Wildcard Playoff Recap
Posted by Gayle Saunders on January 12, 2010 · Leave a Comment
Green Bay Packers vs Arizona Cardinals
Old master Kurt Warner and playoff newcomer Aaron Rodgers staged a passing duel to rival any the NFL has seen. And when the highest-scoring postseason game in league history ended abruptly in overtime, Rodgers flung his helmet to the sideline in disgust. He can blame the Arizona defense for his misery. Karlos Dansby returned Rodgers’ fumble 17 yards for a touchdown to give the Cardinals a 51-45 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday.
Baltimore Ravens vs New England Patriots
In a matter of minutes,Tom Brady and his New England Patriots went from being the team of the last decade to looking old, overmatched and, oddly, inept. Fans sat in frozen silence. Barely into their seats, they saw the shocking truth on the scoreboard. Five minutes into the game, New England trailed the Baltimore Ravens 14-0. Just one minute later the crowd came to life, booing Brady and his teammates who hadn’t lost a playoff game at Gillette Stadium. Until Baltimore’s 33-14 win Sunday in the AFC playoffs.
New York Jets vs Cincinnati Bengals
One playoff game into his career, Mark Sanchez is giving a pretty good off-Broadway performance. So are the rest of the New York Jets, who are no longer an overlooked team after dismantling the AFC North champions twice within a week. Any more doubters? With their rookie quarterback playing mistake-free, the Jets turned their surprising playoff appearance into a long-running production Saturday. Sanchez threw a touchdown pass, and the NFL’s top running game took it from there, setting up a 24-14 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.
Philadelphia Eagles vs Dallas Cowboys
Jerry Jones exclaimed, “demons are GONE!” Keith Brooking pretended to pull a monkey off coach Wade Phillips’ back. And Tony Romo waxed poetic about the process, about getting better every game and hoping for a reward at the end. In a way, each of their reactions was pretty appropriate considering all the ramifications of the Dallas Cowboys’ 34-14 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday night. The Cowboys won their first playoff game since Dec. 28, 1996, ending a 4,760-day drought, easily the longest in the club’s proud history. The skid included six losses; a seventh would’ve set an NFL futility record.