I think San Diego has a really good chance to beat Pittsburgh. They only lost by 1 when they met in the regular season*, and San Diego is playing much better nowadays than they did then. There’s also the question of Roethlisberger’s injury.
*True, Polomalu’s fumble recovery to the endzone should not have been taken away, but it was off a nutty gimmick desperation play. If the Chargers played a little better over the course of the game, that play never happens.
The Giants fought hard this year to compile the NFC’s best record. There was more than bragging rights at stake. Along with it came a first-round bye, home-field advantage through the playoffs and the chance to play the lowest-seeded opponent in the second round.
The second-round opponent turns out to be the Eagles. The Giants must wonder if it was worth all the effort.
The big question is, which Eagles? The team that made the Giants look ordinary and crushed the Cowboys, or the one that tied the Bengals and made the Redskins look solid?
Awesome, awesome post.
If you look at the stats for that game it wasn’t even close - Pittsburgh gained nearly twice as many yards as San Diego and had an almost two to one edge in time of possession. The Pittsburgh defence forced Rivers to throw two interceptions, and he had one of his worst performances of the season. The only reason it was close is because Pittsburgh was assessed 13 penatlties to San Diegos 1. I doubt that will happen again. San Diego does not match up well with Pittsburgh.
Final Score
Pittsburgh 24
San Diego 13
Not to mention that LT is confirmed to be out and Sproles is sore as hell. Pittsburgh is the #1 defense in the league, so this spells disaster for a team without its best backs.
Pittsburgh did outplay SD in that game, although the interceptions were both a bit unusual. The first was Polamalu’s fairly miraculous one-handed catch, and I’m still not sure about the second one; either the pass slipped out of Rivers’ hand, or he just decided to throw nowhere near his receiver on a 5-yard out :). If the Chargers can avoid such plays (not easy) they are in with a decent chance. The penalty thing is true too, the Chargers were basically gifted their TD on a phantom interference call.
As a relatively new fan of the Ravens, I find this shockingly bad strategy… but according to the veteran fans in my office this is as it ever was with the Ravens. If you’re up by more than a touchdown, let them trade time for yards slowly and then knuckle down once they cross the 50-yard line.
My preference would be to shut them down, force a three-and-out, and then eat up the clock with passes over the middle, runs up the middle, and other smart plays on offense. Settle for a field goal if you happen to get close enough to score.
You’re right, I had forgotten about that.
I’ve been a fan of the Ravens since 1996, and I find it to be shockingly bad strategy. 90% of all Ravens fans that I know would agree with your post.
No doubt the Pittsburgh D was great that day and will be again this weekend, but I’ve been puzzled by the strange confluence of Big Ben’s concussion and Steeler Fan’s prediction that they’ll somehow drop 20-30 points on the Chargers this weekend. How do you just ignore Ben’s third concussion - one that left him without feeling in his arms and got him stretchered off the field just 2 weeks ago? How do you decide that you’re going to score 2 more touchdowns than last time with a QB who was just filmed falling over while bowling?
All I know is, as a Charger fan, I’m happier going to Pittsburgh than I would have been if we’d been playing Tennessee (even if part of the reason for that is that my dream of a home game for the AFCC is still alive).
A: Ben has had two weeks to clear his head of any remaining cobwebs
B: It would only be one more touchdown than last time, because we all know that Polamalu’s pick six should have stood.
C: Who hasn’t fallen down while bowling? 
Call Of Duty: The Ben At War: UPROXX – The Culture Of Now
I’m not saying that the Chargers are going to win.
Pittsburgh is a good team. They have a top notch defense; and I suspect it will be a good game.
But I think looking back to our last game is a mistake. Believe me when I say you are playing a completely different Charger team. Especially defensively- we are playing a LOT better than we were then. We played Pitt two games after we fired Cottrell, and our defense hadn’t found an identity under Rivera yet.
On both sides of the ball we are FINALLY looking playing like we were supposed to all year long.
Or maybe look at it this way- if the previous game was any indication- Manning would have lead a charge when he got the ball with two minutes left to put the game out of reach like he did in our first game- to lead a game winning drive with 1:30 to go. This time, however, they went 3 and out… when a first down would have sealed the game.
So don’t be too confident that just because they gained a bunch of yards it will happen again. This is going to be a close game… a defensive battle even. But I don’t see why anybody who is looking at how the Chargers are playing NOW would suspect Pitt will drop 30 on us. Anybody who does is reliving that past game.