The pass-happy National Football League’s (NFL) second season begins this weekend with four games kicking off the playoffs in do-or-die battles to stay on track to reach the Super Bowl.
Rules changes and tight enforcement in recent seasons have encouraged the passing game, and quarterbacks Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady have taken full record-setting advantage and aim to continue their aerial assault in the postseason.
«You look at the artistry, if you will, of the quarterbacks and the way they performed this year and I think that makes a statement about why you’ve seen such performances,» New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin told reporters on Wednesday.
«I would see no reason why that would change,» added the coach, whose quarterback Eli Manning set a record this season for most fourth-quarter touchdown passes and will lead the NFC East champions against the wild card Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.
Rodgers, who set an NFL record for best quarterback rating, steered the Green Bay Packers to a 15-1 record with their only blemish a 19-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 15.
Green Bay and the San Francisco 49ers have first-round byes as top seeds in the National Football Conference (NFC) while the New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens also earned the week off as top seeds in the American Football Conference (AFC).
Brees, who set NFL single-season records for yardage and completions in 2011, looks to get his NFC South champion New Orleans Saints one step closer to the Big Dance on Saturday against the visiting Detroit Lions and their strong-armed quarterback Matthew Stafford in Saturday’s NFC wild card game.
The AFC South champion Houston Texans and third-string quarterback T.J. Yates make their playoff debut Saturday against the Cincinnati Bengals and signal caller Andy Dalton, the first NFL playoff duel between rookie QBs in over 60 years.
Sunday’s games have the Giants hosting the Falcons, and the AFC West-winning Denver Broncos at home against last season’s Super Bowl runners-up the Pittsburgh Steelers.
New England’s Brady, a three-time Super Bowl winner, joined Brees and Stafford with over 5,000 passing yards, the first time a trio topped that mark in a season. All the passing led to the most points ever in the league and a record number of big comebacks.
Leading the way on offense were the top-ranked Packers, Saints, Patriots and Lions, while the NFL’s stingiest defenses were the Steelers, 49ers, Ravens and Texans.
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