Houston-31 Cincinnati-10
1- It wasn't a great game by any means, but this game was competitive for the most part. The game changer was J.J. Watt's interception and return for a touchdown to put the Texans up 17-10 late in the first half. That was a killer on the Bengals part.
2- For the second time in three years, Marvin Lewis mismanaged his challenges and left himself without any challenges in the second half. He challenged a spot on a second down early in the second quarter, and it turned out he was wrong. Next, he challenged another fumble call on Houston's next possession, he lost the challenge, and it wiped out all of his challenges. He did the same thing against the Jets in 2009. By halftime, he was done with challenges. Lewis got exposed again in another big game.
3- Andy Dalton looked like a rookie QB on the road in his first playoff start. He was 27-42 for 257 yards and 3 interceptions. He started pretty well, but he went downhill after the Watt interception. Here were the Bengals second half possessions: Punt, Punt, Interception, Interception, and turn it over on downs. He'll be back, but this was a learning experience for him.
4- The Texans did a great job of managing the game for T.J. Yates. Yates finished 11-20 for 159 yards and 1 touchdown. He played well on third down and hit Andre Johnson for a huge 40 yard touchdown pass to make it 24-10 late in the third quarter.
5- Arian Foster was sensational and ripped through the Bengals defense. His 42 yard touchdown run was a thing of beauty and it officially ended the game with 5:15 left in the fourth.
6- Congrats to Gary Kubiak and the Texans on their first win in franchise history. The crowd at Reliant Stadium sounded loud, and now they head to Baltimore to take on the Ravens on Sunday.
New Orleans-45 Detroit-28
1-When Detroit jumped out to a 14-7 lead in the second quarter, I started to think that this might be the game that Matt Stafford takes that step to the next level. Much like Aaron Rodgers against the Falcons last year in the Divisional Round, Stafford was on fire early. He hit Will Heller and Calvin Johnson for touchdowns, and it looked like the Saints were going to have trouble stopping him.
2- The key moments in this game were the two fumbles by the Saints. The first one by Marques Colston in the first quarter was when the Lions had an early 7-0 lead. The Lions failed to convert. The second fumble came from Drew Brees in the second quarter, and the official blew the play dead. Tony Corrente, the head referee, called it a fumble but the Lions couldn't advance it because the whistle blew. It was an early whistle, and it negated what would have been a fumble return for a touchdown by Detroit. It was a huge moment because the Lions didn't take advantage of the turnover and came away with no points.
3- You knew the Saints were going to get going, and even though they didn't play well in the first half, they were only down 14-10. They then ripped off 35 points in the second half and pulled away with the game. Brees threw for 466 yards and three touchdowns. He was sensational again for New Orleans.
4- At least the game was still competitive going into the fourth quarter. Stafford's 1 yard touchdown run made it 24-21 New Orleans with a minute left in the third quarter. Unfortunately, the Lions just couldn't stop the Saints in the fourth quarter and they gave up three more touchdowns.
5-It was a tough way to end the season for the Lions, but they should keep their chins up because they finished 10-6, made the playoffs for the first time since 1999, and they put a scare into the Saints for a while in this playoff game. The Lions will be back for years to come.
6-The Saints look like a machine right now, and they head to San Francisco to take on the 49ers on Saturday afternoon. This is a classic matchup of offense vs. defense, and I can't wait to see how it plays out. The Saints are rolling, and it might be tough for anyone to stop no matter where the game is played.
New York Giants-24 Atlanta-2
1) This game had an old-school, 1980s feel to for the Giants. It was cloudy, windy, cold, and the playoffs were back at the Meadowlands. It felt like a classic Bill Parcells type Giants team was out there playing in a big playoff game again. Guess what: The G-Men played like the old-school Giants on Sunday.
2) The Giants defense was brilliant, and they might be playing their best ball of the year. They shut down Michael Turner (15 carries for 41 yards), limited the Falcons receivers (No receiver had over 65 yards receiving), and they added two fourth down stops in the game. They buried the Falcons all day long.
3) Eli Manning got off to a slow start, but he picked it up as the game went on. His numbers were very good (23-32 for 277 yards and 3 touchdowns), and his 27 yard throw to Mario Manningham in the fourth quarter was a thing of beauty. The Giants running game also showed up. Brandon Jacobs had 92 yards rushing, and Ahmad Bradshaw added 63 yards. Jacobs had a huge fourth down conversion to set up Hakeem Nicks touchdown in the second quarter.
4) Speaking of Nicks, everyone focused on Victor Cruz all week, but Nicks was the man of the hour on Sunday. He caught 6 balls for 115 yards and two touchdowns. His 72 yard catch and run with 2:44 left in the third quarter put the Giants up for good at 17-2. He was tremendous, and that touchdown was the back breaker for Atlanta.
5) Outside of the safety in the second quarter (Intentional Grounding by Eli in the end zone), nothing went right for the Falcons. Mike Smith had a really bad day on the sidelines. I don't question his decision to go for it on fourth and one at the Giants 24 early in the second quarter, but I just don't agree with the play call. Give it to Michael Turner and get the yard not a quarterback sneak by Matt Ryan. The Giants saw it coming all the way and stuffed it. The next time he went for it was in the third quarter with just over four minutes left and down 10-2. Again, I am not going against the decision, I just didn't like the play. Another sneak by Matt Ryan? Not a good idea and again the Giants sniffed it out and stuffed it.
6) Another Falcon who didn't have a good day was Matt Ryan. He was 24-41 for 199 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions. He just didn't play well, and looked listless throughout the game. He will have many questions to answer because he is now 0-3 in playoff games in his career.
7) The Falcons took a step back on Sunday. They looked like they quit in second half. At 10-2, it looked like they were done, and after Nicks scored to make it 17-2, you knew they were done. The Falcons have made the playoffs three out of the last four years, and they lost their first playoff game each time. They were the big losers of the weekend.
8) The Giants are playing really well right now, and they won a playoff game for the first time since their Super Bowl XLII win over the Patriots. Also, it was their first home playoff win since the 2000 NFC Championship Game. Now, they go back to Lambeau Field for a rematch with the 15-1 Green Bay Packers. The game will bring back memories of the epic 2007 NFC Championship Game which the Giants won 23-20 in overtime. More recent memories will bring us back to about a month ago when the Giants lost at home to Green Bay 38-35 on a last second field goal. The game will be on Sunday at 4:30 pm EST, and it will definitely be interesting to see how these Giants will come out and play against the Pack. That could be another classic for sure.
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