Patriots And Giants Prevail, Make It To The Big Show

The Patriots befuddled the Chargers over the weekend, in a 21-12 victory that was not nearly as close as the score made it seem. The telling stat of the game: LaDanian Tomlinson's 5 yards rushing.

Meanwhile, the Packers and Giants engaged in a seesaw battle which went to overtime following a Tynes FG miss as time expired. The Packers continued the momentum by winning the OT coin toss...that is, until Brett Favre threw a costly interception, setting up another Tynes FG attempt. This time, the kick went in, leading the G-Men to a 23-20 win.

The Super Bowl features a repeat match up of the Patriots' final season win. They won a close one which many analysts called the Giants most impressive performance of the season (and certainly one of the more impressive efforts put up against Brady's crew) The repeat shouldn't be this close. The Giants are too young; the Patriots are too good. Patriots 42-Giants 17

Pack, G-Men, Pats, Bolts All Advance To Semis

Green Bay took no time in getting over Ryan Grant's two early fumbles. In fact, they solved the problem the same way they started it -- by giving Grant the ball. As the snow fell in Lambeau, Grant rumbled for over 200 yards and a predictable cold weather win for the Pack. Green Bay 42-Seattle 20

New England let Jacksonville hang around for a while, and even though wily David Garrard made plays happen as best as he could, Brady and Moss were just too much for him. Surprise, surprise. New England 31-Jacksonville 20

San Diego and Indy traded leads back and forth for the majority of the game until replacements Billy Volek (QB) and Michael Turner (RB) brought the Chargers to a 28-24 advantage. The San Diego defense then held the Colts potent offense on two consecutive possessions in order to get the huge win over the defending champions. San Diego 28-Indianapolis 24

Dallas led often and controlled the pace of the game, but failed to score in the 4th quarter. The Giants put a late TD on the board and Dallas couldn't respond as Romo threw a last second end zone interception. New York 21-Dallas 17

NFL Divisional Previews

Seattle-Green Bay: This should be a snoozer of a game. Seattle comes in after eeking out a win over the Redskins, while Green Bay stumbled awkwardly into its #2 position. However, I do expect Brett Favre to return to form in this game, putting in a performance good enough to win. The Packers D should be able to stymie Shaun Alexander, too. Packers 31-Seattle 13

Jacksonville-New England: While the Jags have long been the sexy pick to dethrone the Pats, and while they showed incredible resiliency last week against the Steelers, we ARE talking about the Patriots. You know...Brady, Moss, Maroney? Pats will destroy these doubters with a big win. Patriots 34-Jaguars 9

Indianapolis-San Diego: San Diego almost lost last week before finally turning on against the Titans. If they don't start quick against the Colts, they won't have a chance. Marvin Harrison should be back and looking to make a splash. Colts 45-Chargers 22

Dallas-New York: New York looked great against Tampa Bay. They should look great against Dallas. But if Terrell Owens is back, it won't be enough. Expect Romo to almost blow this game, but hold on for a close one. Cowboys 21-Giants 17

Giants, Chargers Prevail And Move To Divisionals

Eli Manning silenced his critics with a stellar 20 for 27 performance, accounting for two touchdowns and zero interceptions. With a day that good, he didn't need help from Plaxico Burress or Brandon Jacobs, who were relatively quiet in the victory. Jeff Garcia's Buccaneers didn't play poorly -- they just didn't play well enough to win. Two interceptions and a fumble by Garcia alone were enough to do in the home team. The Giants roll into Dallas on the heels of this 24-14 victory.

The Chargers looked sloppy early as the rain poured in San Diego, going into the half down by six. The second half was a different story as Philip Rivers, Chris Chambers, and unknown Vincent Jackson put on a passing and receiving clinic. The trio, with a little help from L.T., racked up 17 straight points and look to be strong competition for the Indianapolis Colts.

With these victories, the four playoff match ups are as follows:

NFC:
Dallas-New York
Green Bay-Seattle

AFC:
New England-Jacksonville
Indianapolis-San Diego

Patriots Stumble To A Win Against G-Men

Down 12 points halfway through the third, Tom Brady (with a little help from his friends) scrambled and put up 22 unanswered points en route to 16th regular season win. Laurence Maroney, who only averaged 2.4 yards per carry, was effective when he needed to be, dancing for two touchdowns. Randy Moss was...well, Randy Moss. He capped off his night by catching a long touchdown pass right after dropping what would have been a sure touchdown on the previous play. Moss's two touchdowns were complimented by a 100 yard receiving performance and oh yeah, a new receiving record (22 touchdown catches in a season). Wes Welker played the role of undernoticed, underappreciated WR once again as he chipped in 122 yards while passing T.J. Houshmandzadeh for most receptions this season.

It appears that the Patriots are unbeatable. They played like junk for the first 40 minutes of the game, had just about everything thrown at them, and somehow still cruised to the victory. They've beaten the only threats that still exist in the NFL -- the Dallas Cowboys and the Indianapolis Colts. Who could beat them? Better yet, HOW could they beat them. It's all but a formality now...the Pats will roll in the playoffs.

Pats Look To Make It Perfect

The 15-0 New England Patriots look to make it a perfect sixteen wins with a Saturday night match up with the New York Giants. Those Giants, however, are no Miami Dolphins -- they're 10-5, looking for the playoffs, and have a cast of stars, including Pro Bowler Osi Umenyiora.

With the first round playoff matches set, neither team has much to play for in terms of positioning. However, the Patriots are on the verge of becoming the first 16-0 team in the history of the NFL. The 1972 Dolphins only had to play 14 regular season games to achieve regular season perfection. By the time they had reached 16, the goal that the Patriots will look to match tomorrow, they were in the Super Bowl. The Pats still have the Colts and the Cowboys to fend off before finishing what would be the longest perfect season in NFL history.

I expect the Pats to beat up on the Giants, as evidenced by Coach Bill Belichick's decision throughout the home stretch of the season to play each game as if it were the Super Bowl. Brady and Moss should both play until the game is well in hand. Whether or not Belichick admits he wants this record, he sure coaches like he does. The Giants, on the other hand, know that they will be playing the wild card game the very next week and should rest most of their starters.

It'll be a New England kind of day at the Meadowlands -- bitter cold and ultimately ending in a Patriots victory. Patriots 34-Giants 17