Baltimore, Arizona, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh — not exactly the final four we expected.
The No. 1 NFC and AFC seeds are gone. The top two NFC seeds lost. There hasn’t been this much choking since Uncle Earl staggered away from the chili dog eating contest.
It’s not about the regular season anymore. It’s about momentum in January. A great regular season buys entry into the postseason, but guarantees nothing. When will coaches of frontrunners learn they can’t ease up in late December to rest for January? It doesn’t work. You have to keep your foot on the gas the entire way.
The New York Giants looked unstoppable a month ago. They were slapped to the curb yesterday by Philadelphia, which looked dead in November.
Carolina was supposed to be second only to New York. The Panthers were destroyed by Arizona, which won the NFC West at 9-7.
By the way, the Redskins were 3-0 against the NFC finalists. That’s gotta tick off owner Dan Snyder. Maybe he’ll lay off another couple dozen employees to overpay for more useless draft picks.
Meanwhile, Tennessee was once staring at a possible 16-0 season as the AFC’s top seed. The Titans were beaten by Baltimore, which joined Philadelphia as the last teams in the playoffs.
At least Pittsburgh showed some steel in the snow as the only home team to win in round two. San Diego scared Pittsburgh briefly, but the Steelers proved their mettle by just pounding away.
Dogs ruled the weekend, though. You know it’s the world turned upside down when Arizona hosts the NFC Championship on Sunday. The Cardinals are riding a ghost from Super Bowls past in quarterback Kurt Warner to reach their first final ever. Arizona was 0-5 in the eastern time zone this season, but those were afternoon contests. Guess the night kickoff made the difference against Carolina.
But really, who doesn’t want to see Philadelphia-Baltimore in the Super Bowl? Talk about a border war. Winner drives free through Delaware toll booths, loser pays double.
Has anyone told Philadelphia quarterback Donovan McNabb playoff games can’t end in a tie, either? So much for McNabb taking his Chunky Soup self somewhere else next season. Just when he thought he was out, they pull him back in.
All I know after watching 12 hours of football over the weekend is I want to drive a truck that earns Howie Long’s respect. The rest was bewildering.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com or e-mail [email protected].
