It's the annual post-wild card game discussion of who's the biggest goat. Is it Jeremy Hill, whose fumble kept the Bengals from salting away their first postseason win in ages? Or Blair Walsh, who hooked a 27-yard field goal that should be automatic? Or the holder, or Marvin Lewis? One thing's for sure, there's plenty of players and fans feeling bad today.
Kansas City at Houston: The NFL did a good job of putting the weekend's worst game in the early slot on Saturday. I thought Kansas City would win, although I didn't have it quite as one-sided. Both teams have really good defenses, but with Houston having a lesser offense, the Texans were the ones who simply couldn't get anything done. A nice year for Houston, but they clearly need to add a handful of offensive pieces to that team or this is about how their season will end each year. Bad luck with Arian Foster getting injured, of course, but who couldn't see that coming. Journeyman Brian Hoyer kind of got exposed in this game, and although Alfred Blue finished with decent numbers thanks to one long run, he's a backup-caliber running back who should continue to be a backup.
For Kansas City, that's a really good defense, and funny how their special teams stepped up in this game with a kickoff return touchdown, after disappointing in that area during the season. That was all the points they needed and it set the tone for the game. I'd say they'll now go up to New England and win, but they're very short on offensive pieces with it looking like Jeremy Maclin won't be available. Hopefully their defense can keep it close and make things interesting, but it's hard to see them scoring often enough to get another road win.
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati: Watched this with a diehard Steelers fan, who I remember losing it the last time we watched a Pittsburgh playoff game together, the game Tim Tebow beat the Steelers in overtime a few years back. He was basically losing it for the entire game again, and I thought he'd leave when Landry Jones immediately threw an interception in the final two minutes. But Jeremy Hill had the ball simply outmuscled from him -- hard to fault him too much there, it's not like he was carrying it loosely or anything, the defender just did a great job of nearly separating his arm from his body -- and there's a banged-up Ben Roethlisberger completing short pass after short pass to set up the field goal.
I know the Bengals didn't exactly control their emotions well at the end, but I feel a little bad for them. The hit on Antonio Brown didn't look totally intentional -- no? -- and there was fault to go around on the additional penalty on Adam Jones, with players and coaches from both sides on the field. There were ugly altercations with players and coaches throughout the game and the officials didn't exactly do a great job of controlling it. End of the day, Cincinnati had a couple of chances for a fourth-down stop and couldn't do it, and that's why they lost. As an aside, do we really need this Field Goal Target Line? We all know about where the ball has to be for a team to attempt a field goal. As for whether Pittsburgh can win in Denver, let's see if Roethlisberger and Brown are healthy, first, but I'm leaning Broncos at home.
Seattle at Minnesota: This one is just painful, as so many Vikings playoff games have been over the years. And by the way, this is the second time the Seahawks have won a playoff game with the opponent simply screwing up a little chip shot (recall the botched hold by Tony Romo in the Dallas game a few years back). I feel bad for Blair Walsh and the holder and the entire team; it's a kick that, as Mike Zimmer says, just has to be made. Defense played great and offense, though it didn't get in the end zone, certainly did enough here to get the win. Just make the kick. I don't know how you get through the offseason after that. They'd probably have gotten mauled by the Panthers in Carolina next week anyway, but it's a shame they don't get to try.
Obviously the NFC is a little more interesting with Seattle still alive. Imagine if they and Green Bay both pull upsets next week and we get a rematch of last year's title game. Although Arizona versus Carolina is compelling enough and that's what we should get. Fantasy-wise, Seattle has every chance to score some points and win in Carolina next week, having survived the weather and a really good (when healthy) Vikings defense. Gotta think Marshawn Lynch might be done in Seattle after not playing/traveling with the team this weekend.
Green Bay at Washington: Teams with lousy defenses generally don't last very long in the playoffs. Green Bay's offense had struggled, but rather than get too hung up on talk of Aaron Rodgers elevating his game or whatnot, look at the defenses he'd faced while the Packers were losing six of their final ten games: Minnesota twice, Denver, Carolina, Arizona, Detroit twice, Dallas, with Chicago and Oakland the easier ones. Lots of good Ds in there, which Washington simply didn't have. I do wonder what if DeSean Jackson had properly finished off his touchdown reception, a miscue that cost Washington 4 points early on.
Washington has some nice offensive pieces. Some capable receivers, a quarterback way better than I thought he was, and seem to be well-coached. I think they need to fully commit to a Matt Jones-Chris Thompson backfield, and dramatically upgrade their defense, but that could be a winning team in the East over the next few years. Green Bay should go and get waxed in Arizona next week, again, but the playoffs are a different animal, so we'll see.
The preliminaries are out of the way. We know one road team will probably win next week. The point spreads make Seattle look like the favorite, but I don't think anyone would be surprised if Pittsburgh won, or maybe Kansas City. We'll take a look at them all later in the week. Hopefully Blair Walsh will be able to get a good night's sleep by then.