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Believe, just believeI mean, most of us have seen two or three Houston Texans games this year. Most of us. Some probably haven't seen the Cincinnati Bengals play at all. Same goes for the Denver Broncos (who weren't televised outside of Colorado until week 14) or Pittsburgh Steelers or Atlanta Falcons.
With that, most people watched these playoff games not knowing that Jonathan Joseph was a free agent cornerback this off-season. If you didn't already, you know the name of Jason Pierre-Paul. DeMaryius Thomas is a real person. That the New York Giants offensive line is as hodgepodge as they come, yet, they could all start for the Dallas Cowboys.
The NFL playoffs are a reminder of just how mismanaged the Dallas Cowboys are and how other teams are able to find a lot of good talent at bargain-basement prices. The Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers, Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions all lost this weekend. All four are significantly better than the Dallas Cowboys now and in four years. Eat your heart out, Jerry Jones. The Lions have caught up.
To the games, three of which I picked correctly:
Houston Texans 31, Cincinnati Bengals 10
The Texans said, "We're going to run the ball. Come and stop us." And the Bengals couldn't. If you had to summarize a game, that's it. I think J.J. Watt's amazing interception should also be mentioned. It was not only a ridiculous play that you could never account for, but it broke a 10-10 tie at a time that Houston wasn't exactly taking the ball up and down the field. It also came at the end of the first half. Mid-game, that play is something you can move past quickly. As you head to the locker room, it's all you think about. That was the momentum shift. Without it, the teams go into half 10-10 and who knows how the Bengals shift gameplans. Felt the Bengals, also, gave up on the run entirely too early. Started chucking it early and the Texans could just pin their ears back and rush the Dalton.
New Orleans Saints 45, Detroit Lions 28
The Lions got two gifts from the Saints -- a Marques Colston and Drew Brees fumble -- and failed to capitalize (two punts). Granted, the Brees fumble was unfairly called dead otherwise the Lions probably run it back for a score. Nonetheless, the Saints handed two possessions to the Lions and nothing came from it. That was death. The Saints offense is entirely too good to let preemo opportunities fall by the wayside, especially at home.
New York Giants 24, Atlanta Falcons 2
More and more, the Giants look like legit sleepers for the Super Bowl. They are good on both sides of the ball. If I gambled, I'd gamble on them. As for the Falcons, you feel that they've probably all they can do as constructed. Still think they have a lot of issues on the defensive side of the ball and I don't think that offensive line is as good as the announcers made them out to be. A lot of change on the O-line and guys not working out as expected. Otherwise, the Falcons were unable to convert on short-yardage situations or throw the ball downfield. The intermediate stuff was there all day and the Giants were happy to give it. They were also happy to go mano y mano on the line and they were happy that the suspect secondary was not put to the test at all. Mike Smith might not survive this; however, as Troy Aikman stated, kicking field goals on those short-yardage downs was not going to win them the game. But you expect your O-line to get that for you.
Denver Broncos 29, Pittsburgh Steelers 23
Once Willis McGahee fumbled, I thought the Steelers were going to win. Once they got the ball back late in the fourth, I thought they'd kick the game-winning field goal and lick their wounds before seeing the Patriots. Tim Tebow was exceptional. His intermediate passes were terrible. His long passes were exceptional. If the Broncos beat New England next week, I'm going to church.
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