NFL News and Views

WOW! AFC Championship game AFC=A Freakin Classic!! The Indianapolis Colts scored 32 second-half points to record a 38-34 comeback victory over the New England Patriots in a thrill-filled AFC Championship game. I was on the edge of my seat...Indianapolis will face the Chicago Bears (15-3) in Super Bowl XLI in Miami on February 4. I can't wait...

The Chicago Bears overpowered the New Orleans Saints 39-14 in the NFC Championship game.
Now we know half the line up for the 2007 Superbowl...who'll it be for the other half? Colts or Pats? We'll soon find out.

Hey, I was away on vacation for a while so I didn't update. No computers on the beach and that was fine by me. What a great few games got played lately! Cowboys shot down, Giants, Jets and Chiefs all knocked out.
Lookin forward to the Divisional Play-Offs and the Conference Championships...then the big one: Super Bowl XLI in Miami!

Rookie Joseph Addai and a solid defensive performance helped the Indianapolis Colts register a 23-8 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Saturday's AFC wild-card game.

Entering the post-season most of the talk around the Colts centred on their porous run defense, which ranked last in the NFL after allowing 173 yards a game and a staggering 5.3 yards per carry.

However, the Colts (13-4) were able to restrict Kansas workhorse Larry Johnson while also having little trouble shutting down the rest of the Chiefs' sputtering offense.

Indianapolis limited Kansas City to 16 total yards on 18 plays in the first half and did not allow a first down until less than four minutes remained in the third quarter.

Johnson, who rushed for 1,789 yards on an NFL record 416 carries during the regular season, was limited to 32 yards on 13 attempts, while Kansas City rushed for just 44 yards.

Defensive end Dwight Freeney led the defensive charge for the Colts, registering a pair of sacks and forcing a fumble.

The Colts held a 435-126 advantage in total yards and gained 28 first downs to just seven for the Chiefs.

Addai had little trouble against the Chiefs' worn-out defense, rushing for 122 yards on 25 carries, while his six-yard touchdown run with 4:14 remaining in the third quarter gave the Colts a 16-0 lead.

Addai's running and three first-half field goals from kicker Adam Vinatieri helped the Colts overcome three interceptions by Payton Manning, who improved to just 4-6 in the post-season.

The Colts play-off journey will continue next weekend when they visit the second seeded Baltimore Ravens (13-3).

Kansas City's Trent Green completed 14-of-24 passes for just 107 yards and two interceptions.

Green found tight end Tony Gonzalez for a six-yard touchdown with eight seconds remaining in the third quarter and his two point conversion to Kris Wilson pulled the Chiefs within eight points.

However, Manning directed a nine-play, 71-yard drive, and capped it with a five-yard touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne with 10:16 remaining, giving the Colts a 23-8 cushion.

The Chiefs needed two scores and went to a hurry-up offense, but Green was picked off in Colts territory by safety Bob Sanders.

Manning completed 30-of-38 passes for 268 yards, while tight end Dallas Clark had nine receptions for 103 yards.

Ty Law had two of the interceptions for the Chiefs (9-8), who were making their first play-off appearance since a 38-31 loss to the Colts in January 2004.

With the Chiefs trailing 6-0, Law's first pick and 43-yard return to the nine early in the second quarter looked like it would change momentum, but Lawrence Tynes hit the left upright with a 23-yard field goal.

The Colts had no such problem in the kicking game with Vinatieri, who was a part of three Super Bowl-winning teams with New England before signing with Indianapolis.

Vinatieri connected on field goals of 48, 19 and 50 yards in the first-half, which ended with the Colts holding a 9-0 lead.

In the first half, the Colts held the ball for more than 21 minutes and amassed 15 first downs but failed to get into the end zone.

Tony Romo mishandled a snap on a close-range field goal with just over a minute remaining as the Dallas Cowboys endured a painful 21-20 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC wild-card game.

Romo revitalised the Cowboys (9-8) this season after replacing veteran Drew Bledsoe as the starting quarterback, and looked like he had guided Dallas to victory after calmly leading his team into field-goal range.

The Cowboys set up for a 19-yard field goal with 1:19 remaining and looked to be on their way to their first play-off win in 10 years.

But Romo bobbled a perfect snap from LP Ladouceur before attempting to run the loose ball but was tripped by Jordan Babineaux just short of a first down at the one-yard line.

Romo had completed a seven-yard pass to Jason Witten on 3rd-and-7 to the 1, a play originally ruled a first down, but after a replay, Witten was ruled to be just shy of the first down - a major factor, as the Seahawks were out of timeouts.

Earlier in the fourth quarter the Cowboys had produced a goal-line stand and the Seahawks had recorded a safety.

Matt Hasselbeck's 37-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jerramy Stevens with 4:24 remaining had given the Seahawks a 21-20 lead after the duo also hooked up for a 15-yard score in the third quarter.

The defending NFC champion Seahawks (10-7) will visit either Chicago or New Orleans next weekend.

Using a diversified offense that mixed Tom Brady's precision passing, an effective running attack and a defence that forced two critical turnovers, the New England Patriots strolled to a 37-16 victory over the New York Jets in the AFC wild-card round.

The game matched Bill Belichick, a three-time Super Bowl-winning coach, against Eric Mangini, the Jets' rookie coach who was an assistant under Belichick when the Patriots won championships in 2001, 2003 and 2004.

Mangini left New England to take over the Jets last January and guided them to a split with the Patriots in the two regular-season meetings between the AFC East rivals, including a 17-14 victory here on November 12.

Not much was expected of the Jets, who finished 4-12 last season. But Mangini orchestrated quite a turnaround as New York (10-7) earned the first wild card spot.

However, Belichick has never lost a home play-off game and was not about to drop one to his protege, improving to 7-0, including six wins with the Patriots.

Brady, a two-time Super Bowl MVP, threw for 212 yards and two touchdowns.

The backfield tandem of Corey Dillon and rookie Laurence Maroney combined to rush for more than 122 yards and Jabar Gaffney caught eight passes for 106 yards.

As is usually the case in the post-season, the Patriots (13-4) also got some big plays from their defence.

Defensive tackle Vince Wilfork recovered a lateral that was deflected by linebacker Rosevelt Colvin and returned it 31 yards to the New York 15.

That set up a 28-yard field goal by rookie Stephen Gostkowski with four seconds left in the third quarter, giving New England a 23-13 lead.

Cornerback Asante Samuel, who tied for the league lead with 10 interceptions this season, sealed the win when he picked off a pass by Chad Pennington and returned it 36 yards for a touchdown with 4:54 left in the game.

The fourth-seeded Patriots will play the top-seeded San Diego Chargers (14-2) in the divisional play-offs next Sunday.

David Akers' 38-yard field goal as time expired lifted the Philadelphia Eagles to 23-20 play-off victory over the New York Giants.

The third-seeded Eagles (11-6), who closed the regular season with five straight wins to earn their fifth division title in six years under coach Andy Reid, will face second seeds the New Orleans Saints next Saturday.

Tiki Barber, the Giants' all-time leading rusher who was second in the NFC with 1,662 yards in 2006, ended his career with a disappointing defeat after announcing last month that he would retire at the end of the season.

The Giants (8-9) rallied from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit as Jay Feely kicked a 24-yard field goal 10 seconds into the fourth quarter to reduce the deficit to 20-13.

The Giants tied the game as Eli Manning connected with Plaxico Burress on an 11-yard scoring pass with 5:04 remaining.

But Brian Westbrook upstaged Barber, rushing for 33 yards on Philadelphia's winning drive to set up Akers' field goal, who has now kicked 10 games winning field goals in his career, two in the play-offs.

Westbrook finished with 141 yards on 20 carries, including a 49-yard touchdown, while Barber rushed for 137 yards on 26 carries.