How often does a team beat the 15-1 squad by 17 in their building? The Giants defense held the Packers to 20 points (really 13 if they don't get that horrendous roughing-the-passer call on 3rd-and-10) after shutting out the Falcons completely (their only score was on a safety). While they got some pressure on Aaron Rodgers, the key was the secondary completely preventing any downfield plays, something the Packers thrived on all year.
The Giants have three big-play receivers who can score from anywhere at any point. They still can't run the ball, Week 18's success against the Falcons notwithstanding,
Arian Foster isn't just the best fantasy back - he might be the best real-life back, too. My top five for next year? Probably Foster, Calvin Johnson, LeSean McCoy, Ray Rice and Aaron Rodgers (assuming he doesn't lose the job to Matt Flynn). I could see an argument for Brees - who passed for 462 yards and four scores against the 49ers - over Rodgers, too.
Speaking of which - the top two picks in most playoff fantasy leagues - Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers got a total of three games between them. Still Brees had 928 yards and seven TDs in his two games - which is what you'd expect out of a good three-game QBs, so you could still win with him.
The Packers and Saints losses show that while "defense wins championships" might be an outdated adage, you need at least |STAR|some|STAR| defense to win. The 1984 Miami Dolphins were another unbalanced all-time offensive team to go down to a better-rounded opponent. And the Super Bowl winning Saints and Packers squads played far better defense than this year's versions. The Patriots are the last offense-only team still alive, but all they had to do so far was beat the Broncos at home.
Incidentally, the Super Bowl line before last weekend had the NFC favored by four points over the AFC. The AFC is now a four-point favorite over the NFC. (Hat Tip: RJ Bell).
The Texans outplayed the Ravens who shockingly couldn't pull away at home with a 17-3 lead. Still, I'm buying Baltimore low off a so-so performance against a tough opponent and selling the Pats high after an impressive showing against a weak one.
The 49ers-Saints game was top-10 in NFL history. The Patriots-Broncos game was not.
Justin Smith has been a star player for several years, but his overpowering tackle Jermon Bushrod and shoving him right into Drew Brees en route to a sack was monstrous.
Vernon Davis would probably be in the same class as Rob Gronkowski or Jimmy Graham if he played on a team like that. Incidentally, if Gronkowski qualified at WR, where would he rank there next year? Second?
Alex Smith deserves some respect - he's been a caretaker mostly due to circumstances this year (great defense), but against the Saints he had to do more than that, and he did. He's also more nimble that most realized, something he showed on his 28-yard TD scamper, a truly gutsy and brilliant call by offensive coordinator Greg Roman on 3rd and 8.
I had the 49ers +3.5 which looked good most of the game, but when the Saints scored and made their two-point conversion to go up three, and the 49ers drove down the field, it looked like overtime - with the rules strongly incentivizing the team with the ball first to score a touchdown - was a strong possibility. Thankfully, Jim Harbaugh had the courage to play aggressively for the win on the last play, rather than settle for the guaranteed field goal.
If you waited on quarterbacks in your playoff league and got stuck with Smith and Tim Tebow, or Smith and Stafford, you're probably doing just fine.
The Broncos wouldn't have won anyway, but why was John Fox calling so many running plays down 28 points in the second half? And why did the Broncos kick a late field goal?