New England Patriots 24, Indianapolis Colts 14
In a much-hyped battle between the offensive firepower of the Indianapolis Colts, and the tenacious defense of the New England Patriots, the old adage of “defense wins championships” held true.
Additionally, the idea that dome teams (like Indianapolis) perform poorly in less-than-ideal conditions also held true, as the snow fell, and so did the Colts offense.
After lighting up Denver and Kansas City for eight touchdown passes and a perfect 158.3 passer rating in the two previous games, NFL co-MVP Peyton Manning looked ordinary against Bill Belichick’s defense, completing less than 50 percent of his passes and throwing four interceptions, three of which went to cornerback Ty Law.
New England’s defense also held Indianapolis on just three downs forcing the Colts to punt, something the Colts had not done in either of its two previous playoff games.
Manning struggled against mixed blitz packages and constantly changing defensive formations, whereas New England quarterback Tom Brady made it look easy against the Colts’ defense.
Brady, who is 5-0 in playoff games in his career, went 22-for-37 for 237 yards with a touchdown, and one interception. Brady hooked up in the end zone with receiver David Givens in the first quarter, which would be New England’s only touchdown of the game.
Adam Vinatieri added five field goals for New England, which also got a safety when Indianapolis punter Hunter Smith had to boot a bad snap out the back of the end zone.
Carolina Panthers 14, Philadelphia Eagles 3
The Philadelphia Eagles lost their third consecutive NFC championship, and became the first team to ever lose back-to-back conference championships at home.
The opportunistic Carolina defense pressured the Philly quarterbacks all game, registering five sacks and four interceptions, spread out between Donovan McNabb and Koy Detmer.
Detmer took over after McNabb left the game with separated rib cartilage. Three of those interceptions were by rookie Panther cornerback Ricky Manning Jr., who proved it was not a bad day for all people named Manning.
Carolina relied mostly on its running attack during the game, going between Stephen Davis and DeShaun Foster, the latter of whom scored a touchdown in the third quarter. Davis and Foster combined for 136 yards rushing.
Spearheaded by the running game, Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme was hardly used, going 9-for-14 for 101 yards with a touchdown, in only his third career playoff game.
Philadelphia managed only a second quarter field goal by David Akers, and struggled with mistakes all game. Receivers dropped passes, ran incorrect routes, and defensive backs had lapses in coverage at key points.
