Playoffs - Championship Round

'07 New England vs. '99 Jacksonville

Last week, the Patriots just squeezed by the Jets, but their entire franchise reputation comes down to what they do this week. Facing off against the top seeded '99 Jaguars, who had an easy time last week, New England shouldn't be expecting an easy game.

Despite expectations, they made things look easy the first half. Jacksonville had several chances at the ball but could not get points on the board. Meanwhile, while Brady wasn't tossing TD passes left and right, he was making first down throws and setting up for several Gostkowski kicks. Up by 9, the Patriots would get a rushing TD from Faulk before wrapping up the half.

Despite a 16-0 deficit at halftime, as a top playoff team a Jacksonville win was not out of the realm of possibility. However, we've rarely seen this team behind; they win based on dominating their opponent. So as they scored on an early 3rd quarter possession, things started to look up.

But despite all the focus on Brady for the Patriots, they don't win games without defense, and their defense didn't let them down. Jacksonville continued to struggle scoring against NE, and ultimately found themselves coming up short.

With a final score of 21-6, the Patriots are AFC Champs and, as many might have predicted from the beginning, will compete in the first ever Legendary Bowl.

One thing that kept New England tough to deal with was the duo of Welker and Moss on the receiving core. With 200 receiving yards between them and 13 catches, they certainly gave the Patriots the field position needed for the FG efforts.

Brady overall was just 21-37 with 283 yards and 1 pick, which Jacksonville's Darius ran for 48 yards on. Had Brunell taken 37 throws, we might be watching a different game next week. Having only 21 attempts in the air, he managed 149 yards and 1 TD. But Jacksonville is just as much a rushing team as passing, and NE held them to under 5 yards / carry.

With '62 Green Bay out of the race, for a real shocking result you'll have to look to the NFC Championship.


'15 Carolina vs. '98 Atlanta

Atlanta has been blowing teams away in recent weeks, and looking back on the season, 6 of their 12 wins (regular + postseason) have been by a 20+ point margin. With both one of the top offenses and defenses in the league, they have the favor in today's matchup.

But with the Panthers being the team to knock out the favored '62 Packers, all bets were off. In fact, with a few 3-and-outs in the 1st quarter, it would be the Panthers that would grab the first TD on a pass to Stewart. Chandler would immediately retaliate, finding Mathis open in the flat for a 76 yard gain and a tie score.

The 1st and 2nd quarter would almost tick off before either team would be able to score, with the Falcons pushing Andersen through for a 1 yard TD. After stopping Carolina again and getting the ball outside the 2 minute warning, Chandler would find another big hole in the Carolina secondary, hitting Kinchen for 52 yards and a score to take a 1st half lead, 21-7.

Unfortunately for Carolina, the 2nd half didn't look much better as Newton simply struggled for any deep balls or good position. The Falcons, meanwhile, were able to continue wearing down the Carolina defense. And on offense, they did not waste the effort - picking up 2 rushing TD's for a change and setting up for an Andersen FG late. Cam Newton was able to rush for a 2nd Panthers TD early in the 4th quarter, but as if to put salt in the wounds, Dwight took the following kickoff return 89 yards for a score.

Looking at the numbers, both teams did well. Both had 150 rushing yards, and while Chandler clearly threw for more yards with those 2 big throws over 50 yards, those 2 TD's only account for under half of the Atlanta victory margin. In the end, it was Atlanta's Defense, and special teams, that gave them an edge.

So with a final score or 45-14, Atlanta's postseason dominance continues. They are now set to meet the Patriots to determine which team, or franchise, is truly the best ever. Only time will tell if they're able to maintain their edge.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Season Opener

'85 Chicago vs. '62 Green Bay It was a cool fall night in Chicago, with almost 70,000 in attendance. The '85 Bears got off to an electrifying start, wasting no time scoring on their first possession, after a long pass brought them to the 1 yard line. The '62 Packers retaliated, slowly making progress and moving the ball near the red zone multiple times, but were only able to score once on a 78 yard Taylor TD run. Ultimately, the Bears D proved too oppressive, picking off 3 passes from Starr in the 2nd quarter alone, giving McMahon plenty of chances to score. And with a great blend of rush and pass plays, score he did. The Bears were up 21-7 at the half.  In the 2nd half, the Pack continued getting close to scoring range, as Starr put up over 200 yards. But turnovers continued to haunt the Packers after Perry picked up fumbles on 2 separate drives. The Packers D increased the pressure on the Bears in the 2nd half, but it just wasn't enough to st...
Read more

Week 2 - Thursday Nighter

'00 Tampa Bay vs. '15 Carolina The weather was nice and cool at Bank of America Stadium as the Buccaneers traveled to Carolina this time to try and stop Newton and the Panthers.  Over 73,730 people were in attendance. Hot off a win against Montana's 49ers, the Buccaneers found themselves quickly working a bit harder to keep their momentum up against the Panthers. On their first drive, the Panthers picked off Brad Johnson, promptly turning the opportunity into the first score of the game. From there, Newton took charge in the first half, coming up with 2 TD's. Though making it look easy, he also had great ball position each time, at one point benefiting from a 48 yard punt return by Ted Ginn Jr. Tampa Bay tried lots of attacks to get past Carolina, but the Buccs just couldn't turn their gains into first downs. Struggling to make progress, the Panthers went up at halftime 24-7 . In the 3rd quarter, Tampa Bay's defense put extra pressure on Newton, and he...
Read more

Week 4 - Monday

'76 Pittsburgh vs. '88 Cincinnati It was a brisk fall day at Three Rivers Stadium as the 1-2 Steelers looked to turn their season around against the 2-1 division rival Bengals. Only 46,000 were in attendance, but Pittsburgh would soon find they may more reasons to draw fans. After a few 3 & outs in the 1st quarter, Esiason would put together a great drive, with Wilson taking a 1 yard run for the first score. Pittsburgh would try to put together a drive, but settled for a 40 yarder from Gerela. The Bengals, still leading 7-3, would get Breech close enough to nail a 35 yarder and go up 10-3. Pittsburgh would need to start scoring to get in the game, and they found their opportunity. On the 1st play of the 2nd quarter, Bleier told his teammates not to worry about any FG's, as he took a handoff and ran 53 yards for the TD to put the Steelers back in the game. After stopping the Bengals again, the Steelers would put together a real drive this time, and as they reache...
Read more