NFL Commentary: Top seeds beaten, now what

Cam Ellis | Staff Writer

Numbers don’t mean a thing. The NFL has once again given us another surprising round of games in an already surprising season.

The top dogs are gone, with both the Patriots and the Falcons losing in their own house. Not since the Lohan family has there been more uncertainty at home. But I have to give credit where credit is due—the team that wins is the better team, even if it is just for that one game.

As for my previous picks, going 2-2 for a week isn’t bad, having both my Super Bowl picks lose, however, is. The great thing about sports writing is I get to pick them all over again, and maybe this time it’ll look like I know what I’m talking about.

 

Analysis

The NFC divisional round featured two marquee matchups, with the underdog Seattle Seahawks going to Chicago to try and pull off another upset, this time playing a physical Bears team. It didn’t happen. Bears quarterback Jay Cutler threw for 2 touchdowns and ran for another 2, opening up a quick 28-0 lead and cruising to a 35-24 win. The Seahawks looked overwhelmed all day, only amassing 34 rushing yards for the entire game. To put that in perspective, Matt Forte, the Bears running back, had more than twice that. The win sent the previously optimistic Seahawks back home to sip their coffee and wonder “what if?”

The other game this weekend pitted the Atlanta Falcons against the Green Bay Packers. For the people that tuned in to see an exciting game against the NFC’s number one seed and an inspired Green Bay team, they were left sorely disappointed. This game was all Green Bay from the start, and the Packers won easily 48-21. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers went 31-36 with 336 yards through the air, posting a stellar QB rating of 136.8. These two wins set up a Bears-Packers NFC championship that is shaping up to be a great chapter in their historic rivalry.

In the AFC, football fans finally got to see golden boy Tom Brady and the prolific New England Patriots go toe-to-toe with an angry New York Jets team looking for revenge from a 45-3 loss about a month earlier. The Jets looked like a team with something to prove, as they outplayed the Pats on all sides of the ball. Brady was outshined by unproven and inconsistent Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez, and the mighty Patriots fell 28-21.

In the other game, the Pittsburgh Steelers met the Baltimore Ravens for the third time this season, and it did not disappoint. In the most exciting game of the weekend, the Steelers found themselves down 14 at halftime, due to turnover troubles. Led by “Big Ben” Roethlisberger, the Steelers staged a second half comeback and won a thriller, 31-24.

 

Picks

A rematch of a thrilling 22-17 Jets win in December, the Steelers and Jets meet back up with the division title on the line. I think the Jets act gets old, and the Steelers finally shut up Rex Ryan and the Jets, winning 24-20.

In the NFC, the Packers complete their improbable comeback and defeat the Bears 20-7, setting up a Steelers-Packers matchup in Super Bowl XLV. Those are my picks and I’m sticking to them, unless they’re wrong.