Minnesota Vikings 34 Dallas Cowboys 3
How bout dem Cowboys? Apparently not much against the Minnesota Vikings.
40-year old Brett Favre still has game in him, completing 15 of 24 passes for 234 yards and four touchdown strikes: three to Sidney Rice, and one to Visanthe Shiancoe.
“Probably the most fatigued I got today was celebrating,” Favre said after the game.
Favre’s 4th-quarter touchdown pass to Shiancoe occurred inside the two-minute warning and generated some criticism from Cowboys linebacker Keith Brooking.
“I think it was totally classless and disrespectful,” said Brooking.
Dallas scored its only points of the game on a 33-yard field goal from Shaun Suisham. Suisham missed two field goals in the game.
Tony Romo went 22-of-35 passing for 198 yards, throwing one interception. Romo was sacked three times and lost two fumbles.
The Minnesota Vikings will now face off against the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Championship Game exactly one decade after their last appearance in the conference championship game.
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New York Jets 17 San Diego Chargers 14
The New York Jets and the NFL playoffs don’t make a good mix for Chargers kicker Nate Kaeding. A kicker that missed just three field goals in 35 attempts this season missed three field goals in one playoff game against the Jets.
The last time these two teams met in the postseason was in 2005. In overtime of that game, Nate Kaeding missed a 40-yard field goal that would have won the game for the Chargers. Instead, the Jets won the game on a Doug Brien 28-yard field goal.
In this game, Nate Kaeding pulled off the epic fail hat trick, missing from 36, 57, and from 40 yards out all in one game. The Jets took full advantage of Kaeding’s miscues, scoring two touchdowns in the 4th quarter to knock out the San Diego Chargers.
Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez completed 12 of 23 passes for 100 yards, throwing one touchdown strike to Dustin Keller. Sanchez threw a pass to San Diego’s Quentin Jammer.
Shonn Greene’s 53-yard touchdown run extended the Jets’ lead to ten at 17-7. The Chargers made it a game when Philip Rivers scored a touchdown on a quarterback sneak to pull San Diego to within three at 17-14. However, the Jets recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran out the clock.
Rivers finished the game going 27-of-40 passing for 298 yards and one touchdown to Kris Wilson. Rivers, however, threw two interceptions: one to Jim Leonhard, and the other to Darrelle Revis.
