The NFL is Poop - Wild Card Playoffs

Good Enough, But Not Good
I don't think the Houston Texans proved anything to anyone with this performance. They put together plenty of drives but could not finish, kicking four field goals instead of touchdowns. And that almost cost them the game. The Bengals had that one final drive that stalled late, after which Houston ran out the clock.
I actually think the Bengals should have gone for it. 4th and 11 is very unlikely. I like their chances better had they kicked a 54-yarder (no gimme) and with 3 minutes left tried to stop them and get the ball back for a final drive for a game-tying field goal.

Over Before It's Begun
You knew the Vikings had no chance to win this game once we found out Christian Ponder wasn't playing. It wasn't just the Joe Webb was bad (which he was) but that any real threat of the passing game was taken away and the Packers were able to key on Peterson, even more than they normally would have. I have been saying this about backup/young quarterbacks for a while now, their offensive coordinators are often their worst enemies. They go to incredibly conservative game plans which force the inexperienced QB to pass only in obvious passing situations, making it harder, because the defense knows he's going to pass.
With the way Aaron Rodgers played it was very possible the Packers would win this game no matter whom the Vikings started, but it seemed right from the outset the Vikings had no chance.

A Tangled Webb
I hate comparing all black quarterbacks to Michael Vick but in this case the comparison is incredibly apt. Webb is fast, and had some great runs. He has a wonderfully strong arm. Did you see the pass to Jerome Simpson over the middle, overthrown by ten yards? Or the one down the sidelines intercepted by Sam Shields, which was only overthrown by 5? It wasn't just the strong arm that was completely inaccurate, it was his uncertainty in the pocket, waiting, waiting, waiting for a receiver to come open, and taking sacks. And at least two ridiculous passes where Webb flung the ball up in the air, in the middle of the field, instead of taking a sack. Neither was picked off, but both could have been. In all it was a positively Vick-ian performance from a QB who like Vick has all the physical tools but not of the intangibles needed to be a winning quarterback, especially in the playoffs.

Someone Cover Anquan Boldin
Despite some terrible offense and many failures in the red zone the Indianapolis Colts were actually in this game until they let Anquan Boldin run wild in the second half.
Here were his catches:
50 yards on 3rd and 19 (when it was still 10-6)
10 yards on 1st and 10 (to start a drive)
46 yards (to set up the TD that put the Ravens up 17-6)
21 yards (keying another promising drive that was short circuited by a Ray Rice fumble on the next play)
18 yards for a touchdown to seal the victory
5 catches, 145 yards, all in the second half, many of them incredible catches.
Andrew Luck wasn't good and he didn't make the plays that needed to be made the way Joe Flacco and especially Anquan Boldin did.

It Can't End Like This
Ray Lewis is one of the greatest players in NFL history and his career is almost over. He missed a big chunk of the season with a triceps injury but made a comeback for the playoffs, one final hurrah in front of the home crowd. But this wasn’t Willie Mays limping around during the 1973 World Series. Lewis though diminished, (2000 Ray never would have dropped that interception) still had 13 tackles and was a major force on defense, and I suppose more of an inspirational leader for his defense than I thought he could be.

In fact, they love him so much in Baltimore they gave him one last chance to perform his dance, even at the risk of being bad sports. On the final play, the kneeldown, Lewis took the position as deep back behind the quarterback. And after Flacco took a knee, Lewis launched into his famous dance, wowing the home crowd for one final time. If he decides to stick to his retirement promise.



A Brief Rant About the Redskins
Why must my teams not only lose, but do so in the most painful fashion possible? Not just a loss, a playoff loss at home. And not just a playoff loss at home, a playoff loss at home, after blowing a 14-0 lead. And not just a playoff loss at home after blowing a 14-0 lead, the star quarterback also got hurt, who knows how seriously.
Let’s start with the game. There is no question Mike Shanahan should have taken RG3 out. There were plenty of chances to do it. The first time he got hurt, after that run when he limped to the sidelines, after the offense became ineffective because Seattle knew he couldn’t scramble, after he got sacked because he couldn’t run through the wide-open lane. If Shanahan has some balls he takes RG3 out then and Cousins at least gives the Redskins a chance to win.
I don’t blame RG3 for wanting to stay in, I blame Shanahan for not doing what was best for the team.
And now not only did we lose that game, there’s a possibility he could have suffered an even more serious injury that could affect him next year and perhaps beyond.
Maybe this is the downside of having a quarterback who plays this style, he’s going to get hurt, and we just have to live with it. But where there was once so much promise, now there is just a lot of worry.