FOOTBALL

On Saturday, the Steelers eeked out a win against the Ravens, and the Packers absolutely trounced the #1 seed Atlanta Falcons.  The Packers are a surging #6 seed right now playing great on the road, and the Steelers defense is turning it on full throttle at just the right time.  Sunday gave us two more action-packed games to finalize the conference championship game match-ups.

First up, it was the Seattle Seahawks visiting the Chicago Bears at an icy soldier field.  The Seahawks pulled off a remarkable win against the New Orleans Saints last week, and Seahawks running-back Marshawn Lynch gave us one of the most memorable runs in playoff history.  He shook off 6 defenders to score the go-ahead touchdown.  It even caused the ground under the stadium to actually rumble.  So could the Seahawks keep up their ‘nobody-believed-in-us’ card against the Bears?  Well, the first half was played in fierce weather conditions as the snow kept flowing.  That’s bad news to the Seahawks (not used to it) and great news for the Bears (their secret weapon).  The Bears pulled out to a healthy 21-0 halftime lead, and the Seahawks simply couldn’t get ANYTHING going in the first half.  But, in the second half, the weather cleared, and the Seahawks came storming back.  Matt Hasselbeck quickly accumulated 258 yards and 3 touchdowns.  But, it was the Bears day, and a strong day on the ground behind Matt Forte, Chester Taylor, and even Bears QB Jay Cutler sealed the victory.  Now, we can expect a rivalry game in the NFC Championship between two bitter foes in the NFC North.  That’s right — it’ll be Packers/Bears fighting for the Super Bowl next week. Expect a brawl.  Chicago 35, Seattle 24.

Then, it was the main event of the weekend between the New York Jets and New England Patriots.  The Jets won the first meeting this season, and then the Patriots absolutely destroyed them on Monday Night Football.  Given the way the Pats have been playing lately, they were heavy favorites headed into this game.  Furthermore, these teams have been jabbing at each other in the media all week.  Pats receiver Wes Welker even had an interview with the media that went viral, using as many references to feet as he could (taking aim at Jets coach Rex Ryan’s supposed foot fetish that went public).  When all that was done, and it was time to settle the score on the field.

The Pats got out to an early 3-0 lead and seemed to be controlling the game in the first quarter, but the Jets put it all out there and got an early key touchdown from LaDainian Tomlinson.  Tomlinson’s former team, the San Diego Chargers, have been burned by the New England Patriots in the post-season several times.  They’ve kept him from the coveted Super Bowl ring he always wanted, so Tomlinson wanted to beat the Patriots BADLY!  Then, Mark Sanchez connected with Braylon Edwards for a beautiful 15-yard touchdown.  And suddenly, the Jets headed into halftime with a 14-3 lead.  The 3rd quarter kept everything pretty status quo, until late in the 3rd, Tom Brady hit tight-end Alge Crumpler for a TD, followed by a clutch Sammy Morris 2-pt conversion to make it a 3-point game.  But, in the 4th, Mark Sanchez tossed a gorgeous, back-of-the-end-zone pass to Santonio Holmes to give them a 21-11 lead.  The Pats tried to comeback, but really struggled.  Then, with just under 2 minutes left in the game, with the Jets leading 21-14, Jets running-back Shonn Greene burst through the Pats defense for a 15-yard touchdown run to seal the game.  The Pats did get another TD, but it wasn’t enough and they couldn’t get the onside kick to give them one last chance.  And with that, the Jets win the season rivalry and will head to Pittsburgh for the AFC Championship.  That’s going to be amazing!  NY Jets 28, New England 21.