So, another pretty
mediocre weekend for me. I went 2-2 straight up and 2-1-1 ATS. That brings me
to a total of 3-5 straight up and 4-3-1 ATS. Only three games left in the
playoffs, so I don’t have much time to make up some ground on this horrible
start. At least the games were good! All but one game was decided by one score.
Philadelphia Eagles
(13-3) defeat Atlanta Falcons (10-6), 15-10
Well, it looks like I
overestimated the abilities of the Falcon offense. I guess I should have known
better. It’s been about a year since Atlanta has looked threatening when they
have the ball in their hands. I still find it hard to comprehend how such a
potent offense could get so drastically worse over the course of an off-season
that saw them lose basically no key players. But here we are. Atlanta was good
enough to squeak into the playoffs, but they were unable to outscore Nick Foles
and the tepid Philadelphia offense.
To the Eagles’ credit,
they played very well defensively all game, making Ryan uncomfortable, and
keeping the running game in check. Foles played the role of game manager
masterfully, not turning the ball over, going an efficient 23/30 threw the air.
The game ended up being an exciting defensive struggle from beginning to end.
And even after struggling so much throughout the entire game, the Falcons had a
chance to win it on their final drive, but they came up short on 4th and goal,
when Julio Jones slipped out of his route at the critical moment.
One of the more
interesting things I found about this game was the long possessions, which
caused the Falcons to only possess the ball four times in the second half. They
were unable to score a single point from any of those four possessions, as the
Eagle defense and offense did a great job of controlling the game flow, doing
just enough to grab the win.
New England Patriots
(13-3) defeat Tennessee Titans (9-7), 35-14
This game was boring,
just as expected. The Titans were horribly overmatched, and the Patriots did
not lose focus against a clearly weaker opponent. The only exciting part for me
was that I nailed this prediction. As I predicted, the Titans scored first. I
also predicted that the Patriots would then score 24 unanswered points. I was
close, but the Patriots actually scored 35 unanswered points. I also predicted
that the Patriots would be up 24-10 at halftime, but they were actually up 21-7
at halftime. Finally, I predicted a final score of 38-17, which again, I was
very close, as the final score was 35-14. Again, this was by far the most
boring game of the Divisional Round, so I won’t talk about it anymore. The
Patriots won easily. For the seventh straight season, they will play in the AFC
Championship Game. Blah blah blah. Same old shit.
Jacksonville Jaguars
(10-6) defeat Pittsburgh Steelers (13-3), 45-42
This was a great game.
The Jaguar offense looked shockingly good, but the Steelers simply would not go
away, making repeated spectacular plays to stay alive. Fournette and the
Jaguars got Jacksonville out to an early 21-0 lead. Memories of Week 5 quickly
began to creep into the minds of those at Heinz Field, as the Pittsburgh
faithful were having flashbacks to that 30-9 whooping that they received
earlier in the season. However, before the Steelers could dwell on the past for
too long, they were able to respond with a touchdown and a defensive stop.
However, the positive momentum was short lived, as the Jaguars strip sacked
Roethlisberger and returned the fumble for a touchdown. Once again,
Jacksonville led by 21 points.
Still, the Steelers
refused to go down quietly. On 4th and 11, with about 30 seconds left in the
half, Roethlisberger connected with Bryant for a touchdown, which was a huge
momentum boost, as the Steelers were set to receive the ball to start the
second half. Pittsburgh immediately took advantage of this, as they were able
to score a touchdown on their opening possession of the second half. Just like
that, we had a tight game again. Yet Jacksonville did their best to maintain
their lead, as Bortles led the Jaguars down the field on a critical 4th quarter
drive, to increase the lead back back to 14, 35-21. And then again, Pittsburgh
came up with another huge 4th down touchdown, as Roethlisberger found Brown for
a 43 yard score. The Steelers continued to find themselves in tough situations,
only to weasel their way out of them with spectacular plays.
But again, Jacksonville
refused to roll over, answering with their own touchdown drive. The Steelers
continued to hang on, cutting the lead to 42-35 with 2 minutes remaining.
However, they were unable to recover the ensuing onside kick, and the Jaguars
extended their lead with a field goal. STILL, the Steelers refused to go down.
Roethlisberger led Pittsburgh down the field for another touchdown, but it was
too late, as there was only one second remaining when they scored. Ultimately,
the Jaguars won in a shockingly high scoring game, a stunning turnaround from
their horrible offensive showing against Buffalo from just last week.
Minnesota Vikings (13-3)
defeat New Orleans Saints (11-5), 29-24
And finally, the game of
the year. This one was absolutely bonkers. And my prediction was pretty damn
accurate, too. I said the final score would be 26-20, a 6 point Minnesota
victory. Instead, the Vikings won by 5 points, 29-24. I said that the Vikings
would win on a walk-off 75 yard touchdown catch by Stefon Diggs. Instead, the
Vikings won on a walk-off 61 yard touchdown catch by Stefon Diggs. Good job me.
Good job Case Keenum. Good job Vikings fans. Bad job Marcus Williams.
If you didn’t see the
final play yet, please go watch it. There is little I can say that will
represent how absolutely insane the end of this game was. Even the build up was
great. For many years, the Vikings have found new and innovative ways to
torture their fans (well, it’s mostly been missed field goals in clutch
moments, but still). Now, up 17-0 at halftime, even the most experienced and
pessimistic Minnesotan must have been feeling at least a little bit
comfortable. However, I’m sure that even in that comfort of a 17 point halftime
lead, that inkling of doubt was there. And as we would find out, it was there
for good reason.
In the second half, that
inkling grew into fear, as Brees finally cracked the Minnesota defense, to cut
the lead to 10 points. And then that fear grew into terror, as Keenum threw an
uncharacteristic interception, which immediately led to 7 more Saint points.
And then, that terror grew into misery, when Kamara scored a touchdown to give
the Saints their first lead of the game, 21-20 with 3 minutes remaining. A
minor glimpse of hope appeared when Forbath gave the lead back to Minnesota on
a 53 yard field goal with 1:29 left in the game. However, any seasoned Vikings
fan knew that this was too good to be true. There was simply too much time left
for a quarterback that thrives in these exact types of situations. Every
Vikings fan knew that the Saints would score. And that’s when terror turned to
complete despair, when New Orleans regained the lead with 25 seconds remaining.
With only one timeout left, all hope seemed lost for Minnesota. Keenum was
simply not the type of quarterback who won games in situations like these. But
then… absolute madness. The Miracle in Minneapolis. The Vikings walked off on
an incredibly improbable 61 yard touchdown, and everyone at U.S. Bank Stadium
lost their minds. You’ll see few games as thrilling as this one in your
lifetime. Appreciate it when you get the chance to witness them, as this one was
an all time great. So congrats to the tortured Minnesota fan base. Every fan
deserves at least one of these moments.
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