Tears on my Popcorn - Divisional Playoffs in Review Jan 14, 2008 | More

Divisional Playoff Week in Review

Star QB’s Shine on Saturday

Packers 42 --- Seahawks 20

The Seahawks got out to an early lead thanks to a pair of Packer turnovers, but it was Brett Favre and that Lambeau magic that led Green Bay to a victory. Ryan Grant was the player of the game in this one, though, with 201 yards on the ground and 3 TD’s. He overcame two fumbles on the Packers first two drives of the game. Greg Jennings finished the game with 71 receiving yards and 2 TD’s as he continues to be Brett Favre’s favorite receiver. The iron-man finished the day with 173 yards and 3 TD’s.

There were 45 points scored in the first half in this snowy game, but as the weather got worse, points were hard to come by, and that was a bad sign for Seattle. The Seahawks scored 14 points in the first four minutes and managed to score only six the rest of the way.

Matt Hasselbeck threw for 194 yards and 1 TD in the loss, but the running game was even less effective. Shaun Alexander carried the ball 9 times for just 20 yards and a score. Bobby Engram was the beneficiary of Hasselbeck’s only TD. The Seahawks will go home and their main concern this off-season will be their running game. The Packers would face the winner of the DAL-NYG game.

Patriots 31 --- Jaguars 20

When you play New England, you have to be perfect. You must stay stride-by-stride with them or you’ll have a difficult shot at knocking them off. David Garrard’s fumble in the first half was extremely costly because the Pats were able to take a 14-7 lead and the Jags could not regain the lead for the remainder of the game. Tom Brady led the way once again for New England throwing for 262 yards and 3 TD’s. He completed 26 of 28 passes setting a new postseason completion percentage record. Laurence Maroney rumbled for 122 yards and a score as well. Wes Welker caught a TD pass and tight end Ben Watson had 2 catches- both for scores. The Patriots would face the winner of the Colts-Chargers game and likely set up the Pats-Colts matchup that everyone has been waiting for.

The Jaguars gave the Pats a good run, but just could not stop them on offense. David Garrard threw for 278 yards, 2 TD’s, and 1 pick. Their strong suit, the run game, only totaled 80 yards between Taylor, Jones-Drew, and Garrard. Jacksonville can enter next season knowing they have a team that can compete, but will be playing in one of the toughest divisions in football.

Road Dogs Win on Upset Sunday

Chargers 28 --- Colts 24

The Chargers heard all week how they were going to be outmanned by the Colts and this was just a game that had to be played to go through the motions to get to the classic of Colts-Pats in the AFC Championship. They obviously took it personally- from the 1^st man on the roster to the 53^rd.  Billy Volek had the game-winning TD for San Diego in this one. How hard is that to believe? Philip Rivers had to leave the game in the 2^nd half with an injury as did Tomlinson in the first half. However, Billy Volek, Michael Turner, and Darren Sproles carried the load to lead San Diego to the

AFC Championship Game against the Pats.

The Colts had plenty of chances in the final minutes though as they failed to score on four tries inside the San Diego 10-yard line with just over 2 minutes to go. After their defense held the Chargers and forced them to punt, Indy had another chance to march down the field for a TD, but Dallas Clark couldn’t hang on to a 4^th down pass. On the previous play, Reggie Wayne had a ball in his hands in San Diego territory, but was drilled by Marlon McCree and couldn’t hang on.

Peyton Manning finished the game with 402 yards, 3 scores, and 2 picks. Dallas Clark, Anthony Gonzalez, and Reggie Wayne each caught a TD pass for the Colts. Philip Rivers had 264 yards, 3 TD’s, and 1 INT before leaving the game. Vincent Jackson, Chris Chambers, and Darren Sproles were all beneficiaries of a Rivers’ TD pass.  

Giants 21 --- Cowboys 17

Tears on my popcorn. The Giants went into Dallas on Sunday and left with a W. Tony Romo looked like Eli Manning of the old in the 2^nd half as the Cowboys got away from what worked best in the 1^st half- the run game. Trailing in the 4^th quarter, the Cowboys decided to put the ball in the hands of Tony Romo and ran it only four times with Marion Barber, who had 129 yards and a TD in the loss. The Giants sacked Romo just two times, but constantly put pressure on him in the 2^nd half and made him look dumbfounded, which was key to their victory. The old vet, Amani Toomer, was also vital with 4 catches for 80 yards and 2 TD’s.

Terrell Owens played despite his ankle injury and was effective early with a TD catch on the Cowboys’ first score. However, he managed to catch just 3 balls the rest of the game for 44 yards. In their two regular season games this year, Owens caught 4 TD’s for over 200 yards. In his post-game press conference, Owens lips quivered and he even shed a tear behind his sunglasses when asked about his QB Tony Romo.

There were two key plays in this game that enabled the Giants to win. One was the drive at the end of the first half to tie the game at 14 apiece after the Cowboys dominated the 2^nd quarter. The second was the drop by Patrick Crayton on 3^rd down when the Cowboys led 17-14. The Giants answered on the next drive to score the game-winning TD.

Eli Manning was 12/18 for 163 yards and 2 TD’s. Thunder and lightning were in full effect as Brandon Jacobs had 14 carries for 54 yards and a TD, while Ahmad Bradshaw carried 6 times for 34 yards. For Dallas , Tony Romo threw for 201 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT. Jason Witten led the Cowboys with 7 catches for 81 yards. It’s on to Lambeau for the Giants in the NFC Championship game.