You must play for 60 minutes

They had a picture perfect plan for the first 30 minutes.  Unfortunately for Baltimore, the Pittsburgh Steelers had a backup plan for the last 30 minutes.  The Ravens were leading 21-7 at halftime.  They were playing great defense.  Joe Flacco was making plays.  Pittsburgh made their move when Baltimore was getting complacent.  Soon the game was tied at 21 and the Ravens were in panic mode.  Yes you could make the argument that the referees were not helping the Ravens cause, but you have to expect that they won’t help.  Pittsburgh was playing at home and their crowd gave them the extra boost they needed.  Flacco didn’t get any help from his receivers and the Ravens defense, especially the pass, was getting beat on almost every play.  Baltimore will be thinking ‘what if’ the entire offseason, but they should know that they gave their division rivals everything they had.  This was the only game that was split right down the middle as far as who you thought would win.  Next year shouldn’t be any different.

Someone wants it more

Atlanta had two weeks to be ready for this playoff game.  They had one week to prepare for the Green Bay Packers specifically, but the way they played it was apparent they were lost.  Now all the credit does go to Aaron Rodgers and the entire Green Bay defense for the way they prepared for the Falcons.  They did play earlier in the season which resulted in a Falcons victory.  Green Bay learned from that game and it was evident in the way they played the final three quarters.  The Packers forced turnovers at key points in the game.  Atlanta couldn’t run the ball at all.  Matt Ryan seemed to be an average quarterback at best for the game.  Green Bay didn’t have to establish the run as much as I expected.  Rodgers was on target for the entire game.  The Packers have a formidable offense and their defense is at their best when they’re perceived vulnerable.  They are the scary team right now and yet most didn’t seem them because of their lack of experience.  Someday that cliche will be overlooked and it might start with the Green Bay Packers.

Chicago played their game

From start to finish Bears quarterback Jay Cutler was on fire.  The snow was melting away for the Bears to take control of the game.  Seattle had no answer for Cutler and were lost for all four quarters on offense.  Yes, Seattle scored 21 of their 24 points in the fourth quarter, but by that time Chicago was already thinking about hosting Green Bay next week.  It was strange though at certain points in the second half offensive coordinator Mike Martz was calling wildcat plays that resulted in no gains and one interception thrown by running back Matt Forte.  That will have to stop from this point on.  If Seattle isn’t going to fall for those plays, what’s to say Green Bay will?  The Windy City has breathed a sigh of relief with the great performance of Jay Cutler.  Now they just hope it will continue for what is perhaps the biggest game for the Bears since Super Bowl XX.

They talked the talked and backed it up

Well, the Jets have put themselves back into the Super Bowl conversation.  I will say right now that I’m not and never have been actively rooting against the Jets to lose.  I’m not a Jets fan, but I believe that have a pretty talented team.  Just laying that out right now for Jets linebacker Bart Scott.  That guy was intense after the victory over the hated New England Patriots.  You can’t tell me that the Jets didn’t think that was their own personal Super Bowl.  Once again it was a perfect gameplan in all three phases by Rex Ryan and his coaching staff.  Mark Sanchez was even better than during the Wild Card game against Indianapolis.  Braylon Edwards, Santonio Holmes and LaDainian Tomlinson each proved their value for a formidable offense.  They even beat the Bill Belichick led Patriots in the psychological aspect of the game.  All that trash talking was to the Jets benefit.  They wanted to prove not only to the football world, but to themselves that they can beat New England at Foxboro.  New England was stunned at their ferocity and it shook every player, including Tom Brady, to their core.  I believe the Jets haven’t reached their peak yet, but they probably have their work cut out for them against Pittsburgh.  The Steelers are a different animal from New England.  Either way it was going to be a good AFC Championship game, but for most of us we secretly wanted the Jets and Rex Ryan to be there.