 |
| Denver Broncos QB Tim Tebow in his trademark pose after scoring the game-winning TD pass in OT versus the Pittsburgh Steelers. |
Bengals vs Texans
Going into this game, it was mostly viewed as a toss-up in a match-up between rookie quarterbacks Andy Dalton and T.J. Yates. At halftime, the game certainly still looked like a toss-up, with the score at 10-7 with the Texans leading. The 2nd half was a very different game, with Andy Dalton throwing interceptions like crazy and the Bengals defense completely giving up, with the most notorious of which being Adam "Pacman" Jones. The Texans capitalized on the Bengals' mistakes en route to a 31-10 victory, the first playoff victory ever for the Houston Texans. With their loss, the Bengals become the only team in NFL history to lose 4 consecutive playoff games. The Bengals also continue their struggles on the road, going 0-5 lifetime on the road in the playoffs, not including their 2 losses in the Super Bowl.
Lions vs Saints
The Saints were heavy favorites for this game, considering they were both playing at home and going against a team that lost all their games against teams with winning records. The Lions were given some chance of at least keeping the game close, considering how good their defense is purported to be. In the end, the Lions defense was just as bad as the defenses featured in a video game, allowing the Saints to blow them out 45-28. The Lions this season have been exposed for being all bark and no bite, the exact same as their coach, Jim Schwartz.
Falcons vs Giants
In a slow start, the Falcons scored the first points of the game with a safety. It would go on to be their only points of the game as the Giants won 24-2. The Giants scored briefly before halftime, but the 2nd half was nothing but Eli Manning being Eli Manning. Matt Ryan and coach Mike Smith continue their postseason struggles, which is rapidly approaching calls for both to be known as perpetual chokers.
The Granddaddy of them All, Steelers vs Broncos
Surprisingly enough, the Broncos were the stronger team to begin the game, leading 20-6 at halftime. The second half was all Steelers however, as Ben Roethlisberger led his team to overtime, despite re-aggravating his high ankle sprain. This game ended up being the first to utilize the new playoff rules, where a field goal would no longer automatically win the game. The Broncos won the coin toss and on the first play of overtime, Tim Tebow scored an 80 yard TD pass. Tebow played incredibly throughout the game, managing to get an incredible passer rating of 125.6, substantially over his 72.9 rating from this past season, as well as 50 rushing yards. In comparison, Ben Roethlisberger only managed a 75.9 passer rating, lower than his career 92.1 rating.
I simply can't explain how the Broncos beat the Steelers. Tim Tebow simply did not play like Tim Tebow, nor did he make any mistakes, throwing 0 interceptions and being fairly accurate, especially at long range.
That all being said, I'm going to make my picks for next week's Divisional Round.
- 49ers over Saints
- Broncos over Patriots
- Ravens over Texans
- Packers over Giants
The Saints are a very different team on the road, especially in non-warm weather, the Patriots have yet to beat a winning team (the Broncos are technically 9-8 now), the Texans are just too inexperienced to beat a team that's been perfect at home, and the Packers have too great an offense for the Giants to handle.
No comments:
Post a Comment