What We Learned From Wild Card Weekend

The first thing that we learned this weekend is that this year’s wild card games were incredibly boring. Not just the games, but many of the teams that played in those games. It would be tough to find someone who said that the Cardinals/Packers game wasn’t the best, so we’ll start in Arizona.

You can forget about the dream of seeing Favre vs. Packers one more time this year in the playoffs. Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay gave it everything they had, but the Cardinals proved to be too much in overtime. What really stood out to me in this game was Rodgers’ first pass of overtime, an overthrow to Greg Jennings that looked like a sure touchdown, and if nothing else would have immediately put them into field goal range. The main lesson that came from the Cardinals 51-45 win is that Arizona is a very hot/cold team. When they are hot, and Kurt Warner is playing like he did Sunday with more touchdowns than incompletions, it’s going to be very tough to beat them. However, Arizona is also just as likely to forget to show up for a game and lose by 20+.

The other Sunday game got ugly in a hurry as the Baltimore Ravens defeated the New England Patriots 33-14. The Ravens came into this game determined to give the Patriots their first opening round playoff loss in the Belichick/Brady era, and succeeded. While the Ravens played great, what many will take away from this game is that the Patriots dynasty is officially over. Sure, they have the talent to be successful year in and year out, but no longer will we see them annihilating the competition on the road to the Super Bowl. I see their near future to be similar to a team like the Philadelphia Eagles, good but not great.

The Jets vs. Bengals game lacked excitement, if for nothing else, because of the two teams’ playing styles. Both are more power running, grind-it-out football teams, which just doesn’t make for great entertainment to the average fan. The Jets however did come away with a 24-14 win, which will provide us with one more week of Rex Ryan telling us all how the Jets are the best team to ever play before they eventually get eliminated by the Chargers. Enjoy this week Rex!

Also on Saturday night the Cowboys defeated the Philadelphia Eagles for the second straight week and will travel to Minnesota next weekend to take on the Vikings. This game also lacked excitement, but it was great to see Tony Romo and the Cowboys finally get that playoff win. This is a dangerous Dallas team if they get going, so Minnesota needs to be on alert.

All of this leads us to next week. I think that this year’s group of 1 and 2 seeds is so talented that it’s going to be tough to see any upsets. Arizona at New Orleans has the potential to be a good game, or a blowout if the Saints play like they’re capable of. One thing’s for sure, the Super Dome will be rocking as the best fans in the NFL become the 12th man. In my opinion the matchup of the Ravens at Colts on Saturday night will provide the best game. The Ravens defense is playing well and could give Peyton Manning as much trouble as any, but at the end of the day, it’s Peyton Manning and I think he’ll come through. Sunday means Dallas at Minnesota and Jets at Chargers. After losing their previous two games, Minnesota fired on all cylinders against the Giants in Week 17 to head into the playoffs hot. Brad Childress responded by giving the veteran Vikings this whole week off. Now it’s back to business as they prepare for the Cowboys and I don’t see them losing this game. Despite Rex Ryan’s statements otherwise, the Jets are the worst team in this playoff group. Their gameplan will be simple, run the ball and play great defense. Of course the Chargers know this, and their gameplan will also be simple, make rookie QB Mark Sanchez beat us, which I don’t think he can do at this stage in his career. If I had to pick an upset, I’d go with one of the Saturday games, but if the top seeds play like they’re capable, none of these games should be close.