by Ryan Mercier
Lamar Jackson, Ravens Exorcise the Demons
Sure, last season’s MVP Lamar Jackson was probably too young for people to say he couldn’t win a playoff game. He’s only played in two until today. Hey, this is just how it works. You have to actually get the first postseason victory some time to get rid of the criticism. The Ravens last two meetings with the Titans were not pretty, either. One was an overtime loss to Tennessee in November and the other an embarrassing no-show by Baltimore in last year’s playoffs. Sunday was different.
The start of game felt like the same old story as Tennessee took a quick 10-0 lead. Double digit deficits had long been the Ravens’ kryptonite. This time, Jackson’s 48-yard scramble for a TD in the second quarter felt like it turned the tide of his young career, tying it up 10-10.
Jackson ran for a whopping 136 yards on the ground, tripling the rushing total of the so-called “King” on the opposite sideline. This 20-13 victory is now proof Jackson and the Ravens can indeed come from behind and win. Baltimore’s defense was a huge factor, as well, holding the home team to 209 total yards and 13 points.
There are reasons for the other remaining teams to fear the Ravens the rest of the way but only mustering 20 points against one of the worst defenses in the league is a red flag.
Saints Send Bears Packing on Nickelodeon
Scripted comedy is great. Sometimes, though, life creates the best and most authentic humor. The idea of Nickelodeon broadcasting an NFL playoff game was announced back in March (it’s ok if you missed that, there were kind of umm other things going on). Little did they know, the NFL’s punching bag Mitchell Trubisky would be its key figure.
Trubisky was selected in the NFL Draft before superstars Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson, is the lightning rod of deserved criticism in all of Chicago, was benched this year for journeyman Nick Foles, lost an important game in the final week of this season but still had to take the 8-8 Bears into the playoffs, and was now sarcastically crowned NVP (Nickelodeon Valuable Player) in a playoff game in which his offense essentially scored three points. All with SpongeBob creepily watching from the goalposts.
A football game also happened between the Saints and Bears.
Cleveland Decimates Pittsburgh in Stunning Fashion
In the face of injuries, Covid keeping their head coach at home, and a tortured history, the Browns prevailed mightily over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the postseason. The last section alone is unbelievable enough for the city of Cleveland but it was the way the Browns won that pushes it over the top.
Pittsburgh’s first snap soared over Ben Roethlisberger’s head a la Peyton Manning in Super Bowl XLVIII. Except, this one went for a TD and not a safety. From there, a quick 7-0 lead ballooned to 28-0 with time still remaining in the first quarter. There were moments where dread must have been crippling Browns fans, no doubt. The Steelers made it interesting but, in the end, this was a beatdown.
The lone question mark of the entire game came when Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin alarmingly punted on a 4th and 1 at their 46-yard line. Pittsburgh was bringing a knife to the throat of the poor Cleveland Browns, suddenly down by only 12 points out of nowhere. Three plays by the offense led them to one yard away from a first down. The final seconds ticked down on the 3rd quarter. A long pause to commercial set the stage for nervous, white-knuckling across the state of Ohio and the rest of America. Pure drama. An amazing finish was sure to come at the start of the 4th quarter.
And then, Tomlin punted.
Struggling Actor Sports 