It’s time for everyone shocked by three road underdogs winning NFL playoff games this weekend to take a step back and reflect.
Was any result other than Arizona’s blowout win in Carolina really so shocking?
Yes, sixth-seeded teams beat top-seeded teams in both conferences, with Baltimore beating Tennessee on Saturday, then Philadelphia defeating the New York Giants on Sunday.
But the Ravens and Eagles were hardly true No. 6 seeds. Philly had won five of six going into its game at the Meadowlands, where it won five weeks ago. And Baltimore would have been a second seed if not for referee Walt Coleman’s ability to discern that Santonio Holmes had two feet down and the ball an inch or so over the goal line on what turned out the touchdown catch that decided the AFC North.
That was the second of two close losses to the Steelers, the team the Ravens will face in Pittsburgh on Sunday.
So the only shock is that Arizona, a team that a lot of folks didn’t think was worthy of being in the postseason, is a win away from the Super Bowl.
Give credit to coach Ken Whisenhunt for getting his team refocused after some awful late-season results, including a 47-7 loss in New England and a 48-20 Thanksgiving night defeat in Philadelphia against the team it will face Sunday.
Until that 33-13 win in Charlotte, the Cardinals had been the only NFC franchise not to make it to the conference title game since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970. Yes, even Detroit got there after the 1991 season.
Their last title of any kind was in 1947 — as the Chicago Cardinals — when Charley Trippi, wearing basketball shoes on an icy Comiskey Park field, totaled 206 yards, 102 on two punt returns and the Cards beat Steve Van Buren and the Eagles 28-21. The Eagles returned the favor the next season, beating the Cardinals 7-0 in Philadelphia for the title.
“I’ve been an underdog forever,” said Antonio Smith, a member of the Cardinals for his entire five-year career. “It’s about time we finally proved to everybody what we have.”
Smith started the turnover festival by Jake Delhomme by stripping the ball from the Carolina quarterback, then falling on it to set up Arizona’s go-ahead touchdown. Delhomme followed with five interceptions, one of the most futile QB performances in playoff history — even Ryan Leaf never did that in a career in which he finished 4-21 as a starter.
The other two upsets?
Yes, the home teams were favored and, yes, both could have won.
Tennessee outgained Baltimore 391-211 but lost rookie RB Chris Johnson, the spark to their offense with an ankle injury in the second half and turned the ball over three times in what turned out to be a 13-10 loss. Then the Ravens got a break when a flag wasn’t thrown after the play clock ran out before the 23-yard third-down pass from Joe Flacco to Todd Heap that set up Matt Stover’s winning field goal.
The Giants, who lost three of their final four games, held Philly to 34 yards in the first 28½ minutes but led only 8-7. Blame that on some dubious offensive playcalling and Eli Manning’s continued inability to play well in the Meadowlands wind.
Then Donovan McNabb then got himself into rhythm on a 68-yard drive after New York left too much time on the first-half clock and Philly ended up winning 23-11.
Even the Giants weren’t too surprised.
“Obviously, you would like to come into this time of year playing your best ball and obviously we didn’t do that,” defensive end Justin Tuck said Monday. “Philadelphia came in here and they played a great game, they beat us, and they earned the right to go on and play Arizona.”
In fact, the Giants of last year are the perfect example of why there are no real upsets in the playoffs.
They were 10-6 in the regular season and seeded fifth, then won three road games and upset unbeaten and presumably unbeatable New England in the Super Bowl.
As for Philadelphia, the Eagles have never won a Super Bowl, something the residents of southeastern Pennsylvania know all too well.
But they also have been one of the league’s most consistent winners in the 10 seasons that McNabb has been their quarterback — this will be their fifth NFC title game in that span. They are three-point favorites on the road in Arizona, in part because of that 28-point Thanksgiving win, in part because their history is so much more distinguished than the Cardinals.
But history tells you that Arizona can win.
All you have to do is look at those Eagles-Cardinals games 60 years ago.
The home team won on both occasions.
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