Two Upsets

Ass Meets Class

I didn’t get to watch much of either game, but somehow both the Chargers and the Cardinals have made it through to the next round of the playoffs. That’s right. The Chargers, who struggled to finish the season at .500, and the Cardinals, who earned their spot by winning the second-weakest division in football. 

It makes sense that a veteran like Kurt Warner would fare better in the playoffs than the rookie Matt Ryan, although the Cardinals’ (undeserved?) home field advantage certainly helped as well. The Colts, though, have no such excuse. Indy was hurt by some poor penalties in key situations to keep the Chargers’ overtime drive alive, as well as by the fact that they only got 64 yards rushing. This compared to San Diego’s 167 rushing yards, despite losing Tomlinson to a groin injury in the first half. Darren Sproles atoned for his early fumble in the end zone by following it up with two touchdowns and over a hundred yards in a surprisingly key performance. The Colts simply weren’t able to close the door on them, and the Chargers took advantage with a late field goal to force overtime and a lucky coin toss to start the extra period. 

It’s disappointing, because I like this new Falcons team (and coach) and I detest Philip Rivers, but I can deal with it since neither the Patriots nor the Cowboys made it to the playoffs at all. (Did I mention? Ha ha to both of those suckers.) If the Eagles can perform the reasonable task of taking out the Vikings tomorrow, the weekend will still be a success, regardless of how the Baltimore-Miami game turns out. Although, for the record, I will say go Pennington. Rub some salt in the wounds of disappointed Jets fans crying in their Wrangler jeans.