Chargers QB Faces Uncertainty Against Undefeated Pats

San Diego quarterback Phil Rivers was listed as questionable for this weekend's game against the New England Patriots. He suffered a sprained right knee in this past weekend's playoff game against the Indianapolis Colts. "Right now, it's probably questionable in terms of playing in the game, but he's got a chance," coach Norv Turner said Monday. "That will be a day-to-day thing and we'll monitor it as the week goes on." In Sunday's game against the Colts, Rivers completed 14 of 19 passes for 264 yards and three touchdowns before being taken out of the game after landing awkwardly when completing a 56 yard screen pass to Darren Sproles. Billy Volek took over after Rivers left the game and led the Chargers to victory.

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The Chargers also had to rely on other backups on Sunday. They had running backs Michael Turner and Darren Sproles play after LaDainian Tomlinson was injured. Tomlinson said he should be able to play in this Sunday's AFC championship game, but the Chargers are nevertheless concerned about their crop of injuries. "I'm concerned," coach Turner said. "I mean, I'm real concerned. We're lucky, or we're fortunate, to have a Darren Sproles, have a Michael Turner, have a Brandon McKinney, but you can only withstand so many hits." Everyone should be concerned about San Diego's failing health. Everyone, that is, except Tom Brady.

The San Diego Chargers Advance In The Playoffs

First, the Chargers lost LT. Then Philip Rivers. And they still beat the defending champion Colts ... on the road. Are you kidding?

Even without LaDainian Tomlinson and Philip Rivers, the Chargers made sure the Indianapolis Colts won't repeat as Super Bowl champions.

Honestly, as a big Colts fan, I have to admit the Indianapolis Colts didn't deserve to win this game. They played horrible. They played like the playoff Colts I remember from 2 years ago. On offense, Peyton Manning's passes were tipped and intercepted. At times I didn't know what he was thinking when he overthrew passes or tried to fire them in. Oh, and what a wonderful defense! No, seriously, that defense was great! (That's sarcasm). You know what the worst part is? Almost all the calls and penalties favored the Colts. They had plenty of help and still couldn't win.

OR PERHAPS the Colts should have won this game? I don't know, but look at it this way. They technically should have won, but they didn't deserve to win. The main reason why the Colts lost the game was because of 3 red zone possession turnovers...2 of which were freaky, tipped passes that just happened to land in the defender's arms. Those 2 bizarre interceptions (I swear the ball just happened to land in the defender's arms) should have been at the bare minimum 2 field goals instead. So instead of the Colts losing 28-24...they could have won 29-28! By 1 single point the Colts would have won if those bizarre, tipped interceptions never happened. Oh well, that's football.

I still have more. Injuries plagued this team all game and the Chargers just seemed to have done everything right. Even the Chargers' punter played well, pinning the Colts back on their final drive. However, injuries also plagued both teams. Injuries took a toll on both teams in Sunday's AFC divisional playoff game.

San Diego lost LaDainian Tomlinson for much of the day with a bruised left knee. The Chargers also watched Phillip Rivers head to the locker room after hurting his right knee on a short pass that Darren Sproles turned into a 56-yard touchdown on the last play of the third quarter.

Indianapolis lost safety Bob Sanders, the NFL Defensive Player of the Year, briefly with a shoulder injury, while running back Joseph Addai sat out a portion of the second half after being shaken up on a 10-yard run.

Rivers jumped to throw the ball to Sproles and landed awkwardly. He was helped onto a training table on the sideline before going to the locker room for evaluation. By the time he jogged back out of the tunnel onto the Chargers sideline, he already had been replaced by Billy Volek.

Tomlinson was injured during a second-quarter run and remained on the sideline through the end of the third quarter, even though the Chargers said his return was probable. Sanders injured his shoulder tackling Turner with 6:14 remaining in the third, but returned the next time the Colts defense took the field.

Tomlinson limped off after being tackled on an 8-yard run that helped set up a second-quarter touchdown. The NFL rushing champion fumbled on the play, but San Diego recovered and Rivers threw a 14-yard TD pass to Vincent Jackson on the next play.

Tight end Antonio Gates, whose status was uncertain because of a dislocated big left toe, played sparingly in the first half. His first reception, a 23-yard catch, came on the same drive Tomlinson was hurt.

Chargers defensive end Luis Castillo also was taken to the locker room for attention after being blocked in the ribs on a first-quarter passing play. He returned after only missing a few plays.

But as LT and Philip Rivers watched, Michael Turner and Billy Volek helped the Chargers reach the AFC title game in New England.

With Billy Volek at quarterback and Michael Turner as the main runner, San Diego went 78 yards on eight plays, with Volek sneaking in from the 1 with 4:50 remaining for the lead. The Chargers' big-play defense then held on downs at its 7, and stopped Indy again in the final moments to preserve their eighth straight win.

The Chargers persevered 28-24 and its a sad day in the NFL, except for Chargers fans. Oh yea, and this may have been Tony Dungy's last game. I hope not.

The Chargers didn't come close against the Patriots in Week 2, falling 38-14. That was the beginning of a slide to 5-5 for San Diego. Perhaps this is a sign of the inevitable. That is, the New England Patriots were meant to win the Super Bowl this year.

And Philip Rivers needs anger management help with the way he was screaming at the Colts fans. Even the commentators said he needs to give that up. Seriously, though. Things like that is what gets you penalized or hated by millions of fans. I can't stand that guy's attitude and his constant angry face. Even when he's smiling he looks angry. He hasn't even accomplished anything yet, except for almost making me hate Tom Brady less. Still, despite that mad face he could be the nicest guy in the world. Anyway, I'm probably just sour the Colts lost.

The New England Patriots Advance In The Playoffs

This game was in a dead heat going into halftime. Then, I realized the New England Patriots would do what they always do. That is, keep the game relatively close to make the game exciting and keep viewers glued to their screens, but then blow it open in the end.

I want to know what happened to this amazing Jacksonville Jaguars defense I heard about? All of a sudden they decided to not show up? They could not stop the Patriots on any drive. The punter only came out once for the Patriots....and that was in the last minute of the game!

The Jaguars struck first. They answered after the Patriots responded with two touchdowns. However, the give-and-take with Tom Brady & Company finally took a toll on Jacksonville.

David Garrard did all he could to keep his team in the game, but his receivers dropped some key catches that might have possibly made a difference. As for the Jaguars' amazing running game, I'd rather not even mention how terrible it was.

David Garrard kept the Jaguars close, completing 14 of 18 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns through three quarters, including an 8-yard touchdown pass as his knee brushed the tips of the turf while in the grasp of linebacker Mike Vrabel. Garrard also hit Ernest Wilford for a 6-yard TD to make it 14-14 with 7:46 left in the half.

The Jaguars scored on a spectacular opening possession that gave them hope of ending New England's chances to top the 1972 Miami Dolphins, who won all 17 of their games. However, the Jaguars first touchdown was one of controversy.

Garrard found a wide-open Marcedes Lewis for 34 yards on a fourth-and-1 from the Patriots 43. Then, on third-and-goal from the 8, Vrabel wrapped up Garrard and was bringing him down when he flung the ball into the end zone and into the arms of Matt Jones.

Replays showed that Garrard's knee might have been down when he released the ball. But Patriots coach Bill Belichick wasn't quite as quick with his release of the red replay flag: He was running toward the field with his arm cocked, ready to throw it, when the ball was snapped for the extra point.

But Brady broke it open in the third with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Wes Welker and a 9-yarder to Benjamin Watson -- his second scoring catch of the game.

Tom Brady completed his first 16 passes and was 23-of-24 for 194 yards and three touchdowns in the first three quarters Saturday night to help the New England Patriots open a 28-17 lead over the Jacksonville Jaguars in their AFC playoff game.

Laurence Maroney ran 15 times for 111 yards and a 1-yard touchdown as the Patriots tried to extend their perfect season with a 17th consecutive victory.

The New England Patriots will play the winner of Sunday's game between San Diego and Indianapolis for the AFC championship and a berth in the Super Bowl. If the Patriots make it to the Feb. 3 NFL title game, they'll have a chance to complete the league's first 19-0 season.

The Green Bay Packers Advance In The Playoffs

This game was by far one of the more memorable ones of the playoffs thus far. I picked the Green Bay Packers to win AND cover the spread....and at first they were such a big disappoint. Two fumbles by Ryan Grant led to two quick TDs for Seattle. At this point I was screaming at the television for Favre to start passing. Why stop doing what was working all year? Luckily, he must have heard me.

Brett Favre somehow spun free from the Seahawks' clutches and stumbled ahead in the snow. Ever the gambler, he flipped a wobbly, underhanded pass that he had no business trying, let alone completing.

Green Bay ended up destroying the Seahawks 42-20 because the Packers resorted to the passing game in the second half and Ryan Grant started running like a beast. He just couldn't be tackled.

With Lambeau Field looking like a snow globe, Favre frolicked in the flurries, throwing three touchdown passes as the Packers beat Seattle 42-20 Saturday, the highest-scoring postseason game in Packers' history.

Ryan Grant made history, too, recovering from two fumbles that put the Packers down 14-0 after only four minutes to set a Packers' postseason record with 201 yards rushing. He scored three times; Greg Jennings caught a pair of TD tosses; and Favre tied his personal best for touchdown strikes in a postseason game.

Perhaps the biggest factor in this game was the amount of snow falling. In the first half the screen on my television showed a mint like greenish-white field. In the second half, however, my television screen just showed one big white mess. The Green Bay Packers took advantage of their home field by getting off to an early lead and running the ball most of the second half. It was impossible for the Seattle Seahawks to come back in that weather.

The Packers (14-3) will take on the winner of Sunday's game between the New York Giants and Dallas. If the Cowboys win, they'll host Green Bay; if the Giants win, they'll visit Lambeau. After watching the Packers in this game, I believe they have a great shot at defeating the Cowboys no matter what stadium they play in. They would certainly destroy the Giants. Anyway, we'll just have to wait and see.....

More Good News For Giants: TO Game-time Decision

Terrell Owens was limping on his sprained ankle today and his status for the Dallas Cowboys' playoff game against the New York Giants next weekend is uncertain. Coach Wade Phillips stated, "It looks to me that it's going to be a game-time decision on him...He probably couldn't have played today." Owens has a high ankle sprain and was limited in a light workout earlier today. This is good news for the Giants since Owens has an NFC-high 15 touchdowns with 81 catches for 1,355 yards. If he proves to be unable to play next weekend, the Cowboys' offense will be short a key weapon for quarterback Tony Romo. This will be a huge advantage for the Giants who have a relatively weak secondary. If TO sits out, expect the Giants to blitz early in the game to force Romo to make passes to less spectacular backup receivers. This places the Giants in a strong position defensively against the offensive-powerhouse Cowboys. And if Eli Manning continues to play like he has for the last two games, expect the Giants to pull off a major upset.

Jacksonville Jaguars Advance In The Playoffs

What once was a walk in the park for the Jaguars turned into a cliff-hanger. But thanks to Josh Scobee's late 25-yard field goal, the Jaguars defeated Pittsburgh.

Never in the Steelers' 75 seasons had a team beaten them twice in Pittsburgh in the same season. The Jacksonville Jaguars beat history -- and the Steelers -- despite a memorable fourth-quarter collapse that nearly cost the visitors their season.

Thanks to three Ben Roethlisberger picks in the first half, the Jags were walking over the Steelers. Not anymore. Big Ben's big second half placed the Steelers in the lead. However, the score that made the Steelers take the lead was a result of a false pass interference call on the offense. Hines Ward clearly had his hand in the face of the defender's mask, but the refs called pass interference on the defense. This gave the Steelers a fresh set of downs in which they eventually scored to take the lead 29-28

However, David Garrard single-handedly led his team downfield. He daringly attempted a fourth down in which he ran the ball himself to put his team in position to take the lead, which they did via a field goal by Josh Scobee. The Jags took the lead 31-29 and this became the final score after Ben Roethlisberger fumbled the final drive.

Jacksonville appeared to be done after Najeh Davenport's second 1-yard TD run of the game gave the Steelers a 29-28 lead with about six minutes remaining. But quarterback David Garrard, not a great runner, found a seam on a convert-or-else fourth-and-2 play and rambled 32 yards to the Steelers 11 with 1:56 left.

Garrard aided the Steelers' comeback by throwing two interceptions -- one less than he had all season -- only to come up with the play that may have saved the Jaguars' season.

The Jaguars came in off six wins in their last eight games, while the Steelers -- missing five starters, including star running back Willie Parker -- limped into the postseason with three losses in four games and four in seven.

Jacksonville Jaguars really deserve this win. If they would have lost because of that clearly obvious false face mask call, it would have been ashame. The Jags were the hottest team coming into the playoffs. Their young. Their hot. Their fresh. Their hungry and have the will to win. If the Titans win tomorrow, I really believe the Jags have the aggressive defense that will cause the Patriots trouble.