by Melanie Giedlin
Now that the postseason is in full swing, the remaining teams in the NFL are feeling the pressure to come out as the top dog in Superbowl XLV. After an eventful Wildcard Weekend, in which Superbowl XLIV champs the New Orleans Saints were eliminated in a 36-41 game against the Seattle Seahawks, the Indianapolis Colts lost 16-17 to the New York Jets, the Kansas Chiefs were steamrolled 7-30 by the Baltimore Ravens, and the Philadelphia Eagles were beaten 16-21 by the Green Bay Packers, many fans were left disappointed as their teams choked where it seemed to matter most. In particular, the Seahawks were finally able to shake off the ridicule heaped on them after a losing season when they beat the Saints, with Matt Hasselbeck throwing 4 touchdowns.
In the Divisional games, the competition got down to the wire. In the four games that were played, the Pittsburgh Steelers, Green Bay Packers, New York Jets and Chicago Bears emerged victorious. The Steelers knocked the AFC division playoff win right out of their division rivals’ hands with 1:33 minutes to go, getting a 7-point edge over the Ravens. Completing 31 out of 36 passes, quarterback Aaron Rodgers (Brett Favre who?) led the Packers all the way to the NFC championship game on, ending the Atlanta Falcons Superbowl aspirations after an impressive and seemingly untouchable 13-3 run in the NFC South. The Bears victory over the Seahawks (35-24) is setting the scene for an exciting rivalry game in the NFC championship game against the Green Bay Packers, this time with bigger stakes than before. Leaving mouths agape, The Jets won 28-21 over the New England Patriots, leaving mouths agape as runningback Shonn Greene scored a touchdown to eliminate the NFL team with the best record.
By the time you read this article we will know who will be the contenders in Superbowl XLV on February 6th. Who will take home the NFC championship, played our between rivals Bears and Packers on Soldier Field? In their meeting last September, the Bears won 20-17, but Packers were able to cling onto their 10-6 run on Jan 2 (Score: 10-3) to garner the sixth seed in the NFC. If Aaron Rodgers stays on top of his 22 TD/2 interception game, and Jay Cutler crumbles under Packers defense, especially cornerback Tramon Williams, it could spell victory for the Packers. As for the Jets/Steelers game, the Jets will seemingly stop at nothing to conquer the AFC. Quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Tom Brady couldn’t hold them; will Ben Roethlisberger, who’s been hitting hard this season, be able to? Roethlisberger himself has admitted that the Jets’ defense is going to be a challenge – however with safety Troy Polamalu back in the game along with receiver Hines Ward and wide receiver Mike Wallace it’s going to be a match-up that will be in a word, epic.
Lastly, let’s talk about Brett Favre, though there is not much to say. First there were the allegations of misconduct, following Jets employee Jenn Sterger’s claims Favre had sent her inappropriate messages and pictures, evidence posted on sports blog Deadspin.com As someone who has had a career comparatively clean of scandal, Favre suffered immediate backlash and had to pay a $50,000 fine to the NFL for failing to cooperate with the investigation. After his shoulder injury in the December 2nd game against the Buffalo Bills, his last NFL appearance on December 20th against the Chicago Bears, and a failed concussion test, it was easy to see the game was wearing on him. After stringing along fans with his near-retirements and moves from team to team, it’s official: as of January 17th 2011, Brett Favre has retired from the NFL. Then again, you probably would too if there were pictures of your junk all over the internet.
