The Indianapolis Colts killed any shot at getting Cinderella to the ball this year as they routed the underdog fan-favorite New York Jets 30-17 at home. In his second game since winning a 4th NFL MVP Award, Peyton Manning threw for 377 yards  and scored 3 touchdowns. If he manages to to bring home another championship he could probably run for governor.

It wasn’t all peaches and cream for the men in blue and white though. Things were uneasy for the home team early as the Jets went into half with a 17-13 lead. Unfortunately for New York faithful that was all they would be able to muster offensively all day.  In the second half the Colts’ defense cinched down and goose egged Mark Sanchez and the rest of the green machine offense.

Unfortunately for fans this means the end of bat-shit-crazy press conferences with Jets head coach Rex Ryan, or at least we’ll have to wait until next season. The mans blind confidence and bold statements have enamored sports media and inspired his football team, which has surpassed any expectations they had on them at the beginning of the season. We tip our hat to you Mr. Ryan.  You may have more in common with Gary Busey than Vince Lombardi, but dammit you’re getting the job done (float some tips to your brother in Cleveland).

The Colts find out who they’ll be facing in the Super Bowl when the Saints and Vikings settle things in New Orleans tonight. The game will start at 6:40 PM E.T and will be broadcasted on FOX.

The J-E-T-S, JETS, JETS, JETS, pulled off an improbable win in San Diego that left Chargers fans in shock (haha… get it?). The Jets were supposed to be lucky just to be in the tournament (stealing Rex Ryan terminology), but they weren’t supposed to advance. Now, after a cold win in Cincinnati, and another in sunny San Diego, the New York Jets are heading to the AFC Championship game in Indianapolis to face the the heavily favored Colts.

The “other” game, a much anticipated NFC match-up between Minnesota and Dallas, was supposed to be a barn burner. It was supposed to be the red-hot Dallas defense battling against Favre & Co.’s triple-threat offense. In reality it turned out to be the Brett Favre, Sidney Rice pitch-and-catch show. And on the other side of the ball, the only thing Tony Romo accomplished during his trip to Minnesota was walking off the field under his own power. Romo spent the majority of the afternoon getting thrown around in the backfield like a WWE stage-prop.

So the stage is set and the Final Four of the NFL looks like this…

AFC Championship Game
New York Jets @ Indianapolis Colts
Sunday, January 24th, 3:00pm EST on CBS
Indianapolis favored by 7.5

NFC Championship Game
Minnesota Vikings @ New Orleans Saints
Sunday, January 24th, 6:40pm EST on FOX
New Orleans favored by 4.5

We’ll have a complete run-down and predictions this week so check back in!

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.

The story of the day was Peyton Manning getting yanked in the fourth quarter so that rookie backup, Curtis Painter, could play clean up. The Colts had a 15-10 lead when Painter entered the game and a 15-29 loss when it was all said and done. Painter was 4 for 11 with a costly interception that helped the Jets with their 19 unanswered. Many of the starters, including Manning, were visibly upset with the decision, but they all played good solider after the game.

The Colts may not go undefeated this season but the “undefeated monkey” is off their back, which could help them focus on winning another Lombardi trophy. However, we can’t  help but wonder what could have been and how miserable it must be to be Curtis Painter tonight.