So the AFC and NFC Championships are now set. And I am pleased to be 7-1 in my picks so far. :)
As I diaried yesterday, the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts won blowouts against their opponents on Saturday.
Of today's games, one was a blowout and one was a nail-biter (kind of).
Game #1: The Minnesota Vikings defeat the Dallas Cowboys 34-3.
I was kind of wondering which Tony Romo would show up today. I was not all that surprised to see that it was the silly, error-prone, non-thinking Tony Romo. He was a one-man turnover machine and got sacked a total of six times in the game. All credit to Minnesota's superb defense for never allowing Romo to get very comfortable.
Brett Favre on the other hand was absolutely magnificent, completing 15 passes out of 24 attempts for 234 yards, 4 touchdowns, and no interceptions. The spectacular Sidney Rice was the receiver on three of those touchdown passes.
Now the Minnesota Vikings move on to New Orleans for the Conference Championship. I believe that will be a tougher task for the Purple People Eaters, but we shall see.
UPDATE I forgot one extremely important point of analysis. I neglected to mention that as soon as I saw George Dumbya Bush in the Cowboys' booth toward the end of last week's wildcard game, I felt the Cowboys would probably lose. Dumbya turns everything he touches to pure shit.
Game #2: The New York Jets defeat the San Diego Chargers 17-14.
Of all the games, I correctly predicted that this would be the closest. All in all, the New York Jets stuck to their game plan of running the ball and letting their defense do what it does. The presence of Darelle Revis on the defense is worth at least a touchdown per game.
The Chargers, on the other hand, took a page from the Ravens and self-destructed at critical moments. The key play of the game was a totally unnecessary interception thrown by Philip Rivers deep in his own territory in the 3rd quarter. This set up the Jets to take the lead with a wonderful touchdown pass thrown by rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez on 3rd and goal.
Other factors in the Chargers' loss were Nate Kaeding's three missed field goals (2 of which were 40 yards or less) and Norv Turner's inexplicable and foolish decisions at key moments in the game. The onside kick at the end? Horrible play call. I strongly believe that the Chargers will never go anywhere as long as Norv is running the show.