NFL Playoff Week 1 Recap

I was actually in town for the first weekend in about a month, and I took full advantage by catching all four playoff games this weekend. We might as well start with Tebow. Arguably the most anticipated game of the weekend, it certainly lived up to the hype – as did Tebow. Once again, he, at times, looked like one of the worst quarterbacks I’ve ever seen. But he actually made a few more big plays than he usually does, especially with his arm. With the odds stacked against Denver late in the game, it looked like the Steelers got it together just in time to steal the game. They forced overtime, but Tebow magic struck again, on the first play of the extra session no less. Tebow’s long TD pass to Thomas clinched a Broncos win and set up a 2nd round showdown with the Patriots at Foxboro next weekend.

The Giants had an even stronger showing today. Atlanta got on the board early with a safety and took a 2-0 lead. Shockingly, those were the only points the Falcons would score all day. The Giants played surprisingly good ball on both sides and dominated from beginning to end. It was a disappointing finish to the season for the Falcons, and I’m thanking my lucky stars that Michael Turner and Julio Jones waited until the fantasy season was over to put up lackluster numbers.

The Saints did what everyone expected and lit up the scoreboard en route to a matchup with San Francisco next weekend. The Lions hung around longer than expected – long enough for me to think they had a chance. But, in the second half, Detroit stopped scoring and the Saints kept, well, marching in.. to the endzone. I can’t wait to watch Brees and co. take on the NFC’s best defense.

The Houston Texans took advantage of their first ever postseason by disposing of the Bengals. Andy Dalton played pretty well, but appeared to come a bit unraveled toward the end of the game. The other young quarterback, TJ Yates, however, never wavered, and the Texans ran away with it in the second half. It’s amazing to think the team could lose their top two quarterbacks and still find themselves in the second round of the playoffs. It’s too bad they have to go into Baltimore, but they may be able to grind one out in what should be a low-scoring affair.