2014 NFL playoffs, Colts vs. Patriots: LeGarrette Blount leads New England to AFC Championship

Cause of Death:

2. Through those first three quarters, the Saints went one-for-seven on third down and averaged a near-meaningless 0.86 yards per play. That’s a major failure when you consider New Orleans ranked fifth in the league this year in third down conversions and second in yards per third down play.

Brady has played against Manning three times in the postseason, all while Manning was wearing horseshoes on his helmet. Brady is 2-1 in those contests, splitting the two AFC Championship matchups and winning in the 2004 Divisional round. Incredibly, this is the 15th overall meeting between the two future Hall of Famers.

• SB Nation’s 2014 NFL playoff coverage and brackets

• SB Nation’s 2014 NFL playoff coverage and brackets

• Beast Quake: The greatest TD run in NFL playoff history

The Saints got the band back together in 2013. After laboring through a season sans Sean Payton thanks to Bountygate, New Orleans got back to the playoffs in 2013 with a hat tip to Payton, as well as to new defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, whose blitz-happy charges were among the league’s best at shutting down the pass. Unfortunately, a bounce-back season wasn’t enough to claim the division title, or to prevent a team that became known for its road woes from getting bounced from the playoffs in the league’s most hostile environment.

To reclaim the NFC South division crown, New Orleans must find the formula to get better on the road. While Payton and Brees can sort through any play-calling and signaling issues, getting more physical on both sides of the ball is never a bad place for aspiring road warriors to start.

Blount set the franchise record early in the fourth quarter on this 73-yard run, bringing the game back to a two touchdown difference.

On the opening play of Indianapolis’ next possession, Luck was intercepted, and Ridley scored from one yard away to put the game out of reach at 43-22.

Those 19 wins tie Belichick (19-8) with Don Shula (19-17) for the second-most playoff wins by a head coach in NFL history. The current record belongs to none other than Tom Landry (20-16). (Belichick and Landry also hold the top two spots on the dresses-like-your-grandpa list).

Shula won two Super Bowls. Belichick is seeking his fourth at the moment.

Blount picked up the slack. He not only ran effectively, but came through when it counted most. Entering the fourth quarter it appeared a comeback was possible, but the dagger was dropped on a 73-yard touchdown run that ensured it was impossible for Indianapolis to rebound.

• SB Nation’s 2014 NFL playoff coverage and brackets

UPDATE: Here’s the latest look at the 2014 NFL Playoff bracket following the Broncos’ win over the Chargers on Sunday evening.

Denver hosts San Diego on Sunday to determine the second participant in the this season’s AFC Championship. The Broncos are the heavy favorites, despite the Chargers win against the Broncos in Week 15. If things go as expected, Peyton Manning and the Broncos will be preparing to face the Patriots at home next Sunday. Should Phillip Rivers and the Chargers defeat the Broncos for the second straight game, they’ll travel to New England. Kickoff is scheduled for a 3:00 p.m. ET.

And it would appear this individual (h/t Bruce Arthur) is just one big meathead in a position of ephemeral authority, spending his weekends getting tough with the big football players in pads.

(via Michael Shamburger of The Big Lead)

Andrew Luck has a beard.

Here he is spitting grossly:

It’s likely Allen was injured in the scrum on the Patriots’ prior punt, a failed attempt after the snap went well over his head and he was pasted near the goal-line by a cadre of pursuing Colts:

That play resulted in a safety, and Allen was brought out to punt it away to the Colts from the 20. As soon as he punted it, however, he grabbed his shoulder in pain and walked off the field. It was a non-contact play, so one would assume the injury was largely due to the prior hit sustained on the bad snap:

The Patriots’ lead could have been even larger if not for a sizable special teams miscue. After a delay of game forced New England to its own 44-yard line on fourth down, the long snapper missed the punter by a mile. The result of the play was a safety, giving the Colts another shot at things.

Still, it wasn’t the strongest half for Luck. He completed 11 of 21 passes for 155 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. The second interception came late in the half, after Indianapolis earned the aforementioned safety. The Colts were just entering New England’s territory when Luck was picked off by Dont’a Hightower.

Let’s be clear here: This is the best possible outcome that could have happened for New England, there is no alternate answer -- unless your name is Dan Dierdorf.

Okay, so let’s break this down.

Just over five minutes remain in the first half and Blount has already scored three rushing touchdowns, which ties a Patriots team record for a single postseason game. The Colts are doing a good job stopping Blount outside of the red zone, but have no answer for him inside of it -- they’ve allowed a trio of two-yard scores.

This offensive approach is turning the Saturday night playoff game into a shootout, and it’s unclear whether or not the Colts have enough reliable receivers to keep up.

Uy Tieu [12:07 PM]:

Whattttt the FFFffff!

A new bar has been set:

Johnson is indeed a competitive beardsman, and his signature “Partial Imperial Beard” lends itself to the Colts’ horseshoe logo. And thus all previous fan beards have been topped. Sorry, basketball hoop beard man. And sorry, Green Bay “G” beard guy:

Spikes has been battling ligament damage in his knee for several weeks and will require surgery after the season, but it appears that he’s played his last game for New England. A former second-round pick in 2010, Spikes spent his entire four-year career with the Patriots. He’s due to become a free agent in the offseason.

Spikes ends his regular season with 86 tackles, one interception and two passes defended. Assuming his knee is healthy, the 26-year-old will be one of the top linebackers on the free agent market.

Game Date/Time and Location: Sunday, Jan. 11, 8:15 p.m. ET at Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, Mass.

TV: CBS

Line: Seahawks by 8.5

While Wilson is poised and accurate in the pocket, he’s tremendously creative on the run and capable of sparking huge plays since he’s so good at keeping his eyes downfield while on the move. Rob Ryan is a fan of exotic blitzes, but Wilson’s savvy and escapability makes crazy six-man rushes a DangerRuss proposition. Ryan may be better served with some base three- and four-man containment rushes with an extra blitzer coming late to pick Wilson off in the pocket once the protection is committed. Caution may be the order of the day, as Wilson absolutely shredded Saints blitzes in their first meeting.

We are in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs and while brutal arctic air is not expected for any of these games this weekend, weather could play a roll for the first two games of the weekend. New Orleans visits Seattle in Washington State and Indianapolis heads to New England and Foxborough, Massachusetts, and both games are played on the complete opposite side of the country, the weather for both games will be very similar. The weather forecast is very wet and windy for both games this afternoon and evening.

For the Saints/Seahawks game a strong Pacific storm system will bring rain and possible thunderstorms. Winds will be very strong between 20 and 30 mph and could gust up to 45 mph. In New England, a storm system moves through the region during the afternoon evening. Steady to moderately heavy rain is likely as winds will be out of the southwest and could gust 35 to 45 mph later tonight.

Regardless of prior history, when you get to this point in a sudden-death tournament, every game is interesting, and the way the two teams match up with each other becomes the main focus, in my mind. Who has the edge? Which team matches up better? Does one team’s approach and identity favor it over the other? What trumps? Power running or high-octane passing? Stout defense or electrifying offense? Tough to say.

Going even deeper than that, what specific matchups have the potential to put one team over the top? Which players are the X-factor in each game? In a group of teams that now makes up the Elite Eight of the NFL, it’s hard to choose just one for each game, but here goes.

The NFL season is down to only eight teams fighting for the Vince Lombardi Trophy, with 16 grueling regular season weeks and a round of playoffs in the books.

A few of the remaining playoff teams should come as no shock, while others have stunned even their own fan bases by advancing to the Divisional round. After this weekend, only four teams will be left standing, and perhaps there will have been a few more upsets.

• SB Nation’s 2014 NFL playoff coverage and brackets

• The Notebook: Collapses, comebacks and getting ready to do it again

Not according to Indianapolis offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton, who told the Indy Star’s Stephen Holder that not only was Richardson not being punished for his fumble by not getting any more carries, but that he was a big reason that the Colts were able to come back:

A former first-round disappointment himself, Brown averaged 5.3 yards per carry during the season and had 11 carries for 55 yards and a touchdown against the Chiefs last Saturday. The Colts are 6-0 this season, including playoffs, when Brown gets at least 10 carries.