Sunday's Wild Card Playoffs

Here is what I learned from the Wild Card Playoffs, the better quarterback in all four games survived and advanced. Alex Smith, Ben Roethlisberger, Russell Wilson, and Aaron Rodgers are all living to play another day, and all had to go on the road to do it. Can we say that there are many other factors in a team winning a football game, sure we can but can you say that each of those quarterbacks didn't have at least one or two plays which determined the outcome of the game?

What happened in Minnesota?!?

I have nothing to say that may actually comfort Vikings kicker Blair Walsh after his face cringing missed field goal from 27-yards out that would have put the Vikings ahead and most likely advanced them to next weekend, it was a chip-shot, you've got to make those and he knows that, however, I will stick up for Walsh. Adrian Peterson's late-game fumble was massive, and I can't understate that. To cough up the ball when momentum was swinging away from your team is absolutely brutal. Walsh's previous kicks from 43 & 47-yards were not easy kicks at all. This the playoffs though, every team knows what's at stake and the bottom line is every inch does actually count.

Here is what the Vikings have going for them though;
(1) Moving into a new state-of-the-art stadium next season. (2) They've hit on a lot of their first-round picks over the last few years, Floyd, Bridgewater, Smith, Rhodes, Waynes, Kalil, and Barr all which are young and making plays for that team. (3) Jerick McKinnon and Stefon Diggs are young offensive weapons who played very well this season. That's much more than many other teams in the NFC have going for them.

To the victor, It's unlikely that one single play can completely alter a football game, unlikely but not impossible. Down 0-9 in the fourth quarter, unable to get anything going on offense all day, Russell Wilson scoops up a fumble which had been snapped over his head, escapes a huge loss to find Tyler Lockett in the middle of the field for a 35-yard gain and puts them in position to score and change momentum. That is what Russell Wilson brings to the table, no play is done until it's done, he has an ability to escape the pocket, knows what to do when the plays break down, and is in complete control of the offense. The win wasn't pretty but it was absolutely frigid out, the conditions were brutal, and you could see on both teams the effects it had. For a team that has reached two straight Super Bowls, they're battle tested and this win against the Vikings in the freezing cold is just one more battle that Wilson and Seattle have survived.

Props to the Green Bay Packers, they got 'it' back!

I can't say I'm all that surprised though, I'm really not. We're not Kirk Cousins fans over this way. When he beats the likes of Aaron Rodgers in a shoot out, come talk to me. No, it isn't easy to say now that the game is over but seriously, Rodgers is a winner. My thoughts on the Packers are simple, they played a football team they're better than and they just needed to figure that out on their own. Jay Gruden and Washington had no idea how to stop the wave once Green Bay got it going. They were running down hill, both running backs Eddie Lacy and James Starks had their way with the Washington defense late. Rodgers was making plays all afternoon and I really felt like for the first time in months the Packers were feeling their offense. Green Bay was really trying to get play makers like Randall Cobb involved as often as possible, getting him the ball in the backfield and finding him open for passes. All around I really felt like the Packers were playing a complete game, that being said - it gets much more difficult going forward. . .

I'm finished talking about the NFC East "champions", I'd rather point out what the Packers are running into in Arizona. A team they lost to 8-38 just weeks ago. A veteran led team that's been able to rest for over a week now. I'll also point out this, the game has to be on Aaron Rodgers shoulders, without Jordy Nelson I'm still failing to see the other guy on the offense that can be as dynamic as they'll need a player to be against the Cardinals. I'd love to say it could be Eddie Lacy but let's face it, he really hasn't been what one would have hoped he'd be heading into this year. Cobb hasn't been super impressive and while we really like young Davante Adams, he's been far to streaky to be relied upon. The Packers have their hands full with the Arizona Cardinals, either way it's the playoffs, it's Palmer vs. Rodgers. I'm jacked up!!

Saturday's Wild Card Playoffs

Put the AFC Wild Card games into perspective; The Texans turned the ball over five times and got boat raced on their home field. The undisciplined Bengals were as undisciplined as a team can be when their opportunity to get Marvin Lewis his first playoff coaching win in seven tries was on the line. Chiefs & Steelers advance.

Two take-a-ways from Texans / Chiefs:

Brian Hoyer is a good back-up, spot starter, probably going to win more games than he'll lose playing in the AFC South, but win you a couple playoff games and get you to a conference championship?!? No. The Texans don't have an All-Pro rusher in their backfield, their tight-ends don't help out the quarterback when the ball has to come out quick. What does that mean? It means a defense is going to make Brian Hoyer beat them. Which obviously Brian Hoyer isn't going to be able to get done against a very good, opportunistic defense. Should Houston have pulled the plug on him after a couple of those turnovers? No, Brandon Weeden wasn't the answer. At the end of the day, the Texans have a good defense, superstar wide receiver, but still need a quarterback to build the franchise around, that was clear yesterday.

As far as the Chiefs go, that's a good football team with a veteran quarterback who knows his limitations. I'm always impressed at an offense that knows what they are regardless of who gets injured. The Chiefs lost Jamaal Charles in early October, and it was next back up from that day forward. Very similar to Pittsburgh and Seattle, both playoff teams who lost their top backs and didn't seem to miss much of a beat in the run game. Credit head coach Andy Reid and quarterback Alex Smith, they run an offense that plays to its strengths; Run the ball, mix in the pass, and don't turn the ball over. I won't call Smith a game manager however, he's better than that. Smith is a mobile quarterback who now uses all of the offensive weapons at his disposal. Seven Chiefs caught balls from Smith yesterday, on a day where he may have lost his most electric offensive weapon, wide receiver Jeremy Maclin. The 30-0 beat down Kansas City put on Houston was a complete victory, a no doubter.

Two take-a-ways from Bengals / Steelers:

These two teams do not like each other, for real don't like each other. That was
real dislike, coaches, players, fans, there was no love in Cincinnati last night. Unfortunately, ask somebody who has ever played a sport against someone they didn't like, keeping your head and staying focused on the task at hand is by far the hardest thing to do, and that is what determines who wins. I agree with everyone who rushed to the defense of Cincinnati, Steelers assistant coach Joey Porter didn't belong on the field, the refs should have thrown a flag once they heard him going at opposing players, they didn't and it escalated. Unfortunately, Bengals veteran DB Adam Jones reacted poorly, couldn't keep his head, gave the Steelers an additional 15-yards at the worst possible time. Hold on though, lets circle back to the play before all the extra-curricular activity took place. Bengals LB Vontaze Burfict's 15-yard penalty for the hit on Antonio Brown started the problems. Burfict is a known knuckle head, who has talent for days but can't seem to get out of his own way, or his teams way. These are the type of emotional reactions that cost teams games. There are two known outside factors that cost teams a victory when games are close;

(1) Bad penalties in costly situations.

(2) Turnovers.

Which brings us to Cincinnati's other problem. That game was in hand last night, under two-minutes remaining with the lead and the ball, Bengals running back Jeremy Hill makes the one mistake you cannot make as an offensive player, he fumbled the ball. With Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, injured or not, being one of the few quarterbacks in the league that you cannot give the ball back to with time remaining on the clock, it's no wonder the Bengals lost that game.

Second take-a-way, Cincinnati has to go out and win a playoff game at some point. Whatever happens in the regular season going forward for Marvin Lewis and that team, means nothing, absolutely nothing. I thought back-up quarterback A.J. McCarron played well enough for the Bengals to win, so I really can't tell you that Andy Dalton's Bengals would have seen a different outcome. I've always respected Cincinnati ownership for staying the course with Marvin Lewis and not being one of the other two-dozen NFL franchises that installs the revolving door in the head coaches office, but someone has to take the blame for the continued playoff disappointments. Players like Adam Jones and Vontaze Burfict didn't come to Cincinnati with spotless histories, they didn't, so as good as I believe they are, you have to expect a certain level of this, so who in the front office is responsible for bringing in a player who puts you in a better spot to actually win these games? Someone in Cincinnati, and I admittedly don't know who that would be, needs to find a way to address how to keep your head in the right space in a close game.

NFC, you're up.