Chicago Bears, 35 Seattle Seahawks, 24
The Seahawks end their season at 8-10. I believe the first 8-10 record in all of NFL history. The Bears took advantage of the big plays; TE Greg Olsen had a big game, QB Jay Cutler was solid, and the D shut down the run game so convincingly that Seattle abandoned it, leaving RB Marshawn Lynch (4 carries, 2 yards) on the side line
CB Charles Tillman shut down WR Mike Williams until the game was well out of hand. DE Julius Peppers got the better of rookie OT Russell Okung. These were battles the Bears had to win, and while they aren't reflected in the score as obviously as the ups and downs of Cutler and QB Matt Hasselbeck, they were just as important.
KEY PLAY: Up 7-0 in the 1st quarter, QB Jay Cutler threw one of the worst red-zone passes I have ever seen. A direct bullet between the numbers of a startled D-back. The was no Chicago player, there is no explanation except that Cutler most have assumed the Seahawk was a Bear. It would have been an easy pick-6, a 7-7 game for a momentum-thriving Seattle team. Best drop Cutler has ever had.
MVP: Yet still, QB Jay Cutler made this game a lot easier for the Bears. Yes, he could have made it a lot harder too but he shook it off, he did what many said he could never do; he moved on. You can see his face filled with disgust after an incomplete 2nd and 5 up 28-0. He has to let those things go. For the most part, he did.
New York Jets, 28 New England Patriots, 21
Coach Rex Ryan and the Jets have had a lot to say over the past week, name-calling, hollow predictions, and needless taunting. The love-loss between the Patriots and the Jets actually seemed to work in the Jets favor. When it came time to dig deep, the Jets had to back up the same boasts that they didn't back up last year.The Patriots didn't snap out of lethargy all game.
WR Santonio Holmes had a spectacular TD, and RB LaDanian Tomlinson, when being utilized, has looked strong as ever. QB Mark Sanchez was happy to have the weight off his shoulders and placed onto QB Tom Brady. Brady usually responds with such poise but the Jets D got in his head, the Patriots sealed their own fate with a 7 minute drive in the 4th quarter, down 10, only to have WR Deion Branch drop a 4th down pass.
KEY PLAY: For the 2nd straight AFC game, a WR who started the year on the Seattle Seahawks dropped a season-deciding 4th down pass. TJ Houshmanzadah of the Ravens yesterday and Deion Branch today. 4th-and-12, with Revis on the sideline to injury for just one play. The conversion would have spared the mad scramble of onside kicks and prevent defenses and allowed the Patriots to play the game they wanted.
MVP: CB Darrelle Revis deserves huge credit for shutting down Reggie Wayne and now Deion Branch. Revis (along with Tomlinson) is one of the only likable players on the Jets who chooses class over bluster and boasts. Revis is also a huge reason, if not the main reason, for holding #18 of the Colts, and #12 of the Patriots to reasonably lackluster performances.75 or more yards. He is the center of a red-hot offense.
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