Road Teams Rule Wild-Card Weekend

Added on Jan 10, 2011 by Scott in

NFL

That sneaky monster known as parity has once again reared its ugly head in the NFL playoffs. Only one team held serve at home during Wild-Card weekend and that was the one team most pundits (ahem) figured would lose for sure — the 7-9 Seattle Seahawks. Both Super Bowl participants from last year are done. Both #6 seeds in each conference are marching on. So, what do we make of these road warriors? Do they have what it takes to take down the top seeds? Let’s take a look.

Seattle Seahawks – I should’ve known better than to dismiss the Hawks. Double digit underdogs at home have a tendency to play a pissed-off brand of football, and that’s precisely what they did versus the defending champion (and lackluster) Saints. Marshawn Lynch’s bruising 67-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter perfectly capsulized the game. Bottom line: Seattle wanted it more. They tackled better, committed fewer mistakes and never stopped playing hard. It takes determination and confidence to win in the postseason. Evidently, the Saints have short memories. Can the Seahawks win in Chicago? Sure, why not? Will they win in Chicago? No.

New York Jets – The Jets successfully limited Peyton Manning by playing keep away with LaDainian Tomlinson and Shonn Grenne. They’ll have to do the same versus Tom Brady if they want to advance to their second straight AFC title tilt. The Patriots are healthy, unlike the Colts. The Patriots have been manhandling opponents since October, unlike the Colts. The Patriots are coached by Bill Belichick, unlike the Colts. In other words, the Patriots aren’t the Colts. It will take a herculean effort by Rex Ryan’s gang to knock off the would-be Super Bowl champs. Mark Sanchez winning in Foxboro in January? Uh, not gonna happen.

Baltimore Ravens – No big surprise here. The Chiefs hadn’t beaten a winning team all season. The Ravens imposed their will in the second half and crushed a young, out of their element opponent. Now they get to face the hated Steelers for a third time. Both of the previous meetings came down to the wire, so there’s no reason to think the rubber match won’t be another nail-biter. Baltimore is accustomed to winning away from home, but taking down Pittsburgh at Heinz Field will be a tall task. The Steelers live for hard-hitting playoff battles in bitter cold temperatures.

Green Bay Packers – The Pack made its victory in Philly more dramatic than necessary, but that’s neither here nor there. They will get another crack at the Falcons in Atlanta Saturday night, after losing to them 20-17 in late November. On that day, Aaron Rodgers led the team in rushing with 51 yards and Michael Turner ran wild for 110 and a touchdown. If James Starks, who gashed the Eagles for 123 yards, can have a similar impact against the Dirty Birds, I like Green Bay’s chances to spring the upset.