Wild Card Review

The second best weekend in sports is over now, and as we head into next weekend, the best week in sports, there seems to be plenty of contenders who could still raise the Lombardi Trophy. The games went pretty much how I saw them going when I did my weekend predictions with the exception of the shocker in Foxboro. Let's take these games one by one and talk about some of the big moments that affected the outcomes.

Jets vs Bengals

The Bengals scored first which is what both of the teams wanted to do heading in. Scoring first would enable their defenses to play with a mistake in their back pocket and allow them to be aggressive. Unfortunately for the Bengals, the Jets countered pretty quickly on a long run by Green and they tied the game. From there on out the Jets defense pretty much controlled the pace of the game and Sanchez made some wonderful throws and played an impressively efficient game. Throw in Shayne Graham missing two easy field goals and the Jets were on their way.

Eagles vs Cowboys

The Cowboys got on the board first in this one but just like the Jets/Bengals game the Eagles answered quickly. Though they scored on somewhat of a gadget play, once the game finished it was made clear that it was the only way they could have scored. Once again DeMarcus Ware and Anthony Spencer played like the superstars they are but it was Brady James who carried Dallas' defense to next week. His big play came before halftime with the Eagles driving for points with the score at 24-7. With the possibility of Philadelphia cutting the game to 10, James stripped the Eagles ball carrier and Dallas recovered. They got a field goal off of that turnover and went in leading 27-7. They played the second half on cruise control and sent the Eagles home.

Ravens vs Patriots

This game was basically decided in the first quarter. Before you could even get settled in to watch this game the Ravens had a three touchdown lead. The biggest surprise of this game was Tom Brady's play. He tied his postseason high with three interceptions and overall just didn't have a good game. The Ravens' Ray Rice had a big game running the ball and Joe Flacco played well enough to win. There has been some discussion as to whether or not the Patriots dynasty just came to an abrupt end. I don't know. We'll have to wait and see.

Packers vs Cardinals

In what could have possibly been Kurt Warner's final game in the NFL he played the game of his life. He only misfired on four passes all day and had five that went for touchdowns. He gashed Green Bay's defense all day. So...Cardinals rout right? Nope. Aaron Rodgers had a game of his own leading the Packers on a furious second half comeback but his early season problems came back to haunt him. On their third down play in overtime Rodgers held on to the ball too long and end up having it knocked out of his hand, off his foot, and into the arms of the Arizona Cardinals for a game winning touchdown.

There are some interesting match-ups next week. I will do a picks post later in the week with scores and write-ups but at first glance I see a Jets-Colts AFC championship and a Cowboys-Cardinals NFC championship.