So I guess I am finally getting around to talking about the two games because I am finally getting over the Packers loss. I will start with this game first because certainly this was arguably one of the best playoff games I have ever seen. A back and forth game from the start where neither team really got true momentum and even though it was a game that many will argue Giants dominated from the start (outside the one 90 yard pass to Driver). The Packers, much to my surprise, never established a running game that had really balanced out their offense in the second half of the season and really burst wide open in the last game against the Seahawks. Give all the credit in the world to Eli Manning who kept going to Plaxico Burress against a clearly over-matched Al Harris. Make no mistake about it, Packers gave this game away to the Giants with their mistakes but Eli stayed composed the entire game even though the Packers responded to every Giant score. I will still say it, Tom Coughlin’s decision to play all of his starters in that ‘meaningless’ Week 17 game versus the Patriots really brought this team together and there is no way they are in the Super Bowl unless their starters play that game. 3 straight road playoff wins, 10 straight road wins… this team has the momentum that could produce a victory in Arizona, but that is a little too early to call. Momentum is a dangerous opponent to play against regardless of who you are.
Oh by the way, Patriots continued their winning ways basically because the Chargers could find a way to score in the red zone. They were held to four field goals, two of which certainly could have been touchdowns and who knows, might have produced a different result at the end of the game. Regardless, the Patriots played less than their ‘A’ game but still found a way to win. They did that this game and have done that often over the course of the season and now stand one win away from a perfect 19-0 season. I will not elaborate more into what I think happens in two weeks but yea, I just might pick the Patriots two weeks in a row, who knows?
