Divisional Round Recap: Blount Bullies Colts Advancing New England

Indianapolis-New England never really struck me as a rivalry like CBS Sports tried to claim on Saturday night. It was more like Tom Brady versus Peyton Manning, an individualistic rivalry, with the two teams being caught in the middle of it. But as individual rivalries can spring up overnight, ask any PGA golfer, meaning that if Andrew Luck could beat Brady in Foxboro on a wet, windy night, we could have a new NFL rivalry. Yet that did not happen as New England used their newfound power running game along with Luck's inconsistent performance to win this football game in blowout fashion.

New England really uses three running backs, and it seems to be a flavor of the week sort of thing like you might see at a Baskin Robbins or if you catch yourself listening to American Hi-Fi. Usually the flavor happened when the other two running backs find themselves in Bill Belichick's doghouse. LaGarrette Blount has been the bees knees in the last month for New England, and he delivered one of the best performances of his career with a physical rushing style the Patriots have not had on their team in a quite some time.  It is hard to remember a game where Tom Brady really had no hand in the game. Blount rolled Indianapolis' defense for 166 yards and four touchdowns on only 24 carries for nearly seven yards a game. 

Given Blount's recent explosion, is New England the 'hot' team in the playoffs? This team is completely different than some of the previous Patriots teams who rely on Brady to push them ahead. They actually have a running game where New England can control the clock and dominate time of possession. This is something the Patriots have not been able to do since the days of Corey Dillon. Brady threw for under 200 yards, did not throw a touchdown and granted he did not turn the ball over, but this team still scored 43 points. That should scare the remaining three teams in the playoffs. This team might have more injuries than anyone else, but they are the most dangerous team left. 

While he is one of the better young players in the league, Luck really did look like a young quarterback on Saturday night. He threw four interceptions albeit two were receiver issues; Luck made critical mistakes setting up New England in the best possible field possession. He also made some unreal passes especially the 38 yard touchdown to LaVon Brazill where you can see a Most Valuable Player award in his future. Inconsistency in a big game should be an expectation for a quarterback playing in only his third playoff game in his second full season. Indianapolis will definitely have another chance to make it in the coming years. The future is bright with this team, and Luck will only get better.

New England now heads to Denver where the reason people thought Indianapolis-New England was a rivalry, is why this is a rivalry game. These two teams have also met countless times in the playoffs adding more meaning to it. New England came back to win their first matchup where Blount only carried the ball two times for 13 yards. I have a feeling it will be a lot different this time around. 

Charlie.  

Wild Card Recap: Insanity in Indianapolis

I really do not remember much of Buffalo-Houston when backup Buffalo quarterback Frank Reich lead the Bills back from being down 35-3 against the Oilers. It is a faint memory of my early childhood as I was four at the time. I vaguely remember watching it with my dad in our old TV room we called 'the den.'  But Saturday's Kansas City-Indianapolis game will always be remembered. It is this generation's Buffalo-Houston, and how Colts pulled off the unthinkable with Kansas City puking on their cleats like they were the girl in The Exorcist. 

For many people, this will be the game they point to that vaulted Andrew Luck's career as an NFL quarterback. The first playoff win is crucial even if it is somewhat meaningless. All of the shit Tony Romo and Matt Ryan endured throughout their young career just because their team, not the player, could not win the game is ridiculous. Although Luck will not have the same #hotsportstake people saying he cannot win a big game. In fact, he will be known for his fourth quarter comebacks which is sort of a dumb stat too, but that's a discussion for another time. All and all, Andy Luck had himself a grown ass man win on the biggest stage in his young career.

The two biggest plays of the game when fumbles occurred in the second half. The first was a strip sack and the second, a rare Donald Brown fumble. When a team attempts to make a dramatic comeback like Indianapolis, they need to catch a break. When Indianapolis cut the lead to 38-17 early in the third quarter, Robert Mathis made a strip sack of Alex Smith on the very next possession. This is a play to expect from Mathis whose had 19 sacks this season having a career year at age 32. Mathis knew the beaten up Colts defense needed a play out of him and he made it happen out there. What's lost about that play is Kansas City drove down the field a bit before Mathis made the play setting up Indianapolis to continue their comeback.

Sometimes, the 'Announcer Jinx' is a real thing. NBC's broadcast crew of Dan Hicks and Mike Mayock mentioned how Donald Brown has never lost a fumble, and on a critical goal line carry, Brown fumbled the football. The ball laid out there, and Luck had the presence of mind to pick the ball up and snuck into the end zone for a touchdown. The fact he saw the hole still there from Brown running it, and did not just fall on it is sort of incredible. I do not think all quarterbacks are thinking about running it first rather they are probably just falling on the ball. This brought Indianapolis only down by three points.

After a Kansas City field goal, Luck found T.Y. Hilton behind the defense deep leading to a final touchdown giving Indianapolis the one-point lead with them climbing all the way up the 28-point hill. It was an incredible comeback, do not get me wrong, but the lack of defense being played felt like we were watching a college football game versus an actual National Football League game. Neither team really wanted to play defense at any point of this game and really all that mattered was not who had the ball last, but who made the last big play. Game could not have been more fun, but let's not excuse how bad both of these defenses were throughout the game.

Even the coldest human in the world has to feel for Kansas City in general. This is a team that has not won a playoff game since Bill Clinton was President and O.J. Simpson did not commit murder.  Also a team that won two games last year, and had a great season led by new coach Andy Reid. It seemed like the ultimate redemption story, but it did not happen meaning continued heartbreak for the Kansas City fanbase. Many people will question what Reid was thinking burning through this timeouts, but let's be honest, that is a staple of Reid's coaching career since he started with Philadelphia. We all should have seen it coming at some point this season.

Indianapolis heads to New England in what I would consider a rivalry. Granted, the rivalry started when Tom Brady and Peyton Manning were running things, but they played some classics in the postseason. Here's hoping Luck can carry on the rivalry into the next generation.

Charlie.