Championship Sunday featured two blowouts as the Falcons and Patriots punched their tickets to Super Bowl 51 in Houston.
Here are ten thoughts on Championship Weekend in the NFL.
1.The Atlanta Falcons are the real deal folks. We can stop talking about whether or not Matt Ryan can win a big game anymore. He can and he did it in convincing fashion.
2. The Falcons offense is getting all of the attention and rightfully so but as we saw yesterday, the Falcons defense is pretty good as well. They got consistent pressure on Aaron Rodgers and they never allowed him to get comfortable in the pocket.
3. Speaking of Aaron Rodgers, he wasn’t exactly at his best yesterday but it wasn’t all his fault. Atlanta harassed him all game long and he pressed because they Packers fell behind early.
4. The Packers defensive performance yesterday was pathetic! They were literally invisible at times. G.M Ted Thompson has a lot of work to do this off-season. The Packers have several key free agents and a lot of holes to fill on defense.
You cannot win a Super Bowl with a secondary that consists of an undrafted free agent (Ladarius Gunter), a former safety playing corner (Damarious Randall) and a former point guard playing corner (Quentin Rollins). That is not good enough!
5. The Pittsburgh Steelers can’t beat the Patriots. It isn’t necessarily a talent or coaching thing, it is more mental. New England is in their head and they will be there until the Steelers beat them in a playoff game.
6. Ben Roethlisberger looked old against the Patriots. It is obvious that he is in decline and his numbers this past season are proof of that.
7. I can’t wait to see the look on Roger Goodell’s face when he has to hand Tom Brady the Lombardi Trophy. It’s going to be epic.
8. No team in the NFL game plans like the Patriots. Tom Brady and company picked the Steelers young secondary apart. Pittsburgh couldn’t generate any pressure either which made things even tougher on their secondary.
9. The Patriots boast the NFL’s number one scoring defense. The Falcons boast the NFL’s number one scoring offense. Something has to give. Just remember. Defense wins championships.
10. FYI. I wanted a Packers, Patriots Super Bowl in the worst way. It would have been an unbelievable match up.