For the second year in a row there was doubt as to whether the Houston Texans would prove themselves in the playoffs. Thankfully for them, they have thanks to the Cincinnati Bengals. Houston is a different team when they play at home.  Their defense is among the best in the league when they can provide constant pressure.  However, their offense can be predictable at times. They run to setup the pass.  Mainly to their star wideout Andre Johnson.  This time they played it differently with a lot of short passes to expose the Bengals weakness on defense which is their linebackers can’t cover the flat.  The Texans would be wise to use that same kind of strategy against the Patriots.  They can’t keep up with the Patriots if the game turns into a shootout, but Houston can win by keeping him off the field.  They proved that by keeping the Bengals deep threat, A.J. Green in check and off the field for most of the game.

It wasn’t much of a test, but the Packers proved that they are in a good position to get back to the Super Bowl.  They once again showed that they have one of the best quarterbacks in the league when they can keep Aaron Rodgers up right.  Their defense did a great job in containing Vikings RB Adrian Peterson the third time around.  With their quarterback Christian Ponder out to an elbow injury, it was slim pickings for backup Joe Webb.  Most thought that the last minute change would hurt the Packers defense, but it actually hurt the Vikings offense more.  Green Bay had no trouble containing Minnesota’s passing game and it quickly got out of hand.  Whether this helps the Packers going forward remains unknown.  But it sure feels good for them to know they got back at their division rival.

It was announced that this will be Ravens LB Ray Lewis’ last run at another Super Bowl title.  To think that we will no longer see one of the game’s fiercest competitors patrolling the middle of the field is astonishing.  I mean, we all figured he could continue to play until he was 45.  Being realistic though, this could be what the Ravens needed.  They have been inconsistent for most of the season. Can they rally around their leader?  They didn’t run away with the game against the Indianapolis Colts.  In fact the Colts were in the game up until the second half started.  Two things the Ravens need to keep in mind for the rest of the playoffs.  Ray Rice can’t fumble anymore and they must get the ball to Anquan Boldin early and often.  They do those two things and the rest will take care of itself.

Never have I seen a team start out so fast and fall so hard.  The Washington Redskins scored touchdowns on their first two drives of the game.  After that they couldn’t gain over 100 yards on offense.  Credit to the Seattle Seahawks for not giving in when a lot of other teams would have.  Seattle went on to score 24 unanswered points to win by 10.  Also it became apparent fairly early that Redskins QB Robert Griffin wasn’t his usual self.  Turns out that on the last play of the game for him, he tore his ACL and LCL.  If he was 100 percent, the outcome might have been different, but the Seahawks bruising rushing attack wouldn’t have played any different.  The Redskins had no answer for that running game and the Seahawks exposed them.  Can that kind of performance be repeated?  Doubtful, but the rest of the league knows that Seattle won’t go down without a fight.