For those who took the over in the Jets/Colts game Sunday, what a difference a quarter makes. The game was scoreless at the end of the first quarter, yet the teams had totaled 30 points at halftime…What an effort by New York. Ironically, the last person to blame for the loss was Mark Sanchez, as the defense gave up its most yards in a game all season, and the team's rushing attack was actually far less effective than Indy's. The Jets didn't win a single game (0-6) when allowing more than 17 points this season…I was waiting for Brad Smith to throw from that formation. Yes, the ball was (pretty badly) underthrown, but when you have a receiver that open, and you're attempting the first pass of your NFL career, far better to underthrow than overthrow. And the team scored on the drive anyway…Sanchez's elusiveness is underrated. And for a QB with (much) worse stats over his first 15 NFL starts than JaMarcus Russell, I'm beginning to think Sanchez will ultimately have the better career…Rex Ryan absolutely was right being pissed for the no-call when Sanchez was destroyed after a handoff. Like he said, if that happened to Peyton Manning, he would have probably been escorted out of the building. Speaking of Ryan, I love how he completely gave the Colts credit after the game, essentially saying this team is the best he's faced and New York has a long ways to go to be in their class. He's cocky, but Ryan's not stupid…What was up with the Jets being so conservative in the second half?...For the most part, running back is the most overrated position in the NFL, but there's no doubting Shonn Greene's injury was a big deal. Thomas Jones, who is probably more injured than we have been let on, was a pretty obvious downgrade. And as for the Colts, you won't find someone who's been more critical of Joseph Addai than me in the past (and as a result, I lost out on an excellent value in fantasy leagues in 2009), and I was the first one making the "Addai is in the locker room dealing with a bad case of PMS" jokes when he left the field Sunday. But you know what, the guy returned and played a great game, hitting holes hard, blocking well (as always), and it's so apparent Addai is a superior player to Donald Brown right now. And I guarantee Peyton Manning agrees. Addai did lose a fumble, but that came on a jail break when the defender hit him immediately, and ball security in general is another point in his favor (he's fumbled just two times over his past 635 carries since his rookie season. Put differently, he's the anti-Adrian Peterson)…Is there a luckier person in all of sports than Jim Caldwell?...I get the fact Indy rested its players over the final 1.5 games didn't adversely affect their performance in the postseason, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't have been cool to see a team go 19-0…Do you realize that during the coin toss, the referee said, ''The New York Giants call tails.'' I tell ya, the Jets get no respect. (My favorite Rodney Dangerfield joke: "I saved a woman from getting attacked today. Yeah I changed my mind.")…At this point, the only relevancy Anthony Gonzalez has in 2010 is how much will he hurt Pierre Garcon's budding star status?...Catching is a pretty important part of being a receiver, I'd say, but other than spotty (terrible?) hands, Braylon Edwards is a very good WR, consistently getting separation from DBs. As a result, he improved the Jets' running game, and few wideouts in the history of the league are good enough to catch 80-yard touchdowns in Championship games…With Manning an obvious no-show, this year's Pro Bowl will apparently make past efforts seem like a playoff atmosphere. Vince Young? David Garrard? As far as Miami goes, I'm more interested in Burger King starting to serve beer there than that game…Saying Peyton Manning was fantastic Sunday doesn't do him justice. You see, sometimes when players reach a status such as him, greatness is expected, and the only time his play is really worth noting is when he fails. I rarely get historical (or sappy), but we are all lucky as hell right now – we are watching the Michael Jordan of the NFL in his prime. He made the Jets' defense, quite possibly the best unit of this decade, (h/t Mike Salfino), look feeble Sunday, posting 30 points over the final three quarters, completing 66.7 percent of his passes for 9.7 YPA with a 3:0 TD:INT ratio, making guys named Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon look like stars on the biggest stage of the biggest sport in America.

It wasn't the smoothest game ever, but the NFC Championship was still memorable and close to a classic, with fumbles being the overriding story (which is the worst kind, since they are the most random part of football). Of course, New Orleans deserves credit for doing a terrific job of hitting the ball out of the Vikings' hands, but Percy Harvin and especially Adrian Peterson were bordering on pathetic…Sean Payton still underused Pierre Thomas, but it's fairly clear what the coach really thinks of Mike Bell after two postseason games…Pretty crazy (funny?) that both Brett Favre's final passes as a Packer and in an NFL uniform were intercepted (assuming he retires, which of course, remains to be seen. Naturally). I'm hardly going to kill Favre though. He dealt with horrible conditions Sunday and was constantly under duress, and as bad as his last pass was, he played well enough for Minny to win, and despite the three turnovers in the box score (his one fumble was clearly Peterson's fault), it's hard not to say the Vikings didn't outplay the Saints (475 yards to 257. 5.8 YPP vs. 4.7)…How many fumbles would it take for it to truly affect Peterson's playing time? I mean, this has past become an epidemic, but really, this isn't Steve Slaton we are talking about. Could AP put the ball on the carpet another 8-10 times next season without consequence? Probably, right?...One of my favorite parts of Sunday's contest was the shot of Bourbon Street about 25 minutes before the game ended and then the subsequent view right after it was finished. It wouldn't be a bad time to be in New Orleans right now…An absolutely crazy stat from Scott Pianowski entering this week: Since 1970, there have been 78 Championship games, and when the line is fewer than 10 points, the team winning the game was a perfect 65-0-2 ATS. So of course, the Vikings lose yet cover Sunday…I criticized Joe Buck and Troy Aikman enough live, so I'm saving my breath (and words) here, but let's just say I don't quite agree with Fox's assessment that Buck should be announcing such important athletic events…Last week word broke that the spread would be Colts -3 if they were matched up with the Saints in the Super Bowl, but unsurprisingly, the line opened at -4.5 or -5 Sunday night. For the most part, taking the dog in Super Bowls has been highly favorable over the past decade, and this is the rare instance of two No. 1 seeds meeting up. It certainly appears like it should be a great game on paper, but for some reason, I see the Colts rolling. Maybe New Orleans covers, but Indy is the best team this year, and I fully expect them to show that in Super Bowl XLIV (I think that means 45).