(There is a 68% chance Manning completed this pass)
Last night in Indianapolis, the AFC’s top seeded Colts dominated the Ravens, 20-3. Earlier yesterday in New Orleans, the NFC’s top seeded Saints, dismantled the Cardinals, 45-14. This is the first year since 1994 that both #1 seeds made it to the AFC and NFC Championship games, respectively.
Indianapolis vs. Baltimore Recap
Peyton Manning dissected the Ravens secondary all night, throwing for 246 yards on 30 of 44 passing. Manning threw 2 touchdowns and a pick and had a passer rating of only 87.9. However, that rating doesn’t factor in level of difficulty and the Ravens defense shut down the Colts running game (only 42 total yards) and didn’t give the Colts receivers any space all night. In other words, an 87.9 passer rating against that defense under those circumstances is other-worldly.
What separates Peyton Manning from every other quarterback in the NFL is that he can complete passes even when receivers are covered. Keep in mind that Peyton’s starting receivers last night were Reggie Wayne, Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie. Wayne is a legitimate star, but Garcon was a 6th round pick out of Mount Union and Collie was a 4th round pick out of BYU. Manning is so good he makes guys like Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie household names. If those two receivers were on any other team, commentators would be making excuses for the quarterback like they did for Flacco last night. Bottom-line? Peyton Manning can win with anybody at receiver. Give him Flacco’s guys and he still get the win. That’s why he’s by far the best quarterback in the NFL today.
New Orleans vs. Arizona Recap
Another quarterback who’s not playing too bad these days is Drew Brees. Brees led a Saints offensive onslaught yesterday against the Cardinals, putting up 38 points. The Saints were slumping at the end of the regular season, highlighted by a loss to Tampa Bay, but things got turned around in a heartbeat yesterday. Brees threw for 247 yards (1 yard better than Manning) on 23 of 32 passing. He also tallied 3 touchdowns and had a passer rating of 125.4.
Brees played very well, but he wasn’t the headline story for the Saints yesterday because Reggie Bush stole the show. Bush looked like the old #5 from Southern Cal against the Cards, dazzling fans with his quickness and speed. Bush had 5 offensive carries for 84 yards and 1 touchdown. He also caught 4 passes and has 3 punt returns for 103 yards and a 2nd touchdown. The only thing odd about Bush’s performance is that is seemingly came out of nowhere. Bush has been a non-factor since entering the NFL in 2006, but yesterday he had a one-man coming out party. We’ll see if he can have a repeat performance next week in the NFC Championship game.
Tags: Arizona Cardinals, Baltimore Ravens, Drew Brees, Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints, Peyton Manning, Pierre Garcon