Wild Card Week Wrap-Up, and a Look Ahead

Houston Texans 31     Cincinnati Bengals 10

            I honestly did not think that Andy Dalton and the Cincinnati Bengals were going to absolutely fall apart like they did, but I guess that’s what I get for putting my faith in a team that hasn’t shown up for big games all season.  In a game where I thought T.J. Yates was going to cost his team the game with rookie mistakes, it turned out being Andy Dalton who assumed that role.  Dalton finished with 259 yards and 3 picks, which is the kind of performance that should be expected from a young quarterback when he is forced to play from behind in a high-stakes game.   Yates completed 11 of his 20 passes for 159 yards and 1 Touchdown, yet again posting pedestrian numbers that didn’t hurt his team, but that’s all that his team needs him to do when Foster can carry the offensive workload.

A Look Ahead:  The Texans are going to have their hands full next week when they travel to Baltimore for the biggest game in the young franchise’s history.  They come face to face with one of the NFL’s best defenses and an elite running back in Ray Rice, but the Texans have an eerily similar team. This game has potential to be a classic smash-mouth showdown.

New Orleans Saints 45     Detroit Lions 28

            Going in to this game everyone expected an offensive outburst on both sides, and it definitely didn’t disappoint.  Brees one-upped Stafford (as expected), and the rushing attack of the Saints helped control the tempo of the game as it ate away at Detroit’s defense (also as expected).  As flashy as this game was with the long touchdown passes, it was nothing that the knowledgeable football public didn’t see coming.  Drew Brees and the best offense in the league were not going to be stopped this week, especially playing against a shoddy defense like this.

A Look Ahead:  New Orleans draws arguably the toughest defense they have faced all year when they head to Candlestick Park to play the ‘Niners.  The unstoppable force that is the Saints offense is put up against Patrick Willis and his immovable defense.  Matchups on both sides of the ball seem to be somewhat equal and should provide the crowd with an entertaining game, if not a suspenseful one.

New York Giants 24     Atlanta Falcons 2

            The Giants won big. Osi Umenyiora and the rest of the New York defense simply manhandled the Falcons in every way.  Matt Ryan and his squad failed to score when they had the ball and couldn’t get anything started offensively, even  in garbage time.  Eli Manning threw for over 300 yards and a career postseason high 3 TDs while the running game that has been absent all year made its presence felt.  Kevin Gilbride called an uncharacteristically aggressive game, which contributed to the feeling of dominance that the Giants exuded all game.  This one was never in question.

A Look Ahead:  In a rematch of a week 13 game where the Packers defeated the Giants on a last-second field goal, Coach Coughlin leads his white-hot team back into Lambeau Field.  The last time New York played on the historic frozen tundra, Lawrence Tynes kicked the Giants into the Super Bowl after a late Favre interception.  The Packers are coming off of a bye week, and look to keep their incredible season rolling behind likely-MVP Aaron Rodgers.  This game interests me the most out of any this week, and not only because I’m a Giants fan.  I have an odd feeling that an instant classic may be coming our way.

Denver Broncos 29     Pittsburgh Steelers 23

            I had predicted the Broncos winning this game – and wholeheartedly believed they would – but even as a Tim Tebow supporter, I had no idea that he would come through like he did on Sunday.  All game, the Steelers defense (or what was left of it) played close to the line to defend the option offense that Denver has been running.  They were pretty much daring Tim to throw on them, and he did.  If you told someone before the game that Tebow would throw for 316 yards against the league’s best defense, they would either walk away after making some sort of explicit comment about Tebow or respond with violence.  Big Ben played well considering his injury, but eventually the pass rush of the Broncos got to him and set up the offense for a “Mile High Miracle”.

A Look Ahead:  No doubt that the Broncos and all of their fans are ecstatic after their signature win Sunday, but one could argue that New England and their fans could be even happier.  With offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels returning to his roots, the Patriots offense is a force to be reckoned with.  The Denver defense that didn’t have too much trouble containing a hobbled Roethlisberger may have met their match here.  The group that Tebow has to face is nothing stellar, but I expect Belichick to give him some defensive looks that will put him in a difficult position.  Who knows though, Tebow may just be baiting us in like he did with the Steelers’ secondary.