2015 NFL Playoffs

[Bob Gill]

I think the Play-Offs "worked" this year and the four best teams are in the Championship games.
I'd have no problem with any of these contenders winning the Super Bowl. They are all worthy.

May the best survive.

I'll second that.

I think I'm happiest for Manning, who I assume will call it quits when this season's over. Not that he's playing anywhere near the normal level for most of his career, but a few weeks ago he was on the sidelines and it looked like his final game was going to be that fiasco against Kansas City. Now he'll end his career in a conference championship game against Belichick and Brady, his two greatest rivals, or in the Super Bowl, and even if he plays a lousy game, either of them is a far more fitting way for him to go out.

[sheajets]

I'll be backing Manning next week, but it's hard to see him prevailing against Brady/Belichick. With that arm strength, half of his passes just seem like hold your breath lobs. But Denvers D is stout and they have the game at home in front of a raucous crowd. Should be good

[JWL]

I think the Play-Offs "worked" this year and the four best teams are in the Championship games.
I'd have no problem with any of these contenders winning the Super Bowl. They are all worthy.

Agreed.

As the Jets fan silently stews that his 10-6 team didn't make it.

That said we had destiny in our own hands and didn't take advantage. I think we could've gone toe to toe with any AFC playoff team.

If the Jets were able to beat Cincinnati, I think they would have handled Denver. If I thought the Jets were not yet really ready to contend (like their playoff teams in 1991 and 2006), then maybe I would not have been so bummed these past couple weeks. Now that the Steelers are done, a lot of the pain is gone.

[JohnH19]

There's still people who believe that George Allen was "killed" because of the Gatorade bath that he got in November 1990, since he died of a heart attack--six weeks later.

I cringe every time I see footage of Patriot players dumping Gatorade, or whatever it was, over Bill Belichick at the end of SB 39 in 2005. Bill's father, Steve, who was 86 years old, was standing with his son and caught a good amount of the freezing liquid. He passed away in November of that year.

[7DnBrnc53]

I'll be backing Manning next week, but it's hard to see him prevailing against Brady/Belichick. With that arm strength, half of his passes just seem like hold your breath lobs. But Denvers D is stout and they have the game at home in front of a raucous crowd. Should be good

For some reason, I have a feeling that Manning will pull it out in the end on Sunday. I don't think this is New England's year, and I think that they will end up seeing Arizona in the SB, where Manning will out-duel Carson Palmer before riding off into the sunset.

[Bryan]

I think the Play-Offs "worked" this year and the four best teams are in the Championship games.
I'd have no problem with any of these contenders winning the Super Bowl. They are all worthy.

May the best survive.

It has worked out, but I think there have been some interesting speed bumps along the way.

I had been sick of Seattle, but had they somehow pulled off the comeback against the Panthers I think we would be nominating Russell Wilson for sainthood. I turned the game off at halftime.

The Patriots-Chiefs game went according to plan, but even in that game the Chiefs made a late attempt to tie things up. I think if Gronkowski is healthy then the Pats are the team to beat.

Steelers-Broncos was kind of a letdown. If one AFC player can be compared to Gronk in terms of affecting a game, then Antonio Brown would be it. He torched the Broncos in their regular season matchup. Peyton Manning was also obviously rusty and injured (as opposed to Roethlisberger, who was just injured). While the game itself was still compelling, its too bad that neither team was even close to operating at full strength. I thought the big play was Toussaint's fumble with 9 minutes left in the game, because it looked like the Steelers were driving for a score. I give Manning credit for gutting out that last drive and getting his team the win, but I think the Steelers offense would have made enough plays to win had Antonio Brown been healthy. I was surprised that the #1 defense of the Broncos looked fairly vulnerable...I thought they would have completely stymied the one-dimensional Steelers.

Packers-Cards was also kind of a letdown. I'm glad that the game was more competitive than their regular season matchup. Carson Palmer was pretty much terrible all game, yet at the end of the day he was 25-41 for 349 yards and 3 TDs. Shows how much I know. It seemed like after their short TD drive in the 1st quarter, the Cardinals and Bruce Arians had no answer to the Packers simply bringing numbers to get pressure on Palmer. Then, as is typical of Dom Capers, in the 4th quarter he went to a strict zone and Palmer dinked-and-dunked his way down the field. The Packers had nothing going with their own offense, and I was hoping they would go for 2 at the end of the game because at least the outcome of the game would rest in Rodgers' hands. If you go to OT, you take the chance of Larry Fitzgerald making a big play against you and Aaron Rodgers never touching the ball....which is how it played out.

[rhickok1109]

I think the Play-Offs "worked" this year and the four best teams are in the Championship games.
I'd have no problem with any of these contenders winning the Super Bowl. They are all worthy.

May the best survive.

It has worked out, but I think there have been some interesting speed bumps along the way.

I had been sick of Seattle, but had they somehow pulled off the comeback against the Panthers I think we would be nominating Russell Wilson for sainthood. I turned the game off at halftime.

The Patriots-Chiefs game went according to plan, but even in that game the Chiefs made a late attempt to tie things up. I think if Gronkowski is healthy then the Pats are the team to beat.

Steelers-Broncos was kind of a letdown. If one AFC player can be compared to Gronk in terms of affecting a game, then Antonio Brown would be it. He torched the Broncos in their regular season matchup. Peyton Manning was also obviously rusty and injured (as opposed to Roethlisberger, who was just injured). While the game itself was still compelling, its too bad that neither team was even close to operating at full strength. I thought the big play was Toussaint's fumble with 9 minutes left in the game, because it looked like the Steelers were driving for a score. I give Manning credit for gutting out that last drive and getting his team the win, but I think the Steelers offense would have made enough plays to win had Antonio Brown been healthy. I was surprised that the #1 defense of the Broncos looked fairly vulnerable...I thought they would have completely stymied the one-dimensional Steelers.

Packers-Cards was also kind of a letdown. I'm glad that the game was more competitive than their regular season matchup. Carson Palmer was pretty much terrible all game, yet at the end of the day he was 25-41 for 349 yards and 3 TDs. Shows how much I know. It seemed like after their short TD drive in the 1st quarter, the Cardinals and Bruce Arians had no answer to the Packers simply bringing numbers to get pressure on Palmer. Then, as is typical of Dom Capers, in the 4th quarter he went to a strict zone and Palmer dinked-and-dunked his way down the field. The Packers had nothing going with their own offense, and I was hoping they would go for 2 at the end of the game because at least the outcome of the game would rest in Rodgers' hands. If you go to OT, you take the chance of Larry Fitzgerald making a big play against you and Aaron Rodgers never touching the ball....which is how it played out.

Gronkowski's great, but Edelman is the key to the Patriots' offense. They're 10-0 with him in the lineup and 3-4 without him.

[Bob Gill]

Packers-Cards was also kind of a letdown.

Seriously? I mean, if that's how it seemed to you, OK, but I thought it was one hell of a game. Calling it a letdown seems kind of like saying your Microsoft stock hasn't done as well as you hoped, or that Tom Brady's never really lived up to his potential.

Of course, I guess is what they mean by "to each his own."

[Bryan]

Packers-Cards was also kind of a letdown.

Seriously? I mean, if that's how it seemed to you, OK, but I thought it was one hell of a game. Calling it a letdown seems kind of like saying your Microsoft stock hasn't done as well as you hoped, or that Tom Brady's never really lived up to his potential.

Of course, I guess is what they mean by "to each his own."

Neither the Packers nor the Cardinals played well. The final ending kind of killed the drama. The OT was essentially over after 1 play. Its like watching a thrilling NHL playoff game, having it go to OT, staying up late, and then the goalie lets in a soft goal on the first shot.

[Rupert Patrick]

Championship Sunday

New England at Denver - It's probably best they are playing in Denver, where the temps will be around 50 today. With the blizzard, it is entirely possible the game might have been postponed a day or two had it been held in New England. Brady vs. Manning has been the greatest rivalry in NFL history, and today we are likely going to see the final chapter; I'm sad to see it go. I hate to pick this one, as this game can go either way, and I expect it will be decided in the final minute of play. Manning knows this is his last chance at a Super Bowl ring, and I think he'll find a way to pull it out. My system picks Denver by two, and I agree. Denver 26 - New England 24.

Arizona at Carolina - The weather should not be a factor, as the field should be clear and temperatures should be in the upper 30's at game time but will drop to freezing by the time the game is over. I worry about the Panthers performance last week against Seattle, where they went up 31-0 at the half and failed to either put Seattle away or keep up with them as they started putting points on the board in the second half. If they go up against the Cardinals and try to coast to victory they will lose. The Panthers faced a similar situation when they were leading the Giants 35-7 in Week 15 with five minutes to go in the third period and Carolina had to pull it out with a FG as time expired to win 38-35. The next week they looked flat and lost to Atlanta; their only loss of the season. I'm sure the Carolina coaching staff has reviewed that game this past week and is trying to get the team in the proper mindset so it doesn't happen again.

Arizona is fresh off of winning perhaps the game of the year (so far) last week against the Packers, and there is the chance they will be down. Carolina beat them 27-16 in the playoffs last year but the Cards didn't have Palmer, and the Panthers defense and running game put the Cardinals away. This time it will be different. These are the two top offenses in the NFL in 2015 in points scored, and also the top two teams in takeaways. I think these are the two best teams in football, and I think the Panthers are the better team due to the X factor of Newton being able to pass and run, and I think their defense is a little better than the Cards. My playoff prediction system says the Panthers will win by 10 because it sees the Panthers matching up well against Arizona, but I think it will be closer than that. Carolina 31 - Arizona 26.