NFL Playoffs - Random Thoughts

As underwhelmed I was with the wild card round, this weekend made up for it....well, except for the Pats-Texans game which I had a feeling wasn't going to be much of game considering the performance of both teams going down the stretch.  I was actually surprised the Texans beat the Bengals...and as said in my last NFL post, if Andy Dalton hits a wide open AJ Green with 2:57 left in the game, it would have been the Bengals facing the Pats.  Instead the Pats blew out the Texans 41-28 and it wasn't as close as the 13-point margin would suggest. 

The games got off to a heck of a start with the Ravens-Broncos game.  I have to give the Ravens big time credit for tenacity.  Talk about possible heart breaking plays.  Ravens go down 7-0 before Peyton Manning even takes the field by giving up a 90-yd punt return.  Then they tie the game at 21-21 just before the half, but give up a TD on the kick return to start the 3rd and then turn it over on their first possession of the 2nd half.  The defense came up big in the 3rd, not letting the Broncos' offense score.  Of course, we all know what happened in the 4th.  Down 28-35, 3rd and 3, on their own 30 yard line, 41 seconds left.  How the Broncos secondary let Jacoby Jones get that wide open deep...wow!  Fans always like to criticize teams for playing the prevent, but if they were in a prevent, that play never happens.  Instead the Broncos were in their base cover 2 and the safety misplayed it.

I know everyone is on John Fox (and to a lesser extent, offensive coordinator Mike McCoy) for Manning taking a knee at the end of the game with 31 seconds left...I was shocked to see that too, considering they had time outs left (all three I think).  Just look at the end of the Falcons-Seahawks game.  But doesn't Manning call his own plays?  Don't all the sportscasters praise him for his ability to call the offense on the field?  Even if Fox did say, "Go take a knee," wouldn't you think Manning would say, "We can win this in regulation" or something like that?  Don't you think Fox would then say, "Go for it."

And speaking of Manning...you're Peyton Manning.  It's overtime and the playoffs, the time when great players do great things.  You get two chances to win a playoff game and you don't.  In fact, you make a bad decision throwing back over the middle while scrambling and essentially cost your team the game.  Wow, that's something Tony Romo would do, not Peyton Manning.

Who would have thought we would be talking about Colin Kaepernick having the great playoff performance and Peyton Manning being the goat. 

Kaepernick started off his first ever playoff drive by throwing a pick-6, but man was he money after that!  186 yards, rushing, 263 passing, 4 TDs, and that 1 INT.  That's a gaudy stat line and you probably already know that it's a NFL rushing record for QBs.  Kap's performance made you forget the Packers were up 14-7 at the end of the 1st quarter and the score was tied 24-24 with 8:38 in the 3rd. 

I wasn't impressed with Russell Wilson when I watched him play in the win over the Redskins, but he really got my attention in the 2nd half of the Falcons 31-28 win.  Down 20-0 at half and not doing much on offense, the Seahawks came back to lead it 28-27 behind some inspired play by Wilson.  Matt Ryan throwing a pick-6 and Atlanta's defense going into conservative mode way to early helped, but Wilson gets some props for the comeback. 

Of course, you have to hand it to Matty Ice for living up to his nickname.  31 seconds, 2 time outs, and Ryan hits a 22 yarder to Harry Douglas and 19 yarder to Tony Gonzalez in consecutive plays to set up Matt Bryant to kick the 49 yard winning field goal.  I don't know who felt worse watching that, the Seahawks' fans or the Broncos' fans. If you where a Seahawks AND Broncos fan you probably threw the remote through the TV screen and vowed never to watch another NFL game again. 

Does that get the monkey off Ryan's back?  I don't know, but it was big time clutch when the game seemed lost and all the positive emotion on the Seahawks side of the ball.  That has to be good for something.