Fantasy Football Weekly Words: Wild-Card Weekend

What a difference a day makes! In less than a 24-hour period, we witnessed first hand what makes the game of football and the NFL such a pleasure to watch. As we headed into Wild-Card Weekend, the script called for all four road teams to come out victorious; after all, they were the ones favored by the Vegas odd-makers.

However, the script was thrown out the window on Saturday as both the Arizona Cardinals and San Diego Chargers came out victorious at home.

Just when NFL fans everywhere were getting used to the idea that anything could happen on any given Sunday, which meant bad news for the road warriors, Sunday's games played out just as we all had expected with the Baltimore Ravens and Philadelphia Eagles taking care of business on the road. 

For more of what surprised us on Saturday and what played out as scripted on Sunday, check out the Wild Card Weekend Weekly Words.

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Surprise Saturday, Scripted Sunday

Surprise Saturday! - After passing the football 290 times more than they ran it in the regular season, the Arizona Cardinals showed a rare balance in their play calling on Saturday, throwing the ball 32 times, while rushing it 28.

Scripted Sunday! - The Baltimore Ravens, as was the norm this season, relied heavily on their running game, rushing the ball a full 10 times more than they threw it. With rookie quarterback, Joe Flacco, completing just nine of 23 passes, it's a good thing the Ravens had a solid ground game to turn to.

Surprise Saturday! - The running back to do the most damage Saturday, despite big names like Michael Turner, LaDainian Tomlinson, and Joseph Addai also taking the field, was Chargers' back-up Darren Sproles, who went for 328 total yards on the day along with two TDs, including the game winner in the Chargers upset over the Colts.

Scripted Sunday! - The running back to do the most damage Sunday was Vikings' running back, Adrian Peterson, who went for 83 yards and two scores. Peterson leading the running back charge on Sunday was no surprise as the back was second only to Turner when it came to fantasy points this season among the wild card runners.

Surprise Saturday! - While giving up 331.5 yards per game over the regular season, good for just 19th in the league, the Arizona Cardinals buckled down, leading all post-season defenses as we head into the divisional round of the playoffs with just 250 yards allowed in their Wild Card win.

Scripted Sunday! - The Ravens, who led the NFL this season with 26 interceptions, forced Miami Dolphins' quarterback, Chad Pennington, to throw four interceptions in the Ravens victory.

Surprise Saturday! - Despite Peyton Manning going for over 300 yards passing and throwing a TD and Philip Rivers throwing for just 217 yards along with an interception, the Chargers came out on top of the Colts in Saturday's overtime thriller.

Scripted Sunday! - With Donovan McNabb throwing for 300 yards, a score, and an interception and Tarvaris Jackson hurling the ball for just 164 yards and an interception, the Eagles came out on top of the Vikings in Sunday's evening affair. 

Surprise Saturday! - Michael Turner, who averaged a hearty 4.5 yards per carry during the regular season, mustered just 2.33 yards per carry in Sunday's contest with the Cardinals, a team that allowed opponents' 4.0 yards per carry during the regular season.

Scripted Sunday! - As expected, the Minnesota Vikings' staunch run defense held Brian Westbrook in check on the ground, limiting the back to just 1.9 yards per carry; however, Westbrook showed why he's such a valuable commodity, exhibiting his dual threat ability by racking up 83 receiving yards and a score.

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