Collegiate Times

As the NFL playoffs began, each team had its own personal stories to deal with.

The Dallas Cowboys entered the postseason in search of their first playoff win in 13 years. A win would secure head coach Wade Phillips’ job, while a loss would undoubtedly lead to Phillips’ firing and yet another regime change in D-Town.

Their opponent, the Philadelphia Eagles, had to deal with making the daunting trip back to Cowboy Stadium after they were embarrassed 24-0 the week before.

In the other NFC wild card game, the Arizona Cardinals hosted the Green Bay Packers — a repeat matchup from week 17 as well.

The week before, the Cardinals were thrashed by the Packers 33-7, and the defending NFC champions weren’t happy.

In the AFC, the storylines were even more riveting.

The Cincinnati Bengals, just weeks after the passing of former wide receiver Chris Henry, had to face the New York Jets one week after a demoralizing 37-0 loss to New York.

As for the Jets, head coach Rex Ryan had to make sure his team did not get too conceited after the past week’s victory and stayed focused throughout the week’s practice.

In game two of AFC play, the Baltimore Ravens had to prepare to play in the hostile environment of Gillette Stadium against one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks, the New England Patriots’ Tom Brady.

When it comes to the Patriots, they had to try their best to recover from a season-ending loss to the Houston Texans and the loss of wide receiver Wes Welker, who tore his anterior cruciate ligament in the final week. 

Each team had its personal struggles, but only certain teams could overcome them.

In the Eagles-Cowboys matchup, the Cowboys used the momentum they gained from the previous week’s win over the Eagles to end the Eagles season for good with a dominating 34-14 win.

Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo silenced critics with an outstanding game. Romo completed 23 of 35 passes against the Eagles and racked up 244 yards along with two touchdowns. Also, running back Felix Jones carried the ball 16 times for 148 yards and a score.

The Cardinals and Packers competed in arguably the most exciting game of the weekend. In what could be described as nothing but a shootout, the two teams combined for 96 points — the most ever in an NFL playoff game.

Surprisingly, however, defense won the game for the Cardinals when linebacker Karlos Dansby forced a fumble and ran it back for a touchdown to give Arizona a 51-45 win in overtime.

Cardinals’ quarterback Kurt Warner added to his incredible playoff resume by completing 29 of 33 passes for 379 yards and five touchdowns. Warner’s counterpart, Aaron Rodgers, wasn’t too shabby himself. Rodgers completed 28 of 42 passes on the game for 423 yards and four scores.

In AFC play, the Bengals promised that the outcome of their wild card game would not resemble the previous week’s loss to the Jets. However, Jets rookie running back Shonn Greene thought otherwise.

After defeating the Bengals in week 17, the Jets rode Greene’s running to a 24-14 win in round one. Greene ended the game with 135 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown to boot.

Maybe the most surprising outcome of the weekend, though, was the Ravens’ 33-14 victory over the Patriots. The Ravens used a stingy defense and career day from running back Ray Rice to end the Patriots season. Rice carried the ball 22 times for 159 yards and two scores and his long touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage set the tone for a game that would soon be out of reach for the Patriots.

When round one was all said and done, there was a lot to talk about. Yet round two was possibly more intriguing.

Many critics believe a week off can have a negative effect on the play of those teams that receive bye weeks for their superb play in the regular season. Many critics believe teams lose rhythm, lose focus and in doing so, lose performance in their first game back from a bye.

In the divisional round of the playoffs, that was hardly the case.

The NFC’s first-seeded New Orleans Saints scored 35 points in the first half to take control and eventually go on to beat the Cardinals 45-14 in round two.

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