The playoff race ended with little drama, as most spots were decided by week 16. Probably the biggest news after the regular season finished was how many head coaching vacancies sprouted up. Mike Tice of the Minnesota Vikings wins the award for being canned the fastest, hours after their season-ending win against the Chicago Bears. Jets fans were probably the most upset, with Herm Edwards leaving for Kansas City. With multiple new head coaches starting next season, it should be an interesting off-season.
Wild Card Playoffs:
One of the two games of note was Carolina’s trouncing of the Giants 23–0. Eli Manning just was not ready. Tiki Barber and the rest of the team managed to help him little though.
The Bengals managed to lose in their first playoff appearance since the Bush era. Bush Sr., that is. The bigger concern would be quarterback Carson Palmer, though, who blew out his knee. He not only tore ligaments, but suffered bone and cartilage damage as well in what is described as a potentially career-ending injury.
Divisional Playoffs:
In the biggest game, the Pittsburgh Steelers upset the Indianapolis Colts 21-18. The Colts’ offense looked out of sync and showed rust. The Steelers played well all game, but almost blew it in the closing seconds. Luckily, the Colts’ offense couldn’t move the ball, and Mike Vanderjagt badly missed on a game-tying field goal.
Carolina looked good in their win over the Chicago Bears. Denver also looked impressive, with a win over the hot New England Patriots. Quarterback Tom Brady was inaccurate all day, and did not have his best performance. Seattle also took a hit at running back, losing MVP Shaun Alexander to a concussion early on, but he was ready for the next game.
Conference Championships:
Seattle 34, Carolina 14: Shaun Alexander didn’t seem fazed by last week’s concussion, racking up 132 yards and two touchdowns. Seattle’s defense held wide receiver Steve Smith in check all day, and Carolina could not muster much with it’s fourth string running back in.
Pittsburgh 34, Denver 17: It was thought that stopping Pittsburgh’s running game was always a key to beating them. Well, Ben Roethlisberger proved that he could beat a team with his arm. Denver’s defense couldn’t put pressure on Roethlisberger and failed to contain anybody. Jake Plummer was forced to throw early and rushed into mistakes.
Super Bowl Preview:
Seattle versus Pittsburgh: Seattle and Pittsburgh come in after dominating performances in their respective conference championship games. Both teams feature strong running games, good defenses, and above average passing games. Jerome Bettis will be looking to make a few plays and end his great career on a high note. I’m biased toward NFC teams though and don’t think Pittsburgh will have as much success throwing the ball as they did this week. Seattle features a more balanced offense and wins this one.
