Divisional Round Rundown:Baltimore Ravens 13 Tennessee Titans 10: I had the Titans winning this won 16-13, so I'm not overly surprised that the Ravens pulled it out. Looking back there were 3 major reasons the Titans loss this game:
1.) Turnovers: The Titans turned the ball over 3 times and they were all while they were driving into Ravens territory. The Alge Crumpler fumble was the biggest turnover of them all and if he can hang onto the ball there, the Titans would have probably went in for the score and won the game 17-13, which is pretty damn close to my prediction of 16-13 no? The Titans also outgained the Ravens in the game 391 to 211, but because of the 3 turnovers by Tennessee the Ravens were still able to come out victorious.
2.) Chris Johnson: It also didn't help the Titans that Chris Johnson got hurt, since we was having success running on the outside against the Ravens with 72 yards on 11 carries. He was the biggest playmaker on the Titans all season long and to lose him was huge and it definitely affected the outcome of the game.
3.) The Refs: They completely missed the delay of game call in the 4th quarter when the Ravens were driving for the winning field goal. The Ravens clearly did not snap the ball before time expired on the play clock on 3rd and 2 and Flacco ended up completing a 23 yard pass to Todd Heap that got the Ravens into Tennessee territory. If they call the delay of game right there, then it would have been 3rd and 7 and even if the Ravens completed that same 23 yard pass, they would still be 5 more yards away that could have made the difference in both play calling and the game winning 43 yard field goal.
Arizona Cardinals 33 Carolina Panthers 13: I am not at all shocked that Arizona won this game, but I was shocked that they crushed the Panthers on the road after struggling all season. I guess they were due for a good game on the road and the Arizona defense is emerging with some play makers now. Antrel Rolle and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie came up with big plays in the secondary and overall the Cardinals defense forced Jake Delhomme to commit 6 turnovers. I have to say that I have not been very high on Delhomme all season and felt that the Panthers were overrated:
If this game was at Arizona, I would seriously think about picking them to win this game, but the Cardinals have shown nothing on the road this season or out of their division to make me think they can win a road playoff game. I honestly think Carolina is somewhat overrated though.
Many people were shocked that the Cardinals beat the Panthers, but I have felt that the Panthers were overrated all season long. A good team but certainly also a beatable team who also struggled on the road themselves. The more shocking thing here is that the Cardinals played so well on the road after showing no signs of being capable of doing so during the regular season.
Philadelphia Eagles 23 New York Giants 11: I nailed this one with my prediction of Eagles 23 Giants 20:
I'm going for the upset in this game and saying that the Eagles will knock off the Giants. The Eagles and Giants defense are about equal and Philly is actually a better passing team than the Giants. The loss of Plaxico Burress hurts the Giants deep passing game and I think Asante Samuel is going be able to pick off Eli Manning at least once in this game.
Well, Asante Samuel got his pick early in the game and that played a big part in the Eagles victory and Eli Manning did look shaky out there without Plaxico Burress. He threw for only 169 yards and completed just 15 of his 29 passes. However, there was one other huge factor in this game that I didn't even think of going into it: John Carney. Carney is not the best kicker from long range and in the windy conditions it makes it even tougher for him to hit from 40 yards plus. He ended up missing two attempts of more than 40 yards or else this game would have been a lot closer. I still think the Eagles would have pulled it out though.
Pittsburgh Steelers 35 San Diego Chargers 24: The way the Chargers came out and scored on the opening drive with a deep bomb to Vincent Jackson, I thought for sure that the Chargers were going to pull this game out. However, their defense just looked awful out there the whole game and couldn't get any pressure on Ben Roethlisberger and I think that proved to be the difference in this game. I still feel like the Steelers are either one lucky ass team or destined to win it all this season. First, after a Darren Sproles kickoff return to the Pittsburgh 23 yard line, the Steelers tip a pass in the air and a diving Larry Foote picks it off with a spectacular catch and then after they hold the Steelers, a punt goes off Eric Weddle's head and the Steelers recover it. Those were the two biggest plays of the game because it meant the Chargers only had the ball in the 3rd quarter for 1 second and San Diego eventually ran out of time trying to come from behind.
AFC Championship Game Preview:
Baltimore Ravens (11-5) at Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4): I really don't like this Steelers team all that much, but I can't see Joe Flacco going into Pittsburgh against their defense and winning the AFC Championship Game. I know these two teams have played two close games already, but I think the lack of experience for Joe Flacco will catch up to him in this game. The Ravens passing game is pretty ordinary without the deep ball and I think the Steelers will take the deep passing game away from the Ravens. Also, look for Willie Parker to have a solid game running on the edge against the Ravens. Chris Johnson had success running outside against the Ravens before he got hurt and Parker is a similar style of running back with excellent speed.
Prediction: Steelers 17 Ravens 9
NFC Championship Game Preview:
Philadelphia Eagles (9-6-1) at Arizona Cardinals (9-7): Nope, you are not delusional, the Arizona Cardinals are hosting the NFC Championship Game. Who in their right mind would have ever thought the Cardinals would make an NFC Championship Game, nevermind host one. What it really shows is just how weak of an NFL season this is, especially when you have two 9 win teams in a Conference Championship game. With that being said, I think the Cardinals are going to lose to the Eagles because the Eagles defense is way better than both Carolina and Atlanta. 3rd ranked overall, 4th against the rush, and 3rd against the pass. The Eagles are a very solid team and I don't see the Cardinals being able to run the ball on them at all. Once the Eagles take away the run, they will be able to focus on putting pressure on Kurt Warner to try to disrupt the Cardinals passing game. We all know the Eagles are one of the best teams at applying pressure ranking 3rd in the NFL with 48 sacks and they have enough play makers in the secondary to be able to deal with Larry Fitzgerald and company. I think they will do a good job in limiting the Cardinals offense. The biggest question in this game is whether or not the Cardinals can continue creating turnovers on defense. If they can't, then I don't see them being able to slow down the Eagles offense, and I don't think they will win the game.
Prediction: Eagles 27 Cardinals 17
Other NFL News:
Tony Dungy: Dungy is retiring as head coach of the Colts after 13 seasons as a head coach:
He has 148 career wins, including playoffs, and ranks 19th all time in victories. He's the only black coach to win a Super Bowl, the first coach in league history to reach the postseason in 10 consecutive seasons and the only coach to preside over six straight seasons of 12 wins or more (ESPN.)
Obviously having Peyton Manning certainly helped the Colts win a lot of those ball games, but Dungy deserves a ton of credit for giving the Colts a respectable defense. Without that defense, the Colts never win a Super Bowl and would not have had as many wins throughout the years. We can't forget that Dungy was limited in what he could do defensively, while the Colts had so much money invested in Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison. Dungy will certainly be a Hall of Fame coach and deservedly so.
Josh McDaniels: The Denver Broncos have hired Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels as their new head coach. McDaniels is an interesting choice considering that the Broncos issues seem to be more on the defensive side of the ball than on offense. I would still expect Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall, and Eddie Royal to benefit from this hiring though. McDaniels will need to make sure he gets a solid defensive coordinator on his coaching staff though.
More: NFL & NFL Weekly
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