Game of the Weekend

The NFL Divisional Playoffs take place this weekend, and if you're a football fan, this means you're excited. This is easily the best round of the playoffs as we lose the pretenders that were weeded out in the Wild Card round (Cincy, NE and Philly) while at the same time getting back the cream of the crop in each league. The competitive balance is best in this round, and this weekend's slate of games is a great illustration of that.

I always find it fun when you have teams with contrasting styles, and in the Chargers/Jets game, this couldn't be truer. All the Jets want to do is run the ball. All the Chargers want to do is throw the ball down the field. In 2007, this game may have set a record for fewest passes thrown in a playoff game since the forward pass was invented. In 2010, the Chargers backfield sports some guy doing a poor impression of LaDainian Tomlinson and 5 foot 6 inch Darren Sproles. They will not be interested in trying to run much against a Jets defense that held people to 2.8 yards per carry during the regular season. This matchup is going to be like the US Army fighting the US Air Force. One side will try to grind their way to victory, while the other side will use flash and pizzazz en route to their desired outcome. Unfortunately for the Jets, they will not have the numbers advantage over the Chargers that the Army would have over the Air Force. None the less, this game should be very entertaining. It is not, however, the game of the week.

Baltimore/Indianapolis is another great example of a matchup between two teams who play with contrasting styles. As we saw last week, Baltimore is perfectly content to completely disregard the passing game and stick to the run, as they threw just 10 passes on their way to stomping Belichick's bunch. The Ravens play with a swagger and a confidence that is indicative of the type of on-field leadership players like Desmond Mason, Ed Reed, and Ray Lewis provide. On the flip side, Indianapolis is as business-like a team as you will ever see. Peyton Manning guides the offense like a ship captain. He's got his hand on the wheel and is in charge of every movement that takes place. Coach Jim Caldwell may or may not be conscious during games, but that seems not to matter. I'm pretty sure the Colts offensive line is allergic to run blocking, because only the Cardinals attempted fewer rushes than the Colts did this season. The Colts have been struggling since pulling their starters in the middle of Week 16 against the Jets, and the Ravens have been gaining steam in recent weeks. Despite these compelling reasons to watch this game, this is not the best game of the weekend.

Saints/Cardinals promises to be an offensive battle for the ages. According to ESPN's in-house gamblingologist (Yes, I made that word up...What of it?) Chad Millman, the 57 point over/under Vegas sports books have posted for this game is the highest in the playoffs in the 20 years records have been kept. When Kurt Warner has time to survey the field, the Arizona offense is virtually unstoppable. When Drew Brees has his full complement of weapons to work with, New Orleans is as difficult a team to defend as there is in the league. Despite Pierre Thomas' availability for the week being somewhat in question (evidenced by the emergency signing of Deuce McAllister on Friday), the Saints are very healthy and should be close to full speed for Saturday's game. Despite all the crazy offensive numbers we may see in this game and despite all of the amazing talent that will be on the field, this is not the game of the weekend.

Minnesota/Dallas has everything we could ever want in a playoff game. It's got the big personalities at QB in Brett Favre and Tony Romo. It's got game-breaking running backs in Adrian Peterson and Felix Jones. It's got young, up-and-coming receivers in the midst of breakout years in Sidney Rice and Miles Austin. It's got head coaches that raise the question of whether the huge amounts of talent each team has can overcome their buffoonery in Brad Childress and Wade Phillips. It's got dueling pass rushing units that make opposing QB's pray for an extra set of eyes coming out of the back of their head. In short, this game has a little bit of everything. What makes this a truly great match up is that these teams are so very similar to each other. Both defensive units were among the league's best. Both offenses rolled up yards and points at amazing rates. Both teams had lulls in during the regular season that caused people to question whether they are true title contenders or not. The main difference is that Dallas had their lull in November and have since recovered well enough to be considered the hottest team remaining in the playoffs, whereas the Vikings lull came in the season's final month, causing them to lose 3 of their last 5 games after an amazing 10-1 start to the year. There is little question that these are the two most complete teams remaining in the playoffs. Saints fans may argue that their bunch belongs in that argument, but in losing three straight to end the season, the flaws that most people quietly knew existed in the Saints reared their ugly heads. Minnesota and Dallas are not without flaws of their own. Minnesota had issues running the ball consistently toward the end of the season, and has given up a ton of yards to teams who employ a quick timing passing attack. Dallas has had significant trouble scoring points at times this year, putting up just 7 points in back to back games against Green Bay and Washington in the middle of November. The Cowboys have also been guilty of a few lapses in defensive play this season. This fact has been masked some by the good statistics their team accumulated over the course of the season, but those stats were boosted some by a few outstanding efforts against less than outstanding teams. A shutout of Washington in Week 16, back to back strong efforts against the Redskins and Raiders in November, and a nice game against a reeling Carolina team in Week 3 helped Dallas final defensive stats significantly. In the interest of full disclosure, however, the Cowboy's last two games against Philadelphia have to be viewed as nothing short of remarkable defensive efforts against a team that can really put the ball in the endzone. To allow just 2 TD's in 2 games to one of the better offenses in the NFL is an amazing achievement. Was it simply a case of one team having another team's number? Possibly. Regardless of that, the effort Dallas big D put gave over the last two weeks cannot be discounted. Ultimately, what this game is going to boil down to is big plays. Whichever team can make the most explosive plays is going to be the successful group. I just don't see this being a grind-it-out type of contest, so players like Felix Jones, Patrick Clayton, Percy Harvin, Adrian Peterson, and Bernard Berrian are going to have a lot of say over who wins this game. After the weekend is over, I believe this will be the game that people remember most fondly moving forward.

I do have opinions as to who is going to win these games. I will now share those opinions.

New Orleans vs. Arizona

The Cardinals won't be able to bring the same kind of effort and intensity after a short week of preparation they had a week ago against Green Bay, and the Saints will take advantage of this by getting ahead early and not letting go. Saints 34, Cardinals 21.

Indianapolis vs. Baltimore

The Colts will have trouble early as they kick off the rust after not having played meaningful football in 3 weeks, but will recover in time to put together a fourth quarter comeback against a rattled Joe Flacco. Colts 27, Ravens 24

Minnesota vs. Dallas

Brett Favre and Tony Romo go blow for blow in this game, each putting up huge games for their respective teams. In the end, this one is decided by who has the ball last, with that honor going to the Vikings in a thrilling early Sunday game. Vikings 38, Cowboys 31

San Diego v. New York

The Chargers superior talent level proves too much for the scrappy Jets to overcome, as the Chargers take off early and never slow down. Chargers 34, Jets 14.