After a wild divisional round, we now have the two championship games set, with Minnesota going to Philadelphia and New England hosting Jacksonville. Maybe these matchups are somewhat unexpected, but what was the overriding theme in each divisional round confrontation that brought us to this point?
We examine these developments in hashtag form:
Eagles 15, Falcons 10: #WinningInTheTrenches
Nick Foles started slowly, but eventually played at a level where the Eagles could move the football and he was no longer a detriment to the team. In the end, it was an efficient performance by Foles, but the key to him finally getting comfortable was great play up front.
The Eagles were the much more physical team in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Atlanta is lighter and more athletic in the defensive front seven and on a cold Philadelphia day, the Eagles big men manhandled them. Much of the Eagles' yardage came after the catch or from Jay Ajayi coming downhill and pounding the Falcons.
On the other side of the ball, Atlanta’s weakness at guard was noticeable, as Fletcher Cox was highly disruptive in all circumstances. On passing downs, Brandon Graham also attacked from the interior with great effectiveness. The Eagles were the more physical team Saturday. It all started with their big men on both sides of the ball and now they get to host another playoff game.
Patriots 35, Titans 14: #PatsDefensiveFront
This game obviously wasn’t competitive in the second half, and New England was clearly the better team. We could focus on the obvious, like Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski. But, instead, let's focus on a portion of the Patriots' roster that's often looked like an area of weakness: Their defensive front.
Everyone knew that if the Titans were to have a chance at winning, they would have to be dominant on the ground. Marcus Mariota ran for 37 yards on four carries, but Derrick Henry averaged a measly 2.3 yards per carry on a dozen attempts. Clearly, rushing for 65 yards on the road wasn’t going to get it done against New England.
Matt Patricia’s defense also has gotten better rushing the passer of late, which was on full display against Mariota, who was sacked eight times and was ineffective when pressured. Trey Flowers is New England’s best front-seven player and stood out in this contest. As usual, the Patriots are peaking at the right time and if they can turn a weakness such as their defensive front into a strength, they should be hoisting the Lombardi Trophy yet again.
Jaguars 45, Steelers 42: #JagsOLine
There are a lot of factors that came into play in this one, to say the least. Clearly, you could point to a terrible Steelers defensive performance and inability to stop Blake Bortles and Leonard Fournette from start to finish. Ben Roethlisberger was spectacular for most of the afternoon, but his two turnovers hurt a great deal.
Pittsburgh’s coaching staff and preparation also deserves a great deal of criticism. However, going into this game, the biggest advantage in Pittsburgh’s favor looked to be the matchup between their defensive front and a struggling Jaguars’ offensive line. That wasn’t how it played out at all. In fact, Jacksonville’s front five was exceptional in protection and pushed the Steelers around in the running game.
The Steelers, who led the NFL in sacks, blitzed quite a bit, but still didn’t pressure Bortles. They might not be household names, but Brandon Linder and Patrick Omameh played fantastic on the interior. Pittsburgh did so many things wrong in the game, but the matchup that favored them most went the opposite direction than expected.
Vikings 29, Saints 24: #Balance
Of course, the final play - aka “The Minnesota Miracle” - was a historic end to a huge game and was the difference in the Saints advancing or heading back to New Orleans. Stefon Diggs' huge game-winning play was remarkable, but he was a constant force in the game.
Since Case Keenum took over as the starter, he and Pat Shurmur have done tremendous things together. Shurmur has played to the quarterback's strengths and Keenum’s performance has been anything but fluky. Having one of the league’s best defenses and a quality run game as well as excellent weapons to distribute the ball to have helped tremendously.
As was the case against the Saints, balance has been key for this organization’s success. Running the ball was a bit of a chore, but Keenum distributed the ball very well, with six Vikings catching at least two passes. And of course, the Minnesota defense owned the first half of play.
As the Eagles will find out this week, Minnesota is a difficult team to prepare for, as there isn’t just one singular thing to try to take away. The Vikings can beat you in many ways, including miraculous ones.
Matt Williamson is a former scout for the Cleveland Browns and spent 10 years at ESPN as a scout and co-host of "The Football Today Podcast." Find him on Twitter @WilliamsonNFL.
(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)
