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MORNING AFTER – WILDCARD WEEKEND
January 11th – 6:18 AM

On January 8, 2000, I was selling TVs at Best Buy. I was in high school, working part-time during the winter months to save up for a spring break trip. Naturally, since January 8th was a Saturday during “playoff season,” I definitely made sure that all TVs in my section were tuned into NFL Wildcard Weekend.

If you’re doing the math in your head, January 8, 2000, was the day that one of the greatest playoff games in NFL history occurred. The very first game of the 1999-00 NFL playoffs took place at Adelphia Coliseum in Nashville, Tennessee. This was the day that the “Music City Miracle” would occur.

What was even more interesting for me on this day was the fact that, while the “Miracle” was happening, I was watching history unfold next to a Chiefs player. He was looking to usher in a new television to his home and I was an eager teenager hoping to notch a sale and excited about spending time with a professional football player.

Seconds after the game I remember saying to the Chief, “Wow, what a game.”

“It was terrible,” he responded.

“What?” I shot back.

“They’re all terrible this time of year when you’re not part of them,” he confirmed.

Fair enough. This is also the type of empty feeling many Chiefs fans felt when this weekend’s first slate of games kicked off. I know that I felt that way, at least. It’s now been three long seasons since the Chiefs made a postseason appearance. The team in which we all love has only posted 10 victories since the final tick of that Wildcard game at Indianapolis in 2007.

Still, if you’re a Chiefs fan, then you’re likely a football fan as well. Playoffs are must-see TV for the entire football world, regardless of whether or not your team a participant.

With that said, let’s “Take 5” for each of this weekend’s Wildcard matchups.

Jets 24, Bengals 14
1. J-E-T-S…JETS, JETS, JETS! It’s kind of catchy.

2. Some people say that CB Darrelle Revis is arguably the best cornerback in football. Personally, I don’t see where the argument comes in. Revis limited WR Chad Ochocinco without a catch until the fourth quarter and to just 28 yards overall. He also picked off a second quarter pass intended for Johnson (err, Ochocinco). Take a look at what Revis has done to opposing #1 targets this season.

• Andre Johnson: Week 1 vs. Revis: 4 catches for 45 yards.

• Randy Moss: Week 2 vs. Revis: 4 catches for 24 yards; Week 11 vs. Revis: 5 catches, 31 yards, 1 TD

• Marques Colston: Week 4 vs. Revis: 2 catches for 33 yards.

• Terrell Owens: Week 6 vs. Revis: 3 catches for 13 yards; Week 13 vs. Revis: 3 catches for 31 yards.

• Mike Sims Walker: Week 10 vs. Revis: 2 catches 23 yards (had a 26-yard touchdown that game, but Revis was not in coverage).

• Steve Smith (Carolina edition): Week 12 vs. Revis: 1 catch for 5 yards.

• Antonio Bryant: Week 14 vs. Revis: 2 catches for 22 yards.

• Roddy White: Week 15 vs. Revis: 4 catches for 33 yards.

• Reggie Wayne: Week 16 vs. Revis: 3 catches for 33 yards (only played a half).

• Chad Ochocinco: Week 17 vs. Revis: 0 catches for 0 yards, 4 targets.

3. How about the rooks? QB Mark Sanchez and RB Shonn Greene combine for 217 yards as the youngsters went wild in the jungle. A perfect game for a rookie QB – 12-of-15 with no picks and no sacks.

4. For every team like the 2008 Arizona Cardinals, who stumbled into the playoffs, yet went on to the Super Bowl, there are many more team who fall into line with how they finish. Cincinnati didn’t play well during the latter part of the season and it translated into an early exit. Cincinnati looked pretty similar to the team we saw in Week 15.

5. Actual headline in NY Daily News – “After wild-card victory, you can call New York Jets coach Rex Ryan ‘The Rexorcist.”

Cowboys 34, Eagles 14
1. Did you not want to throw something at the TV while watching this one? As we were reminded of Dallas’ drought of playoff wins, we were unfortunately reminded of Kansas City’s as well.

2. This game was decided early, but the battle between WR Jeremy Maclin and S Ken Hamlin was worth watching until the end.

3. How good is Felix Jones when he’s healthy?

4. The fumbled snap in Seattle (2007) and the shaky play vs. the Giants (2008) seem like an afterthought today. Dallas QB Tony Romo stared his “playoff loser” label in the eye and turned in a near-perfect performance that churned out a 104.9 QB rating. A second-consecutive blowout win over an extremely talented Eagles squad has Dallas looking like the team to beat in the NFC.

5. Wade Phillips has to be the most underappreciated head coach in all of football.

Ravens 33, Patriots 14
1. 52 runs? Did the Ravens borrow the playbook from their collegiate neighbors in Annapolis, Maryland? How impressive was Baltimore in owning the line of scrimmage on Sunday?

2. Say what you want about QB Joe Flacco. The guy certainly isn’t flashy, but he’s churned out three postseason victories over his first two seasons as a pro.

3. Was this game played on Jupiter? This certainly couldn’t have been the place that QB Tom Brady led the Pats to an 8-0 record this season and won 23 consecutive starts, could it?

4. Baltimore had an up-and-down season defensively, but they certainly turned it on yesterday. Just like in the early 2000s of defensive dominance LB Ray Lewis, who turned in an excellent game, led Baltimore.

5. After a long WR Julian Edelman punt return, Kevin Harlan went with the Bill King-coined phrase “Holy Toledo” to put an exclamation point on the play. My, we were so close to a “pun intended.” Too bad Toledo lost that MAC recruiting battle with Kent State for Edelman’s services.

Cardinals 51, Green Bay 45
1. Attention Kurt Warner: you’re not ready to retire. That patented quick-release, built in the arena league, is still there and as effective as ever. Five TDs and only four incompletions. That’s good, right?

Warner’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

2. They say that defense wins championships. How bizarre was it that defense ended up winning this epic offensive battle which resembled the Chiefs/Colts “no punt” game of the 2003-04 postseason? In the Cardinals case, defense wins in overtime.

3. No disrespect to WR Anquan Boldin, he’s a fine receiver and he certainly would have been an asset on Sunday. But Boldin’s absence was overblown in pre-game coverage. Kurt Warner is just that good. He found a way to toss for 379 yards and five TDs despite missing one of his elite receivers.

4. A season’s worth of highlight reel receptions can be carved out of this one.

5. There seems to be a lot of confusion about the final play of the game as there was “tuck rule” controversy, a roughing the passer-like blow to the dome and a face mask all on the same game-deciding hit to Packers QB Aaron Rogers.

To iron it all out…

• The “tuck rule” is only used on an incomplete pass and the ball never hit the ground on that play (but it was ruled a fumble, not an INT…I know, confusing).

• Rules also state that “roughing the passer” cannot be called on a fumble.

Closing Thoughts
• Both AFC division champs post a goose egg in the opening round. This is what makes the NFL so great. It doesn’t matter how you’ve gotten there, it only matters that you’ve punched a ticket. Everybody plays a one-game season in the playoffs.

• Take a look at these quarterback matchups for next weekend – Manning vs. Flacco; Romo vs. Favre; Warner vs. Brees; Sanchez vs. Rivers.

• The Chiefs have found their feature back for 2010 in Jamaal Charles. As the team builds for the future, however, many fans would like to see the team add a primary bruiser to give Charles an effective breather when need-be. Even if it’s not a situation that “splits carries,” the league’s best rushing attacks typically feature two or more backs that consistently compliment each other well. The mix seems to work well.

With that said, take a look at the backfield mates of this weekend’s winners…

Jets – Thomas Jones and Shonn Greene

Ravens – Ray Rice, Willis McGahee and LaRon McClain

Cowboys – Felix Jones, Marion Barber, Tashard Choice

Cardinals – Tim Hightower, Beanie Wells