Another week is over.
When the game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Carolina Panthers ends, it also means that all four divisional games of the 2013 playoffs have come to an end. Four teams have officially advanced to the conference finals, and the 2013 season has also entered the sprint. The climax of the stage, step by step closer to the pinnacle of the Super Bowl, the game will become more and more exciting.
In the wild card round the previous week, three of the four games were fought to the end. The final points difference in the regular season was within two points. The only exception was the San Diego Lightning's "27:10" The easy victory over the Cincinnati Bengals shows that the strength gap between the teams this season is narrower than expected, adding more suspense to this week's divisional round and making the majority of fans look forward to it.
But what I didn't expect was that all four division games broke expectations.
Strictly speaking, it cannot be said to be a defeat. Although from the perspective of the score, it is indeed... more intense than the wild card game. It is not that the score is closer but that the gap is completely widened; but it is more of an accident. From the confrontation Judging from the scene, both sides gradually showed the difference in strength. The eight teams were divided into two levels: strong and stronger. In the end, the "stronger" all won, which foreshadowed the Huashan Discussion in the federation finals. sword!
From this point of view, this is undoubtedly a good thing, because there is no upset, which means that the federation finals will be more intense, exciting and more beautiful to watch.
Isn't this the biggest expectation of all neutral fans?
In the first wild-card game, the NFC's top-seeded Seattle Seahawks faced off against the sixth-seeded New Orleans Saints.
This game is also generally regarded as a "match between the old and the new" plus a "war of contradictions". Drew Brees, who has made a strong return this season, and Russell Wilson, who has made a strong rise this season, will have a head-to-head confrontation. The two four-year-olds will face off. The battle between shooting guards is undoubtedly the focus of the game and is highly anticipated.
In the previous regular season, the two teams had a confrontation, and the Seattle Seahawks finally defeated their opponent at home with a disparity of "34:7"; now they are facing each other again in the playoffs, and New Orleans Saints head coach Sean - Payton obviously will not surrender easily, and the confrontation will inevitably become more intense.
The game process also confirmed this.
In the first half, the Seattle Seahawks defensive team, which has shown a powerful attitude of sweeping through thousands of troops and dominating the world throughout the season, continued its strong performance, blasting the Legion to directly defeat the offensive team led by Drew Brees, which stunned this team. An elite quarterback was helpless and behind bars; and the New Orleans Saints defense, which had the best performance in recent years this season, also made Russell Wilson suffer, and it was almost impossible to find a shining moment, so all the weight was put on him. The Seattle Seahawks, who had a stronger running back background, became the winner.
Marshawn Lynch broke out in "beast mode" and successfully dominated the first half of the game, helping the home team achieve a "16:0" lead with an absolutely strong performance.
In the second half, the defense teams of the two teams were still the protagonists of the game. With their strong and iron-fisted performance, the offensive teams of both teams were silenced. The entire quarter was cleared. Neither team was able to score, not even a free kick. Neither area was able to enter, which was a boring battle. This also allowed the Seattle Seahawks to enter the fourth quarter with a 16-point advantage, while Brees rarely suffered a clean sheet in the first three quarters.
In other words, the Seattle Seahawks defense is indeed the strongest in the league.
But in the fourth quarter of the game, Brees once again showed his strong strength, almost single-handedly revitalizing the entire sluggish offensive team, quickly recovered a touchdown in the opening game, and completed two The conversion of extra points instantly brought the score closer to "16:8". The unreachable score difference immediately awakened the suspense again, and the intensity and excitement of the game went to a higher level.
Subsequently, both sides reached a stalemate until Marshawn Lynch once again shined. He stepped forward to break the situation and completed a 31-yard ground rushing touchdown. His wonderful performance of riding through the sky alone detonated the game. Throughout the Century Chain Stadium, after scoring his second touchdown of the game, the score gap widened to "23:8", and he regained the initiative to win.
In the final stage of the game, Brees still refused to surrender and led a 125-second passing touchdown attack. After receiving his first passing touchdown in the game, the score was as close as "23:15". The deficit was back to eight points again, a gap that could be erased with a touchdown and a two-point conversion.
At this point, there are only twenty-six seconds left in the game. The New Orleans Saints still have hope of reversing the game.
Head coach Sean Payton chose to gamble without hesitation, but... unfortunately failed. With the failure of the gambling kick, the ball was handed over, which officially declared the end of the game.
In the end, the Seattle Seahawks defeated the New Orleans Saints with a score of "23:15" and reached the National League Finals!
In this game, the Seattle Seahawks, who ranked first in the defensive team this season, still showed their super strength on the defensive end and completely dominated the entire game. They faced the elite quarterback Drew Brees, who is known for his accurate passing. , but suppressed the opponent's passing success rate to a mere 55.8%, almost a career low. It completely choked the New Orleans Saints and detonated the Legion.
At the same time, the Seattle Seahawks also once again exposed their shortcomings in their lack of explosive power on the offensive end. If it weren't for Marshawn Lynch's full outbreak, I'm afraid this game would have been overturned by the experienced Brees. Marshawn contributed throughout the game. 140 yards rushing and two running touchdowns. The 31-yard running touchdown in the fourth quarter can be said to be the winning offense; while Russell Wilson almost disappeared from the game.
9 of 18 passes, 103 yards, no touchdowns or interceptions, quarterback rating 67.6, pff rating 0.3.
Such a performance makes it impossible to give more praise. The only thing worthy of recognition is that there were no mistakes, no interceptions, and no dropped balls. At least he did not give away the ball. He played the responsibilities of the quarterback steadily. This is the real "role player" , perfectly embedded in head coach Pete Carroll's tactical system.
No matter what, this ups and downs game ended with the victory of the Seattle Seahawks. At the critical moment, the Seattle Seahawks still showed their strong strength and deep foundation on the defensive end, and did not leave much for the New Orleans Saints. Those glimmers of opportunity for a comeback were just illusions.
No matter which opponent they face, this defensive team, which is comparable to the best in league history, is bound to be enough to give their opponents a headache.
After the game, there was a lot of speculation within the league. If it is against the Carolina Panthers, then Cam Newton and Russell Wilson, the two new-generation running quarterbacks, will face off, and they will respectively The confrontation between the league's No. 1 and No. 2 defensive teams is undoubtedly a highlight; if it is against the San Francisco 49ers, then needless to say, the excitement and excitement can be booked in advance.
In the end... the San Francisco 49ers earned a chance to challenge for the NFC's top seed.
This also means that the National League finals will not be able to witness the strong confrontation between the top seed and the second seed, but fans will soon witness the divisional civil war in the National League West. This also confirms once again that the National League West, like the American League West, is worthy of being the best in the league this season. Danger is also the closest to death of the group.
"Lu Ke vs Wilson".
"Lu Ke vs. Sherman".
"Offensive team vs defensive team".
This group of duels does not require much modification or explanation at all. Just think about it and you can look forward to a wonderful event. Deadly enemy, mortal enemy, mortal enemy who will never stop fighting. Now you can hear the overwhelming cries starting to sound, which makes people's blood boil.
Although the National League Finals is not "Seattle Seahawks vs. Carolina Panthers," the current matchup is even more exciting, and I can't help but start to tremble with excitement.
"Seattle Seahawks vs. San Francisco 49ers" will be staged soon!
In the second divisional round, the Denver Broncos, the top seed in the American League, faced off against the San Diego Chargers, the sixth seed in the American League.
Before the game, the industry generally believed that this was a game with the most obvious difference in strength. The San Diego Lightning stepped on the bottom line at the last moment and narrowly entered the playoffs. Facing the Denver Broncos, who had the best record in the season, it was estimated that it would be difficult to cause a loss. There are too many threats, but the excitement of this American League West division civil war is far beyond imagination.
Just like the civil war in the National League West Division, these two small divisions in the West Division have ushered in a season of full-scale explosion of the small universe this year, not only in the regular season, but also in the playoffs.
This season, the Denver Broncos, whose offensive team dominates the world, have shown super firepower on the offensive end, ranking first in the league, and still far ahead. It can be said that they are indistinguishable from the Seattle Seahawks, who came out of nowhere on the defensive team.
The most direct proof is that in the sixteen games of the regular season this season, the Denver Broncos only scored less than 30 points in three games. Their powerful offensive power can be said to be overwhelming and unmatched. Such an offensive group It can also be called the best candidate in history, enough to rank among the forefront of history, and its destructive power and crushing force are enough to make people fear.
The three games with less than 30 points were against the San Diego Chargers in the tenth week of the regular season, the Kansas Chiefs in the eleventh week of the regular season, and the San Diego Chargers in the fifteenth week of the regular season.
Notice anything unusual?
There were three games where the score did not exceed 30 points, two of which were against the San Diego Lightning, and the results of the two games were still one win and one loss, winning at "20:28" on the road and losing at "20:27" at home. Defeat, direct data can tell that the San Diego Chargers defense is not afraid of the offense led by Peyton Manning at all. They are the only defense in the league that can confidently face the Denver Broncos.
Divisional civil wars should never be underestimated! The excitement of the final game process also amazed countless viewers.
