Wild Again?
By Micheal Porpora for Football Reporters Online
Are we in line for another Giant run at the Super Bowl or is the team that will ultimately be crowned in February likely playing in one of this weeks Wild Card games. The Giant like run that ultimately fought off the undefeated Patriots in last years Super Bowl, could very well be replicated in this year’s playoffs, yet again.
The road warriors of last year hit their stride at just the right time and catapulted themselves into the most unlikely of Champions. This Wild Card weekend has four teams if you include the Falcons (who haven’t really hit their stride, but have been playing consistent football week after week) who are on great winning streaks and seem to be playing their best ball of the season. The Colts, Chargers, and Eagles are all playing extremely well and each crushed their opponents on the final game of the season this past week. If the Eagles can get past the Vikings (which I suspect they will) then they will have to travel to the Meadowlands where they will face the New York Giants. A team that they know very well, and have already beat in a crucial game down the stretch this season. The winner of the Colts v. Chargers game, which will be an unbelievable Wild Card game, will play either the Steelers or the Titans; who both the Chargers and Colts know very well (maybe more so the Colts) and could create matchup problems on both sides of the ball. Lastly, the Falcons are going to face the Cardinals in an interesting matchup. The Cardinals haven’t played in a meaningful game, or so it seems, in over a month, while the Falcons have been fighting for a playoff spot down to the last week of the season. To me I don’t see how the Cardinals are going to be able to turn up their intensity all of a sudden and take care of business this weekend. Following this game the Falcons will most likely play the Panthers, in a great NFC South matchup that could go either way considering these two teams know each other so well, and split the season series, with the Falcons blowing out the Panthers 45-28 in their most recent matchup.
One example of how consistent the teams across the league are, and the likelihood for a Wild Card to emerge as champions, can be the matchup between the 12 and 4 Colts, who have to go to San Diego and face the 8 and 8 Chargers (AFC West division winners). That might just a case for the terrible AFC West division, but it begs the question, who is the better team playing away from home? This will surely even the playing field a bit more and makes this game a toss-up. Once a team reaches the Division Championship game anything can happen and that means even a Wild Card team can go all the way.
In the end, the 2009 Super Bowl winner could undoubtedly be playing this weekend. The road to the title is far less challenging than that of the Giants last season, with much more parity among all 12 playoff teams this year. Last season the winner had to go through the undefeated Patriots who seemed to be far and away the best team in football, week after week. This year the Super Bowl will roll through Tennessee and East Rutherford, but don’t be surprised if one of those teams gets knocked off by a hot and hungry team playing with a chip on their shoulder.
