2011 NFL Playoffs: Wildcard Remix by Lloyd Vance

After his incredible performance in Denver’s 29-23 overtime win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, Broncos QB Tim Tebow is the 2011 NFL Wildcard Round’s Game Ball Winner

The 2011 NFL Playoffs Wildcard round is in the books and Thank Goodness unlike the National Football League’s poorer little brother,BCSCollege Football, fans can relish in the fact that the best team will be decided on the field. On a weekend where there some definitive favorites by Vegas, the action on the field showed that sometimes prognosticators’ crystal balls can be very right and very wrong – for the record, I was 2-2 for my picks this round with a perfect Saturday and a not so good Sunday.

For only the third time since the NFL changed their playoff format in 1990, in a total surprise, all four home teams won in the wild-card round — last done in 2006 (Patriots over NY Jets; Colts over Chiefs; Eagles over NY Giants; and Seahawks over Cowboys. That year, the Indianapolis Colts went to win the Super Bowl. The funny thing is for the second year in a row, many are questioning the NFL’s Playoff Seeding format which allowed a weaker division winner (Broncos) to host and win a playoff game over a “stronger” record team (Steelers). But until the NFL changes those rules like they did for playoff overtimes – more on that later – then… It Is, What It Is.A home wildcard sweep also occurred in 2000, but the following week only 1 of the 4 former home teams advanced. That fact show that every week in the NFL is different, but before we get ahead ourselves and start breaking down the divisional round, we must first remix a very good Wildcard Round. What we did learn from this years’ wildcard round is that a recipe of Strong Quarterback Play (i.e. Taking Care of the Football), Good Attacking Defense, a Balanced Offensive Attack based first in the Run, Sound Special Teams Play, and Limiting Penalties usually leads to moving onto the next round in the playoffs. However before the Texans, Saints, NY Giants, and Broncos can puff out their chest some more, I will offer a word of caution. This was only the first step of a long treacherous 3-game stretch on the road to Super Bowl XLVI in Indy.

Sure a wildcard win can propel a team — the 5 of the last 6 recent Super Bowl Champions (Steelers ‘05, Colts ‘06, Giants ‘07, Steelers ‘08, and Packers ‘10) all won on Wildcard weekend — but now this past week’s wildcard winners need to forget about celebrating and start getting ready for their divisional opponents. Even though a large portion of the world believes in the “2010 Green Bay Packers’ Blueprint” of winning road games on the road to Super Bowl is easily possible, I still subscribe to conventional wisdom. Which shows teams that have a bye in the first round of the NFL playoffs have a good chance of making it to the Super Bowl — since 1990, teams with first round byes won in the divisional round over 72% of the time.

Another interesting fact from the Wildcard Round was that only 1 of 4 teams (HOU,ATL,CIN, and DET) entering the dance with a 10-6 record survived to see the divisional round –Houston. So now onto the divisional round as now the dream of the Lombardi Trophy has been cutdown to 8 teams.

Of course before we move onto our game notes, we definitely have to give a “hat tip” to the Denver Broncos.

Entering their home playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, no one – including yours truly – gave them little chance to pull-off a win. But in a game that brought the NFL’s new playoff overtime rules into play, quarterback Tim Tebow worked another miracle to make believers out of many naysayers. On the first play of overtime, Tebow hit streaking receiver Demaryius Thomas with an 80-yard walk-off touchdown pass – took all of 11 seconds, fasted OT in NFL Playoff History — that broke a 23-23 deadlock and sent Denver to an improbable 26-20 win over the flabbergasted Steelers.

All I can say is never underestimate the heart of a winner!” Tebow said of the overtime thriller win, “Definitely a special memory. One that will always be very special”

2011 NFL Wildcard Playoffs

Saturday, Jan. 7th

Texans (12-5) over Bengals (9-7), 31-10…. Houston Texans first playoff victory ever (over a decade in the making)…stars for HOU were rookies DE J.J. Watt and QB T.J. Yates and of course bruising RB Arian Foster 153 rushing yards and 2 TDs… Watt’s incredible leaping line of scrimmage 29-yard Pick-6INT turned this game around late in the first half (broke a 10-10 tie)….. Another big play was Yates hitting WR Andre Johnson for a 40-yd TD in 3rd quarter…. HOU defense was swarming (season-high four sacks, four forced turnovers)….. safety Chris Crocker dropped a potentialINT….CIN CB Adam “Pacman” Jones was burned a couple times….HOU second win over the Bengals this season….HOU will play at Baltimore (12-4) next Sunday (Rematch of a regular-season WK 6 game won 29-14 byBAL…. “I’m just very proud of all the guys, and the job they did,” Texans coachGary Kubiak said. “Hopefully, there are some more to come.”….CIN was in the playoffs for the 3rd time in 7 seasons, but haven’t won since beating the Houston Oilers in the 1990 playoffs…. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was in-the-house for the game… Texans may lose DC Wade Phillips as he got permission to interview for the TB job…CIN Jay Gruden also in running forJAX job…Houston legend Bum Phillips (88) led the Texans out of the tunnel…. The Texans had an amazing 188 rushing yards to control the game

Saints (13-4) over Lions (10-7), 45-28…. Another incredible game for Saints QB Drew Brees (33-43, 466 yds, 3 TDs) including three completions of at least 40 yards…. After a slow start,New Orleans dominated the second half against DET….New Orleans broke the postseason mark for total yards with 626 to beat a record from 49 years ago…..“We just focus on winning. We’re not focused on yards and records,” Saints coach Sean Payton said. “I’m serious when I say that.”….. Saints still had a commitment to running the football as they outrushedDetroit 167 yards to 32…. DET QB Matthew Stafford had a big day as he threw for 380 yards and three TDs, but had 2 INTs though… Game was DET first playoff appearance since the 1999 season — have lost 7 straight games… Megatron was in the house big time — Calvin Johnson had 12 receptions for 211 yards and 2 TDs… Saints DB’s stepped it up in the 4th quarter as CB Jabari Greer had 2 INTs…..The teams combined for 1,038 total yards (tied an NFL playoff record set byBuffalo andMiami on Dec. 30, 1995)….. Next big game at the Superdome is LSU andAlabama on Monday in theBCS national title…. NO RB Pierre Thomas was solid (66 rushing yards and 1 TD)…. NO multi-purpose back Darren Sproles was awesome too (51 rushing yards and 2 TDs plus kept the chains moving on 3rd downs)….Other stars for the Saints were TE Jimmy Graham and WR’s Colston, Meachem, and Henderson…. No Lance Moore in this game for the Saints…. After a slow first half, the Saints opened the second half with a 78-yard TD drive… Of course everyone will talk about the refs messing up with a quick whistle when Brees was stripped just before throwing by DE Willie Young and the ball rolled to LB Justin Durant for his 2nd recovery. Durant wanted advance the ball, but the play was blown dead – instead of return TD, the drive stalled for 0 points….. Saints TD by Colston was overturned by replay… Detroit’s leading rusher was Kevin Smith with only 21 yards. … The Lions rushed the ball only 10 times and their longest gain was 9 yards. … The Saints surpassed 500 total offensive yards for their sixth straight game. … Brees had his 8th straight 300-yard + passing game this season …. This was the first OT playoff game since the Saints beat the Vikings 31-28 in the NFC championship onJan. 24, 2010… Saints (14-3) next will head to SF to face the Niners (13-3) in the 2nd round next Saturday

Sunday, Jan. 8th

Giants (10-7) over Falcons (10-7), 24-2… This one wasn’t even close as the G-Men stopped the Falcons on 2 fourth-and-ones to basically end this game….The G-Men will now turn their attention to the Packers – rematch from Dec. 4 – won by GB on a last-second FG in a 38-35 win at MetLife Stadium….The NY Giants (10-7) are buying into HC Tom Coughlin’ and QB Eli Manning…. Eli (23-32, 277 yds, 3 TDs ) really does look like a Top 5 quarterback and as good as Peyton…. NYG won their 3rd straight game and 4th in 5 games since the loss to GB…. In a total domination, the G-Men gained 442 yards and over 34 minutes of possession while holding the Falcons to 247…. The Giants only mistake was a safety when Manning was called for intentional grounding in the end zone…. G-Men’s O-line had a great game (no sacks and no turnovers)…. NYG OG Chris Snee said of the win over the Falcons, “We’re playing very good and I’m just glad offensively we performed better in the second half”. He added, “We’re still searching for that full game. Maybe it’s too tough to achieve but we’re going to strive for it.”…. NYG defense did a solid job confusing Falcons QB Matt Ryan (24 of 41 for 199 yards) while also sacking him 2 times and hitting him numerous other times…. The Falcons lost third straight playoff loss under HC Mike Smith and QB Matt Ryan… Big game for Giants WR’s Hakeem Nicks (game-breaking 72-yard catch and run) and Mario Manningham (4th QTR touchdown)… The Giants run game – NFL’s lowest-ranked rushing game – produced big (season-high 172 yards including 92 yds by Brandon Jacobs and 63 yds by Ahmad Bradshaw… NYG averaged 5.5 yards a carry, which was 2 yards more than in the regular season….ATL’s 2 points was the first time a team scored exactly that amount in an NFL playoff game. … NYG’s first home playoff victory since a 41-0 win over the Vikings in the 2000 NFC title. … Giants will have to monitor concussion injuries this week sustained by CB Aaron Ross and RB D.J. Ware… Poor Falcons TE Tony Gonzalez is now 0-5 in the playoffs in his 15-year career…. Next up for the Giants is a return trip to Lambeau Stadium for a rematch with the Super Bowl Champion Packers

Broncos (9-8) over Steelers (12-5), 29-23 in OT… The weekend’s highest rated game had the most exciting result as the Denver Broncos knocked out the Steelers on the first play of OT… Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger played through a high-ankle sprain to lead the PIT back from a 2-touchdown deficit… After winning the overtime coin flip, the Broncos on first down, went play-action — Tebow (Broncos Playoff record of 125.6) faked giving the ball to RB Willis McGahee – as Timmy Terrific threw a strike to streaking WR Demaryius Thomas (4 receptions for 204 yards and 1 TD) for a highlight-reel 80-yard TD, which included a great stiff-arm of CB Ike Taylor… The amazing walk-off TD took only 11 seconds—the fastest overtime in NFL history… The quick TD also ended the NFL’s first playoff game under the league’s new overtime rules…. It was a great game for Tebow as he silenced his critics – was horrible in 3 straight losses to end the regular season – by throwing for a career and season high of 316 yards and 2 TDs… Tebow also added 50 yards and 1 TD… Tough game for the Steelers health wise as they were without RB Rashard Mendenhall (ACL) and safety/leading tackler Ryan Clark (blood disorder), then Pro Bowlers NT Casey Hampton (knee) and DL Brent Kiesel get hurt in the game and didn’t return… Tebow unlike team president John Elway — lost his first postseason start to the Steelers in 1984— got a win in his first playoff game…. Broncos WR Eric Decker was lost early to knee injury after LB James Harrison blew him up…. Steelers’ No. 1 defense did a nice job of stopping the run, but they had trouble on play-action…. Big Ben fell to 10-4 in the playoffs….Denver’s defense was swarming (1INT and 5 sacks)… Broncos O-line got the job done (No INTs or sacks allowed)…Denver had a 20-6 halftime lead…. Only Broncos’ second playoff win since Elway retired in 1999…. Next-up for the Broncos (9-8) will be game versus theAFC’s No.1 seeded Patriots (13-3)… In Week 15,New England stifled Tebow while their offense led by QB Tom Brady put a hurting on the Broncos by a score of 41-23.

Game Balls

Broncos QB Tim Tebow – Many critics, including myself, said that Tebow had no chance against the Steelers. But he made the most of his opportunities. The former Heisman winner completed 10-21 passes for 316 yards and 2 TDs plus set an NFL-playoff record by averaging 31.6 yards per completion. Tebow may not be pretty, but he sure is a great leader and winner as shown by his 80-yard touchdown strike to Demaryius Thomas that ended the game in overtime. We will see how Tebow and the upstart Broncos fare in the Divisional Round, but for this week, they are stars.

Honorable Mention: Texans DL JJ Watt, Lions WR Calvin Johnson, Saints QB Drew Brees, Texans RB Arian Foster, NY Giants WR Hakeem Nicks, NY Giants QB Eli Manning, Broncos WR Demaryius Thomas, Saints CB Jabari Greer, NY Giants O-line, NY Giants RB Ahmad Bradshaw, and Texans WR Andre Johnson

Lloyd’s Lackey

Steelers CB Ike Taylor – To put it succinctly, Taylor – was a crispy piece of toast on Sunday — will be the Steelers secondary’s representative for their horrible in losing to a quarterback no one feared coming into the game. Allowed big play after big play and Tebow was comfortable while making some serious throws. Taylor also was stiff-armed to the ground by Thomas on the Broncos’ OT touchdown catch and run.

Dishonorable Mention: Bengals QB Andy Dalton, Bengals RB Cedric Benson, Detroit Lion Secondary (too many potential INTs dropped), Bengals DB Chris Crocker, Falcons HC Mike Smith, Steelers defense against play-action and Falcons QB Matt Ryan

Wild Card Week Leaders

Passing

1. D. Brees NO 466 yds

2. M. Stafford DET 380 yds

3. T. Tebow DEN 316 yds – OT

4. B. Roethlisberger PIT 289 yds – OT

5. E. Manning NYG 277 yds

Rushing

1. A. Foster HOU 153 yds

2.I.Redman PIT 121 yds – OT

3. B. Jacobs NYG 92 yds

4. P. Thomas NO 66 yds

5. A. Bradshaw NYG 63 yds

Receiving

1. C. Johnson DET 211 yds

2. D. Thomas DEN 204 yds – OT

3. M. Colston NO 120 yds

4. H. Nicks NYG 115 yds

5. R. Meachem NO 111 yds

TDS

1. M. Stafford DET 4 TDs

2. E. Manning NYG 3 TDs

2. T. Tebow DEN 3 TDs Final – OT

2. D. Brees NO 3 TDs

5. Four players scored 2 TDs including Texans RB Arian Foster

2011-12 Playoff Seeds

NFC — 1. GB, 2. SF, 3. NO, 4. NYG, 5.ATL (out), 6. DET (out)

AFC — 1. NE, 2.BAL, 3. HOU, 4. DEN, 5. PIT (out), 6.CIN (out)

Current Streaks

Winning: Saints (8), Patriots (7), NY Giants (3), Ravens (2), Niners (1), Texans (1), Broncos (1)

Losing: Bengals (2), Steelers (1), Lions (1), Falcons (1)

How 2010 Playoff teams are faring in 2011

NFC

Packers (15-1, NFC #1)

Saints (13-4, NFC #3)

Falcons (10-7, AFC#5, out)

Eagles (8-8, out of playoffs)

Bears (8-8, out of playoffs)

Seahawks (7-9, out of playoffs)

AFC

Patriots (13-3, AFC#1)

Ravens (12-4, AFC#2)

Steelers (12-4,AFC#5, out)

NY Jets (8-8, out of playoffs),

Chiefs (6-9, out of playoffs)

Colts (2-13, out of playoffs)

A Look at the Records of the teams on the sidelines

1 Team… 12-5 — Steelers

3 Teams… 10-7 — Lions, Falcons, Bengals

1 Team… 9-7 — Titans

7 Teams… 8-8 — NY Jets, Cowboys, Raiders, Bears, Chargers, Cardinals, Eagles

2 Teams… 7-9 — Seahawks, Chiefs,

3 Teams…. 6-10 — Bills, Panthers, Dolphins

2 Teams…. 5-11 — Redskins, Jaguars

3 Teams… 4-12 — Bucs, Browns, Vikings

2 Teams … 2-14 — Rams, Colts

2012 NFL Draft Selection Order (updated)

1. Indianapolis Colts, 2-14

2.St. LouisRams, 2-14

3. Minnesota Vikings, 3-13

4.ClevelandBrowns, 4-12

5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 4-12

6. Washington Redskins, 5-11

7. Jacksonville Jaguars, 5-11

8. Carolina Panthers, 6-10*

9. Miami Dolphins, 6-10*

10. Buffalo Bills, 6-10

T-11. Seattle Seahawks, 7-9*

T-11. Kansas City Chiefs, 7-9*

13. Arizona Cardinals, 8-8

14. Dallas Cowboys, 8-8

15. Philadelphia Eagles, 8-8

16. New York Jets, 8-8

17. Cincinnati Bengals (from Oakland Raiders, 8-8)

18. San Diego Chargers, 8-8

19. Chicago Bears, 8-8

20. Tennessee Titans, 9-7

21. Cincinnati Bengals, 9-8

22. Cleveland Browns (from Atlanta Falcons, 10-7)

23. Detroit Lions, 10-7

24. Pittsburgh Steelers, 12-5

25. Denver Broncos, 9-8 (still in playoffs)

26. New York Giants, 10-7 (still in playoffs)

27. Houston Texans, 11-6 (still in playoffs)

28. Baltimore Ravens, 12-4 (still in playoffs)

29. New Orleans Saints, 12-4 (still in playoffs)

30. San Francisco 49ers, 13-3 (still in playoffs)

31. New England Patriots, 13-3 (still in playoffs)

32. Green Bay Packers, 15-1 (still in playoffs)

January 15th deadline for underclassmen to declare for the 2012 NFL Draft
The 2012 NFL Draft will be held from April 26-28 in New York City

Looking forward to the Division Round and beyond

Saturday, Jan. 14

3) Saints (13-4) vs. 2) 49ers (13-3),4:30 PM ET(FOX— Johnston, Albert, and Siragusa)

4) Broncos (9-8) vs. 1) Patriots(13-3),8:00 PM ET(CBS — Nance/Simms)

Sunday, Jan. 15

3) Texans (11-6) vs. 2) Ravens (12-4), 1:00 PM ET (CBS — Gumbel and Dierdorf)

4) NY Giants (10-7) vs. 1) Packers (15-1), 4:30 PM ET (FOX–Buck/Aikman/Oliver)

Championship Round

Sunday, Jan. 22

3:00 PM ET— NFC Championship

6:30 PM ET—AFCChampionship

Superbowl

Sunday Feb. 5

Super Bowl XLVI,Indianapolis,Indiana

Upcoming Key Dates

• January 14 -15 — Divisional Playoffs (CBS andFOX)

• January 15 — Deadline for Underclassmen to Declare for 2011 NFL Draft

• January 22 —AFC and NFC Championship Games (CBS andFOX)

• January 28 – College Football’s Top Senior football players culminate a week of training by playing in the 2012 Senior Bowl at 3PM on NFL Network (Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, AL)

• January 29 — NFL Pro Bowl —AFC All-Stars vs. NFC All-Stars in Honolulu, Hawaii (NBC)

• February 5 — Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis, Indiana (NBC)

Lloyd Vance is the Editor for Taking It to the House , who is also an award-winning member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). Lloyd can be reached on Twitter @lloydvance_nfl