6 Things We Learned in the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs

We've seen a lot happen so far in the NFL playoffs.

Tim Tebow worked his magic. Drew Brees set records. Houston won their first playoff game. New York's defense showed off. Now, we have four more moments to add to the books.

Alex Smith showed us what he can do in the clutch. Tom Brady set a record. The Ravens defense showed their strengths. And the Giants showed us they aren't a force to be reckoned with.

Let's go over what we learned from the weekend and what to expect next weekend.

Alex Smith Can Perform in the Clutch

San Francisco looked dead when Drew Brees hit Jimmy Graham for the go-ahead 66-yard touchdown, giving the Saints a 32-29 win. Then, Alex Smith came alive.

Smith completed two passes to Frank Gore, totaling 18 yards, but on 2nd and 10, the big play happened. Smith threw a pass across the middle to Vernon Davis for 47 yards.

Now in field goal range, the 49ers had the option to play it safe and go for a field goal, but Jim Harbaugh decided against that. Smith threw a pass to Davis right before Davis made his cut across the middle, and Davis snatched the ball and held on—even after a collision with Roman Harper.

Recapping Smith's performance, you have three touchdown passes and a 28-yard run, where Smith took off immediately after catching the snap and ran down the sideline for the go-ahead score.

San Francisco scored 16 points in the fourth quarter. When the game turned into a shootout, Alex Smith beat Drew Brees. Now, a very heavily criticized quarterback is one home win away from Super Bowl XLVI.

New England Can Beat Anyone, Any Day

Five plays into the game, it was obvious New England had this game won. 

Tebow vs Brady was no match. The Pats D-line haunted Tebow and the Broncos O-line, and Rob Gronkowski simply dominated the Broncos secondary. The result? Patriots 45, Broncos 10.

Brady threw five first half touchdowns, and six total in the game. He probably would've broken the record (7 touchdowns) if the game wasn't such a blowout. Now, New England has a home game against Baltimore.

Although the defense dominated Tebow, forcing him to go 9 for 26 with 136 passing yards, Brady would've beat any team with that performance. Even Ed Reed, Ray Lewis, and Terrell Suggs would've been victimized.

New England's defense didn't give Tim Tebow a chance. He was sacked five times and had no time to throw. Joe Flacco had no time to throw against the Texans, and if it wasn't for a brilliant defensive performance and a Jacoby Jones fumble, we could have been seeing the Pats and the Texans.

With the D-line as strong as it's playing, we could see a New England blowout come Sunday.

Joe Flacco Couldn't Do Anything Right Against Houston

Just in case you're confused, the Ravens won this game. But it wasn't pretty.

Joe Flacco was sacked five times. Baltimore punted nine times. And without Jacoby Jones' terrible decision to field a punt, the game could've been very different.

Flacco did throw two touchdowns, but both came off turnovers. Flacco only had to lead his team a combined 37 yards yards to score those two touchdowns. Baltimore had more chances, thanks to a spectacular catch by Lee Evans, but Flacco and Co. failed to capitalize.

Before this game, I didn't see how people could criticize Flacco, who had led his team to the playoffs in his first four years. Now, I see how the Ravens win games: defense.

Going into New England, defense alone won't be enough. New England has topped 26 points in their last nine games, and Tom Brady is hard to stop in the playoffs. If we see a repeat of today, Patriots fans can book their tickets to Indianapolis.

The Giants Know How to Win Big Games

Eli Manning is 6-3 in the playoffs. How's that for an elite quarterback?

Manning showed everyone that he can outplay Rodgers, even at Lambeau, where the Pack owned a 13-game winning streak. Manning threw three touchdowns, and led the Giants to 37 points in the Giants win over Green Bay.

But it wasn't just Manning. The Giants defense forced four turnovers and without a bad call, it would've been five. And in the second half, Rodgers felt the heat of the Giants pass rush.

When the Giants forced turnovers, Manning cashed in. While the 49ers hardly ever turn the ball over, if they do, expect Eli to capitalize. The turnover battle is always huge—and in this game the Giants won the fight.

Hakeem Nicks has shown his ability to catch any pass and break any tackle. Victor Cruz has broken out. Even though the 49ers look very strong right now, the Giants will challenge them. Expect a fantastic game in San Francisco.

Tight Ends Are Becoming Very Important in This League

We've all seen "The Gronk" dominate the NFL, setting a record for touchdown catches.

Vernon Davis, Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, and Jimmy Graham have been dominating the playoffs so far, as Davis caught the winning touchdown for the 49ers, Gronkowski caught three scores, and Graham caught two.

New England offers a unique package of tight ends with Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez, who are no ordinary tight ends. Gronkowski added three more touchdowns to his previous record-setting total (tight ends only) of 16. 

Hernandez is athletic and easy to lose (on defense), and if you focus too hard on the tight ends, Wes Welker and Deion Branch get open. This is a Patriot team like no other, overpowering the opposition with a very unique style of football.

As for Baltimore? Their go-to tight end is Ed Dickson. If the Ravens somehow find a way to win the tight end battle, the game should be completely different. 

You can turn to the tight end battle for the game's outcome. Even for the 49ers game, which should be determined by defense.

The 49ers and Giants Have Proved That Defenses Can Still Win in This Era

The 49ers defense has been known to save Alex Smith a few times. Even though the 49ers gave up 32 points to New Orleans, they forced five turnovers.

New York has had similar results, giving up only 20 points on defense this postseason, with 7 of them the results of bad calls. Jason Pierre-Paul has anchored a superb pass rush, which haunted Matt Ryan and Aaron Rodgers.

With takeaways and sacks toppling throwing and catching, the NFC is back to its old-school ways. Defense wins championships, and if you asked Carlos Rogers, Navarro Bowman, Patrick Willis, Aldon Smith, or Justin Smith, they would all agree.

San Francisco and New York can both get to the quarterback. They both have good secondaries and can intercept passes—which they do a lot. San Francisco intercepted Drew Brees twice and almost had a third one.

From what we saw in the Divisional Round, both teams can force fumbles. Both teams combined to force six fumbles, and while San Francisco could only get two field goals (3 forced fumbles), the Giants got a touchdown and a field goal.

Although San Francisco rarely turns the ball over, the defenses should both dominate. The winner will be the offense that figures out how to defeat the other defense first. Oh, and don't forget Vernon Davis and the tight ends.