What a weekend of great action we have just witnessed, in the words of a good friend of the blog ‘Ladies and Gentleman, the NFL Divisional Playoffs!’
Right so no ramble this week just straight into the four games starting with the NFC divisional games:
Right so no ramble this week just straight into the four games starting with the NFC divisional games:
New Orleans at Seattle
Away from home this year New Orleans have been a bit hit and miss with their performances but as this was the playoffs, we should see the real Drew Brees Right?
As is often the case with Seattle the weather would also play a part because just before kickoff the heavens just opened up making for extremely difficult passing conditions. It would seem that it was not just the Seattle fans that would make a difference in this one.
Okay so weather and fans aside it was New Orleans that would have the first possession of the ball and the first chance to score however the Seattle defence were in lockdown mode and forced the Saints to go three and out. On the punt Morstead fumbled the snap and only just managed to get the punt off and in doing so he sliced the ball for what was a very short punt.
This gave Seattle the ball in great field position and they were able to take advantage of it by scoring a 38 yard field goal. New Orleans answered back with a solid drive however Shayne Graham missed the field goal attempt. To be fair to graham it wasn't it all his fault, what’s that great saying from Ace Ventura ‘Laces out Marino’ lol
Anyways back to the game and the Seahawks began to start dominating both the game and all of the talking between plays. If I had one complaint about Seattle it would definitely be that they talk too much. Whilst the occasional jibe may be palatable, after every play is just excessive and frankly I am getting bored of listening to it! Whoops there was another digression, I do apologise.
Seattle were stopping New Orleans on just about everything they tried whether it be forcing a fumble or just making them Punt. In the meantime the Seattle offence was building steady momentum and by halftime the score was 16 - 0 to the Seahawks.
After the break it was more of the same formula with defence dominating the game and it was not until the fourth quarter that the scoring continued again. New Orleans managed to a get a touchdown back thanks to a Khiry Robinson 1 yard touchdown run at the beginning of the quarter however they could not manage to do anything on their ensuing drives and in fact the next score came from Seattle whilst they were trying to run out the clock. Marshawn Lynch managed to run in from 31 yards to seal the victory for the Seahawks.
To see just how well Seattle played in this game, check out the highlights by clicking on the picture below:
Final Score: New Orleans 15 - 23 Seattle
San Francisco vs Carolina
Now we move onto the other NFC game between San Francisco and Carolina. My thoughts prior to this game were that we were going to have some good old fashioned smash mouth football and I have to say that I was not disappointed. Both teams currently have young mobile quarterbacks but they also have two of the best defences in the league. The last time these teams met earlier in the season it finished 10 - 9 to Carolina.
In fact the start of the game was almost a carbon copy of their earlier meeting with the 49ers taking an early six point lead courtesy of two Phil Dawson field goals. Carolina would come to life offensively in the second quarter as they scored on a beautiful 31 yard touchdown pass from Cam Newton to Steve Smith. The Panthers also followed this up with a field goal with just under four minutes left in the half. I am sure the 49ers fans were thinking ‘oh no, not again, not like this’.
Luckily for the 49ers fans Vernon Davis managed to break the Panthers run of points on the stroke of halftime with a one yard touchdown pass from Colin Kaepernick. The footwork by Davis on the catch was just simply outstanding.
This touchdown right before halftime really proved to be the turning point in the game as the Panthers would not score another point. The second half was just a demonstration in brutal defence by San Francisco and their offense managed a further 10 points thanks to a four yard run from Kaepernick and a 34 yard field goal from Phil Dawson.
To check out this brutal defence and the great catch from Vernon Davis, check out the highlights by clicking the picture below:
Final Score: San Francisco 23 - 10 Carolina
Now we move onto the AFC to see how things played out.
Indianapolis at New England
Going into the game Andrew Luck had a point to prove to himself after the humiliating loss to the Patriots in the regular season last year when they lost 59 - 24. Indianapolis also had their not so secret weapon in Robert Mathis coming off a season in which he got 19.5 sacks. It would have been easy to think by looking at this game that the two quarterbacks would battle it out for supremacy and bragging rights however Mr Belichick is smarter than that.
For those who listen to our podcast ‘Spitball’ you will know that I said the best way to counter a great pass rush is to run the ball straight at them instead. This is exactly what the Patriots did and after half of the first quarter had passed, the Patriots were 14 - 0 up courtesy of two touchdown runs from LaGarrette Blount both from two yards out. Indianapolis managed a 38 yard touchdown pass of their own on a beautifully executed go route from LaVon Brazil.
The second quarter started off in the same way as the first with LaGarrette Blount running into the endzone from two yards. Again Indianapolis answered back, this time with a 36 yard field goal from Adam Vinatieri and a safety as they forced Ryan Allen to fumble through the end zone on a blocked punt. At the half things were poised at 21 - 12 to the Patriots.
The second half began with a 21 yard field goal from Vinatieri and this brought the Colts back to within six points and it was very much game on again or so I thought!! Unfortunately although they did score another touchdown it was not meant to be Indianapolis day as the Patriots rushing attack led by Blount and backed up by Ridley and Vereen proved to be too much for the Colts.
Well I guess it was actually more like the combination of the New England rushing attack and the interceptions thrown by Andrew Luck that led to this one sided scoreline in the end. Check out the best of the action by clicking on the picture below:
Final Score: Indianapolis 22 - 43 New England
San Diego vs Denver
We finish our round up with the 3rd meeting between Denver and San Diego this season. Both teams have won one game apiece and this truly was a winner takes game with the winner progressing to the AFC Championship game next weekend.
On paper this had the makings to be a mouth watering tie however it was quite the opposite as San Diego did not score a single point in the first three quarters of play whilst Denver went about their business. The only highlight for the Chargers was an interception by Donald Butler at the back of the endzone to stop a Broncos touchdown.
We move ahead now to the fourth quarter and by this point the Broncos were 17 - 0 up. The Chargers did try to make a game of it with two touchdown passes to Keenan Allen either side of a Knowshon Moreno touchdown for Denver. The Chargers also got a field goal with just under four minutes left on the clock to bring the score back to 17 - 24 but they were unable to put Denver under any real pressure.
I think it is best if you check out the highlights by clicking on the picture below because I have run out of words to describe this game:
Final Score: San Diego 17 - 24 Denver
Okay so now we know that the two championship games will be San Francisco vs Seattle for the NFC and New England vs Denver for the AFC. Both of these games have the potential to be great games and if you believe what you here on Madden, the championship games are often better than the Superbowl itself as the teams are more familiar with each other.
With that said ladies and gentleman, be sure to check out our podcast ‘Spitball’ later in the week and until next time, stay safe, take care and ‘Thanks for Stopping By’.