Wildcard week - Verdict
Bengals 17-31 Pittsburgh
Plenty of teams have their seasons ruined by injuries but none quite so publicly as the Bengals did when Carson Palmer was carried from the field with less than four minutes gone in the game. Replacement Jon Kitna took his place admirably, doing the sort of thing that back-up quarterbacks are usually unable to do, running the no-huddle offense and finding his rhythm in a short passing game immediately. Without Palmer's long-ball threat, though, Pittsburgh were able to adjust by the second half and gain three of their four sacks because of blanket coverage.
Pittsburgh's offense doesn't change - it runs, runs then runs some more, trying to take the pressure off Ben Roethlisburger by third down. Few defenses can withstand that sort of grinding game, especially when the Jerome Bettis farewell tour revved up in the second half, and they looked increasingly tired as the game went on.
Pittsburgh have some worries as they prepare to travel to Indianapolis, of which more on Thursday, but if Cincinnati keep going at this pace they will be in the Super Bowl in the next two years. It is impossible to double-cover both their stand-out receivers T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Chad Johnson, without leaving someone else open, like Chris Henry for Palmer's only pass or Kevin Walter, who took over from Henry when he was injured and caught five passes across the middle. A young defense was worn down but time, and the experience of blowing a 10-point lead and being sent home early, will harden them for the future.
Giants 0-23 Panthers
As the Giants' all-1980s corps of Lawrence Taylor, Carl Banks and Harry Carson looked on from the sidelines, the Panthers gave a lesson in linebacking to the current New York crop - who were decimated by injury - to inflict the first shutout of a home team in the playoffs for 25 years.
The visiting front seven plugged gaps before Tiki Barber even thought about running through them - his 41 yards for the game were the fewest of his outstanding season. Given more opportunities he may have broken one outside, but the home offense spent just 17mins 15secs on the field, and the resulting pressure built on an increasingly-bewildered Eli Manning until he tossed up three interceptions while trying to force passes.
If the Carolina defense keeps this up next Sunday, and Chicago live up to their reputation, they could be trying to split a scoreless tie in overtime.
DeShaun Foster must be one of the ugliest runners to top 150 yards in the history of the NFL post-season but he pushed, span and fell thoughout the game, beating the first tackle then taking advantage of the space available behind it. Steve Smith was double-teamed for much of the contest but Carolina found enough ways to give him the ball - including short screen passes and his end-around for a touchdown - to retain space for the running game.
Patriots 28-3 Jaguars
In the modern era, teams are not supposed to reach the post-season three years in a row, let alone set a new record with 10 successive post-season victories, but New England showed once again that they are not any ordinary team. Credit the bend-but-don't break defense, who allowed 292 yards but never let the Jaguars cross the goal line, or the Pats offensive line, which allowed quarterback Tom Brady space to weave his magic against one of the strongest defensive front fours in the game (the four sacks coming mainly because of good coverage rather than pressure).
Perhaps if they had retained David Garrard at quarterback, rather than rushing Byron Leftwich in for the playoffs, Jacksonville would have been able to keep New England on their toes. Running back Fred Taylor struggled early but could have been given more opportunity to look for space in the middle, where the Patriots have had some difficulty this year. With Leftwich immobile because of his ankle injury, the Jags were one-dimensional, and the short-passing game was easily contained.
Redskins 17-10 Buccaneers
If you switched on the TV 15 minutes late, you would have no idea why the Redskins progressed to the divisional playoff round but, just as in the final regular-season win over Philadelphia, turnovers played a massive part, and turnovers don't just happen by chance. When an aggressive defense leaves a side no room to make mistakes, and capitalises on any tiny slip, fumbles and interceptions are going to come. Phil Simms was caught out trying to make an early impression then Cadillac Williams had the ball knocked from his grasp and suddenly Tampa Bay were in a 14-0 hole they could not climb out of.
The Redskins kept the pressure on, offering few chances for Williams on the ground or deep-threat receiver Joey Galloway, but the Buccs were similarly impressive, with Santana Moss kept to two catches. Tampa Bay were the better offense because they established a short-passing game, compared to a rag-tag showing by the Skins that produced 120 yards - the fewest in NFL history for a winning team in a post-season game. Chris Simms showed he is fit to follow in father Phil's footsteps, and not just in the commentary booth, and did everything he could to overcome the deficit, but he has a long winter to dwell on Edell Shepherd's late drop in the endzone, while Washington get at least - and probably only - one more game.
This game also marked a last appearance for the ESPN Sunday Night crew of Joe Theisman, Mike Patrick and Paul Maguire. They provided a fitting epitaph with ill-informed outrage following Sean Taylor's ejection, followed by a complete about-turn when they were informed the penalty was for spitting. Theisman will reappear on the newly-packaged Monday Night Football on ESPN in 2007, hopefully kept in check by Al Michaels.
NFLBriefing.com
Plenty of teams have their seasons ruined by injuries but none quite so publicly as the Bengals did when Carson Palmer was carried from the field with less than four minutes gone in the game. Replacement Jon Kitna took his place admirably, doing the sort of thing that back-up quarterbacks are usually unable to do, running the no-huddle offense and finding his rhythm in a short passing game immediately. Without Palmer's long-ball threat, though, Pittsburgh were able to adjust by the second half and gain three of their four sacks because of blanket coverage.
Pittsburgh's offense doesn't change - it runs, runs then runs some more, trying to take the pressure off Ben Roethlisburger by third down. Few defenses can withstand that sort of grinding game, especially when the Jerome Bettis farewell tour revved up in the second half, and they looked increasingly tired as the game went on.
Pittsburgh have some worries as they prepare to travel to Indianapolis, of which more on Thursday, but if Cincinnati keep going at this pace they will be in the Super Bowl in the next two years. It is impossible to double-cover both their stand-out receivers T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Chad Johnson, without leaving someone else open, like Chris Henry for Palmer's only pass or Kevin Walter, who took over from Henry when he was injured and caught five passes across the middle. A young defense was worn down but time, and the experience of blowing a 10-point lead and being sent home early, will harden them for the future.
Giants 0-23 Panthers
As the Giants' all-1980s corps of Lawrence Taylor, Carl Banks and Harry Carson looked on from the sidelines, the Panthers gave a lesson in linebacking to the current New York crop - who were decimated by injury - to inflict the first shutout of a home team in the playoffs for 25 years.
The visiting front seven plugged gaps before Tiki Barber even thought about running through them - his 41 yards for the game were the fewest of his outstanding season. Given more opportunities he may have broken one outside, but the home offense spent just 17mins 15secs on the field, and the resulting pressure built on an increasingly-bewildered Eli Manning until he tossed up three interceptions while trying to force passes.
If the Carolina defense keeps this up next Sunday, and Chicago live up to their reputation, they could be trying to split a scoreless tie in overtime.
DeShaun Foster must be one of the ugliest runners to top 150 yards in the history of the NFL post-season but he pushed, span and fell thoughout the game, beating the first tackle then taking advantage of the space available behind it. Steve Smith was double-teamed for much of the contest but Carolina found enough ways to give him the ball - including short screen passes and his end-around for a touchdown - to retain space for the running game.
Patriots 28-3 Jaguars
In the modern era, teams are not supposed to reach the post-season three years in a row, let alone set a new record with 10 successive post-season victories, but New England showed once again that they are not any ordinary team. Credit the bend-but-don't break defense, who allowed 292 yards but never let the Jaguars cross the goal line, or the Pats offensive line, which allowed quarterback Tom Brady space to weave his magic against one of the strongest defensive front fours in the game (the four sacks coming mainly because of good coverage rather than pressure).
Perhaps if they had retained David Garrard at quarterback, rather than rushing Byron Leftwich in for the playoffs, Jacksonville would have been able to keep New England on their toes. Running back Fred Taylor struggled early but could have been given more opportunity to look for space in the middle, where the Patriots have had some difficulty this year. With Leftwich immobile because of his ankle injury, the Jags were one-dimensional, and the short-passing game was easily contained.
Redskins 17-10 Buccaneers
If you switched on the TV 15 minutes late, you would have no idea why the Redskins progressed to the divisional playoff round but, just as in the final regular-season win over Philadelphia, turnovers played a massive part, and turnovers don't just happen by chance. When an aggressive defense leaves a side no room to make mistakes, and capitalises on any tiny slip, fumbles and interceptions are going to come. Phil Simms was caught out trying to make an early impression then Cadillac Williams had the ball knocked from his grasp and suddenly Tampa Bay were in a 14-0 hole they could not climb out of.
The Redskins kept the pressure on, offering few chances for Williams on the ground or deep-threat receiver Joey Galloway, but the Buccs were similarly impressive, with Santana Moss kept to two catches. Tampa Bay were the better offense because they established a short-passing game, compared to a rag-tag showing by the Skins that produced 120 yards - the fewest in NFL history for a winning team in a post-season game. Chris Simms showed he is fit to follow in father Phil's footsteps, and not just in the commentary booth, and did everything he could to overcome the deficit, but he has a long winter to dwell on Edell Shepherd's late drop in the endzone, while Washington get at least - and probably only - one more game.
This game also marked a last appearance for the ESPN Sunday Night crew of Joe Theisman, Mike Patrick and Paul Maguire. They provided a fitting epitaph with ill-informed outrage following Sean Taylor's ejection, followed by a complete about-turn when they were informed the penalty was for spitting. Theisman will reappear on the newly-packaged Monday Night Football on ESPN in 2007, hopefully kept in check by Al Michaels.
NFLBriefing.com
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