CHIEFS AT COLTS: Three turnovers for Peyton Manning, and three headlines about it…
Realistically, did the Chiefs even have a chance in this one? Perhaps they could have, if they had stuck with the guy that really put them in the position to get into the playoffs. I’m with Don Banks:
If I’m a Chiefs fan today, I’m still irate at head coach Herman Edwards. I mean yelling-at-the-TV mad. What would it have taken to get Trent Green benched and backup quarterback Damon Huard inserted into Kansas City’s wild-card game at Indianapolis? Last week, Edwards talked of his willingness to keep Green on a short lease against the Colts, in effect telling Huard to stay loose.
And then he sticks with Green through one of the worst displays of offensive football in the history of the NFL playoffs. In case you missed it, the Chiefs offense didn’t produce a single first down for the first 41½ minutes of the game. At one point, Kansas City had run 21 plays and totaled 21 yards of offense. In the first half alone, the Chiefs had five three-and-out drives and missed a 23-yard field goal.
SEATTLE AT DALLAS: What happens when Tony Romo makes Martin Gramatica look like Charlie Brown? He gets emo and causes other Dallas fans to follow suit and put it on YouTube — but why? Romo needs to get his mind off Ms. Underwood and listen more to Coach…whoever it ends up being. I don’t think Seattle has a chance in Chicago, unless Grossman struggles again and Lovie Smith pulls a Herm Edwards and leaves him in…
JETS AT PATRIOTS: The Man-Genius meets the Homeless-Genius for the third time this year. The Pats pulled away, but naturally we were all just wanting the game to be over so we could see the post-game handshake, historically an interesting item between these two — and then they really throw us for a loop and go for the hug! With the win, the Patriots travel to San Diego next weekend, and this certainly has me in a panic. The last time the Patriots went against one of my teams, it was Super Bowl XXXVIII (38, for the non-Romans out there), and Adam Vinateri personally drove a stake through the hearts of the Carolina Panthers in the final seconds. At least the Chargers don’t have to travel to New England…more on that as the week goes on.
GIANTS AT EAGLES: Easily the best game of the weekend. Jeff Garcia started cold but got hot, Eli Manning rallied his team back to a tie in the final minutes, but the Eagles marched down the field one more time — and amazingly enough, the last second field goal went off without a hitch. Lots of questions now remain in New York — is this it for Tom Coughlin? Is Brandon Jacobs really the answer to replace Tiki Barber? Will Eli even win anything resembling a big game? Time will tell…