Divisional Thoughts

The first day of the divisional round went to the teams that had a week off. The home teams.

Seattle Seahawks 20
Atlanta Falcons 36

Houston Texans 16
New England Patriots 34

The second day of the divisional round went to the teams that had to play last week. The visiting teams.

Green Bay Packers 34
Dallas Cowboys 31

Pittsburgh Steelers 18
Kansas City Chiefs 16

The second day's games were much more competitive than the first. The Packers-Cowboys game was a classic.

The first quarter of the Seahawks-Falcons took a grand total of 26 minutes in real time. That's efficient offensive football. The Seahawks first drive was the highlight of the game for them. The Falcons answering touchdown drive stretched into the second quarter. That sort of efficiency sucks for the advertisers but it's outstanding for the fans.

The old Devin Hester looked like the Devin Hester of old on Saturday. Few players have ever scared this Minnesota Vikings fan more than Hester did when he was with the Chicago Bears. In his prime he was a nightmare for opponents. He looked like his old self against his former team as he tried to take over the game as a kick returner. The Falcons eventually got a handle on his returns. That went a long way in the Falcons cruising to the win.

Many talking heads were talking about how vulnerable the Patriots looked against the Texans. Sure, the Patriots offense might've looked a little less efficient than usual but to say that they look vulnerable takes away from the terrific game played by an excellent defense. If the Texans can get themselves a competent quarterback they can be a scary football team. The defense is ready. Add in the return of a healthy J.J. Watt, fergetaboutit!

Tom Brady has led the Patriots to 11 AFC Championships in 15 full seasons as the starting quarterback. Incredible. That's nearly Otto Graham-like.

I hate when the media badgers a veteran player about retirement the moment their season ends. They did it again with Texans nose tackle Vince Wilfork. It's an emotional, disappointing time. Give the guy some time and some space. Let him approach his future on his own terms.

Brock Osweiler's best throw of the night dropped right through the hands of rookie receiver Will Fuller. It would've/should've been a touchdown. It might've been a different game if he'd caught the football. The Texans would've been within four points late in the third quarter. Fuller's inconsistent hands were the one real knock on him coming out of Notre Dame last year. He can be an explosive playmaker but he has to make those catches. Every NFL receiver should.

It looked like the Packers were going to put the Cowboys away early. 21-3 halfway through the second quarter. The Cowboys offense looked rattled and the Packers defense looked formidable. The only thing that looked like it should was the play of Aaron Rodgers.

The Cowboys dusted themselves off and made a game of it and it was quite a game.

Cowboys rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott carried the ball 22 times for 125 yards. 22 carries is a decent number of carries but it didn't feel like nearly enough. There were extended stretches of the game during which he didn't touch the ball. Maybe the Packers big early lead put the Cowboys running game on hold. Whatever it was, he has to touch the ball. Often. With the line that he has in front in him and the talent that he possesses each carry feels like an automatic minimum of five yards. He slips on a sweep and gains nine. He stumbles on a burst up the middle and gains 15. I've never seen a back run untouched to the second level as often as he does.

Aaron Rodgers is ridiculous.

The Cowboys and Packers combined for three field goals of more than 50 yards in the final two minutes of the game. Actually all three were in the final 1:33. That's never been done before in the postseason. I'd be surprised if it's ever been done.

This Packers-Cowboys game ranks with the Chargers-Dolphins 1981 classic as two of the best playoff games I've ever seen. After six less than competitive playoff games we needed a good one.

We got another good one, at least a close one, with the Steelers-Chiefs.

Steelers kicker Chris Boswell scored all of his team's 18 points. The six field goals are a postseason record.

Other than Boswell, Steelers running back Le'Veon Bell was the star of the game. Even though he couldn't get into the end zone. 30 carries for 170 yards. The total gave him back to back playoff games of at least 160 yards. The Steelers leaned on him in this game the way that it felt like the Cowboys should've leaned on Elliott.

Bell is so much fun to watch. His patience. His vision. His terrific running talent. He's my pick for the best runner in the game.

The Chiefs got in their own way far too often. There's never a good time for penalties but they seemed to commit them at the worst possible times. Third-and-short becomes third-and-long. A nice play is negated. The most glaring mistake was the holding penalty that took away the two-point conversion that had tied the game at 18.

It's on to the Conference Championships.

AFC
Pittsburgh Steelers @ New England Patriots

NFC
Green Bay Packers @ Atlanta Falcons

From Around the NFL's Chris Wesseling:
For the 13th time in 14 years, the AFC will send one of Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, or Peyton Manning to the Super Bowl.

That Geico commercial with Tiki Barber as a barber is hilarious.

Three more games to play. Four, if you count the Pro Bowl.