Arizona and Baltimore

Well, the Ravens took the Titans down... I had actually predicted that one, although the seedings (Baltimore is the 6th seed in the AFC, while Tennessee was the 1st seed) would make Tennessee the clear favorite. Ever since I saw the match-up, I just had a hunch that the Ravens would come out on top. Ever since the start of the playoffs, I just have had the feeling it would end up being Chargers-Ravens in the AFC championship game...

What happened Saturday night in the NFC was a little more stunning to me, though. The Cardinals, knowing the way they were playing for weeks and weeks before the regular season ended, had no business going into Carolina and beating a Panthers team that was a perfect 8-0 at home. I mean, the Cards haven't even won a game in the Eastern time zone in years! It's insane to have thought even for a second that they would possibly be able to stop DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart from running all over them...

I thought that the Cards would be crushed by the Falcons last week, and that didn't happen. And NOW, they go out and smash the Panthers IN Carolina!?!? I'm still in shock over that one... And without Boldin? I mean, this has to be one of the most unlikely runs we have seen an NFL team go on in quite some time. They found a running game AND their defense decided to wake up all at the same time, and it just so happens to be during the playoffs. Well, now it's just a question of whether they'll be able to continue the magical run with ANOTHER stunning win in the NFC title game... But that one might be a bit much to hope for.

Either the Giants or Eagles (I'm going to predict Eagles, just so you know) have a good idea of what to expect from the Cards now. This isn't the same Arizona team that was ran off the field by the Patriots a few weeks ago... They found their heart and are playing as hard as I've ever seen them play. So I don't think the magical Cardinals run will march on into the Super Bowl...

Eagles and Chargers in the Super Bowl? Sounds crazy if you look at the records, but I seem to believe it for some reason. If it does happen, it's quite possible that it could be a Super Bowl match-up with the fewest combined regular-season victories EVER between the two participants (8 for San Diego, 9 for the Eagles)... Regardless what happens, I'm looking forward to Sunday's games and then the Conference Championship games! This all should be interesting!!!