NFL playoffs rarely fail to throw us some surprises and, looking at the weekend in retrospect, you’d have to be at least a bit surprised at the turn of events.
To start, the first three games (Arizona at New Orleans, Baltimore at Indianapolis, and Dallas at Minnesota) were blowouts. Who’d have expected the average margin of victory in these games to be 26 points?
Furthermore, the three winners (New Orleans, Indianapolis, and Minnesota) had sewn the seeds of doubt in our minds by stumbling down the stretch. New Orleans started the season 13–0 but lost their last three regular-season games. Minnesota started the season 10–1 but completed it 2–3.
Indy probably caused the biggest uproar with their late-season strategy after a 14–0 start. Instead of going for the perfect season, they decided to rest their starters after taking a third-quarter lead against the Jets. The Colts went on to lose to the Jets and also their final game of the year.
Right about now, those three teams are probably feeling quite justified in the decisions they made as the regular season wound down.
But the biggest surprise of the week, no doubt, came with the New York Jets upsetting the high-flying San Diego Chargers—although Jets coach Rex Ryan wasn’t surprised. The Chargers won 11 straight to close out the regular season.
If any team left no doubt about where it was at, it was the Chargers. Yet, the supremely confident Jets came up with the perfect game plan to take them down.
The Jets team belief, confidence in each other, and collective effort has made them this year’s Cinderella story.
“Everybody wants to contribute to team success, not individual success,” said Ryan.
The Chargers took an early lead as the Jets failed to get a first down in their first four possessions. The Jets wound up punting to conclude all six first-half possessions.
But the Chargers, despite the domination, only had a small lead, and perhaps this led to anxiety and frustration. The costly penalties mounted and then the Jets plan started taking effect. The Jets played relatively error-free football and made the most of the Chargers mistakes.
The Jets are reminiscent of the 2000 Baltimore Ravens with their ferocious, opportunistic defense. Chargers QB Philip Rivers finally cracked and threw two third-quarter interceptions, which the Jets turned into 14 points.
It’s a funny game. The teams that rested starters and lost games to end the season are where they want to be now. And the Jets seem to be the team of destiny this year after almost not even making the playoffs.
This weekend’s conference championship games promise to be very competitive and unpredictable—exactly what the NFL wants.
