NFL Wild Card Round: Brees, Manning, Vick Out and The 8-9 Seahawks Still Alive

I know, I know, once the playoffs start then everyone is back to 0-0. 

Still, when a 7-9 ball club makes the postseason for the first time, as the Seattle Seahawks did with their clunker win over St. Louis in the last game of the regular season, suddenly their record does hold significance.

When the Seahawks lose again, because I don't think anyone has them winning four straight, then they will be the first playoff team ever to have ten culmative losses.

Having said all of that, the Seahawks are pro players just like those on the New Orleans Saints and despite being a heavy home underdog, once the ball is kicked, it is just another football game.

The Marshawn Lynch 67 yard touchdown run is the stuff of legends and was the defining moment of the Seahawk win.

Did you see Matt Hasselbeck, in what might be his last game ever for the Seahawks, running down field to throw a horrible block behind the run?

In Pete Carroll's return to the NFL playoffs, he and his staff simply outcoached the defending Super Bowl champs and their coach Sean Payton. The script was the opposite of the Saints last playoff game, when they fell down to the Colts 10-0 then ran over them to finish the game on a 31-10 run. 

This time around, the Saints went up 10-0 then saw the Seahawks blitz them for 41 points.

Drew Brees looked defeated as early as the third quarter and was forced to throw the ball 60 times in the loss. The Saints loss of two running backs thrust Reggie Bush into a leading role and despite his status as a No. 2 pick and all of the riches that came with that, he is a glorified third down back inching toward bust status in the NFL.

Next up on this improbable run for the Seahawks is a trip to Chicago for a clash with the Bears. All of the pressure will be on Chicago and their quarterback Jay Cutler, as the Seahawks have been disrespected repeatedly for the whole season and are now playing with house money.

Memo to Rodney Harrison, you really have a lot of crow to eat with your "analysis" of the Seattle Seahawks.

LaDainian Tomlinson had one of his best playoff games ever, with two huge touchdowns in the New York Jets' upset win over the Indianapolis Colts and their Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning.

Rex Ryan beat Manning for the first time and another curious case of poor clock management by Colts coach Jim Caldwell helped the Jets down the stretch.

Who knew that when kicker Adam Vinatieri nailed that 50 yarder to give the Colts the lead that they left too much time on the clock for young QB Mark Sanchez, who now has a 3-1 playoff record if you need him.

Antonio Cromartie's clutch kickoff return and Braylon Edwards actually making a big catch led to Nick Folk's last second field goal that once again ended Peyton Manning's season without him hoisting the Lombardi trophy.

Next up for the Jets is a rematch with the New England Patriots, who did run up the score on the Jets in their Monday Night game.

After the game, Rex Ryan said he wanted to play them again and now you are in game prep for that very wish. 

The Baltimore Ravens finished what the Oakland Raiders started in the Kansas City Chiefs last game of the regular season by beating up the AFC West champs.

After starting the season with a 7-0 home record, the Chiefs are now 0-2 in their last two games at Arrowhead and are done for the season.

The real star in this AFC playoff match-up was offensive coordinator Cam Cameron, who found every conceivable way to get the ball to tight end Todd Heap. Kansas City defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel had no answers to stop the Ravens tight end and Charlie Weiss's offense did not help with five turnovers.

Next up for the Ravens is a grudge match against the Pittsburgh Steelers.  

The final game of Wild Card Weekend was a rematch from the first game of the year between the Green Bay Packers and the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Packers knocked Philly QB Kevin Kolb out of the game and that paved the way for Mike Vick's amazing season.

The Packers fought through a myriad of injuries all year, including two concussion to their stud QB Aaron Rodgers to make it into the NFC playoffs and many believe that they might be playing the best football in the NFC right now.

The Packers also found closure from the Brett Favre era as they now have a playoff win without him and the guy they chose over him led the team to that win with three touchdowns.

The Mike Vick year of redemption is now over and he would be wise to flee Philly now. His contract is up and things can only get worse for him in one of the toughest sport towns in the country.

Andy Reid led his team to an overachieving season, but again had some curious calls in yet another playoff loss.

Chief of those was a third and two play where he took the ball out of the hands of the most dynamic player on the field, Mike Vick.

Next up for the Packers is a game with the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons have been the best team in the NFC for awhile now and the Packers look like the kind of team that can take that mantle from the Falcons.