Kicking off the weekend was Saturday's AFC showdown between the #1 seeded Tennessee Titans (13-3, best overall season record of 2008) and the self-billed "Team that nobody wants to play", the 6th seeded Baltimore Ravens (11-5 regular season, 1-0 postseason), riding high off of their 27-9 blowout of the feel good story of the year, the 3rd seeded Miami Dolphins (11-5). In a game in which the final score mirrored that of the week 5 meeting between the two teams, the Ravens edged the Titans, 13-10, following placekicker Matt Stover's 43-yard field goal with :57 seconds left in the game. It can be argued however, that Tennessee, like Miami the previous week, defeated themselves with a plethora of turnovers (three for Tennessee, five for Miami), and all of Tennessee's came in Baltimore territory.
Saturday's second game featured the #2 seeded Carolina Panthers (12-4) hosting the 4th seeded Arizona Cardinals (9-7, 1-0). Carolina, much to the pleasure of it's raucous home crowd got off to a fast start, scoring on their first drive led by a 31-yard scamper by running back Deangelo Williams and, capped off by a 9-yard touchdown run by running back Jonathan Stewart. They kept the energy flowing as they forced Arizona to punt on its subsequent first drive. Everything was downhill for the heavily-favored Panthers from that point on. Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme eventually threw 5 interceptions and lost a fumble as the underdog Arizona club jumped out to a 27-7 halftime lead, ending in a 33-13 victory and an NFC Championship berth for the Cardinals, and the beginning of a long offseason for the rejuvenated Panthers. Arizona was led by Pro Bowl receiver Larry Fitzgerald's 166 receiving yards on 8 receptions and a touchdown in the absence of fellow Pro Bowl wide-receiver Anquan Boldin, sidelined by a hamstring injury.
On to Sunday. The first game featured the reigning Super Bowl champion New York Giants (#1 seed, 12-4 regular season record) squaring off against NFC East rival, the red-hot 6th seeded Philadelphia Eagles (9-6-1 regular season, 1-0 postseason). The Giants too possible defeated themselves, as they were unable to score a touchdown despite traveling into Eagle territory 5 times. All of which resulted in field-goal attempts, 2 of which were unsuccessful. Super Bowl XLII MVP Eli Manning threw 2 interceptions in the 4th quarter, squashing any comeback hopes as the Eagles defeated the Giants, 23-11, advancing to the NFC Championship for the first time since 2005, where the were Super Bowl XXXIX (39) runner up to the New England Patriots.
Sunday's second game proved to be the only one of the weekend, or the entire postseason thus far, to follow the script. I didn't catch all of this game however, but the #2 seeded Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4) defeated the 4th seeded, overachieving San Diego Chargers (8-8, 1-0) by a score of 35-24, following a dismal performance by backup running back Darren Sproles, who couldn't keep the fireworks he displayed in last week's defeat of the heavily-touted Indianapolis Colts going for two consecutive weeks. The Bolts' star runner LaDainain Tomlinson did not play.
So there you have it. 4 teams remain in this year's Super Bowl chase, in which the road appears to be in the sky seeing as how 3 of the 4 remaining teams feature a bird as their mascot (Cardinals, Eagles, Ravens). Baltimore rookie quarterback Joe Flacco became the first rookie QB to win 2 playoff games, which may be the final accomplishment needed to win the Rookie of the Year award over fellow quarterback, Atlanta's Matt Ryan. Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb appears to want to end his career in Philadelphia with a bang, as he is in his final year of his contract, and possess little to no desire to re-sign. Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner may not have very many years left in his career (he's 37 years old), but he has very much so returned to the form which made him famous during his days in St. Louis, as a part of the "Greatest Show On Turf", and everybody appears to be on Arizona's bandwagon at this point. I'm not sure how many fans the Steelers will have in this final stop before the Super Bowl, seeing as how every one loves the underdog, and the Steelers are the only team yet to fall victim to this year's trend of upsets. But once more, we are gearing up for an exciting Championship round in the NFL Playoffs. -Trufe
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