Yesterday was loaded with extreme football action. America’s Saints faced the Chicago Bears in the NFL title game, while Tom Brady’s Patriots headed to the dome in Indianapolis to face off in the AFC championship.
NFC: New Orleans Saints 14, Chicago Bears 39
The Bears got off to a 16-0 lead in the first half, but the Saints were able to engineer a scoring drive to bring themselves back within nine just before halftime that began with a key 29-yard grab by Marques Colston and ended with Colston making a reception in the endzone. Reggie Bush caught a short pass on the run and ran like he was running from the police for an 88-yard score early in the second half, but that was the extent of the Saints run. Later in the third Drew Brees was under intense pressure in his own endzone and threw the ball away for intentional grounding, giving Chicago a safety and more importantly, ending the momentum the Saints had been building. With only two points in the third quarter, the Bears roared to life to make a statement in the fourth, allowing no more points while scoring 21 for themselves. If the Bears defense plays like it did for the majority of the game yesterday, they should have no trouble stopping the Colts in Florida on February 4. [Boxscore]
AFC: New England Patriots 34, Indianapolis Colts 38
Peyton Manning’s playoff woes are over. After the Colts trailed 21-3 in the second quarter, they went on to outscore New England 32-13 in the second half to win the game in the largest comeback in conference championship history. Adam Vinatieri hit all three of his field goal attempts against his former team, and Peyton Manning went 27/47 passing for 349 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. This is the part where I point out that I missed the huge comeback. I came down to take care of a few things during halftime, and decided not to watch the second half. Oops… Looks like I missed the Patriots collapsing and the end of all of the “Peyton Manning cannot win in the playoffs” talk. Either way, while the Colts may be favored to win the Super Bowl, I simply cannot pick against the Bears. [Boxscore]
The Super Bowl is on February 4th, so buckle your seatbelts. My official pick is the Chicago Bears because of their clamp-down defense and ability to pound the ball for positive yardage on the ground. After seeing the Bears just slam the door on the NFL’s best offense from the Big Easy and watching them completely hand it to the Lions this season, it’s impossible for me to assume anything other than a Bears victory in Super Bowl XLI. But then again, that’s why they play the games.
