NFL Playoff Wrap Up

Chiefs 30-0 Texans
Yeah, the score pretty much says it all.  Chiefs ran back the opening kick and the game was over right then and there. The Chiefs looked good on both sides of the ball, gonna be a tough out for the Pats next week.

Steelers 18-16 Bengals
Wow, one of the all time meltdowns, this one will be remembered for a long time. Up 16-15 with under 2 minutes to go, the Bengals intercepted the ball in field goal range and the game was effectively over. Except that it wasn't. The Bengals needed only to kneel down 3 times, kill off the Steelers' time outs and then kick a FG with a minute or so left for Big Ben (who had his non-throwing shoulder pulverized earlier in the 4th quarter) to go the length of the field for a TD. But the Bengals fumbled, had back-to-back personal fouls and next thing you know, the Steelers are kicking the winning FG. The cries will undoubtedly come for the Bengals to fire Marvin Lewis but frankly if I was Lewis I think I'd quit, beat 'em to the punch and go get a better job next year. AJ McCarron wasn't great but he was good enough because the Bengal D mostly held the Steelers in check. Tough loss for everyone on the Bengal side (especially Andy Dalton, who probably could've won the game even with his broken wrist). Steelers go to Denver next week, with Roethlisberger, D'Angelo Williams and Antonio Brown all severely banged up (but at least the Broncos won't have Tebow this time around).

Seahawks 10-9 Vikings
Another tough home loss in Minneapolis. Both sides struggled in the cold but the Vikings were largely able to put up enough points to hold the Seahawks off. Until two miracle plays: Wilson fumbles the snap, looks to be crushed for a big loss, scrambles and throws for a big gainer that leads to a TD, followed very quickly by Adrian Peterson fumbling the ball setting up the go-ahead FG. The Vikings still had their chance, drove down the field and shanked the game-winner. The Vikings were the (slightly) better team but the Seahawks had enough veteran savvy to squeak one out on the road. (With as mediocre as the Packers looked for most of this year, we'll see if the Vikings can build something good next season) Seahawks play at Carolina, who has bedeviled them the last few years. We'll see if the old vets can still put it on the up-and-comers.

Packers 38-18 Redskins
Aaron Rogers looked like the old gunslinger in the 2nd half and that's all well and good but I'd say this was about the Redskins being unable to get out of their own way. Redskins got an early safety, drove down for an easy TD...except that Desean Jackson forgot to score. So they settled for an FG, then after another TD, blew the extra point. So instead of jumping out to a commanding lead, they limped along even while the Packers couldn't figure things out. Eventually it dawned on Rogers that the Redskins wouldn't stop anything and the onslaught began. The Packers have already lost at Arizona, we'll see if they can flip the script next time.