FOXBOROUGH, MA. – The New England Patriots returned to the postseason for the first time since losing to the New York Giants in the Super Bowl two years ago, and suffered another defeat this time at the hands of the Baltimore Ravens.

The Ravens jumped out to a quick lead and never looked back, blowing out the Pats 33-14.

After winning the opening coin toss the Patriots and Bill Belichick deferred and elected to put the ball in the hands of the Ravens offense. On the first play from scrimmage, running back Ray Rice was handed the ball, saw an opening and left the Patriots’ defense in the dust, sprinting for an 83-yard touchdown and 7-0 lead.

On the Patriots’ first series, Tom Brady dropped back to pass but the ball was stripped and recovered by Terrrell Suggs. A few plays later Leron McClain plunged in from the one for another TD and a 14-0 lead, stunning the Patriots and silencing the Foxborough crowd.

The tone was set and from that point on, the Ravens defense owned the Patriots.

An interception led to another score and before the Patriots could catch their breath they were down 24-0 drawing boos from the Patriots fans. The Ravens defense led by All-Pro Ray Lewis forced three turnovers that produced 17 points in the first half. New England had only given up 44 points off turnovers during the entire regular season.

Playing without wide receiver Wes Welker, the only New England bright spot in the first half came on a 1 yard touchdown reception by Julian Edelman which cut the lead to 24-7 and at least assured the once-mighty Patriots that they would not be shutout.

The Ravens relied on their running game as Joe Flacco was unimpressive completing just 4-of-10 passes for 34 yards with one interception.

Ray Rice led the run attack gaining 159 yards taking two to the house. Willis McGahee added another 62 yards on the ground and one touchdown while fullback Leron McClain added another score giving the Ravens 4 rushing TDs on the day. This was a huge swing. In the previous three meetings between these same two teams, the Ravens failed to put the ball in the end zone via the run.

Tom Brady who was pressured much of the day by the aggressive stingy Raven defense was able to hook up with Julian Edelman for another touchdown in the second half giving Edelman his second score of the game. Edelman finished with 6 receptions for 44 yards and showed some promise for the future.

The loss was the first playoff loss for Brady on home field in his career. He finished 23-of-42 for 154 yards and 3 INTs.

After taking slack from the national media for going for it on 4th down while deep in his own end of the field against the Colts; a decision that led to a loss, you have to wonder if Bill Belichick is regretting not taking the ball when his team won the opening coin toss.

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Copyright © 2010 – Sports Climax

This weekends’ AFC wildcard playoff round has two great match-ups.

The New York Jets travel to Cincinnati for a rematch to face the Bengals who suffered a beat down of epic proportions at the hands of the Jets in Week 17. The Bengals, playing without running back Cedric Benson who was granted a day off for rest, were dominated on both sides of the ball that game and virtually smothered by the Jets’ defense.

Carson Palmer statistically had the worst day of his pro career, going 1-of-11, 0 yards, 1 INT. Chad Ochocinco played like his hands were tied behind his back as he was contained by the Jets shutdown corner Darrelle Revis and held without a single catch. The dismal Bengals offense were held to just 72 total yards.

On the other sideline, the Jets produced 257 yards of offense with their potent rushing attack led by Thomas Jones and Mark Sanchez did a great job managing the game without turning the ball over.

The Jets showed why they are one of the most feared defenses in the NFL. They lead the league in several main categories in defense and confused and dominated the Bengals. This weeks’ matchup of former USC quarterbacks may make believers out of Mark Sanchez doubters, including his ex-coach at USC, Pete Carroll.

After a solid 3-0 start, Sanchez came down to earth and started playing like a rookie until the end of the season when he finished with good performances down the stretch to help get the Jets into the playoffs.

Do not expect a repeat of that blowout last week. Cincinnati will be playing in front of a raucous home crowd with Benson back in the pads, which may prove to be difficult for even the Jets and their defense.

In the other AFC game, the Baltimore Ravens travel to New England to take on the Patriots.

Quarterback Tom Brady and his Pats will be without Wes Welker who suffered a left knee injury last week and has been put on the IR.

Look for Julian Edelman to step up in Welker’s absence. Edelman was drafted this year out of Kent State in the 7th round after being a three-year starter at quarterback.

As a senior he led the team in rushing with 1,551 yards on 215 carries and 7.5 yards per carry average, finding the end zone 13 times as a rusher and passing for another 13 touchdowns. These numbers set a record, surpassing Joshua Cribbs single season record for yards from scrimmage.

With Randy Moss drawing double coverage, this could leave Edelman the speedy receiver open downfield for a few big plays. If he is able to get open, Tom Brady should have no problem finding him and making the tough Ravens defense pay.

Expect this one to come down to whoever wins the turnover battle. A week after winning the comeback player of the year award, don’t expect Brady to have too many problems adjusting to life without Welker.

Copyright © 2010 – Sports Climax

MINNESOTA – After a lackluster December that included a conflict with coach Brad Childress that was caught on national television, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre appears primed and ready for the playoffs.

After leading his Vikings to a 1-3 record in December, with the lone win coming against The Cincinatti Bengals in Week 14, the New Year started on a high note for the 40-year-old slinger when Favre led the Vikings to a lopsided 44-7 win against the New York Giants on Sunday.

Favre was 25-of-31 for 316 yards and threw 4 touchdown passes and no interceptions. Favre’s performance on Sunday as well as that of his supporting cast secured the Vikings a second seed in the playoffs and a well-deserved first round bye.

The extra week of rest should be favorable for Favre and earning that second seed also assured no outdoor games for the Vikings. After hosting their first game at the indoor Metrodome, the Vikings only road game would be against the New Orleans Saints if they both won their match-ups.

Favre has been outstanding this season, leading the Vikings to a 12-4 record while completing 363-of-531 passes for 4,202 yards. Known for a high career TD/interception ratio, Favre corrected that tossing 33 TD passes and throwing only 7 to the wrong colored jersey all year. Last year with the New York Jets he led the NFL with 22 INTs. His passer rating this year is also one of the highest of his career at 107.2.

Expect Favre and the Vikings to be well rested and come out with a vengeance for their opening round game on January 17, and while their opponent has yet to be determined, you have to like their chances.

Favre proved many of his critics wrong, coming out of retirement and showing there is a lot of life left in his arm. With the slinger in sync with receivers Sidney Rice, Bernard Berrian and potential rookie-of-the-year Percy Harvin and the Vikings running game back on track with Adrian Peterson, expect them to go deep into the playoffs and possibly to the Super Bowl on February 7th.

Last year it took Fox Sports showing Visanthe Shiancoe in the buff during a live telecast to turn heads and give the Vikings an onslaught of media attention. This year the Vikings are doing it by putting Brett Favre behind center.

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Copyright © 2010 – Sports Climax

MIAMI – The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 30-24 victory over the Miami Dolphins was bittersweet. The win secured a winning season but leaves questions.

What happened to the defending Super Bowl champs?

Coach Mike Tomlin’s defensive group has lost their edge. The loss of Troy Polamalu was huge this season. The defense looked lost at times without the Pro Bowl defensive back but every team deals with injuries and teams exposed other holes in their defense.

A defense known in past seasons for shutting down teams was shaky again on Sunday in Miami. Prior to this week, the Steelers defense blew fourth quarter leads in 5 of 7 losses with all those losses being by seven points or less, that is a huge stat.

Ben Roethlisberger has proven he can win with his arm like he did in the dramatic win in the final seconds against Green Bay but he was only in that position after his defense blew a 22-point lead in the 2nd half of that game.

The Steelers self-imploded mid-season, becoming the first Super Bowl champions to ever go on a five-game losing streak the year after winning the title. Three of those losses were against Cleveland, Oakland and Kansas City, teams with losing records.

On Sunday, the Steelers’ opening drive of 12 plays ate 6:58 off the clock and the second drive (6 plays 67 yards) led to another score making the Steelers faithful hope for a dominating win. Ben looked poised and confident with two plays of 20+ yards. There was even a Willie Parker sighting mid 2nd quarter.

The defense was stepping up and making plays early in the game but in the fourth quarter, they again squandered a lead, allowing the Dolphins to score two TDs and make it a three-point game.

Jeff Reed later added another field goal for a 6-point Steelers win but again, the absence of the killer instinct of the defense leaves many questions.

As all this was happening in South Florida, the Houston Texans came back to defeat New England in their game, creating a scenario that needed three teams to lose in the afternoon games for the Steelers to back into the playoffs.

It didn’t happen and now the Steelers faithful can put away the yellow towels and hope for better year in 2010, looking ahead to the NFL Draft day and September camp.

Copyright © 2010 – Sports Climax