Colts End Jets Impressive Playoff Run

Manning continues to rewrite the records books - Similar to the NFC Conference Championship, the battle for the AFC Conference Championship hosted the number 1 seed, the Indianapolis Colts. They're opponent however was one nobody expected to be there -- The New York Jets. But after already defeating both the Cincinnati Bengals and the San Diego Chargers in the postseason, the Jets were just as confident as anyone. Led by a strong defense and a ground game that led the the league in rushing, the Jets started the game like they were destined to win. But it wasn't long before Peyton Manning began to work his brilliance and lead the Colts to their second Superbowl appearance in four seasons.

Although Mark Sanchez and the Jets failed to make it to the Superbowl, they almost did it in the opposite way many thought they could. For as much as the team depends on it's defense, the offense seemed to be what was keeping them in the game to almost pull off the upset. After an 11-point lead with under 2 minutes remaining in the first half, Manning would bring the Colts to within 4-points heading into the lockers, after connecting in the end-zone with WR Austin Collie. With momentum on their side, the Colts then came in during the second half and did what needed to be done, as the Jets were shutout for the remainder of the game, resulting in a final score of 30-17. With the win, the Colts got their revenge on the team that put an end to their potential undefeated run just several weeks ago.

Regardless of the outcome, I've gotta tip my hat to Mark Sanchez for proving everyone that doubted him wrong and that said he wasn't experienced enough to start in his first year in the NFL. Instead, the former USC Trojan developed into one of the more promising arms for the future as both he and Jets head coach Rex Ryan should work wonders in New York for many years to come. Sanchez finished the day throwing for 257 yards and 2 touchdowns on 17 of 30 passing attempts, giving him an overall stellar performance. But the game ball would have to go to Peyton Manning of coarse.

After the first half, Manning found his groove and shredded the best defense in the league, finishing with a total of 377 yards and 3 touchdowns on 26 of 39 passing. With Jets Pro-Bowl CB Darrelle Revis covering Colts WR Reggie Wayne, Manning completed 18 of his 26 passes to WR's Pierre Carcon (11 catches, 151 yards) and Austin Collie (7 catches, 123 yards). The 300+ passing yard performance marked Manning's 7th 300-yard playoff game of his career, passing Kurt Warner and Joe Montana for the most all-time. It's no wonder Peyton Manning was rewarded this year's league MVP. But will he be able to add another Lombardi Trophy to his already crowded trophy case?

Aside from the game itself, my favorite part had to be the award ceremony after the game. With the earthquake that hit Haiti just weeks ago, no one on the field was affected more by the tragedy than Colts WR Pierre Garcon. Garcon who is of Haitian descent, had a big day on the field and broke the record for the most receptions in an AFC Championship game and was seen celebrating after the game with teammates and holding a Haiti flag up high (as seen in the photo below). It definitely served as one of the more touching moments of the NFL season this year.

From Aints to Saints

Saints make history - In a game that live up to all expectations by giving us a spectacular overtime extravaganza, one team was sent home as the other punched their ticket to Superbowl XLIV. The 31-28 victory over the Minnesota Vikings was the first ever win for the New Orleans Saints in an NFC Conference Championship, resulting in the team's first Superbowl appearance in franchise history. However, the final score only tells a fraction of the story. By looking at the box score and the way the Vikings dominated almost every statistical category possible, you would think Minnesota would have came out on top before viewing the final score. But a number of costly turnovers late in the game would prove to be just that -- costly.

Saints Quarterback Drew Brees didn't have his typical game by throwing for some absurd amount of yards, but he did manage to throw 3 touchdowns, despite being held under 200 yards. The Pro-Bowl QB who has been replaced in this year's All-Star game, finished the day with 197 yards on 17 of 31 passing attempts. Brett Favre on the other hand, had the big day between the two in the passing game. The future Hall of Famer threw for 1 touchdown and 310 yards on 28 of 46 passing attempts. But Favre's biggest throw of the the game, would be his last. Deep in Saints territory with 12 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and a chance to win the game in regulation, Favre threw a questionable pass across his body in traffic intended for WR Sidney Rice. Instead, the pass was picked off by Saints CB Tracy Porter, preventing the Vikings to possibly kick the game winning field goal and book a trip to Miami.

Although Favre clearly made a mistake, it was the Vikings coaching staff who deserves to be blamed. On the play prior to the interception, Minnesota was penalized 5 yards for having too many men on the field(12), knocking them out of field goal range. Also worth mentioning was the play calling. The final Vikings play that Favre threw an interception on should have been a run, as the team still had a timeout left. & It didn't help that Favre's injured left leg kept him from running for a few yards either. Regardless, the pick then led to overtime, where the Saints won the toss and the rest is history. On the Saints' first possession of overtime, kicker Garrett Hartley nailed a 40-yard field goal to send the team to Miami. Even though the Saints won fair and square, this was the type of game that you wish had the college overtime rules instead of sudden death, given you knew whichever team won the coin toss was going to win the game. And sure enough, that's what happened.

Fans that were at one point hiding their faces with paper bags, now have all the reason in the world to feel nothing short of proud as they can finally embrace their team as winners. The coaches and players however, will tell you they haven't accomplished anything until they win the Superbowl. With a little bit of help from their noisy fan base, the Saints won their first ever NFC tittle in front of a loud crowd of 71,276 screaming fans, marking the largest crowd ever in the Superdome for a Saints game. With that being said, WHO DAT? WHO DAT? WHO DAT SAY DEY GONNA BEAT DEM SAINTS?!?!?

Noteworthy - Despite the numerous fumbles, Vikings RB Adrian Peterson ran for 122 yards and 3 touchdowns alone, as the Saints' duo of Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush ran for a combined 69 yards with only 1 touchdown to show for. Sunday's game hosted 6 fumbles and a total of 6 turnovers (Minnesota-5, New Orleans-1), including 2 inside the red zone. Turnovers proved to be the key factor in the downfall of the Vikings and the glory of the Saints.

The smell of Playoffs in the air!

Last night, two teams headed into the Minnesota Metrodome with one thing on their mind -- the Playoffs. The Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins battled it out for an extra regular season game, number 163. The AL Central tiebreaker went into extras with the Twins winning it in 12 long hard fought innings by a score of 6-to-5, thanks to Alexi Casilla's walkoff hit. A record setting 54,088 fans stood eargly to watch their Minnesota ballclub overcome the unthinkable. Not only did the fans in attendance get to witness history, but they also played a part in it by being part of the largest regular-season crowd in Metrodome history.

With the Twins' late season surge playing catch up, they became the first team in Major League history to win the division after trailing by three games with four to play. & What could have been the last and final Twins game played at the Metrodome, will now have to wait as they get to see yet another game indoors. The only difference is it'll be in the postseason as the Twins host the highly favored New York Yankees for game 3 and 4 (if necessary).

With the rest of the playoff match-ups beginning to take shape, I don't think we'll see any game as exciting as the one played by the Tigers & Twins. But every playoff game and series is worth watching, which leads to my playoff and world series predictions. In one of my earlier posts Peanuts!, Get'churrr Peanuts! I gave both my playoff and world series predictions, but with half the teams I predicted to make it on vacation, it looks like I'll have to renew those predictions.


NLDS:
St. Louis Cardinals over Los Angeles Dodgers in 5 games.
Philadelphia Phillies over Colorado Rockies in 5 games.

ALDS:
New York Yankees over Minnesota Twins in 4 games.
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim over Boston Red Sox in 4 games.

NLCS:
Philadelphia Phillies over Los Angeles Dodgers in 6 games.

ALCS:
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim over New York Yankees in 6 games.

World Series:
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim over Philadelphia Phillies in 6 games.