For those who want detailed analysis of the Nevada Caucuses and the South Carolina Primary…take the d@mn day off. I am.
The AFC and NFC Title Games were today.
Screw Hyperbole. Say a prayer for Steve at No Runny Eggs, who is a Packer fan.
Let’s get it on!
San Diego Chargers @ New England Patriots was the AFC Title Game.
On paper it had the potential to be the worst game veer played, and if somehow the NFL could place the Colts in the game anyway instead of San Diego, it would be watchable. This is why I am a fan and not anybody who knows anything despite over a quarter of a century watching the game.
As for the Patriots having their bags packed for the Superbowl, it would be hard to blame them, except Bill Bellichick has probably convinced them that they are a terrible 17-0 team that has accomplished nothing.
For the Chargers, both Philip Rivers and Landanian Tomlinson started, although Tomlinson was clearly not healthy. Tomlinson played sparingly in the first quarter, and then not at all. With heavy winds, the Chargers went into the wind in the first quarter. Yet despite having the wind at their backs, the Patriots had little success. When Tom Brady was intercepted, the Chargers started at the New England 40 yard line. Rivers got the Chargers inside the 10, but his 3rd down pass was ruled incomplete in the back of the end zone. Nate Kaeding’s 26 yard field goal with 3 minutes left in the first quarter put the Chargers up 3-0.
All that did was make the Patriots mad. They stormed down the field, and a little over one minute into the second quarter, Lawrence plunged in from a yard out to put New England up 7-3. San Diego came back with a 65 yard drive, but again the Chargers bogged down inside the 10 yard line. Another field goal cut the gap to 7-6.
A gorgeous punt was downed at the 4 yard line, and the Chargers then blundered. Rivers was intercepted, setting up a Brady touchdown pass to Jabar Gaffney and a 14-6 Patriots advantage with 4 minutes left in the half. San Diego did add a third field goal with 8 seconds left in the half for a 14-9 game at the break.
Rivers had a pair of interceptions in the first half, and on the first drive of the third quarter, Brady had his second interception. Again, the Chargers made it inside the 10 yard line. Again, they bogged down. After taking a timeout, on 3rd and 1, a lateral run was blown up in the backfield. A fourth field goal had the Patriots clinging to a 14-12 lead midway through the third quarter. Brady led the Patriots down the field with relative ease, helped along with strong running from Maroney.
Yet on 3rd and goal, Brady was intercepted in the end zone by Antonio Cromartie. Cromartie then made a mistake himself by trying to run it out rather than kneel in the end zone. Too many players think they will go coast to coast, but it is hard to argue with Cromartie since he has gone the distajnce this season. Yet this time, rather than start at the 20, the Chargers started at their own 3 yard line. After one first down, they punted. A booming punt by Mike Scifres had the Patriots starting at their own 33. They went down the field again, and Brady’s touchdown pass to Wes Welker had the Patriots up 21-12 with 12 1/2 minutes remaining in the game.
San Diego reached the New England 36, but after a couple incomplete passes, with 9 1/2 minutes remaining, the Chargers passed up going for it and kicking a 53 yard field goal, opting to punt. The Patriots took over at their own 12 yard line. The Chargers never saw the ball again. 9 1/2 minutes of clock later, the game had ended. The Patriots will be going to their 4th Superbowl in 7 years. 21-12 Patriots
New York Giants @ Green Bay Packers was the NFC Title Game.
First of all, anybody that refers to Big Blue as the New Jersey Giants should be shot. As for the game, the temperature at game time was one degree below zero, the third coldest in playoff history. Football is a man’s game, which is why I wore a short sleeve shirt today, unlike my friends, who wore long sleeves. Granted I was wrapped in a blanket in my Los Angeles apartment, but I was short sleeved nonetheless.
Brett Favre came out throwing successfully, but the running game was slow to develop. The Packers punted on their first drive, and Eli Maning took the Giants into the red zone. A pass to the end zone was dropped, although Al Harris had good defensive position. A 29 yard field goal by Lawrence Tynes put the Giants up 3-0 with 5 minutes remaining in the opening quarter. The Packers had no success moving the ball, while the Giants could not convert in the red zone when another 3rd down pass was well defended. Another field goal put the Giants up 6-0 with 12 minutes left in the half.
The Giants were dominating the game statistically. They led in time of possession by more than double, and led in plays by exactly double, 22 to 11. The Packers then muffed the ensuing kickoff, starting from their own 10. The Giants were in complete control everywhere except the scoreboard. One play later, Favre had a midrange sideline pass to Donald Driver, who outraced the entire New York defense for the go ahead touchdown. Just like that, a Green Bay team that had 27 yards of offense now had a 90 yard touchdown completion and a 7-6 lead.
After a Green Bay punt pinned the Giants at their own 7 yard line, the Packers got the ball back around midfield. A 20 yard Favre to Driver completion set up a field goal, giving the Packers a 10-6 lead with 90 seconds left in the half. Manning did bring the Gmen as far as the Green Bay 35 thanks to a deep pass to Plaxico Burress, but a second deep ball to Burress at the goal line was ruled incomplete. With 11 seconds left in the half, the Giants bypassed the 52 yard field goal attempt and went for it on 4th and long. Manning was sacked, ending the half.
The Giants went right to work in the second half, with their opening drive helped along by two costly defensive penalties. An Al Harris interception was nullified by an illegal contact penalty on Harris, and a third down incompletion was offset by a questionable roughing the passer penalty. On 3rd and inches from the Green Bay one yard line, Brandon Jacobs fumbled , but the Giants recovered it. they were short of the goal line, but had enough for the first down. On the next two plays, the Giants were stopped short of the end zone, but on each play the Packers jumped offsides. Brandon Jacobs finally barreled in, and the 7 minute drive had the Giants up 13-10.
Tremon Williams returned the ensuing kickoff 49 yards to the New York 39. On 3rd down, a twice deflected pass was caught short of the first down. Yet this time it was the Giants who hurt themselves in the worst possible way as Sam Madison was called for a personal foul penalty. from the 12 yard line, Favre’s second touchdown pass went to Donald Lee, putting the Packers up 17-13 with 5 minutes remaining in the third quarter.
The teams became mirror images of each other as Dominic Hixon returned the kickoff, allowing the Giants to start at their own 43 yard line. Manning threw a sideline pass to Amani Toomer that was ruled inbounds at the Green Bay 12. Mike McCarthy challenged the call, but the reception was upheld. Ahmad Bradshaw rammed it in from 2 yards out, and the Giants retook the lead 20-17 with just over 2 minutes remaining in the third quarter. The Giants led in time of possession at this point 28 minutes to 15 minutes.
After a 20 yard completion to Driver, the Packers had the ball at the New York 31. This was a couple plays after Favre threw a deep ball into triple coverage, which luckily for the Packers, fell incomplete. Favre then got greedy again, and another home run ball this was intercepted. Unfortunately, the ball was fumbled back on the interception return, as offensive lineman Tauscher fell on it for a 10 yard gain after all the confusion. Tom Coughlin’s head exploded, justifiably so. The Packers connected on a field goal with 11:46 remaining, tying the game at 20-20.
Dominic Hixon had another strong return, as the Giants started from their own 40. Eli Manning took the Giants to the Green Bay 34, but on 3rd and 5, he called New York’s second timeout. When play resumed, his pass to Amani Toomer was dropped. An offensive pass interference penalty was accepted, giving the Giants 3rd and 15 instead of 4th and 5. The issue was rendered moot when the Giants gained 10 yards on the next play. On 4th and 5 this time, a pass was deflected and caught short of the first down, but defensive pass interference kept the drive alive. From the 28, a pass into double coverage was knocked away by Al Harris. On 3rd and 7 with 7 minutes remaining, Green Bay on defense took their second timeout. Each team had one remaining. On 4th and 7, Tynes came out for a 43 yard field goal. The kick was wide left.
Green Bay went three and out, and had only 31 yards of offense in the second half at this point. The Giants started their next drive at their own 37 with 6 minutes remaining. On 3rd and inches with 5 minutes remaining, Manning took the quarterback sneak over the first down marker. On 3rd and 9 just shy of midfield, an exhausted Green Bay defense dug deep and made the big play, sacking Manning. Biamilia got a good jump, although this was not another offsides penalty. The Packers took over at their own 17 with 2:48 remaining. After 3 plays and 18 seconds, the Giants took their final timeout.
R.W. McQuarters fielded the ball at midfield and fumbled it. Two Packers had a clear shot at it, tried to pick it up rather than falling on it, and the Giants recovered, starting at the Green Bay 48 with 2:15 remaining. Ahmad Bradshaw then ran up the middle, broke several tackles, and raced to the end zone. The go ahead touchdown was brought back, nullified by an offensive holding penalty. The Giants faced 1st and 20. The Giants faced second and 15 at the 2 minute warning. A completion to Steve Smith went just past the marker. It clearly looked short of the first down, so the officials decided to do a booth review. The call was reversed, setting up 3rd and inches. Ahmad Bradshaw shook off a tackle in the background, and gained 8 yards. A completion to Steve Smith went for 10 yards. With 4 seconds left, Manning calmly spiked the ball.
Tynes came on for a 36 yard field goal attempt. It was not only a chance at redemption, but a trip to the Superbowl on the line. This time the snap was high, and the kick was a knuckleball that went way wide left by a Wisconsin mile. The game went into overtime.
I have two dear friends, one in Phoenix and one in New York, that are Giants fans. I had the phone in my hand, but there was no congratulations call just yet. I trusted that they were still alive after the last missed kick.
On Favre’s second play from scrimmage, he was intercepted by Corey Webster. The Giants began at the Green Bay 34. On 4th and 5 from the 30, Tynes came out for a 3rd time. This was a 48 yard attempt for a guy who had missed from closer. The Packers decided not to call timeout to ice the kicker. Tynes nailed it, and the upset was complete.
Eli Manning, Tom Coughlin, Michael Strahan were going to the Superbowl after 3 road wins in the playoffs, and 10 straight road wins overall. Archie Manning celebrated with some nondescript fat white guy that still has not been identified. Brett Favre and the Packers were going home. The 18-0 Patriots will be waiting for them. In 2 weeks we play Superbowl XLII. If it is anywhere near as exciting as the NFC Title Game, it will be worth watching. 23-20 Giants, OT
Next Sunday is “dead week.” There is nothing on television. Inbetween bouts of uncontrollable sobbing, I will turn on the television crying, “this cannot be.” In 2 weeks we play the Superbowl, in 3 weeks the Pro Bowl, and after that, only 7 months until the 2008 season kicks off. At least the draft is something.
Bill O’Reilly picked the Giants over the Packers, which reminds me that there is a Presidential race going on. Somebody somewhere cares. The next two weeks is about football.
The Warm and Fuzzy Bowl will be played between those two sweet individuals, Bill Bellichick and Tom Coughlin. They are both Bill Parcells disciples, except they smile less. A Tuna Bowl without the Tuna…there might not be a single pregame quote.
Are you ready for Superbowl XLII!!! Phoenix Arizona here we come!
Giants vs Patriots…Let’s get it on!
eric
I’m trying to keep from playing Russian Roulette with no empty chambers. It’s kind of hard between the Packers’ loss, my 3-7 playoff performance against the spread, the stillborn Thompson campaign, and now the snow.
Seriously, the Packers went way farther than anybody here in the land of ice cream and ice-brewed beer expected just 5 short months ago.