NFL Wildcard Playoffs 2010 Football at its Best

The 2010 NFL playoffs are finally here and the road Superbowl XLIV is on. Not surprisingly the AFC and the NFC has graced us with four great wildcard playoff games this weekend to start the NFL playoff season right. Every year there always seems to be a team that shocks the world and advances deep in the playoffs.

After 17 weeks of football action we have finally reached the NFL post season. The second season of the NFL is always exciting, and considering that the last three Super Bowl Champions have come out of the Wild Card round of the playoffs, there is no way anyone can overlook the importance of this weekends games.

The match ups are set and its anyones game as the post season is now in full swing. So who do you think it will be this year? Take the NY Times challenge and see what others think. On a final note   . .thanks to the NFL for the great photos of the day.

The Jets had reason to celebrate, backing up coach Rex Ryan's talk that they're playoff worthy while the Cincinnati Bengal fans haven't seen their team win a playoff game in almost two decades,this year their hopes were blown away by the Jets.

Cincinnati got on the board first on a touchdown catch by former Jets wide receiver Laveranues Coles in the 1st quarter...but running back Shonn Greene got the Jets even with a touch down run in the 2nd quarter. Also in the second quarter Dustin Keller scored one touchdown and had 99 receiving yards.Jets Thomas Jones was held to just 34 yards rushing on 15 carries, but did make his way in for a nine-yard touchdown in the third quarter. And in the fourth quarter Cedric Benson made it interesting with a 47-yard touchdown run that cut the lead to 21-14. Benson had an exceptional day with 169 yards.

Carson Palmer completed 18 for 36 passes for 146 yards and one interception.

Mark Sanchez didn't have huge numbers, completing 12 of 15 passes for 182 yards and a touchdown in the game, but he knew how to hand off to New York Jets running backs Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene. Sanchez didn't turn the ball over once. He became the fourth rookie quarterback since 1950 to start and win a playoff game.

Mark Sanchez shows he's ready to take on either the Colts or Chargers as the rookie runs off the field at the end of the Jets 24-14 win.

Baltimore Ravens 33

New England Patriots 14

James Sanders, Safety for the New England Patriots On Ray Rice's opening drive touchdown run "It was very disappointing to start the game off that way with that kind of run and to give them that much momentum ... can't play that way in the playoffs and expect to go anywhere. I don't know exactly what happened, but it couldn't have been right because he came through untouched and went the distance. He's a good running back, but to give him a lane like that, you can't say anything about it."

When did Ray Rice know the first play would be more than a 5-yard run
"As soon as I got the cutback, the safety was about 15-to-20-yards deep. Once I got there and got on their back, they had already done their job already. That's any running back's dream. I made that first guy miss and after that it was a foot race. I keep telling the guys, for the first 40 yards I am one of the fastest guys. And after that it's a horse race, but I pulled it out. I think if I get to the one-yard line, I am coming out, so I better get to the end zone, I am just being honest."

Ray Lewis on his emotions when he saw 24-0 on the scoreboard "We took the crowd out of the game, they weren't as loud. We you get up by that many points you really take the crowd out of the game. In Baltimore, our 12th man in the most important thing we have in Baltimore."

You could say that the Patriots didn’t lose this game  .. .its that the Ravens won it.

Philadelphia Eagles 14

Dallas Cowboys 34

The December doubts have finally been put to rest as Cowboys win this game and defeat that old saying in the N.F.L. where it is hard to beat a team three times in one season. Romo has 11 touchdowns and just two interceptions since December started. And Jerry Jones was heard saying "The demons are gone!" .

Tony Romo completed 23 for 35 for 244 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions, and 104.9 rating. RB Felix Jones ran for 148 yards, third-best in Cowboys playoff history, and set a franchise-record with a 73-yard touchdown jaunt. Felix Jones finished with 148 yards rushing on 16 carries. After having only six catches in the final four regular season games, Cowboys WR Roy Williams had Williams had a five catches for 59 yards, all coming in the decisive first half when the Cowboys built a 27-7 lead.

Just as they had done in the last two meetings, Dallas dominated the line of scrimmage, sacking McNabb four times and outgaining Philly 198 to 56 yards rushing.

Special teams play was also a factor in the game. The Cowboys won the advantage in field position, allowing the Eagles to cross midfield only 5 times out of 13. Philly started at their own 20-yard line for most of the game.

Eagles head coach Andy Reid was blunt after the game, “They [Cowboys] were better all the way around, in every phase.”

For the Eagles' their best offensive play came on a 76-yard touchdown catch by Jeremy Maclin, McNabb was on the sideline. Up till that point McNabb hadn’t even completed a pass. Most people will agree that McNabb is one of the very best players in the history of the Eagles franchise. For as long as there are Eagles fans, there will be debate about his career. There will always be those who think he was fatally flawed and those who believe he was simply asked to carry too heavy a load for too long.

“Donovan is a great quarterback; he has enjoyed his years here,” running back Brian Westbrook said. “Whether people think he should be the guy here or not, he has done a great job. Donavon is the reason that we have had so much success. He is definitely one of the best quarterbacks that I have had to deal with, one of the best in the league.”

Green Bay Packers 45

Arizona Cardinals 51

The numbers from this game were astounding

• This was the highest-scoring game in N.F.L. playoff history.
• These two teams combined for 1,024 yards ,Green Bay 493, Arizona 521.
• Each team punted only once.
• They combined for 62 first downs.
  
• Probably the finest playoff performance of Warners already stunning postseason career. He finished his day 29 of 33 for 375 yards and 5 touchdowns.

In overtime the game was over when Aaron Rodgers had the ball knocked loose by Arizona cornerback Michael Adams; the ball popped right into the hands of Karlos Dansby, who ran untouched into the end zone from 17 yards out. And Arizona scores. You know what they say in the NFL, the defense wins the game. Earlier he had missed a sack opportunity earlier in the game. Officials also flagged Adams for four penalties, including two for pass interference and one for holding.

"Tim Hightower came to me in the second quarter after my second pass-interference penalty and he said, "Keep your head up (because) you're going to make the play that wins this game," " Adams then said. "Throughout the game you can kind of lose faith and everything, but my teammates kept coming to me."

Adams teamates call him by the nickname "Money Mike" in reference to the "Swingers" movie character played by Jon Favreau. Co-star Vince Vaughn was always assuring Favreau's character "you're so money and you don't even know it."

This game showed one of the great quarterback duels in NFL history. Warner and Aaron Rodgers were about as good as quarterbacks can be. Aaron Rodgers became the first player in NFL history to throw for more than 300 yards in the second half of a playoff game. Overall, Rodgers finished the game with 422 yards and four touchdowns. Kurt Warner had a near-perfect passer rating (154.1) while completing 29 of 33 passes for 379 yards and five scores.

Larry Fitzgerald was his all-world self on Sunday, catching six balls for 82 yards and two touchdowns

James Jones The underrated Packers wideout pulled down three catches for 50 yards -- including a 30-yard scoring catch/run that cut the Cardinals' deficit to seven in the fourth quarter.

Arizona meets up next Saturday January 16 at 4:30 pm @the Superdome against Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints. The Cardinals and Saints have no playoff history, but the teams have played 25 times in the regular season with Arizona winning 13 times. The last time these two teams met it was on Dec. 16, 2007, and the New Orleans Saints took a 31-24 win in the Superdome.

So now the divisional-round schedule of the NFL playoffs is set. I hope you enjoyed these highlights of Wild Card Weekend and here is a glance at the divisional-round schedule:

Saturday, Jan. 16
NFC: 4:30 p.m. ET — Arizona (10-6) at New Orleans (13-3) (FOX-TV)
AFC: 8:15 p.m. ET — Baltimore (9-7) at Indianapolis (14-2) (CBS-TV)

Sunday, Jan. 17
NFC: 1 p.m. ET — Dallas (11-5) at Minnesota (12-4) (FOX-TV)
AFC: 4:40 p.m. ET — New York Jets (9-7) at San Diego (13-3) (CBS-TV)