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.
The second-seeded team in the NFC, the Minnesota Vikings, which also received a bye week, came out on top as well. Against the Cowboys, Minnesota jumped ahead early and never looked back as it cruised to a 34-3 win. The ageless Vikings quarterback Brett Favre threw four touchdowns in the game, three of which were to wide receiver Sidney Rice.
In the AFC, the top-seeded Colts took care of business as well. The Colts were just as dominating as the NFC’s best in their 20-3 win over the Ravens. Many believed the Colts offense would be a little rusty, but their defense looked in top form. Colts quarterback Peyton Manning also had a solid game as he went 30 of 44 for 246 yards and two scores.
The one game that was different from the others, though, took place in San Diego. The AFC’s second-seeded Chargers hosted the Jets and rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez in what many expected to be an easy San Diego win.
Sanchez and the Jets didn’t believe so, however. New York scored 14 points in the final quarter and used a crafty defensive attack to upset the Chargers 17-14. Chargers pro bowl kicker Nate Kaeding missed three field goals in the game which would have undoubtedly changed the outcome of the game.
Once again, the Chargers let their fans down in the playoffs and once again, the Jets’ Greene had another good day as he rushed for 128 yards and a touchdown.
And then there were four.
The matchups for conference championship weekend are set as in the NFC, the Saints will host the Vikings and the in the AFC, the Colts will host the Jets.
It is the first time since 2002 that the two top seeds in the NFC, the Saints and Vikings, will be facing each other in the championship game.
In the AFC, the Jets enter their game with Indianapolis with a target on their backs, as they were the ones who ended the Colts’ perfect season in week 16 by beating them 29-15.
It will be interesting to see how the Saints offensive line handles the pass rush of the Vikings and what will be even more interesting is how the Vikings defense as a whole, plans on containing the electric Reggie Bush.
A known dual-threat, Bush ran for 84 yards on just five carries last weekend and scored once on the ground while hauling in four passes for 24 yards.
In the AFC championship game, the matchup between Jets shut down corner Darrelle Revis and Colts all-pro receiver Reggie Wayne will also be one to keep an eye on.
Revis has helped the Jets achieve a top-ranked defense this season and has shut down nearly every wide receiver he’s faced. For the Colts to win, they will absolutely have to pass and Revis could make that a hard job.
This Sunday, the Super Bowl will have its teams and two teams will go home. The Jets and Colts start things off Sunday at 3 p.m. on CBS, and the Saints and Vikings have the nightcap at 6:40 p.m. on Fox.