I was in Isla Mujeres, Mexico (across the bay from Cancun) for the AFC and NFC Championship games this past Sunday.  We chose the bar “Jax” to watch the games, and I was surrounded by Packers fans who had prepared for the occassion. There was not one Patriot, Giant, or Charger fan dressed for the occassion.

I have to admit that I was not very excited about the AFC Championship because I felt fairly certain that the Patriots would win. It was shocking that the Chargers were able to stay in the game without LT and with a gimpy Philip Rivers. But….in the end, the Chargers lost and the Patriots won. It is bad news for all other teams when the Patriots can beat a very good football team when Brady throws three interceptions. Brady played his worst game of the season and they still won. You can give the credit to Laurence Maroney, who rushed for 122 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries. New England proved that they can run the ball effectively if their passing game is struggling. The Patriot defense was also very superb in the red zone, as the Chargers could never seem to find a way to get into the end zone. Clearly, the difference in the game was that the Patriots were scoring touchdowns while the Chargers were kicking field goals. Though they lost, it was a good run for the Chargers, who will certainly be a super bowl contender again next year.

The NFC Championship game was much more entertaining. I thought it was great because it was already determined that the Super Bowl would have a great storyline. If the Packers would have won, it would have been a legendary quarterback matchup: Brett Favre vs. Tom Brady. As it turned out, the Giants won,  and have graciously provided us with another New York, Boston matchup. I wonder how the Giants fans feel about Eli Manning now? I read an article on ESPN.com a couple of months ago that rated the young quarterbacks in the NFL. Vince Young was rated higher than Eli Manning. What a joke! Eli has played fantastic in the playoffs. Though he did not throw any touchdown passes in Sunday’s game, he continued to play turnover-free football. He was also hurt by Amani Toomer, who seemed to have his eyes taped shut on several balls thrown his way. Toomer also looked like he had paddles for hands on several occassions. However, he did have a huge reception in the second half, when he made a diving catch and found a way to keep both feet in bounds. In addition, Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw combined for 130 yards and two touchdowns on 37 carries. They had just enough of a running game to keep Green Bay’s defense honest. The Packers, on the other hand, could not get any kind of a running game going, and finished with a grand total of 28 yards on the ground. The player of the game was Plaxico Burress, who set Giants postseason records with 11 receptions and 154 yards. He seemed to catch every ball that was thrown his way. On the other side of the ball, Donald Driver also had a hell of a game, as he had 5 receptions for 141 yards, including a 90-yard touchdown in the second quarter.

It seemed as if the Packers were destined to win this game. The Giants controlled the game, but the Packers always seemed to catch a break. Tynes missed two field goals in the final quarter to allow the Packers to stay in the game. At that point, I figured Brett Favre must be destined to play in another super bowl. However, the fatal blow came on Green Bay’s first possession in overtime, when Favre threw an interception that set up Tynes’ game-winning, 47-yard field goal. The Giants are playing extremely good football right now, and have won 10 straight games on the road…a record of their own. If the Giants are able to win the super bowl, they would complete one of the greatest playoff runs in sports history. Like Brett Favre said after the game…”Heck, they could win two weeks from now. I wouldn’t put it past them.” The Patriots are on a mission, and the only thing standing in their way is Eli and the rest of the football Giants.