Wild Card Weekend produced plenty of excitement around the NFL this weekend, none more than in San Diego, where the LT-less Chargers knocked off Peyton Manning and the Colts for a second consecutive January. But that wasn’t the only noteworthy event of the weekend. Here’s some quick things that I took out of the games.

The Chargers are peaking. Throw out the 8-8 record, the Chargers’ record is now 1-0 after defeating the Colts in overtime. Darren Sproles, perhaps the most dangerous player in, well, football, was dynamite for the Bolts, totaling over 300 total yards. Surely, the Steelers will make it difficult on Sproles at Heinz Field, but it’s hard to gameplan what you can’t see. Also, kudos to the improved Chargers’ defense, now playing some inspired football under Ron Rivera. Look for a close, physical game at Heinz Field on Sunday.

Baltimore will beat Tennessee. I’m putting myself out there on this one and it could bite me in the ass. But I loved what I saw from the Ravens yesterday. I know Miami doesn’t have the most talented offense, but neither do the Titans. If Kevin Mawae is out, it’s going to be difficult for Kerry Collins to know what the Baltimore defense is cooking up. Remember Super Bowl XXXV? The Ravens are a good bet at +2.5, in my opinion.

Another NFC East Divisional. You can bet that the Giants didn’t want to see their hated NFC East rival, but that’s what they must face at the Meadowlands this weekend. The Eagles looked very dangerous yesterday. They really held down the Vikings’ run game and Donovan McNabb kept the city of Philadelphia for at least another week. The teams split the two regular season meetings, so it’s far from last year’s situation where Dallas swept the Giants in the regular season. 

Falcons and Dolphins Go Quietly into Night. They were the season’s two biggest surprises, but neither the Falcons or Dolphins made it through the playoffs’ opening weekend. But I have to give credit for the jobs done by Mike Smith and Tony Sparano, completely changing the culture of two franchises in a single season. Now, it’s up for these teams to avoid the Cleveland Browns’ fluke season. If you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse.

Standings
Ryan: 116-108-7
Rich: 114-110-7
Kevin: 112-112-7
Sonny: 108-108-6*

*Sonny did not submit picks for the early games in week 15.

Ryan: Patriots -5.5 over Bills. The Patriots need this game, obviously. And while the Bills had an inspiring effort in Denver, they’re going to find things a lot more difficult against the Pats. Matt Cassel is in a groove and has shown that tough conditions don’t slow him down. I like the Pats.
Rich: Patriots -5.5 over Bills.
Kevin: Patriots -5.5 over Bills.
Sonny: Patriots -5.5 over Bills.

Ry: Chiefs +3 over Bengals. The Chiefs lost another heartbreaker last week against Miami, but should have a good shot of sealing the deal against Cincy. I can’t take the Bengals as a favorite, so I’m gonna side with the surprising Tyler Thigpen.
Ri: Chiefs +3 over Bengals.
K: Chiefs +3 over Bengals.
S: Chiefs -3 over Bengals.

Ry: Packers -10.5 over Lions. This is it, Detroit. You stand one game away from football immortality. Don’t screw it up. Go Pack Go!
Ri: Lions +10.5 over Packers.
K: Lions +10.5 over Packers.
S: Packers -10.5 over Lions.

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We were able to grab some quality shots of TCU’s celebration tonight. We’ll post them up tomorrow, but for now, we leave you with this shot of the entire team.

We’d like to thank you guys for reading the blog. Be sure to come back next Tuesday night for a live blog of the Pacific Life Holiday Bowl. It should be another great one.

Update: We’ve uploaded our photos from the Poinsettia Bowl. They are available here.

What’s worse than losing to a dejected Seattle Seahawks football team playing for absolutely nothing in freezing temperatures?  Getting pelted with snowballs after losing.  Shaun Ellis took matters into his own hands and fired back and it is beyond funny.  Video courtesy of Busted Coverage