Here's what we've had so far (home teams listed first):
Saturday, January 16:
(2) Green Bay 32 - 18 (11) Los Angeles
(3) Buffalo 17 - 3 (7) Baltimore
Sunday, January 17:
(1) Kansas City 22 - 17 (12) Cleveland
So all of the home teams have won so far. Only the Chiefs faced real danger, and that was largely due to Mahomes's injury. New Orleans is now facing Tampa Bay for the third time this year. The Saints won the first two matchups in blowouts, and they now lead 20-13 with 7:11 left in the third quarter.
The three teams to reach the semi-finals so far all reached the semi-finals back in 1966. That year, the Chiefs beat Buffalo to win the AFL before losing to Green Bay in Super Bowl I.
The fourth semi-finalist in 1966 was Dallas.
With 4:30 left in the third, the Saints are driving, but Tampa forces a fumble, the Bucs have a nice runback, and Brady and the offense take over at the New Orleans 40.
ReplyDeleteI'm listening to this game on WTEM-AM, the local sports station here in DC. For reasons I've never understood, WTEM is a 50,000 watt station during the day, and only a 5,000 watt station at night. So when you listen at night, it sounds like you're pulling in a station from hundreds of miles away. It makes the whole thing dramatic, assuming that you can get enough of a signal to hear the broadcast at all.
ReplyDeleteBrady takes advantage of the turnover and quickly drives Tampa to a touchdown. Now we are tied at 20 with 2:22 left in the third.
ReplyDeleteSaints take the kickoff, can't do much, and have to punt. Tampa Bay will start from its own 21 with 44 seconds left in the third quarter.
ReplyDeleteThis is by far the best of the divisional playoff games. Green Bay and Buffalo didn't have too much trouble yesterday. Kansas City had real problems once Mahomes got hurt, but that game wasn't played at a very high level.
ReplyDeleteBrady drives the Bucs to a field goal, and Tampa Bay leads 23-20 with 9:52 left.
ReplyDeleteI did something that I rarely do today, and had the TV sound on for the Chiefs/Browns game. I thought Nantz and Romo did a pretty good job -- they had a lot of energy, and were very fired up down the stretch. There were a few examples of key plays down the stretch where Romo's predictions about what was going to happen didn't work out -- especially on the key 4th and inches play where he thought the Chiefs were trying to draw Cleveland offside, and Kansas City ended up throwing a short pass for the game-clinching first down. But on the whole, it was an entertaining broadcast.
ReplyDeleteDrew Brees throws an INTERCEPTION and the Bucs run the ball all the way back to the New Orleans 20 with 7 minutes left. That's three turnovers for New Orleans, and none for the Bucs.
ReplyDeleteBrady quickly drives the Bucs to another touchdown. He completes a key pass to Gronkowski, and dives across himself from one yard out for the TD. Same as it ever was. Bucs lead 30-20 with 4:57 left.
ReplyDeleteBrees throws another interception, his third of the game. Tampa Bay takes over at its own 48 with 4:15 left.
ReplyDeleteThis game will probably be the last one Drew Brees ever plays. In his career, the Saints won one Super Bowl, and Tom Brady's Patriots won six. Today, Brady is showing that he is indeed on a higher level than Brees.
ReplyDeleteTampa Bay wins 30-20, and Tom Brady has taken his team to the NFC title game. Meanwhile, the Drew Brees era in New Orleans is over. Brees's record as a starter with the Saints was 142-86, which will be hard for anyone to match.
ReplyDeleteTom Brady: 18-33, 199 yds, 2 TDs, 0 INTs, Rating of 92.9
ReplyDeleteDrew Brees: 19-34, 134 yds, 1 TD, 3 INTs, Rating of 38.1