New England Patriots, 23 Jacksonville Jaguars, 20
In a playoff season with a healthy dose of one-sided blowouts, QB Matt Ryan and Falcons offense steam-rolled the Packers defens to the point of embarrassment. The Falcons offense drove for 500 yards and 7 touchdowns in little more than 3 quarters before the Falcons' back-ups came to mercifully kill off rest of the 4th quarter. It was not the classic shoot-out fans were hoping for. The Packers' D was pitiful, the Falcons' D was opportunistic, and the day turned to just a rolling celebration for the city of Atlanta and the final game in Georgia Dome.
So why wasn't this game close? Why couldn't Aaron Rodgers on one of the most statistically handsome stretches of his career, keep up? WR Jordy Nelson surprised by playing well through broken ribs, TE Jared Cook was dropping passes but that's nothing new. The Falcons put up one of the most historic offensive performances of all time- but historic postseason performances is Aaron Rogers' speciality.
What may be lost as time fades is that the Packers did move the ball through the same world-class Rodgers efficiency we have seen the last two weeks but unlike the Giants and Cowboys - the Falcons defense deserves the credit for not breaking. 3 of the first 4 drives ended in a missed field goal, an red zone and a red zone interception. DE Vic Beasley and the D-line were ferocious but most importantly Atlanta defense produced big plays at crucial times. With Atlanta scoring touchdowns the Packers needed points on every drive and the Falcons did not break in the red zone until the game was out of hand.
MVP : WR Julio Jones. The Falcons continue their swiss-army attack, but not many spread offenses have a Julio Jones. Ryan is routinely hitting 8-9 different receivers per game, an arsenal of running backs, tight ends, fullbacks... and one Julio. He torched the Packers for 9 catches for 180 yards including a powerful slant-turned 73 yard TD that showcased his elite speed, elite power and toughness battling through a foot injury. Julio's dominance is not required for the Falcons to win football games, but it is a nice tool for them to have.
Philadelphia Eagles, 38 Minnesota Vikings, 7
The Vikings began the first drive efficiently, a 9-play, 75 yard drive with only one 3rd down. RBs Latavius Murray and Jerrick McKinnon were productive and QB Case Keenum capped it with a 25-yard dart to TE Kyle Rudolph. The Eagles took over and punted. On the Vikings next drive, Keenum converted a 3rd-and-10 to last week's hero WR Stefon Diggs.
I write the beginning of the game in such detail because this is right before the point at which the game essentially concludes. Two plays later on 3rd and 8, QB Case Keenum was intercepted by CB Patrick Robinson who returned 50-yards for the TD to go 7-7, midway through the 1st quarter.
The Vikings would not score another point, and the party in Philadelphia had begun. Big plays piled on, 11 yard TD for RB LaGarrette Blount, 53-yard TD bomb to WR Alshon Jeffery, another 41-yard bomb to WR Torrey Smith.
Suffocating play by S Malcom Jenkins' secondary and pressure from the rotational pass-rush units (DE Derek Barnett, DE Chris Long) had the Vikings offense entirely giving up, the Keenum yardage in the box score largely came once the game was out of hand. There was a Theilan TD taken away by replay but this just never felt like a game once Philly, the town and the team, got going.
MVP: QB Nick Foles out of absolutely nowhere with a 352, 3 TD, 0 INT masterpiece against one of the most formidable defenses of the season. Foles himself said he was "speechless". Credit obviously must go to the O-Co Frank Reich, Coach Doug Pederson and the staff but this was still unbelievable. Foles was hitting every throw from the wide open to the sidelines, seams and flats. Maybe that 2013 season wasn't so flukey after all.
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