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![](\"http:\/\/www.jaguarsgab.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/03\/holt.jpg\")
The Eagles lost 15-13 in Week 14 to the Titans, which ended up costing them the division title and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.\u00a0 The Birds finished 11-5 and took the NFC’s #1 wild card.\u00a0 The big shocker was out West, where “The Greatest Show on Turf,” the defending Super Bowl champion St. Louis Rams, were beat out for the division title by the Aaron Brooks-led New Orleans Saints.\u00a0 Both teams were 10-6 and made the playoffs, but the Saints won the division via tiebreaker.\u00a0 The third wild card was the Tampa Bay Bucs, who finished 10-6, just edging out their 9-7 division rivals in Green Bay and Detroit.<\/p>\n
The worst teams in the NFC were the 3-13 Arizona Cardinals and the 4-12 Atlanta Falcons, who were both outscored by more than 150 points by their opponents on the season.\u00a0 The Cards were especially bad, as they scored few points and gave up more points than any other team in the NFC.<\/p>\n
AFC Regular Season<\/strong> The San Diego Chargers finished a league-worst 1-15, but the Cleveland Browns (3-13) were, statistically, much <\/em>worse, as they, on average, were outscored by their opponents by over 16 points per game.\u00a0 The Cincinnati Bengals (4-12) were only slightly better, and the New England Patriots finished 5-11 in the first year of the Belichick Era.<\/p>\n The Eagles<\/strong> On the personnel level, Donovan McNabb made another Pro Bowl (which is miraculous, considering the lack of offensive talent on this team once Staley went out).\u00a0 The starting receivers were Charles Johnson and Torrance Small, with Todd Pinkston and Na Brown coming in on passing downs.\u00a0 Chad Lewis was a Pro Bowl tight end, who caught a team-high 69 balls for 735 yards.\u00a0 The defense was stout, led by Pro Bowl years from Jeremiah Trotter, Hugh Douglas, and Troy Vincent.\u00a0 Bobby Taylor was on the other side of Vincent, with Brian Dawkins and Damon Moore at safeties.\u00a0 The outside linebackers around Trotter were Carlos Emmons (maybe the most underrated player in recent Eagles history) and Barry Gardner.\u00a0 The d-line around Douglas included decent 1st round pick Corey Simon, terrible 1st round pick Mike Mamula, and the big guy, Hollis Thomas.<\/p>\n The Draft<\/strong><\/p>\n Okay, on to the playoffs…\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n AFC Wild Card Game: \u00a0#6 Indianapolis (10-6) at\u00a0#3 Miami (11-5), Dolphins win 23-17 in\u00a0OT<\/strong> The extra session got really interesting.\u00a0 The Dolphins won the toss, but were forced to punt.\u00a0 The Colts marched down into Miami territory, but were stuck with a 3rd-and-12 from the Dolphins 42-yard line.\u00a0 Manning threw a pass over the middle to Marvin Harrison, but he was tackled just shy of the first down marker.\u00a0 However, the Dolphins were offsides on the play.\u00a0 The great Jim Mora had a tough decision in front of him.\u00a0 He decided to decline the penalty and bring on Vanderjagt to try a potential game-winning 49-yard field goal, instead of running a play on 3rd-and-7.\u00a0 Vanderjagt missed the field goal, and Manning never saw the ball again.\u00a0 The Dolphins drove right down the field, eventually winning on a 17-yard touchdown run by Smith.\u00a0 The Dolphins advance in this wild game.\u00a0 They move on to play the #2-seeded Oakland Raiders.<\/p>\n NFC Wild Card Game:\u00a0 #6 St. Louis (10-6) at #3 New Orleans (10-6), Saints win 31-28<\/strong> But, the Rams had life in them.\u00a0 Warner led a quick touchdown drive, capped off with a 17-yard pass to Ricky Proehl, cutting the lead to 31-13 (they missed the 2-point conversion attempt).\u00a0 The Rams got the ball right back and drove right down the field again, but on the 10-yard line, Warner threw yet another interception to Sammy Knight and the Saints took over again.\u00a0 But, the Rams defense held and got its potent offense the ball back again with just under\u00a05 minutes\u00a0to play.\u00a0 Three plays later, Marshall Faulk was crossing the end zone, making it a 31-20 game with 3:52 to play.\u00a0 Dre’ Bly recovered an onside kick and the Rams were in business again.\u00a0 Again, three plays was all they needed, as Warner found Az-Zahir Hakim for 38 yards inside the 5.\u00a0 Warner ended up running it in again.\u00a0 They added the two-point conversion and the lead was a mere FG now, and the Saints were sweating.\u00a0 The Saints did recover this onside kick, but were forced to punt again.\u00a0 However, the dangerous Hakim muffed the punt, the Saints recovered and ran out the clock.\u00a0 Crazy ending to a great game.<\/p>\n This was the first playoff win in the 34-year history of the Saints.\u00a0 Warner actually finished with 365 yards and 3 TDs, but the 4 turnovers were devastating.\u00a0 His counterpart, Aaron Brooks, threw for 4 TDs of his own.\u00a0 The Saints defense really stepped up, holding league MVP Marshall Faulk to a season-low 24 yards rushing.\u00a0 The Saints win sends them to Minnesota for the Divisional Round.<\/p>\n AFC Wild Card Game:\u00a0 #5 Denver (11-5) at #4 Baltimore (12-4), Ravens win 21-3<\/strong> NFC Wild Card Game:\u00a0 #5 Tampa Bay (10-6) at #4 Philadelphia (11-5), Eagles win 21-3<\/strong> NFC Divisional Game:\u00a0 #3 New Orleans (10-6) at #2 Minnesota (11-5), Vikings win 34-16 AFC Divisional Game:\u00a0 #3 Miami (11-5) at #2 Oakland (12-4), Raiders win 27-0<\/strong> AFC Divisional Game:\u00a0 #4 Baltimore (12-4) at #1 Tennessee (13-3), Ravens win 24-10 The third quarter saw these two phenomenal defense continue to have their ways.\u00a0 The teams exchanged long field goals, making it a 10-10 game heading into the 4th quarter.\u00a0 Then the tide turned.\u00a0 Early in the fourth quarter, Del Greco was lining up for another long field goal, but his kick was partially blocked; the blocked attempt was caught by Ravens special-teamer Anthony Mitchell on the 10-yard line who then proceeded to return it 90 yards for a touchdown, putting the Ravens up 17-10.\u00a0 The teams then exchanged punts before the Titans had the ball again, with 6:55 remaining, trying to drive in for the game-tying touchdown.\u00a0 The Titans offense got the ball down near midfield, when Steve McNair dropped back and threw an interception to Ravens middle linebacker, Ray Lewis, who caught the ball and returned it 50 yards for the game-sealing touchdown.<\/p>\n If you just looked at the numbers, you would have no idea that the Ravens could have won this game, as they were outgained by the Titans 317 to 134 in total yards.\u00a0 The Ravens rushed the ball 23 times for a mere 49 yards, and quarterback Trent Dilfer completed only 5 passess all game.\u00a0 On the other side,\u00a0Steve McNair went 24-46 for 176 yards, and Eddie George rushed 27 times for 91 yards.\u00a0 But, the Ravens defense held strong when they needed it, and they are heading to Oakland for the AFC Championship Game.<\/p>\n The Eagles got some life in the third by forcing a fumble by Giants receiver Amani Toomer, but the Giants defense held, and David Akers missed a chip-shot 31-yard field goal.\u00a0 The Giants then took the ball and drove right down for a field goal of their own, making it 20-3.\u00a0 In the fourth, the Eagles blocked a Brad Maynard punt, setting up a 10-yard touchdown pass from McNabb to Small, but the Birds could not recover the onside kick and the Giants ran out the clock for a 20-10 win and a chance to host the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship Game the following week.<\/p>\n AFC Championship Game:\u00a0 #4 Baltimore (12-4) at #2 Oakland (12-4), Ravens win 16-3<\/strong> The Ravens opened the scoring on a 3rd-down play from their own 4 yard line.\u00a0 After a great positional punt by Shane Lechler (the best punter I’ve ever seen, hands down), the Ravens were pinned inside their own 20.\u00a0 Then a sack gave them a 3rd-and-18 from their own 4.\u00a0 Trent Dilfer, probably just trying to give their punter some room, threw a short pass to tight end Shannon Sharpe, but Sharpe broke a few tackles and was gone…96 yards for the first score of the game.\u00a0 The ensuing Raiders possession is when Siragusa laid out Gannon.\u00a0 Hoying came into replace him and, on his very first pass, threw an interception to Duane Starks, who returned it to the Oakland 20-yard line, setting up a short Matt Stover field goal, giving the Ravens a 10-0 halftime lead.<\/p>\n The Raiders showed a little life in the second half, as they followed\u00a0a Dilfer interception with a drive inside the 10, but the Ravens defense held them to a field goal, making it 10-3.\u00a0 Ravens return man, Jermaine Lewis, took the ensuing kickoff down to the Raiders 28-yard line, setting up another Stover field goal and giving the Ravens a 10-point lead again.\u00a0 Ray Lewis recovered a Gannon fumble on the Raiders 6-yard line that gave the Ravens another field goal.\u00a0 The Raiders took one more shot, as Andre Rison caught a long touchdown with about four minutes left, but it was called back due to offensive pass interference on the play.\u00a0 That was it for the Raiders offense, as the Ravens ride the defense to an AFC Championship and a date with the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV.<\/p>\n Super Bowl XXXV in Tampa:\u00a0 Baltimore Ravens 34 – New York Giants 7<\/strong> Now that we have turned the calendar on a new decade (I know, not technically, but in the sports world, the 00’s are over and the 10’s have begun), it’s kind of fun to look back on the last 10 … Continue reading
\nUnlike the NFC, the AFC featured some juggernauts at the top of this top-heavy conference.\u00a0 The Titans (13-3), the Raiders (12-4), and the Ravens (12-4) were all dominant all season long.\u00a0 Tennessee and Oakland took the 1- and 2-seeds, respectively, while Baltimore had to settle for a wild card.<\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/graphics8.nytimes.com\/images\/2004\/09\/17\/sports\/17fiedler.jpg\")
The surprise of the AFC was probably the upstart Miami Dolphins, who, led by Ivy League product, Jay Fiedler, won the AFC East at 11-5–one game better than the Indianapolis Colts.\u00a0 The Colts and the 11-5 Broncos joined the Ravens as the conference’s three wild card teams.\u00a0 The New York Jets, after starting 9-4 behind Vinny Testaverde, lost the final three games of the season, and finished 9-7, one game out of the playoffs.\u00a0 The Steelers also fell one game short.<\/p>\n
\nThe season could not have started any better for the Birds, as they went down to Dallas and handed the Cowgirls a 41-14 defeat in Cowboy Stadium.\u00a0 It was well over 100 degrees on the field and is often remembered as the “pickle juice” game because Andy Reid had all his players drinking pickle juice to stay hydrated.\u00a0 Duce Staley went off for 201 yards.\u00a0 ![](\"http:\/\/assets.philadelphiaeagles.com\/assets\/news\/in_staley_071206.jpg\")
However, they followed that up with back-to-back losses to the Giants and the Packers before rattling off two wins against New Orleans and Atlanta.\u00a0 Staley went down in the Atlanta game with a season-ending injury, so the Birds had to turn to a plethora of journeyman backs the rest of the way, including Darnell Autry, Stanley Pritchett, Brian Mitchell, and eventually Chris Warren.\u00a0 After two more divisional losses to Washington in Week 6 and the Giants in Week 9, the Eagles looked in trouble, as they sat at 5-4 and in serious jeopardy of not making the playoffs.\u00a0 But the calendar turned November, and the Birds turned it on.\u00a0 It all started with back-to-back overtime wins over Dallas at home and Pittsburgh on the road.\u00a0 They then blew out the hapless Cardinals and won another thriller at Washington on a last-second field goal by David Akers.\u00a0 This four-game winning streak (three of the wins coming on the last plays of the game) had put the Eagles at 9-4 and right back in the hunt.\u00a0 They even had a shot at the #1 seed, but an Al Del Greco 50-yard field goal as time expired gave the Titans a 15-13 win over the Eagles in Week 14.\u00a0 The Birds finished with wins over Cleveland and Cincinnati (on Christmas Eve–I was there, it was very <\/em>cold) to finish 11-5 and grab the top NFC wild card.<\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/www.smpersonaltraining.com\/images\/p1_faulk_getty.jpg\")
Regular Season Standouts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
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\n\u00a0In the first Wild Card Game on Saturday, the\u00a0Indianapolis Colts\u00a0traveled to division rival and\u00a0Miami\u00a0for a thrilling playoff opener.\u00a0 The Colts offense came to play early, as Manning led the team on two very long drives, but both were stopped inside the 10, and they had to settle for two short Mike Vanderjagt FGs.\u00a0 Then, late in the second quarter, Payton Manning connected with Jerome Pathon for a touchdown.\u00a0 The Colts decided to go for two and converted it, taking a 14-0 lead into halftime.\u00a0 The Dolphins offense looked terrible, turning the ball over 3 times in the first half.\u00a0<\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/torontoist.com\/attachments\/adrian\/vanderjagt.jpg\")
Fiedler, who\u00a0was awful in the first half (5-14 for 42 yards and 2 interceptions) came right out of the locker room and led a long TD drive, finished off by a 2-yard run by Lamar Smith, to cut the Colts lead in half, 14-7.\u00a0\u00a0The defenses buckled down and the score stayed 14-7 heading to the fourth.\u00a0 Early in the fourth, Smith (who ended up with 209 yards rushing on the day) burst off another big run, leading to a 38-yard field goal\u00a0by Olindo Mare.\u00a0 The Colts answered right back with a 50-yard field goal by Vanderjagt, giving them a 17-10 lead with just over 3 minutes left.\u00a0 The Dolphins got the ball, and Fiedler led them on a 14-play, 80-yard drive, finally finding Jed Weaver in the back of the end zone from 9 yards out to tie the score and send this Wild Card game into overtime.<\/p>\n
\nHow could the second game top the first wild wild card game?\u00a0 Well, it just may have.\u00a0 It did have the same kind of storyline–a surprise division winner hosting a favored wild card team from their own division.\u00a0 And, this one added the cache of having the defending champs in the game.\u00a0 And, the Rams jumped out to a 7-0 lead on their very first drive with\u00a0a Kurt Warner touchdown pass to Isaac Bruce.\u00a0 But, New Orleans took the ball and methodically drove down the field to tie the game, early in the second quarter with an Aaron Brooks touchdown pass to Robert Wilson.\u00a0 Late in the first half, Warner threw his first of\u00a03 interceptions (and 4 turnovers) to Sammy Knight, which he returned 52 yards to the Rams 20.\u00a0 The Saints couldn’t put the ball in the end zone, but Doug Brien did hit a 33-yard field goal to give New Orleans an unexpected 10-7 halftime lead.<\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/nbcsportsmedia1.msnbc.com\/j\/msnbc\/Components\/Photos\/060322\/060322_brooks_vmed_6p.widec.jpg\")
As the second half began, Kurt Warner was about to implode.\u00a0 The Rams first drive was going smoothly when Warner threw an ill-advised pass that was picked off by Chris Oldham.\u00a0 The Saints drove down and scored on a Brook to Willie Jackson touchdown to make it 17-7 Saints.\u00a0 Then, early in the fourth quarter,\u00a0Brooks found Jackson again on a 49-yard touchdown strike.\u00a0 Two plays later, Warner was hit and fumbled the ball, which was recovered by La’Roi Glover on the Rams 16-yard line.\u00a0 It only took one play for Brooks to find Willie Jackson AGAIN on a touchdown pass.\u00a0 The Saints had rattled off 31 unanswered points (with three straight Jackson TDs) and were in command 31-7 with less than 12 minutes left in the game.<\/p>\n
\nThe first game on Sunday (New Year’s Eve) had nowhere near the excitement of the two Saturday games.\u00a0 And, that is just how the Ravens wanted it.\u00a0 This game was a total domination by the Ravens top-ranked defense, as they held a Denver offense that was second only to the Rams in points to one single field goal.\u00a0 The Broncos, who were averaging over 30 points per game led mainly by their rushing attack, managed only 9 first downs and 42 yards on the ground.\u00a0 It was total domination.\u00a0 The Ravens, on offense, got two touchdowns by Jamal Lewis and one by Shannon Sharpe, which were far more than this vaunted defense needed.\u00a0 This win by the Ravens sets up a much-anticipated matchup with their division rivals from Tennessee, as the two teams with the best records in football will meet up in the Divisional Round.<\/p>\n
\nIn a game eerily similar to the first game of New Year’s Eve, the Philadelphia Eagles continued the Tampa Bay Cold Curse, as their defense completely shut down Shaun King and the Bucs offense.\u00a0 Tampa actually scored first in this game, on a second-quarter field goal by Martin Gramatica, but the Eagles struck right back when a Hugh Douglas sack led to a fumble that was recovered by Mike Mamula.\u00a0 That turnover set up a Donovan McNabb touchdown run and the Birds never looked back.\u00a0 They added another touchdown before halftime on a TD catch by Na Brown.\u00a0 The defense just dominated after that, holding the Bucs to just 50 yards rushing and 199 yards of total offense.\u00a0 Interestingly, the star for the Eagles, on the ground, was Chris Warren, who was cut by the Cowboys after 13 games and brought in by the Eagles during their bye week in Week 16 (hoping to finally stabilize the running\u00a0back position that had been a revolving door since a season-ending injury to Duce Staley in Week 5).\u00a0 He only played in one regular season game and now steps into to the feature back role here in the playoffs, rushing 22 times for 85 yards.\u00a0 The Eagles win sets up a key Divisional Round date with the hated New York Giants in the Meadowlands, the winner of which will probably be the odds-on favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The momentum from the Saints big win over St. Louis in the Wild Card Round did not carry over into the Divisional Round here in Minnesota, as the Vikings trounced New Orleans pretty much from the get-go.\u00a0 The third play from scrimmage was a 53-yard touchdown pass from Daunte Culpepper to Randy Moss.\u00a0 Then, after a New Orleans field goal, the Vikes rattled off 17 more unanswered points, and this game was in the books.\u00a0 For the day, Culpepper threw for 305 yards and\u00a03 touchdowns (2 to Moss and 1 to Cris Carter), and the Minnesota defense held Ricky Williams to just 14 yards on the grounds.\u00a0 The Vikings move on to the NFC Championship Game either in the Meadowlands against the Giants or at home against the Eagles.<\/p>\n
\nIn the late game on Saturday, the Dolphins just forgot to show up.\u00a0 They looked good on their first drive, marching the ball all the way down inside the Oakland red zone, but Fiedler tried to throw an out pattern around the 10-yard line and Tory James picked it and returned it 90 yards for the first score of the game.\u00a0 The Dolphins offense would never again see the red zone.\u00a0 Sebastian Janikowski kicked a pair of field goals, Rich Gannon threw a TD pass to James Jett, and Tyrone Wheatley added a scoring run, as the Raiders cruise into the AFC Championship Game against either the Ravens at home or at Tennessee.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The best team in the regular season was the Tennessee Titans.\u00a0 They finished the season with a league best 13-3 record, but one of those three losses came to the Baltimore Ravens.\u00a0 Now, the Ravens wanted another piece of them.\u00a0 The Titans drew first blood, as they took the opening kickoff right down the field and scored ona 2-yard touchdown run by Eddie George.\u00a0 The Ravens finally answered midway through the second quarter with a TD drive of their own and a 1-yard plunge by Jamal Lewis.\u00a0 The Titans had two good chances to score before the half, but Al Del Greco had a 45-yard field goal blocked and flat-out missed another one from 31.\u00a0 So, the game was deadlocked at 7-7 at the half.<\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/espn.go.com\/media\/nfl\/2001\/0107\/photo\/a_jsehorn_i.jpg\")
NFC Divisional Game:\u00a0 #4\u00a0 Philadelphia (11-5) at #1 New York Giants (12-4), Giants win 20-10<\/strong>
\nThe final game of the weekend was the one that had all of us in Philly waiting for with bated breath.\u00a0 And, it took about 7 seconds for that “bated breath” to become a punch in the stomach, as Ron Dixon took the opening kickoff back 97 yards for a touchdown.\u00a0 Before you blinked, the Giants were up 7-0 and never looked back.\u00a0 The Birds went three-and-out on their first three drives, and then on the fourth drive, Torrance Small fumbled the ball, the Giants recovered deep in Eagles territory and picked up three more points for a 10-0 lead.\u00a0 Then, late in the second quarter, as the Eagles were trying to drive in for a score to end the half, Giants cornerback Jason Sehorn made the greatest play I have ever seen on a football field.\u00a0 I say it all the time that Sehorn’s athletic ability to be able to pick off the ball and return it for a touchdown was other-worldly.\u00a0 Anyway, it was devastating because the Giants took a 17-0 lead.\u00a0 The Eagles did manage a late field goal drive right before half to go to the locker room down just two scores, 17-3.<\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/ecx.images-amazon.com\/images\/I\/51-iTb78wwL._SL500_AA280_.jpg\")
NFC Championship Game:\u00a0 #2 Minnesota (11-5) at #1 New York Giants (12-4), Giants win 41-0<\/strong>
\nThe early game on Championship Sunday was a dub from the very beginning.\u00a0 The Giants offense, on the opening possession of the game, took less than two minutes to drive 74 yards for a touchdown.\u00a0 The Vikings Moe Williams then fumbled the subsequent kickoff, the Giants recovered and scored another quick touchdown, giving the Giants a 14-0 lead before their defense had even taken the field.\u00a0 The massacre continued, as when the halftime gun mercifully went off, the Vikings were staring at a 34-0 deficit.\u00a0 The Giants outgained the Vikes 386 yards to 45 in the first half, and it was over.\u00a0 When it was all said and done, Kerry Collins had completed 28 for 39 for 381 yards and 5 touchdowns, while his counterpart, Daunte Culpepper managed just 78 yards and 3 interceptions.\u00a0 The Giants cruised into their first Super Bowl since 1991.<\/p>\n
\nAnother great defensive performance by the Ravens may have been a bit overshadowed by accusations of dirty play.\u00a0 Late in the second quarter, Ravens defensive tackle, Tony Siragusa laid a vicious hit on Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon, pummeling him into the ground.\u00a0 Gannon tried to stay in the game, but was completely ineffective and eventually replaced by backup Bobby Hoying.<\/p>\n
\nIf there was anyone left that thought the Ravens defense was overrated, they quickly changed their tune as this incredible defensive unit held the Giants to just 152 yards of total offense and forced 5 Giants turnovers.\u00a0 And this was the same Giants team that hung 41 on the Vikings just two weeks prior.\u00a0 Ray Lewis became the first linebacker ever to lead his team to a Super Bowl victory and garner Super Bowl MVP honors, as well.\u00a0 Jamal Lewis ran for 102 yards, becoming only the second rookie (along with Timmy Smith) to rush for over 100 yards in a Super Bowl.<\/p>\n![](\"http:\/\/media.giantbomb.com\/uploads\/0\/966\/519785-ray_lewis___superbowl_xxxv_mvp__c10053159_super.jpeg\")
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