in the playoffs and the Ravens love going on the road. The Chiefs haven’t won a post-season game since 1993 when Joe Montana was their quarterback. We also learned that Ed Reed is more than an amazing player, he’s an amazing person. Dealing with a tragic family matter involving his brother, Reed played an inspired game as the Ravens defence held the Chiefs to seven points. In the ultimate show of respect the Ravens players and coaches have for Reed, he was awarded the game ball for his efforts.
Green Bay Packers beat Philadelphia Eagles 21-16
When Andy Reid reviews the game film of the Eagles’ loss to the Packers and begins to contemplate the off-season, I would certainly hope he puts “need to improve the offensive line and fix my red zone defence” at the very top of his list. If the Eagles end up signing Michael Vick to a long-term deal, they are going to have to beef up their offensive line.
Star of the game
Aaron Rodgers proved
beyond a shadow of a doubt that he can win in the post-season. Rodgers walked into the hostile environment of Lincoln Financial Field and put together a superb playoff performance. Rodgers went 18-of-27 for 180 yards, three touchdowns and had a quarterback rating of 122.5. All three of Rodgers’ touchdowns came in red zone plays as he led the Packers on three scoring drives that totaled 207 yards and took 18 minutes and 55 seconds off the clock.
Stiff of the game
David Akers wins this award after he missed field goals of 34 and 41 yards. Considering the Eagles lost by five points, those two missed field goals had a profound effect on the outcome of the game.
Unsung hero
It has to be Packers running back James Starks. A sixth-round draft pick from the University of Buffalo, Starks went into the game with 101 yards in three games played. All Starks did was set a new Packers franchise record by a rookie running back as he picked up 123 yards on 23 carries. Packers coach Mike McCarthy said that, after watching Starks have success during their second offensive series, they decided to keep feeding him the ball. “We had a couple of packages in the game plan today for running the football. He established a hot hand early, and I rode it. I’m very proud of him individually.”
Play of the game
It didn’t take place until 33 seconds left to play in the fourth quarter with the Eagles driving for the winning touchdown. A battered and bruised Vick heaved up a prayer in the end zone towards rookie receiver Riley Cooper. But before Eagles fans could start celebrating, Tramon Williams out-jumped Cooper and came up with the game-winning interception.
What we learned
We learned that the Eagles offensive line is as bad as we thought it was. (Winston Justice will be having nightmares about Clay Matthews for years) We learned that Vick is human after all and more than capable of making the same kind of bone-headed throws that plagued his career in Atlanta. Finally, we learned the Packers look like a team that is peaking at the right time.
There are some very intriguing match-ups coming up next weekend in the divisional playoffs. On Saturday, the Ravens will face the Steelers in Pittsburgh. That will be followed by the Packers taking on the Falcons in Atlanta. On Sunday, the Seahawks’ improbable playoff run will continue in Chicago. The weekend will wrap up with the Jets and Patriots in New England.
