Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks: A+
If I’m splitting hairs, Denver has had the better overall performance to date than Seattle in this postseason. Peyton Manning is shaking demons of playoffs past left and right with impressive production and few mistakes. In fact, in his two games in January, Manning earned a 72% completion rating and 4 TDs to just one deflected interception, but the real story here has been the Broncos’ offensive line. They’ve kept Denver’s running game clutch and remain the only team in the postseason yet to give up a sack. The Broncos’ defense has been equally impressive in January upfront, stuffing the run, pressuring the pocket and keeping the usually prolific Philip Rivers and Tom Brady to just 17 and 16 points, respectively. HOWEVER, Denver’s arguably had a powderpuff schedule compared to Seattle in this postseason. The Seahawks simply outmuscled and overpowered the Saints and 49ers despite both teams’ solid defensive performances and fated attempts to ground and pound their way out of CenturyLink. Marshawn Lynch has been less Beast Mode than Beast Default with incredible power running up the gut to seal both of the Seahawks’ wins. Then of course there’s the Legion of Boom with four turnovers, three sacks, and a whole lot of disruption all over the field. In a nutshell, if you already thought these were the best two teams that could have made the Super Bowl this season, they are peaking with balance and dominance at just the right time. Bring it on.
On paper, the Panthers looked nearly as evenly matched as the 49ers when they invited them to Charlotte in the divisional round. But the little things ended up sending Carolina packing before their playoffs really began. After getting stuffed at the goal line early, Riverboat Ron never really took another risk in getting his team back in the game. In fact, nearly half of the Panthers’ time of possession was spent on two long drives that ended with just 3 total points. Carolina revealed themselves as the less experienced and less disciplined team in this one, giving the 49ers a stunning 5 first downs on penalties and losing the game’s only two turnovers. The chippiness and constant jawing added to the admittedly entertaining WWE atmosphere of the game, but in the end, the Panthers played solidly for only half the game and proved more bark than bite against the surging 49ers.
Cincinnati Bengals: D-
In some sense, this could have easily been an F, but there’s no sense in punishing the rest of the Bengals for Andy Dalton’s second half collapse against the Chargers. The defense and running game mostly held their own leading San Diego into the third quarter, but they just couldn’t overcome four nasty turnovers, three of which Dalton was responsible for. Despite the Bengals looking more balanced and confident than they have since their glory days, they found yet another way to lose to a team that arguably shouldn’t have been in the playoffs to begin with. I feel bad for Cincy fans but I feel even worse for the Redskins faithful. They have to deal with Jay Gruden’s boneheaded rush-averse playcalling unless RG3 is ready to rediscover his 2012 self in September.
Since their spectacular 2010 Super Bowl run, the Packers have been pretty forgettable in the postseason, and this year was no exception. But they held their own this year a lot better than people will probably remember, all things considered. Aaron Rodgers showed some rust coming off of a bad collarbone injury, but Green Bay was largely able to go toe-to-toe with San Francisco thanks to good rushing efforts from Eddie Lacy and James Starks as well as some big plays on defense. Unfortunately, the Packers’ Achilles Heel continues to be the legs of Colin Kaepernick, and it ultimately cut their postseason short once again on a game-winning San Francisco field goal as time expired.
File this under well-worn puns, but the Colts owe a great deal of their postseason fate to luck and Luck this year. The guy was brilliant in overcoming a 28-point deficit against the Chiefs in the Wild Card round and recovered one very, very lucky fumble for a run-in score in the process. It made for just the kind of playoff game you should thank the football gods for. But Indy’s similarly sloppy performance a week later in Foxboro led to drastically different results, thanks in large part to Andrew Luck’s four interceptions. Truthfully, it’s the kind of thing you’d expect out of the only team that has beaten both Super Bowl contenders this season but also got pummeled by the Rams and the Cardinals. With a viable running game though, these guys could obviously take a big leap in the offseason.
Kansas City Chiefs: B+
Grading on a curve, the Chiefs get major pity points for losing three Pro Bowlers and sinking down to their third-string running back by the fourth quarter against the Colts. I lamented after the Wild Card round during which Alex Smith had the game of his life and Kansas City won the turnover battle in the process of jumping out to a 28-point lead before all injury hell broke loose. This B+ may be misguided by some schadenfreude for the Colts, but the Chiefs did just about everything they could to try to win this game despite many an unfavorable bounce. Better luck next year.
On the one hand, any year without a Super Bowl appearance feels like somewhat of a disappointment for Patriots fans. I certainly thought they’d be a perfect match for what could be a sub-zero Super Bowl in the snow anyway. Still, given all of the injuries and churn in the passing game and on the New England defense, these guys outperformed when it comes to the season as a whole. They had one of their most dominant games against the Colts in the divisional round on the legs of LeGarrette Blount, only to fizzle out completely in Denver a week later. Perhaps it was meant to be with the kind of season Peyton Manning has had, but I feel like the Pats--and Tom Brady in particular--owed us more of a fight so that we wouldn’t be entertaining switching over to tennis instead. Despite losing Aquib Talib to a [surprisingly] brutal hit from Wes Welker in the second quarter, the Pats held the Broncos to just 13 points in the first half, a huge opening that Brady’s offense just couldn’t capitalize on with unaffordable sacks, sailing passes and limited success in the run game. They practically invented the hashtag #FeedVereen
New Orleans Saints: B
The Saints surpassed many expectations, especially mine, by having unorthodox success on the ground and playing solid defense against the Eagles. They notched their first ever road playoff victory in the process. Unfortunately, they are who we thought they were when they went to Seattle the following week for the divisional round. The offensive stats paint a prettier picture than reality, as the Saints outgained the Seahawks by over 100 yards and ran twice as many plays. But they piled on with untimely mistakes including two missed field goals, a fumble, and some downright awful clock management in the fourth quarter. At least Jimmy Graham will get paid, I guess?
Philadelphia Eagles: C-
In some sense, just getting to the playoffs was a big win for the Eagles this year. After starting out 3 - 5, they closed out the season on a 7 - 1 tear with Pro Bowl play from Nick Foles and LeSean McCoy. But there's plenty of room for improvement, should Philly be in a similar position a year from now. They adapted the game plan a little too late against the Saints, letting New Orleans--and Mark Ingram of all people!--run all over them; they only turned to Nick Foles in the 4th quarter to try and bail them out. At least they ended up making things interesting before the Saints came away with a last-second field goal, but young coach Chip Kelly has a bit to learn with adapting to the playoffs environment.
Steelers fans might understandably give the Chargers a "Not Applicable" for their controversial entry into the playoffs, but San Diego gave it all they had. They first pulled off a major upset against the Bengals on the road, making Andy Dalton look absolutely declawed in the process. Then, they almost rallied against the Broncos in Denver despite trailing 0 - 17 at the start of the 4th quarter. Similar to the Patriots, the Chargers ran into a brick wall with the Broncos' improved defense, especially in the running game that had been so effective, but it makes you wonder if they could have pulled off yet another upset if they had been able to get Rivers in a rhythm 15 minutes earlier.
San Francisco fans have to be feeling stung after a well-fought but unsuccessful outing against the hated Seahawks on Sunday. I know exactly how they feel - it's pretty much the same as when the Saints fell to the Niners on that last-second Smith-to-Davis touchdown pass three years ago in the divisional round. But back to 2014 - although anything less than a Lombardi is a huge disappointment for the 49ers after three consecutive NFC Championship appearances, they really did have a great postseason. They won their 4th consecutive game against the always-dangerous Packers in sub-zero temperatures, they dominated the then-hottest team the Carolina Panthers at their own ground-and-pound game, and they were second only to the Arizona Cardinals in giving the Seahawks a run for their money at home. Were it not for a sloppy 4th quarter during which Colin Kaepernick turned the ball over three times, San Francisco would likely be sitting pretty at the top of this post. Next year, I reckon they'll decide against throwing a right corner fade to Michael Crabtree since it has ended both of the 49ers' most recent seasons.
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