"The beneficiaries of Packers rust and 49ers youth, Big Blue rope-a-doped their schedule while playing the nasty injury hand they were dealt. Once healthy, they proceeded to run off five straight. Cat deems it less than ideal that multiple recent Super winners to simply turn on the jets for six weeks in order to rake in the chips. But look at 'em now.

The Patriots were fortunate their first postseason foe off the bye was the Broncos, a team with minuscule ability to rally from significant deficits. Given Tom Brady's zero touchdown passes, New England was fortunate to escape their Ravens playoff engagement alive, as bad-luck Billy Cundiff opened the door for the Pats' first victory over a winning team this season."