The Best Weekend of the NFL

This weekend was the best weekend for the NFL fans. Some would argue that the super bowl would supersede this weekend, but in my opinion this division weekend is the best.

1) Quantity: There are more quality games this weekend than any other weekend in the season. On this weekend the NFL has sorted itself down to the last four teams eligible to play for the Super Bowl. There are no teams that limp into this weekend and play.

2) Accessibility: These games are not played on channels that only the few with cable or extended satellite can see. The games are broadcasted on Fox and CBS. They are played on channels that everyone can get.

3) High Stakes: The loser in each of these games does not play anymore in the season. Unlike other sports which provide a series with the winner of the best of 3, best of 5 or the best of seven, this sport does not allow for a temporary lapse in performance.

4) Plain simple football: Unlike the super bowl that can get all caught up in side shows and pageantry, and fancy expensive commercials; this weekend is just about the game and ints players.

5) Record is rewarded: Those teams with the best records get to play at home. In the super bowl, the game is played at a neutral site. This is not the case for the games this weekend. They are played at the home of the division winners. The wildcard teams, those teams that did not win their divisions had to play an extra game to reach the division games of this weekend.

6) A great season is honored: The teams that play on this weekend can all say that they have had a great  season this year. Even if they lost, they know that they had a season better than 28 other teams in the NFL. A loss here is still pretty darn good. I have often thought that if a team were to lose on this weekend it would be the best for all of the fans. How do the fans feel with their team loses at the next level... We were one play... we were one dropped pass from playing in the Super Bowl. What about the team that loses in the Super bowl. Their fans are moping because the came sooooo close. If the team wins the super bowl... its not enough.  They must one year after year. You basically cannot win in the playoffs and still think that it is enough. The insatiable fan base will haunt the team from year to year.

On the Saturday Games:

The games on this weekend did not disappoint if you were looking for entertainment value.

The Ravens beat the Broncos in 1 degree weather in Denver. A double overtime period was needed to make this happen,
The 49ers beat the Green Bay Packers with plenty of offense. More than 70 points were scored to get the 49ers to the next level.

On the Sunday games:

The Atlanta Falcons beat the Seattle Seahawks with a last minute field goal.
The New England Patriots ran away with the Houston Texans in the second half to move on to the next weekend game.

So next week.. to determine who will go to the Super Bowl and represent the two conferences,the 49ers will play the Atlanta Falcons in Atlanta and New England Patriots will host the Baltimore Ravens.

There is a chance that the two brothers that are head coaches in the NFL will meet. The Harboughs have sons that are the head coaches of the San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens.