Ravens, Cardinals, Eagles, o my!- This year’s final four is off and flying towards ain improbable conclusion to this whacky NFL season

SCOTT JACOBS

The Year of the Bird?  Or maybe the Year of the Upset?

This post-season has been arguably the wildest ever.  With three divsion playoff games in the books, there is a shot, a very possible one too, that the Baltimore Ravens (the AFC’s sixth seed) will hae the best record going into their championship game next week.  With Baltimore (11 wins), Arizona (9), and Philadelphia (9) advancing to the title games with impressive performances, they’ve set the stage for one of the most unprecedented final four’s the NFL has ever had.

The NFC title game will be played in Glendale, AZ of all places next week.  Instead of traveling back east into the cold frigid weather of Giants Stadium, Arizona gets to host their first NFC title game next week against the red hot and rejuvenated Eagles.  Remember that Thanksgving Night game on NFL Network when the Eagles were 5-5-1 and Arizona was shredded apart on national TV?  Well, I don’t remember thinking that these two teams would determine the NFC that night. But lo and behold, the Cardinals have put everything together, and the Eagles have used good fortune and great play to make it to the NFC championship.  Call it the improbable bowl, call it what you will.  Arizona free falled to the finish, and the Eagles looked done after losing to the Skins in week 16.  But the stars aligned for Philadelphia and Arizona started playing with pride and purpose.  And here we are: a 9 win team is going to the Super Bowl.

Other thoughts:

Boy Baltimore looks scary.  They took it to the Titans yesterday at the end, withstanding Tennessee’s long scoring drives and creating crucial turnovers.  Bend not break could get them into the Super Bowl.

Goodnight New York.  Think Plaxico’s absence from the Giants passing game wasn’t noticable at the end of this year?  They had no long distance passing game today.  None!  And remember that Carolina-New York Giants game on NBC Sunday Night football week 16?  Ya know, the future NFC title game rematch?  Well, both teams got home field.  Only they don’t get any more games to play.

Eli Manning, what the heck was that?  Manning was atrocious in his first playoff game since that ‘coming out party’ Super Bowl win.  But then again, that was in 2008.  It’s a new year, and the Giants looked like a completely different team today.

How about Philly’s defense?  On two huge fourth down plays the Eagles held.  And we’re talking situations of two yards or less both times.  Philly’s stout defensive line pushed and bullied the Giants all day long, and you could see that Eli never looked comfortable.

So much for that all Manning Super Bowl.  Yeah you can store it in the same box as that Bore Bowl that a Tennessee-Carolina Super Bowl matchup would have provided. But that doesn’t mean that there’s not some amazing potential Super Bowl matchups:

Arizona-Baltimore: Explosive offense versus NFL’s scariest defense?  That would be a fun one.  Strength versus strength.

Arizona-San Diego: The 8-8 Chargers versus the ‘worst NFL playoff team ever.’  That would probably be the highest scoring Super Bowl in NFL history. And it’d be a match-up of the two teams who won the worst divisions over the course of the regular season (the AFC West and NFC West).

Philadelphia-Pittsburgh: The Keystone State Super Bowl  (I’m not really a big fan of inner-state championships though).

Philadelphia-San Diego: The left for dead Super Bowl.  Neither team looked like they were headed for the playoffs, but the Chargers rode a four game winning streak to the AFC West title, and the Eagles won four of their last five to soar into the NFC’s sixth seed.

Philadelphia-Baltimore: The David versus David Bowl.  Ever thought you’d see the day where two six seeds made the Super Bowl?  Well, these might be the two strongest six seeds the NFL’s ever seen in one post-season.

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