NFL Playoff Wrap Up: Saturday Edition

Well, that was fun. Two games, two upsets. One bigger than the other, but none the less, upsets all around.

Seattle Over New Orleans, 41-36

The Saints went into Seattle without starting safety Malcolm Jenkins, but someone probably should have told coach Sean Payton he was allowed to put in another one. For three quarters, it looked like New Orleans was in the power play, seeming to play defense a man down.

Four different times, a Seattle receiver was the deepest man down the field, and all four times, Matt Hasselbeck lobed a pass to them for a touchdown. After falling behind 17-7 early, the Seahawks took over and scored 27 of the next 30 points.

While the passing games dominated the stat sheet (Brees and Hasselbeck combined for 676 passing yards), it was two running plays that decided the game.

The first was Julius Jones' fumble at the 9:01 mark in the first half. The Saints were up 17-14 and with the ball. Up to this point, their offense was rolling through Seattle. They had over 160 yards and scored on three of their first four possessions. With nine minutes left, if the Saints could drive and score, they'd would have probably had a nice 10-point cushion at the half.

Instead, on the first play of the drive, Jones fumbled, handing the ball back to Seattle at the Saints 18. The Seahawks would only get a field goal out of it, but the score was tied and you just knew we had a ball game.

Fast forward to the four-minute mark in the fourth quarter. Seattle had the ball and was up seven. They needed some first downs. Everyone knew if Brees got another shot, he'd make it rain. Marshawn Lynch took care of that.

The Seattle running back had one of the greatest runs in playoff history. He broke seven tackles (enough to allow his blocking to get back in front of him) and score the deciding touchdown.

They don't call him "Beast Mode" for nothing now. Personally, I would have gone with "The Beast Master" only so I can reference this movie every single freaking day.

Anyhow, the New Orleans defense should be embarrassed. They gave 405 total yards to this team. They sacked a 36-year-old quarterback only once and made the league's second worst rushing attack look like the '72 Dolphins.

I wonder how many calls defensive coordinator Greg Williams is getting now for heading coaching vacancies.

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