Player of the Week - Larry Fitzgerald (WR, ARZ)
Larry Fitzgerald got a lot of buzz this year for his great comeback season, but even I was surprised he had 108 catches! Anyway, Fitzy continued that rennaissance in this game with a vintage performance. He was everywhere making diving catches, making weaving runs after the catch, scoring the winner on a shovel pass. On a day when the rest of the offense didn't play all that well, Fitzgerald was a monster.
Runner-Up - Luke Kuechly (LB, CAR)
Kuechly was the best player on the field in that game. His pick-six set the early tone; his coverage was scary, including breaking up passes 20-yards downfield. He's gotten buzz recently about winning another Defensive Player of the Year, and his play in this game showed why.
Goat of the Week - Andy Reid (Coach, KC)
To be honest, there was no real goat player this week. Overall, the weekend was well played football, and credit Seattle for making what started out as an epic blowout into a competitive game. I'll give it to Andy Reid because of the lethargic drive his Chiefs had to make it 27-20, but even then he had an undermanned team competitive in New England.
Runner-Up - The Broncos WR's Hands
In a weird way, some of the worst performances came by the winning teams. The Broncos could have won that game a lot more easily, and made their QB look much better, if their receivers just caught the ball. The Broncos actually have done that a lot in Manning games this year. They made some big catches late, but man were they playing with stone hands late.
Surprise of the Week - The Steelers Offense sans Brown
All credit to the Steelers for playing a really inspired game. It is rare to actually say that about the Steelers playoff losses over the years in the Ben era, but without Brown and DeAngelo, the Steelers offense had one of the best days against Denver all year. They didn't score because of awful field position and a fumble, but Roethlisberger looked good, and Martavis Bryant is a monster. Even the o-line played better than expected. If only the Steelers could draft cornerbacks the way they draft WRs.
Runner-Up: The Packers Defense
Again, it was a weird week where the losing teams in a few of the games came out looking better, in a relative to expectations sense, than the winner, and the Packers defense definitely seemed to win the matchups against the Cardinals offense. The corners played great on the speedy guys, basically taking John Brown out of the game completely. The d-line was great all day. If only they could cover Larry Fitzgerald.
Disappointment of the Week - The Chiefs Defense
I get that Justin Houston played just 8 snaps, in an injury that ended up being far more impactful than Maclin's, but where was the rest of the defense. The secondary played reasonably well, but they dropped 2-3 interceptions. The linebackers missed countless tackles. The interior rush guys in Haye and Poe were silent. The Chiefs defense was their strength, but it went missing on Saturday.
Runner-Up: The Broncos Defense
The Broncos defense was not bad. No, they basically got Denver the win with the fumble, but so high are the expectations of the Broncos defense that it was surprising they didn't do even better. They seemed so spooked by Antonio Brown eating Chris Harris in Week 15 that they played way too much zone, which apparently they can't play well. The Steelers receivers should never have been that open. Also, Von Miller was oddly silent.
Team Performance of the Week - The Panthers Defensive Line
The Panthers as a whole had the most dominant first half I've seen by a team in a good decade in the playoffs, and the best part was their d-line. Kawann Short and Star Lotulelei were unbloackable inside, swallowing up Marshawn Lynch. The rotation of DEs were all great. Both interceptions were due to fast pressure. Even the plays the Seahawks did make needed Wilson to escape quick pressure. Just a dominant performance by a forgettenly really damn good defense.
Runner-Up: The Broncos Special Teams
It has been very odd all season to watch Denver play with a bad offense and great defense - it was even weirder to see a Manning-QBed team win because of dominant special teams. From the returns, to the repeated great punt coverage punning the Steelers back, to McManus going 5-5 in windy conditions, that was a dominant performance.
Team Lay-Down of the Week - The Cardinals Offense for 45 minutes
The Cardinals had the best offense in the NFL this season. They have the best passing attack, and a good running game. That offense was silent for three quarters. They had 70 yards total in the first half. Carson Palmer was wild and inaccurate, repeatedly throwing high. Luckily for them they had a 4th quarter, but it was just jarring to see that played so much of the season in rhythm look so lost against an average defense.
Runner-Up: The Broncos Corners
I feel like I've covered a lot of this ground, but the Broncos should have been able to do a better job against Bryant. Wheaten, DHB and Sammie Coates. They have to step up if the Broncos are to have any shot next week.
Storyline that will be Beaten Into the Ground over the next week - Brady / Manning pt. XVII
In a way, it is nice that we get one of these after Manning had to miss the regular season game, but having mentally checked out of Peyton Manning being an active QB, this is a very unwelcome surprise. The real matchup is Tom Brady and his gang of healthy receivers against the best defense in the NFL, but no, let's just focus on Manning vs. Brady for 144 hours.
Storyline that should be Beaten Into the Ground over the next week - The NFC in the Late-Window can give us Another Classic
Here are the last four times the NFC had the 2nd Title Game, the 6:40 PM one:
2007: Giants beat Packers 23-20 (OT)
2009: Saints beat Vikings 31-28 (OT)
2011: Giants beat 49ers 20-17 (OT)
2013: Seahawks beat 49ers 23-17
Those were four classic games, three of which were OT thrillers, one of which was as good as the others, ending with an interception in the end zone. One was one of teh best played and most iconic games of the 21st Century (Giants @ Packers). You can write epic books about these games. Let's hope the run contnues, and on paper it should. These have been the two best teams in the NFL all year long. They match up well against each other. Carolina is a really fun place to watch a game right now. The Cardinals are always a fun watch. We've had four classics in a row, why stop now?
Larry Fitzgerald got a lot of buzz this year for his great comeback season, but even I was surprised he had 108 catches! Anyway, Fitzy continued that rennaissance in this game with a vintage performance. He was everywhere making diving catches, making weaving runs after the catch, scoring the winner on a shovel pass. On a day when the rest of the offense didn't play all that well, Fitzgerald was a monster.
Runner-Up - Luke Kuechly (LB, CAR)
Kuechly was the best player on the field in that game. His pick-six set the early tone; his coverage was scary, including breaking up passes 20-yards downfield. He's gotten buzz recently about winning another Defensive Player of the Year, and his play in this game showed why.
Goat of the Week - Andy Reid (Coach, KC)
To be honest, there was no real goat player this week. Overall, the weekend was well played football, and credit Seattle for making what started out as an epic blowout into a competitive game. I'll give it to Andy Reid because of the lethargic drive his Chiefs had to make it 27-20, but even then he had an undermanned team competitive in New England.
Runner-Up - The Broncos WR's Hands
In a weird way, some of the worst performances came by the winning teams. The Broncos could have won that game a lot more easily, and made their QB look much better, if their receivers just caught the ball. The Broncos actually have done that a lot in Manning games this year. They made some big catches late, but man were they playing with stone hands late.
Surprise of the Week - The Steelers Offense sans Brown
All credit to the Steelers for playing a really inspired game. It is rare to actually say that about the Steelers playoff losses over the years in the Ben era, but without Brown and DeAngelo, the Steelers offense had one of the best days against Denver all year. They didn't score because of awful field position and a fumble, but Roethlisberger looked good, and Martavis Bryant is a monster. Even the o-line played better than expected. If only the Steelers could draft cornerbacks the way they draft WRs.
Runner-Up: The Packers Defense
Again, it was a weird week where the losing teams in a few of the games came out looking better, in a relative to expectations sense, than the winner, and the Packers defense definitely seemed to win the matchups against the Cardinals offense. The corners played great on the speedy guys, basically taking John Brown out of the game completely. The d-line was great all day. If only they could cover Larry Fitzgerald.
Disappointment of the Week - The Chiefs Defense
I get that Justin Houston played just 8 snaps, in an injury that ended up being far more impactful than Maclin's, but where was the rest of the defense. The secondary played reasonably well, but they dropped 2-3 interceptions. The linebackers missed countless tackles. The interior rush guys in Haye and Poe were silent. The Chiefs defense was their strength, but it went missing on Saturday.
Runner-Up: The Broncos Defense
The Broncos defense was not bad. No, they basically got Denver the win with the fumble, but so high are the expectations of the Broncos defense that it was surprising they didn't do even better. They seemed so spooked by Antonio Brown eating Chris Harris in Week 15 that they played way too much zone, which apparently they can't play well. The Steelers receivers should never have been that open. Also, Von Miller was oddly silent.
Team Performance of the Week - The Panthers Defensive Line
The Panthers as a whole had the most dominant first half I've seen by a team in a good decade in the playoffs, and the best part was their d-line. Kawann Short and Star Lotulelei were unbloackable inside, swallowing up Marshawn Lynch. The rotation of DEs were all great. Both interceptions were due to fast pressure. Even the plays the Seahawks did make needed Wilson to escape quick pressure. Just a dominant performance by a forgettenly really damn good defense.
Runner-Up: The Broncos Special Teams
It has been very odd all season to watch Denver play with a bad offense and great defense - it was even weirder to see a Manning-QBed team win because of dominant special teams. From the returns, to the repeated great punt coverage punning the Steelers back, to McManus going 5-5 in windy conditions, that was a dominant performance.
Team Lay-Down of the Week - The Cardinals Offense for 45 minutes
The Cardinals had the best offense in the NFL this season. They have the best passing attack, and a good running game. That offense was silent for three quarters. They had 70 yards total in the first half. Carson Palmer was wild and inaccurate, repeatedly throwing high. Luckily for them they had a 4th quarter, but it was just jarring to see that played so much of the season in rhythm look so lost against an average defense.
Runner-Up: The Broncos Corners
I feel like I've covered a lot of this ground, but the Broncos should have been able to do a better job against Bryant. Wheaten, DHB and Sammie Coates. They have to step up if the Broncos are to have any shot next week.
Storyline that will be Beaten Into the Ground over the next week - Brady / Manning pt. XVII
In a way, it is nice that we get one of these after Manning had to miss the regular season game, but having mentally checked out of Peyton Manning being an active QB, this is a very unwelcome surprise. The real matchup is Tom Brady and his gang of healthy receivers against the best defense in the NFL, but no, let's just focus on Manning vs. Brady for 144 hours.
Storyline that should be Beaten Into the Ground over the next week - The NFC in the Late-Window can give us Another Classic
Here are the last four times the NFC had the 2nd Title Game, the 6:40 PM one:
2007: Giants beat Packers 23-20 (OT)
2009: Saints beat Vikings 31-28 (OT)
2011: Giants beat 49ers 20-17 (OT)
2013: Seahawks beat 49ers 23-17
Those were four classic games, three of which were OT thrillers, one of which was as good as the others, ending with an interception in the end zone. One was one of teh best played and most iconic games of the 21st Century (Giants @ Packers). You can write epic books about these games. Let's hope the run contnues, and on paper it should. These have been the two best teams in the NFL all year long. They match up well against each other. Carolina is a really fun place to watch a game right now. The Cardinals are always a fun watch. We've had four classics in a row, why stop now?
