It's halftime of the first NFC divisional round game of the weekend, and it's a shocker. It's 28-14 Green Bay, with the Packers scoring 21 unanswered points after a 102-yard kickoff return by Atlanta's Eric Weems made it 14-7 at the beginning of the second quarter. In fact, the sixth-seeded Packers scored all 28 of their points in the second quarter. QB Aaron Rodgers has thrown for 234 yards and two touchdowns while nimbly evading tacklers, and cornerback Tramon Williams, who signed, sealed and delivered Green Bay's close win over the Philadelphia Eagles last week with a long interception against Michael Vick, picked off Matt "Matty Ice" Ryan twice in the second quarter, once in the end zone, and once for a 70-yard pick-six. All three of the Packers' scoring drives have been for more than 60 yards. Ignoring the persistent screaming of the Atlanta fans (which FOX commentator Joe Buck has repeatedly called "deafening"), Rodgers and Williams are combining for a great William Tecumseh Sherman impression, burning up the major city of the south. This would be a huge shocker, despite Green Bay's obvious talent, if #1 seed Atlanta were ousted so early.
Meanwhile, in the Basher's Bowl (i.e. the third matchup of the year between division rivals the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers), there were turnovers aplenty in a wild game that ended with the Steelers entering their third AFC Championship Game in five years.
In the first quarter, it was a Rashard Mendenhall (Pitt) 1-yard run that putt the home-field Steelers up 7-0, but then the Ravens took over. With big bashing defenders like Terrell Suggs, Ray Lewis, Haloti Ngata and Ed Reed pounding Steelers' QB Ben Roethlisberger and the entire Pittsburgh secondary, the Ravens came roaring back, getting a game-tying score on a 14-yard run by Ray Rice, then beginning the Turnover Game of the Century. If this game wasn't defined by its penalties (there were some 110+ penalty yards in the game by the combined ballclubs, the most in a playoff game in 20 years), it was defined by its turnovers.
The kicker came at the end of the first quarter, with the game tied. Roethlisberger pump-faked three times before Terrell Suggs hit him and knocked the ball to the ground. Nobody touched it for about four seconds before Baltimore defensive end Cory Redding realized no whistle had been blowed, swiped the ball off the turf, and hustled 13 yards for a score.
Just minutes later, Mendenhall lost a fumble to the Ravens, and it led directly to a 4-yard touchdown pass from Baltimore QB Joe Flacco to tight end Todd Heap, making it 21-7, which it was at halftime after Pittsburgh kicker Shaun Suisham missed a field goal attempt.
In the second half, a game that had been all about the purple and white swung abruptly in the favor of the home team, as Big Ben Roethlisberger stood up to the mounting physical pressure of guys like Suggs and Ngata and started making plays. I've heard it said no one keeps a play alive like Roethlisberger. Well, I personally think Roethlisberger's in the same sentence as guys like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Michael Vick when it comes to being a flat-out playmaker. The guy is electric. Give him time to make a throw (without somebody big hanging off his leg or arm) and he'll make it happen. He did it over and over in the second half, including touchdown passes of 9 yards (to tight end Heath Miller) and 8 yards (to wide receiver Heinz Ward) in the third quarter, the second of which tied the game at 21 apiece. He also set up the game's final touchdown (see below) by evading tacklers and then heaving a 58-yard bomb down the sideline to Antonio Brown.
The teams traded field goals to make it 24 all, but Mendenhall squeezed through the rugby scrum at the goal line with 1:33 left for the defining score. The final competitive play of the game, Baltimorians will remember for a long time, was a destined-to-be-a-first-down-pass from a pressured Joe Flacco that hit wide receiver T.J. Houshmanzadeh in the numbers and plopped to the turf through his hands.
The Ravens were a popular Super Bowl pick before this season began. Now, they just continue their unenviable streak of three straight (and all-time) postseason losses to the Steelers.
The Steelers await the winner of tomorrow's 4:30 New York Jets/New England Patriots showdown.
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