After Wild Card weekend, the NFL playoff picture just got a little more interesting. Very few people outside of Seattle would have given the Seahawks the slightest chance of defeating the defending Super Bowl champions.
Regardless of the injuries that decimated the Saints in key areas on offense, the Seahawks were a 10-point underdog and statistically the worst playoff team in NFL history. Conventional wisdom says the Saints were expected to book their trip to the second round with little to no trouble. But like the old saying goes, any team can win on any given Sunday, or in this case, Saturday.
The Packers, on the other hand, contained Michael Vick and an explosive Eagles offense to advance to the next round of the playoffs in Atlanta.
In the AFC, the New York Jets and Indianapolis Colts match-up was a more difficult game to choose. Most thought it to be foolish to pick against Peyton Manning in the Wild Card round against a Rex Ryan-coached team due to Manning’s 7-1 record against the over-confident coach. At the end, Rex Ryan had the last laugh as the Jets edged the Colts on a 32-yard field goal with time expiring. As for the Chiefs, no one really gave them a chance against the Baltimore Ravens either, and the Chiefs showcased why, losing 30-7.
Wild Card weekend taught us a few things. Thus far, seedings have been misleading. In three of the four games last weekend, the lower seeds have prevailed, and both sixth-seed teams remain.
Secondly, poor coaching decisions make all the difference in a game, i.e. the Saints. Saints’ defensive coordinator Greg Williams chose a more conservative game plan Saturday instead of a blitz-happy defense, which they ran all year. Hasselbeck stood in the pocket comfortably and carved up the Saints’ secondary, resulting in four passing touchdowns. Keep in mind that the Saints allowed the fewest passing touchdowns in the NFL with 13 during the regular season. The Jets and Seahawks may still be smiling from their victories last week, but won’t be for much longer. Look for the Patriots to advance over the Jets in Foxborough as Tom Brady continues to play the best football of his career and the Chicago Bears to end the Seahawks’ magical one-game playoff run. For me, those are the no-brainer picks this round.
The tougher match-ups place the Ravens against the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Packers against the Atlanta Falcons. Both Ravens and Steelers are two very physical teams who have similar styles of play. The Ravens, however, seem to have found their identity running the football with Ray Rice, and Joe Flacco is making a ton of plays with his arm, so look for the Ravens to come out victorious. The Falcons will stick to the same game plan of running the football to set up big plays in the passing game, as they did when they defeated the Packers in week 12. But this time around, expect different results. Aaron Rodgers is playing at a high level and the Packers have discovered a run game between Jason Starks, John Kuhn and Brandon Jackson, so the notch goes to the cheeseheads. Oh yeah, their defense isn’t too shabby, either.
Craig Malveaux can be reached at [email protected]
