The Greatest Game

And then there were four. As in teams left in the National Football League playoff race after this weekend. As in the amount of Wild Card teams that were knocked out of the playoffs this weekend. That’s because the four teams (two from each conference) that had byes the previous weekend all were able to triumph over the sexy Wild Card winners of the week before. It often happens that way in the NFL playoffs. Byes are a good thing if you handle it right the next week.

So we had four games with four favored teams all winning (but only two of them covering the spread, with two of the dogs beating the spread). And even though one game had a score of 31 to 0 at one time, ALL FOUR of the playoff games this weekend were settled by seven points or less. The amount of scoring was super consistent too. A 31 – 24 game, a 27 – 20, a 26 – 20 and a 23 – 16. The average low scoring over/under line is usually about 39 and the average high scoring one is about 55. And the other two games were in between those numbers. Does Vegas know their stuff or what?

The four games were all competitive, even the one that started out 31 – 0. One of them turned out to be one of the all time playoff classics.

The Games.

Kansas City vs. New England

The Patriots, with their bye week of rest, knocked off the sizzling hot, Kansas City Chiefs, they the team with the 11 game winning streak, by a score of 27 to 20. It was one of those typical New England Patriot games played at Foxboro.  Tom Brady threw a couple of touchdown passes to Gronk and even “ran” one in himself, as well as hitting on a ton of key third down passes to keep New England’s drives alive. Every time out, Brady seems to be continuing his onslaught on the record book and his place in the football conversation as the best quarterback EVER.

The Patriots played a solid game on defense, stopping the solid Kansas City offense pretty consistently all game until a late Chief score made the game seem a bit closer than it really was. The Chiefs came into the game playing as if they could beat anybody. They left Foxboro, thoroughly beaten. Eleven wins in a row during the regular season is one thing. Beating New England, in Foxboro, during the playoffs is another.

Seattle vs. Carolina

The Carolina Panthers started the game with the ball and went down the field and scored immediately. Then, on the first Seattle series, they picked off a Russell Wilson pass and took it to the house. Then they scored again to make it 21 to nothing early in the second quarter. Then they kicked a field goal to make it 24, and minutes later, they scored another touchdown to go ahead 31 to nothing in the second quarter. In the immortal words of Vince Lombardi, the city of Seattle was saying, “What the hell is going on out there?”

Seattle got down to the Panther 20 yard line and had a fourth and five late in the half. They SHOULD have kicked a field goal to cut the lead to 31 to 3, to turn a five possession deficit to four, to get some points on the board and to get SOMETHING positive going in their behalf. Everything about this game’s first half was suggesting that Seattle couldn’t play any worse and indeed were going to make some kind of noise in the second half. Sometimes, games are a tale of two halves. This game was going to be that kind of game. They didn’t kick their field goal (and completed a four yard pass on 4th and five) and would regret it later.

Trailing 31 to 0, Seattle’s quarterback Russell Wilson started throwing the ball all over the place, and three touchdown passes later, the lead had been cut to 31 to 21. The Seahawk defense was playing really well and the earlier field goal would have cut the deficit to a one possession game at 31 to 24 when they had their penultimate possession and WOULD have had a chance to tie the game. But they didn’t have that chance. They did use that late possession to kick the field goal that cut the former 31 to 0 deficit to 31 to 24, but they never really got that chance to tie this game. They were one possession short.

The one they left on the field in the first half. The Seattle that was getting thrashed in the first half could have helped the Seattle team that was great in the second half with that one extra score that could have helped the team only need one less possession. Sometimes, when a coach is getting whipped and out-coached, he needs to manage the game for the good of the team.

Seattle is going home and Carolina is advancing. One wonders, though, if, even though they were thoroughly outplayed in the first half, if the Seattle team could have pulled off one of those miracle comebacks if they had managed the scoreboard better.

Pittsburgh vs. Denver

The Pittsburgh Steelers had to play the Broncos without their best player, wide receiver Antonio Brown, the best receiver in football, who was out of the game due to a concussion. Their quarterback Ben Roethlisberger had a damaged shoulder and was at less than the top of his game. They were using their third string running back due to injuries to the first two backs on their depth chart. And they still made a game of it.

That’s because the Denver Broncos of today have pretty much been reduced to a defense first, and ball controlling, ground game based type of team, even though they are quarterbacked by Peyton Manning. Their defense kept them in this game and allowed them to kick five field goals and stay just close enough to Pittsburgh to capitalize on the game’s biggest play, a fumble by that third string Steeler running back, a guy with that never to be forgotten name of Fitzgerald Toussant.

The Broncos scored their only touchdown in the fourth quarter and were able to sack Roethlisberger late in the game to stop any chance of a Steeler comeback. The fully loaded Steelers probably would have beaten this Bronco team, but they were too beat up to do that and the Broncos will face the Patriots and Manning will face Brady again, and the likelihood is that the media will make a big deal of another Manning – Brady duel and the Brady of now is playing like a 28 year old and Manning is playing like he’s 40. It’s gonna be tough for Denver, but they ARE at home. And they’ll have a puncher’s chance because of their strong defense.

Green Bay vs. Arizona

This is the game that turned out to be one of the best playoff games in recent memory.  It was a competitive battle between a nervous and erratic Cardinal team and the veteran Packer playoff team that seems like it is always in big games.  It wasn’t the early part of the game that made it memorable, it was the ending.

The Cardinals were getting beat by Green Bay in the first half because Carson Palmer was not playing well and seemingly throwing to the wrong receivers.  Mainly, he wasn’t throwing to Larry Fitzgerald.  In the second half, Palmer started going to Fitzgerald more and the Cardinals were the great benefactors of that decision.

To get the real appreciation for this game, you cut to the 4th quarter.  Green Bay is leading Arizona 13 – 10 late in the game until Arizona drives the length of the field to the Packer nine yard line, when Carson Palmer throws a pass that gets deflected.  As it sails through the air, just out of the reach of a couple of Packers trying to intercept it, it flutters as if it was destined to land in the hands of Cardinal wide receiver Michael Floyd.  The crowd erupts as Arizona goes into the lead 17 to 13.

Green Bay cannot do anything on offense with their next possession and, after going for it on fourth down and failing, Arizona got the ball back deep in Packer territory and went up 20 to 13 with a field goal with about two minutes remaining.  The Packers went backwards for a few plays leaving themselves with a 4th and 20 from their own four.  Aaron Rodgers pulled a little magic out of his hat with a 60 yard completion to not only keep hope alive, it got the Packers into “Hail Mary” range.

With just five seconds left and the ball on the Cardinal 41, Rodgers pulled out his second magical act by hurling a desperation Hail Mary pass into the end zone.  Just like he did in Detroit earlier in the year, Rodgers completed a last second miracle pass for a touchdown that dramatically tied the game.  The game would go into overtime.

In overtime, with all of the place buzzing after the Packer miracle, the coin toss had to be re-flipped because the ref didn’t even make the coin rotate properly.  On the second flip, Arizona won it and got the ball.  A lumbering Carson Palmer scrambled around, evaded getting sacked and spotted  Fitzgerald, who took the pass and rambled 75 yards to the Packer five yard line.  The next play, a shovel pass to Fitzgerald scored the winning touchdown for the Cardinals (as you DON’T get a chance to match a touchdown in overtime).  Final score Arizona 26, Green Bay 20.

A game that turned as dramatic as a playoff game could get had taken fans up and down the roller coaster of human drama like no game had done in recent memory.  Everything about the final minutes reminded you why pro football is still the greatest game for providing the human drama of athletic competition – the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.  Arizona goes on to play at Carolina next week for a chance to play in the Super Bowl.

The top two teams from each conference are the final four teams left.  When you get the best playing the best, you get the deserving champions.  You sometimes get a chance to have the types of great games like the Packer/Cards game.  Pro Football is now America’s favorite game and now is the best time of the year to be a sports fan.