NFL WILD CARD PLAY-OFFS:THE GREEN Bay Packers withstood a late rally by Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles to become the third road team to win in four games during the opening round of the National Football League play-offs.
Aaron Rodgers threw three touchdown passes as the Packers won 21-16 late on Sunday night at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field. Green Bay’s win came hours after the Baltimore Ravens beat the Chiefs 30-7 in Kansas City, and a day after the New York Jets won 17-16 in Indianapolis. It’s the first time since the 2005-06 post-season road teams had a 3-1 record in the opening round.
Green Bay (11-6) held on for their first road play-off win since 1997 when Vick threw an interception in the end zone with 33 seconds left to end the Eagles’ season.
The Packers advance to face the Falcons in Atlanta. The Chicago Bears host the Seattle Seahawks the following day. Seattle were the lone home team to win during the opening round of the play-offs, defeating Super Bowl champions New Orleans Saints, 41-36.
The Ravens forced five turnovers and held the Chiefs to 161 yards of offence yesterday at Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium in setting up a second-round play-off meeting with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Next weekend’s game at Pittsburgh will be the third meeting between the American Football Conference North Division rivals this season. Baltimore won 17-14 at the Steelers in week three of the regular season and lost 13-10 at home on December 5th.
The New England Patriots host the Jets in the AFC’s other second-round play-off game. The Patriots and Jets also split their two regular-season meetings.
The Falcons, Bears, Steelers and Patriots had byes in the first round of the play-offs.
The Eagles’ season began and ended with home losses to the Packers, who made the play-offs as the sixth seed out of six teams in the National Football Conference and did not clinch a spot until the last game of the regular season. Vick, making his first appearance in a play-off game since the 2005 NFC Championship Game for Atlanta, scored on a one-yard run with 4:02 left in the fourth quarter to pull the Eagles within 21-16.
Philadelphia got the ball back with 1:45 left and drove to the Green Bay 27-yard line before Vick’s pass to the end zone was intercepted by Tramon Williams.
The Ravens sent the Chiefs to a seventh straight play-off loss by intercepting Kansas City quarterback Matt Cassel three times and forcing two fumbles.
Baltimore scored on five straight possessions during one stretch, starting with Joe Flacco’s nine-yard touchdown pass to Ray Rice 19 seconds before half-time.
Billy Cundiff kicked two of his three field goals in the third quarter and Flacco pushed the lead to 23-7 with a four-yard touchdown pass to Anquan Boldin.
That score came after the Ravens got the ball at the Kansas City 31-yard line following an interception of Cassel. Willis McGahee had a 25-yard touchdown run with 4:26 remaining to cap the scoring for Baltimore.
