They had everything. Amazing clutch plays, turnovers and unpredictable events that were completely shocking and unexpected. Eight great teams, each with great quarterbacks. And the pressure of do-or-die games. That's entertainment, kids.
All four games ended in a walk-off. The first three ended in last second field goals. The final game (Buffalo at Kansas City) was simply a football game for the ages. The lead went back and forth like windshield wipers with each team trading touchdowns. With 13 seconds left and Buffalo leading, Kansas City hit a miraculous field goal to tie, and then won it in overtime with a touchdown. Final score 42-36 (reminiscent of old AFL games in the '60s). I'm sure it was less exciting if you were a Buffalo fan, and overtime rules have to change so the team that loses the coin toss for OT still has a change to win if the winning coin toss teams drives and scores a touchdown. But still! Wow!
And wait, there's more!
It was subfreezing and snowing in Green Bay, which you know is my preferred scenario for football.
I'm sure some may disagree, but it was wonderful to see Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady go down. Especially Rodgers. Fuck that anti-vaxxer. The jokes after the loss were almost instantaneous. He didn't have adequate protection. He could have used a shot in the arm, etc. My favorite, that someone posted on Facebook was that Rodgers and Green Bay could still go to the NFC Championship game if Mike Pence had any courage.
The game I was most invested in was the Rams-Buccaneers, and it was a rollercoaster. All Rams the first half, which was most enjoyable. But the second half they were atrocious, allowing Brady to bring the Bucs back from 27-3 to tie the game with 45 seconds left. The Rams got two big plays to bring them within field goal range and won it in regulation, but it was a nail biter. I was a wrung out dish rag, and this was before the Kansas City-Buffalo game.
I'm also a fan of the Cincinnati Bengals so to see them upset Tennessee in the south was delightful. Bengal fans have been long-suffering for years. Can they beat Kansas City? Well, they did once already this year.
And the Rams have lost six straight to their NFC opponents, the 49ers. The first-half Rams will beat them. The second-half Rams will get blown out. They need to decide which Rams team will play.
I also have to say that the network announcers were all up to the task. Ian Eagle, Joe Buck, Al Michaels, and Jim Nantz were as good as the games. My preference: still Al Michaels. He is so in control, and no one handles dramatic moments with more flair. And more than the others, Al taps into the emotion of the audience. He says things you were thinking. I know his contract is up at NBC following the Super Bowl, but I'm sure he'll surface somewhere next season -- maybe with Amazon that will have Thursday night football. He's as sharp as ever and deserves to be behind a microphone.
And the other three were great too. Joe Buck has that spare Ray Scott authoritative big game delivery, Ian Eagle calls a terrific game and has a sly sense of humor, and I've never heard a football announcer who was more observant than Jim Nantz. He sees tiny things on the field that most analysts don't pick up. How he does that from way up in the booth I will never know. He's also doing the game with Tony Romo who is a bar none the best analyst in the game. Genuine personality and uncanny in how he can predict what's going to happen. But they're all excellent. There's not a Brent Musberger in the bunch.
Looking forward to next weekend. But I gotta tell you, this past weekend is a hard act to follow. Maybe impossible.
from By Ken Levine
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