Saturday Divisional Round Recap

This sensational weekend of football kicked off with a fantastic game that featured much more scoring than ever imagined. The Baltimore Ravens jumped out to a 21-7 lead early and thoroughly dominated the first half of this dichotomous football game. The Steelers, however, were not prepared to go quietly into the night and roared back in the second half, outscoring the Ravens 24-3. The Ravens demise was keyed by inopportune turnovers and a complete lack of offensive proficiency in the second half, both running and passing. Joe Flacco completed just over 50 percent of his passes with a touchdown and an interception. Similarly, the usually strong running game of the Ravens managed an anemic 1.9 yards per carry. The Ravens came into this season with what seemed like a loaded offense largely due to an upgraded receiving core with key additions T.J. Houshmanzadeh and Anquan Boldin. Despite these huge pick ups, a promising young quarterback, and a solid running game, once again offensive miscues that have sent the Ravens packing.

The second game of the day was a close game that turned into a laugher with one key Matt Ryan mistake. The Green Bay Packers were leading the Atlanta Falcons by a touchdown with under a minute left in the first half and the Falcons were in prime scoring position. Ryan dropped back, fired the ball to an out-route, and was intercepted by cornerback Tramon Williams, who returned the ball seventy yards for a mesmerizing touchdown. The Falcons and their fans came out flat in the second half, and the Packers continued their clinical domination of the NFC's top seed. Keying the Packer offense was one of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL, Aaron Rodgers, who threw for 366 yards and 3 touchdowns while only missing on 5 passes. He completely outplayed his fellow young counterpart in Ryan who continues to struggle in his brief playoff career. After such an outstanding regular season for the Falcons, it will undoubtedly be a long and difficult off-season after this embarrassment.