Nathan Stacken
Hello and welcome to a new year with the Stack Attack. A lot of people are still catching their breath after the epic game between the Green Bay Packers and the Arizona Cardinals Jan. 10. The Cardinals won 51-45 in overtime in the highest scoring game ever in the playoffs. Before we take a look at the divisional round of the playoffs this upcoming week, let’s take a look back at a few big things from wild-card weekend:
1. Once again, Cardinals are underestimated.
Last year, no one gave the Cardinals a chance of making it far in the playoffs, let alone the Super Bowl. This year, the same thing happened. People didn’t give the Cardinals a chance against the Packers. The Cardinals used that as a huge motivating factor and came out and played inspired football, getting the victory. Kurt Warner threw five touchdowns. He had more touchdowns than incompletes (5 TDs, 4 incompletions). With play like that, the Cardinals may be headed back to the Super Bowl.
Brett who? That is what a lot of Packers fans may be thinking after Aaron Rodgers’ performance against the Cardinals. Rodgers threw four touchdowns and ran for another. Five touchdowns should be enough to win a game. Unfortunately, the defense didn’t show up. Rodgers’ performance was incredible, and if there is a silver lining in the Packers’ loss, fans should know that their team is in good hands with Aaron Rodgers.
3. Cowboys continue to roll.
They got rid of the December demons. Last week, they got rid of the playoff demons. The Dallas Cowboys won their first playoff game since 1996 with their 34-14 win over the Philadelphia Eagles last Saturday. The defense confused the Eagles offense all game long, and Tony Romo played well for the Cowboys. The Cowboys are the hottest team in football right now and playing the best football of any team remaining in the playoffs right now. They will be tough to knock out when they face the Vikings this week, and if they win, they’ll pose problems for their remaining opponents for the rest of the postseason.
4. Baltimore dominates with rushing and defense.
The New England Patriots were not themselves Jan. 10 against the Baltimore Ravens. Tom Brady looked uncomfortable and the offense wasn’t in rhythm for most of the game. A larger part of that had to do with the way Baltimore came out on defense. They were tenacious, flying around and making plays. They hit hard and the Patriots seemed a little shocked by that. The Ravens also had 234 yards rushing. They thrashed the Patriots defense. Ravens running back Ray Rice was great. I don’t know if they can keep it up, but no team should take the Ravens lightly here on out during the remainder of the playoffs.
5. Jets lead with D to get to second round of playoffs.
The New York Jets defense dominated the Cincinnati Bengals Jan 9. Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer was under pressure all game long and made some mistakes. On the flip side, Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez made no mistakes and threw a touchdown that helped push the Jets past the Bengals 24-14. If the defense and Sanchez play that good again this week against the Chargers, we may be talking about the Jets in the AFC Championship game. Hard to believe when just a few weeks ago their coach Rex Ryan said the Jets had no shot of even making it to the playoffs.
Divisional playoff week is considered by many the best week of football of the year. As we quickly look ahead to the games, keep in mind that it would not be a huge surprise if any of these teams won. Having said that, I like the New Orleans Saints to narrowly beat Arizona Cardinals. The Indianapolis Colts will beat the Baltimore Ravens in a slugfest. The San Diego Chargers will beat the New York Jets, and in the toughest game to pick of the four, I will pick the Minnesota Vikings barely over the Dallas Cowboys, though I say that with no certainty whatsoever. Enjoy the week.
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