The Thrill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat. That one liner pretty much sums up the feelings of the eight NFL teams and their fans this weekend. The four teams rewarded with the Thrill of Victory:
Seattle Seahawks
Denver Broncos
Pittsburgh Steelers
Carolina Panthers
All did it with tough Defense and good Quarterbacking. There was some pretty bad officiating throughout the weekend but no one call determined the outcome of any game. So for the four teams that suffered the Agony of Defeat:
Washington Redskins
New England Patriots
Indianapolis Colts
Chicago Bears
Thank you for participating in the NFL's 2005 Playoffs. There are no parting gifts to be picked up. Goodnight and we'll see you next season.
As for those teams celebrating a victory, Congratulations and we look forward to seeing you compete next week for the right to participate in Superbowl XL.
Though no rushers broke the 100 yard mark this weekend, there were four receivers who did. Two of those receivers were the difference in their teams winning the game:
Steve Smith 12-receptions 218-yards 2-Td's Carolina
Darrell Jackson 9-receptions 143-yards 1-Td Seattle
A special Honorable Mention is due to the Defensive player who helped his team win by providing a Knockout Punch. I give you "The Champ," or as one article read this morning, "It took a Champ to beat the champs":
Champ Bailey, Denver Broncos DB. His 100-yard interception Return to the 1-yard line was the highlight of a Champion. Never has a name fit a player so well in a defining moment in sports. Champ knocked the resilient Patriots down for an eight count on his interception return. Had the Patriots scored on that drive it would've been a totally different ball game. The momentum was with New England as QB Tom Brady picked apart the Broncos secondary to get them down to the Denver five yard line. So when Brady challenged "The Champ" with a pass thrown to his territory "The Champ" responded the only way he's known how in his seven year career. He knocked the Defending Champion Patriots the F*ck Out! Well, maybe he didn't knock them out but he sure staggered them enough to give the momentum back to his team. I, as well as most fans watching, just knew that Tom Brady would get his team into the endzone on that play. You could feel the Patriots confidence taking over the game. I believe even the Broncos were experiencing that familiar Patriots comeback and dominate rhythm to the game. Then it happened and the Broncos rode that one confidence boost toward their 27-13 Playoff win over the Patriots. Below is an excerpt from the NFL.com Wire Report on the play:
It didn't get really easy until Bailey changed the game.
The Patriots were moving the ball well in the third quarter. They cut a 10-3 deficit to four points on a field goal and had moved quickly to the Denver 5 for what could have been the go-ahead score.
But on third down from the 5, Bailey stepped in front Troy Brown in the end zone for the pick. He sprinted down the sideline and when he felt Kevin Faulk swipe at him helplessly about 70 yards into the trek, he thought he had it cinched.
Champions don't go down easily, though, and tight end Ben Watson wasn't quitting. Watson took an angle, and with Bailey slowing and bringing the ball down to his hip, Watson got there, knocked Bailey down and sent the ball flying out of bounds at the 1.
Or maybe through the end zone.
With Bailey lying on his back, grimacing and gasping for air, Belichick challenged the call, saying the ball flew out of the end zone, not at the 1, which would have given New England the ball back on a touchback.
"It was a great effort on his part," Belichick said of Watson.
But did it go out through the end zone?
"Go ask them," the coach said of the officials, who also set up Denver's first touchdown on a questionable pass-interference call in the end zone against Asante Samuel.
It was the kind of call a championship team might have gotten. With no decisive TV angle, though, the Pats didn't. On the next play, Mike Anderson scored his second 1-yard touchdown of the night and gave Denver a 17-6 lead.
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