WILD CARD WEEKEND
Randy Moss stayed until the end of the game this time, although we could have done without his tasteless "moon" toward the crowd in the fourth quarter after scoring a clinching touchdown for the Vikings against the Packers.
So Minnesota, which lost seven of its final 10 regular-season games, moves on. The Vikings-Packers wild-card game marked the 17th time in NFL history that two teams met in the playoffs after one of them swept a pair of regular-season games; it was only the sixth time the team that lost the first two games won the third.
St. Louis, which earlier had advanced in the NFC by beating Seattle, was the 11th team to complete a three-game sweep.
But perhaps the most intriguing aspect of wild-card weekend was that, in all four games, the coach of more modest achievements emerged as the winner over a more celebrated opponent.
Super Bowl winners Mike Holmgren and Mike Shanahan were eliminated, as were Marty Schottenheimer, the NFL's active leader in coaching victories, and Mike Sherman, whose winning percentage in regular-season games (.663) barely trails Andy Reid (.667) for the lead among active coaches.
Those four were beaten by, respectively, Mike Martz, a Super Bowl loser in his only appearance, Tony Dungy, who hasn't gotten there, Herman Edwards, who has done a nice job but is 15 years behind Schottenheimer, and Mike Tice, who got a team to the playoffs for the first time but whose overall record still is under .500.
Here are five things we learned on wild-card weekend:
1. Home-field advantage is not what it's cracked up to be anymore
Three of the four wild-card games were won by visiting teams, the first time in more than 30 years that three visiting teams won playoff games on the same weekend. Two of the winners were dome teams forced outdoors in inhospitable climates.
The only previous time it occurred was in the divisional playoffs in 1971, which was so long ago that there were no separate wild-card games because only eight teams qualified for the playoffs (as opposed to 12 now). That time, Miami won at Kansas City, Baltimore won at Cleveland and Dallas won at Minnesota.
Two of the wild-card winners simply repeated regular-season victories. The Jets were the only team that won at San Diego during the season and they did it again in overtime Saturday. The Rams came from 17 points behind late in the fourth quarter to win at Seattle in October and won again this weekend.
But Minnesota, which lost twice to Green Bay during the season, never trailed in beating the Packers 31-17 Sunday. Until the 2002 season, the Packers never had lost a home game in the playoffs, but they lost that year to Atlanta and Michael Vick and now have lost a home playoff game twice in three seasons.
Sunday's loss simply continued a trend for the Packers, who were 4-4 at home during the season. Over the previous 12 seasons, Green Bay had an 80-16 record in regular-season games at home.
During the regular season, home teams had a .566 winning percentage with a 145-111 record. The three home teams that lost over the weekend were 16-8 (.667) at home during the season; the three visitors that won were 12-12 (.500) on the road.
If you are looking ahead, Pittsburgh and New England both were 8-0 at home, Philadelphia and Atlanta 7-1. Which may help explain why none of them had to play a wild-card game.
2. It's not good when a coach reverts
San Diego's Marty Schottenheimer has won more regular-season games than any active coach in the NFL but his postseason record is just 5-12 and his teams have lost five consecutive playoff games. The fifth one really stung because the Chargers had been on a magical ride that ended after their rookie kicker, Nate Kaeding, missed a 40-yard field goal in overtime - and the Jets then drove to win the game on a 28-yard field goal by Doug Brien.
In the past, Schottenheimer has been accused of being too conservative in his approach, but San Diego opened up this year because quarterback Drew Brees, the Comeback Player of the Year, had such a terrific season, and tight end Antonio Gates emerged to set a touchdown record for his position.
But in crunch time against the Jets, Schottenheimer again became passive and it cost his team.
After the Chargers reached the Jets' 24-yard line and faced a second-and-one in the overtime, they shut down the offense. Drew Brees made the first down on a two-yard quarterback sneak and then LaDainian Tomlinson ran into the line three plays in a row, netting no yards.
The Chargers should have tried to score a touchdown rather than depend on a rookie kicker on a slick field (although the field condition apparently had nothing to do with Kaeding's miss). With the Jets massed to stop the run, perhaps a play-action pass was in order.
At any rate, it's always dangerous to leave the game up to a field goal try, especially a 40-yarder by the first rookie ever to attempt a field goal in overtime during an NFL playoff game.
Give Kaeding credit, however, for standing in and taking all the questions afterward. And give the Chargers credit for a terrific season, which should be what they remember after they excise the sour taste of the playoff defeat.
3. The Vikings can play defense. Really.
Nothing was a bigger surprise on wild-card weekend than Minnesota's defensive performance against Green Bay. Brett Favre threw four interceptions, which might have been expected in a domed stadium but not at Lambeau Field, where he used to thrive in the cold.
Favre began the season with a 36-1 record at home in games where the temperature at kickoff time was 34 degrees or lower; the lone defeat came in the Atlanta playoff game two years ago. It was 26 degrees for the game against the Vikings.
Minnesota held the Packers to 306 yards total offense, an excellent performance for the Vikings, who finished the season ranked 28th in the NFL on defense, allowing an average of 368.4 yards a game. Further, the Minnesota defense had made just 11 interceptions during the season, before picking off Favre, whose passer rating for the day was 55.4 - barely half the average passer rating against the Vikings during the regular season (95.5).
The return of cornerback Antoine Winfield clearly was one factor, but the Minnesota defensive line also kept good pressure on Favre all day, forcing him to throw mostly short passes. Green Bay averaged just 9.8 yards per completion, a figure considerably lower than both the Packers' regular-season average (11.9) and the Minnesota defensive average (12.2).
It's too early to say that one good defensive game constitutes a trend but it was a big step for the Vikings.
4. Chad can play in a big game
It has been three weeks since Jets quarterback Chad Pennington lectured the media about what a "privilege" it was to write about the NFL, and they weren't exactly the best weeks of his career until San Diego.
Pennington did not play well in season-ending losses against the Patriots or Rams, which completed a 1-3 finish and left the Jets needing help to get into the playoffs. They got in, and Pennington responded with a superb effort in the wild-card victory at San Diego.
Presumably, this will quiet the talk that he can't play in a big game. For at least a week, anyway, until he goes back to Pittsburgh.
Against the Chargers, Pennington, who has been bothered by a shoulder injury, completed 23 completions in 33 attempts for 279 yards and finished with a passer rating of 115.6. At the start of the second half, Pennington completed 10 passes in a row.
The quarterback has been a cooperative interview throughout his career and word is the little dustup last month did not really disturb his relationship with the media, once some time had passed. But there is a lesson to be learned, especially in a media market as hot as New York, and Pennington, a journalism major in college, should have learned it a long time ago.
Don't argue with people who buy their ink by the barrel.
Now all he has to do is play well against the Steelers. Remember, in three losses this season to Pittsburgh and New England, the Jets scored a total of 20 points, and Pennington threw five of his nine interceptions this season.
5. The key player in the Colts-Patriots rematch could be someone who is not there
Ty Law made three of New England's four interceptions against Peyton Manning in the AFC Championship Game last year, and Law is now on injured reserve and won't be on the field when the teams play a divisional playoff game on Sunday.
This one is going to be tough even for Bill Belichick and Romeo Crennel to craft a defensive strategy to cover all the Indy receivers without Law.
Manning is every bit as hot as he was at this time last year, when he took the Colts to two smashing victories before Foxboro, two games in which they did not punt a single time. Indianapolis had to punt twice in its 49-24 victory over Denver, but Manning's 457 yards was the second-highest total ever in an NFL postseason game.
Of course, the Broncos are not the Patriots, and this will be an outdoor road game, rather than a friendly dome home game for Manning. Nonetheless, Denver had the NFL's No. 4 defense during the regular season. New England has been forced to patch together a makeshift secondary, and that can be difficult because the Colts have so many weapons.
Manning quietly has been pointing toward this game ever since last January's defeat. It might be worth remembering that, although they did not win, the Colts gained 446 yards against the Patriots in their opening night defeat this year.
This could be the best game of the playoffs.
SCORES:
Rams-27
SeaHawks-20
Jets-20
Chargers-17
Broncos-24
Colts-49
Vikings-31
Packers-17
