The Paydirt Report: Divisional Round Edition
The rivalry in the AFC East is fierce one between Buffalo and Miami. Buffalo is hungry to take over the division that Miami has owned since the middle of the last decade. Their divisional round meeting would mirror the rivalry as the two would battle it out to the last seconds of the game with Buffalo coming out on top with a 54 yd FG with :07 left. It was a slugfest with nobody giving up much ground in a driving rain storm. The Bills move on to the Conference Championship and the Dolphins will be looking for a new GM as Androwski has decided to part ways with the Miami ownership.
The other AFC playoff game between Cincinnati and San Diego was a thriller in it's own right. With the score 10-9 in the 4th QT the Bengals added a crucial FG with 1:41 left to go and opening it up to 13-9, putting the Chargers in a do or die situation. It was touchdown or go home time for San Diego's final drive. Outstanding kickoff coverage by the Bengals special teams buried San Diego on their own 18 where QB Eric Young would go to work. And on the first play the Chargers would be caught holding making it an even tougher chore ahead. Young would engineer a drive that got to the Bengal 40 yd line with :24 left to go. On the ensuing play CB John Thompson would pick off Young to end the game as the Cincinnati fans went wild.
The NFC wasn't as dramatic as the AFC this round but a couple of statements were made. Both the number 1 & 2 seeds advanced with ease just to let everyone else left in the playoffs know how powerful they are. Dallas cruised past Seattle 29-13 while a matchup featuring two teams who tied for first in the Super South duked it out to a 37-26 victory going to Carolina over Atlanta. This sets up a colossal collision between two juggernauts with Dallas traveling to Carolina.
