Most NFL fans would probably admit the playoffs haven't gone exactly as expected so far. After all, 4 games have been played, 3 road teams won, and the lone home team to squeak out a win had to come from 4 touchdowns behind to pull it off. Consider:
San Diego went into Cincinnatti. The Bengals were unbeaten at home this year -- but the Chargers have been on a roll for the last few weeks. San Diego wins -- handily.
New Orleans visited Philadelphia. The Eagles were 7-1 in their last 8 games and the Saints had never won a playoff game on the road. Guess what?
San Francisco had to go to Green Bay, never an easy proposition. Granted, the 49ers are really good, and further granted Packer QB Aaron Rdgers is probably a little rusty after a two month lay-off, -- and yeah, the 49ers had everybody healthy while Green Bay has been racked with injuries to key players -- but still...... The Packers are supposed to be tough in Cheeserland. San Fran won, fair and square.
Yep, the Indianapolis Colts were getting run out of their own building by the Kansas City Chiefs. Then in the second half, luck, both the Andrew and Lady variety, somehow stepped in to save the day. They were the only home team to win in the opening round of the playoffs -- and they very well should have lost. KC is probably still wondering how the hell that all happened.
That sets up some interesting match-ups in the next round.
San Diego has to go to Denver. A guy named Peyton that that makes a lot of dumb TV commercials, and just so happens to play for the Broncos will be waiting. Peyton is coming off a record-setting season with TD passes thrown and total points scored. This should be a no-brainer. But wait a minute, those same Chargers went into Denver less than a month ago and beat them 27-20. Can they do it again? Beats me. I didn't think the Baltimore Ravens had a chance last year going there either, but they did, and won, on their way to winning the Super Bowl. Ya never know. Still, I think old man chicken neck gets his revenge in a big way.
Indy goes to New England. How the Patriots even are where they are is amazing in itself. They've got Tom Brady, head coach Bill Belichick, and -- exactly what else? They've got one superstar tight end out for the season, a former one awaiting trial on a murder charge, lost their best receiver to the above mentioned Broncos in free agency after last year, and a bunch of other no-name guys filling out the rest of their roster. It's like smoke and mirrors -- but somehow they always seem to be competitive. And you know what? I suspect Andrew's Luck will finally run out when he runs into the Brady Bunch in a playoff game.
New Orleans goes to Seattle. Not that long ago, Seattle was deemed invincible at home. Then the upstart Arizona Cardinals showed the impossible could indeed be done by going into Seattle and beating them. Thing is, the Saints were there themselves not long ago, and got clobbered 34-7. Yeah, they finally won a road game in Philly, but yours truly suspect they're in a heap of trouble (again) when they go back to the crazy house in the northwest.
Best game coming up? San Fran going to Carolina. Here's the deal. Yours truly may be an insufferable idiot and a hack of a writer. I'll own that. But I also have a long memory -- sometimes. And I seem to rememer that before the 2013 season even started, the NFL gurus at Sports Illustrated predicted the Carolina Panthers would be the worst team in the entire league. Last time I looked, Carolina had won the NFC South and earned a first-round bye. So much for Peter King and his merry band of overrated prognosticators. Why some scribes continue to cite King as some sort of "expert" defies the imagination, and shows how gullible and easily led they themselves are.
Nevertheless, this should be a very good game. Rough, tough San Fran taking on the Cam Newton led Panthers, with their own ferocious defense. Yes, Carolina has many advantages going in. Besides home field, the 49ers had to fly to Green Bay, then back to San Fran after their win, and in a few days will have to fly all the way cross-country back to Charlotte. That's a lot of air miles and time zones crossed in a week's time. The jet lag thing certainly can't help. Meanwhile, the Panthers have had a week to sit home letting the bumps and bruises get a little better. And you just know they were closely watching the SF/GB game looking for ways to exploit the weaknesses of whoever they had to face next.
Who will win? Methinks the 49ers got bumped and bruised themselves a bit in their win at Lambeau. Throw in the jet lag thing, and the odds tilt heavily in Carolina's favor. But yours truly smells an upset here. Jim Harbaugh and company are the real deal and though the Panthers may have vastly exceeded any and all expectations this year -- they're still young, and likely prone to mistakes when the pressure of the playoffs ratchets up.
Ah. It doesn't matter. The road to the Super Bowl leads through Seattle and Denver, and I don't see either one of them going down at home.
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