Well that was an exhausting day of football. Lead changes, turnovers in the red zone, bogus penalties, brilliant passes - all of them have me completely worn out. And in the midst of it all, I can do a little gloat parade with my 9 - 1 record for the playoffs so far.
Game #1: Indianapolis Colts defeat New York Jets 30-17.
For quite a while there, the score was Indy 20, NY 17, which is exactly as I predicted. The Colts added two scores late to seal the deal. Early on, it looked for all the world like Rex Ryan's prediction would come true as his team rushed out to a 17 to 6 lead. After a couple of key injuries to the Jets' defense however, Peyton Manning dissected the Jets' pass coverage like a world class surgeon. Finding mismatch after mismatch, Manning threw for 26 of 39 for 377 yards, 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions.
Early in the game, it was Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez who was playing like a reliable veteran as he found Braylon Edwards on a brilliantly thrown ball for a touchdown early in the second quarter. Later, on a play that fooled everyone, Jets receiver Brad Smith lined up in the Wildcat formation, took the snap, and launched the ball downfield to Jerricho Cotchery for a 45-yard gain. Three plays later, Mark Sanchez connected with Dustin Keller on a 9-yard touchdown throw.
But it was Peyton Manning's steady hand and the Colts relentless defensive attacks which lifted the Colts to victory in the end. Manning found three different receivers in the endzone and the Colts' defense held Sanchez and company to zero scores in the second half. Another key factor in the game was the fact that the Jets' explosive running back Shonn Greene went out with a rib injury in the second half, greatly limiting their offensive options.
All in all, I felt the Colts played superbly.
And now for something completely different....
Game #2: The New Orleans Saints defeat the Minnesota Vikings 31-28 (OT).
First I would like to say a word about the Minnesota Vikings. I grew up in Minnesota and North Dakota. Die-hard Vikings country. Every year, my brother and I would root our hearts out for the men in purple. And every year, they would come up short. It didn't matter how talented their team was. They always came up empty when it counted most.
Then came the 1997-1998 season. The Vikings went 15-1 in the regular season and seemed poised to capture the NFC title when.... Gary Anderson, one of the most clutch field goal kickers the Vikings have ever had, MISSED a relatively easy score. He missed! This let the Atlanta Falcons back in the game. They scored a touchdown on the following drive, sending the game to overtime. The Vikings won the toss in the extra period, immediately going nowhere, and the Falcons eventually kicked a field goal to end the game. For a Vikings fan, that was incredibly disturbing. I was shellshocked. I'm not going to lie, I almost cried. So I stepped away from the Vikings for a while, for my sanity.
A few years later, the Vikings were poised to make the playoffs under Mike Tice. I believe they were playing Arizona - I'm not quite sure. All I know is they had a solid lead late in the fourth quarter. Sadly, the Vikings would collapse again, allowing Arizona to win in the final play of the game. This knocked them out of playoff contention and allowied Green Bay to back their way in. It was disgusting. I looked at my brother whom I was watching the game with and said, "No more." Call me a fair-weather fan or whatever. I left the Vikings for good. I just felt they were never going to make it - it didn't matter how much talent they had.
It was during the pre-season this year when I started following the New Orleans Saints. I was incredibly impressed by their offensive prowess and their defense's ability to force turnovers. Early in the regular season, I watched a few of their games. I became familiar with some of the players. Robert Meachem. Darren Sharper. Jeremy Shockey. Of course, I already knew Reggie Bush. They all impressed me.
I was hooked. With each successive game, I was more and more entrhalled with the way the Saints played. I loved the way the handled themselve on both sides of the ball. I was flabbergasted by their embarassment of riches.
So I guess it must have been fate that my new favorite team was to meet my old favorite team in the NFC Championship Game today. And I guess it seems sort of fitting that, once again, the Vikings blew so many opportunities to win. I realize that there are a lot of Vikings fans who believe that the officials had a hand in the Vikings' loss. While I agree that there were some real questionable calls in this game (against the Saints also!), I really feel it was the things the Vikings could have controlled themselves - and didn't handle well- which derailed them.
I'm certain I was not alone in wondering which Adrian Peterson or which Brett Favre would show up today. The answer: all of them! The unstoppable, talented Adrian Peterson and the error-prone, clumsy Adrian Peterson. The incredibly gifted Brett Favre and the unbelievably silly Brett Favre.
Adrian Peterson had about 100 yards of total offense today and three touchdowns. He also had three fumbles, one of which the Saints recovered on their own 8-yard line, preventing what surely would have been a Vikings' touchdown. On balance, Peterson added more than he took away in my view. A case in point: on one of his later fumbles, Peterson outmaneuvered four Saints defenders to get back on top of the ball. I thought that was a really impressive moment.
Of course, the Saints were no strangers to errors this night. Inexplicably, they failed to convert a 3rd down and 1 situation FOUR different times. Furthermore, the Saints were dropping passes all over the place - a sight that simply wasn't seen in their thrashing of Arizona last weekend. And, imho, Sean Payton made some unbelievably lame (conservative?) play calls in the second half of the game. But the Saints' extremely alert defense saved the day. After all, not all of the Vikings' turnovers stemmed from silly errors - you have to give the Saints' defense some credit for relentlessly trying to strip the ball or intercept at all times.
In any event, this contest didn't lack for excitement! It all came down to a nail-biting conclusion - a 40-yard field goal by the Saints' relatively young and unheralded kicker, Garrett Hartley. As I watched the Saints set up for their final score with my Aunt and Uncle, I said, "It's going to be right down the middle - perfect." And it was.
And so I say this to all the Vikings fans out there: I feel your pain. Believe me, I've been there. A small part of my heart broke for you tonight.