NFL Wild-Card Weekend Review

Broncos/Steelers
I'm absolutely sick about the Bronco win against the Steelers. I felt like Pittsburgh was the only team that could possibly block the Patriots march to the Super Bowl.  Now the team that the Pats demolished in New England a few weeks back is heading back for more punishment. It will take more than a good game by Tebow to do the trick. Denver will need to force turnovers by Brady.

Texans/Bengals.
Not too surprising of a result. Dalton is a rookie and he made some rookie mistakes. Arian Foster was a beast. If he can keep healthy next year he could challenge for the rushing title.  I think this is it though for the Texans but would love to see them surprise me and a few others.

Saints/Lions
For my money this was the most entertaining game. Stafford had it right that they need to get home field advantage next year to increase their odds of going far in the playoffs. They are much better in Detroit. Still, Brees is hot and not much can slow the Saints down except themselves. It's been turnovers that have killed them in the playoffs before so they need to watch out for that in the next game. Their defense is very suspect so they'll need to continue to put up a lot of points and hang onto the ball.

Giants/Falcons
Another Falcon meltdown in the playoffs. Matt Ryan is a big part of their regular season success, but he's been a huge part of their playoff disappointments as well. He just hasn't looked good when it counts.  Until he does, the Falcons will continue with the early exits in the post-season.  And how about the Falcons inability to convert "must-have" fourth and short and third and short in this game?  Atalanta needs  a lot more ingenuity on those plays. And I don't want to hear the old "if we can't convert 1 yard then we don't deserve to win" crap. That's the biggest douchebag rationalization I've ever heard. It would be more accurate to say "if your coaches are less creative in their play-calling than a block of wood" then you deserve to lose.

I'm looking forward to next week's games. By the way, DVRs are saving my marriage. Live games are still better if I can swing it and I have to be more careful to not hear the results of games but I love the digital world we live in.