It's Week 15, and the Eagles are visiting the Giants in a game to determine the winner of the NFC East. Eli Manning throws a touchdown pass to Kevin Boss on 3rd and 4 with 8:23 left in the game to give the Giants a 31-10 lead and, seemingly, the division crown. And then everything that could go wrong for New York does. Safety Kenny Phillips misses a tackle of tight end Brent Celek, who dashes to a quick 65-yard touchdown. The Giants coaches fail to prepare for an onside kick that Philadelphia recovers. Michael Vick narrowly escapes a sack and runs for 35 yards. Matt Dodge inexplicably punts directly to Desean Jackson, and the rest is history.
But what if one of those plays went the other way? Let's say the Giants hang onto the lead to win the game. Even with a loss at Green Bay the following week, a win over Washington gives them the second seed in the NFC. With their playoff lives hanging in the balance, a focused Eagles team beats the injury-ravaged Vikings and Cowboys to claim the sixth seed, leaving the Packers and the Buccaneers on the outside of the playoffs looking in.
With the Falcons and Giants getting byes, the NFC wild card features the Saints traveling to Seattle and the Eagles and Bears facing off at Soldier Field for the second time this season. The Seahawks pull off a stunning upset while the Bears defense once again batters Vick just enough to hold on for a win. Unfortunately for Jay Cutler, that gets him another date in the Meadowlands with a Giants defense that battered him for 10 sacks three months earlier. The Bears offense can't keep up with the Giants and the Falcons dispatch the Seahawks to set up an NFC Championship in the Georgia Dome. That is where New York's self-inflicted wounds finally catch up to it. The careless Giants make one too many errors versus the turnover-conscious Falcons, and Matt Ryan leads Atlanta to its second Super Bowl in franchise history.
Super Bowl XLV pits a rematch of the 15-9 Week One Steeler overtime win at Heinz Field, only this time Pittsburgh will be with Ben Roethlisberger at the helm instead of Dennis Dixon. With the upstart Falcons facing the storied Steelers, the pregame storylines focus on Pittsburgh's edge in experience. Unfortunately for Atlanta, their offense plays right into Dick LeBeau's hands. The stellar Steeler run defense effectively holds Michael Turner in check. Without his running game and play action fakes to fall back on, Ryan isn't able to exploit the Steeler secondary, which constantly double-teams Roddy White. Roethlisberger and Rashard Mendenhall keep the Pittsburgh offense moving steadily throughout the game, and the Steelers score a touchdown to go up 14 with five minutes left. Ryan leads the Falcons on a scoring drive to cut the lead to seven, but Pittsburgh recovers the onside kick to end any hopes of the first overtime in Super Bowl history. Final score: Steelers 24, Falcons 17. Roethlisberger, Hines Ward and Mike Tomlin add another ring to their collection, and the Steelers hoist their seventh Lombardi trophy as the confetti rains down upon them...if the Eagles didn't come back to beat the Giants.
With the Falcons and Giants getting byes, the NFC wild card features the Saints traveling to Seattle and the Eagles and Bears facing off at Soldier Field for the second time this season. The Seahawks pull off a stunning upset while the Bears defense once again batters Vick just enough to hold on for a win. Unfortunately for Jay Cutler, that gets him another date in the Meadowlands with a Giants defense that battered him for 10 sacks three months earlier. The Bears offense can't keep up with the Giants and the Falcons dispatch the Seahawks to set up an NFC Championship in the Georgia Dome. That is where New York's self-inflicted wounds finally catch up to it. The careless Giants make one too many errors versus the turnover-conscious Falcons, and Matt Ryan leads Atlanta to its second Super Bowl in franchise history.
Super Bowl XLV pits a rematch of the 15-9 Week One Steeler overtime win at Heinz Field, only this time Pittsburgh will be with Ben Roethlisberger at the helm instead of Dennis Dixon. With the upstart Falcons facing the storied Steelers, the pregame storylines focus on Pittsburgh's edge in experience. Unfortunately for Atlanta, their offense plays right into Dick LeBeau's hands. The stellar Steeler run defense effectively holds Michael Turner in check. Without his running game and play action fakes to fall back on, Ryan isn't able to exploit the Steeler secondary, which constantly double-teams Roddy White. Roethlisberger and Rashard Mendenhall keep the Pittsburgh offense moving steadily throughout the game, and the Steelers score a touchdown to go up 14 with five minutes left. Ryan leads the Falcons on a scoring drive to cut the lead to seven, but Pittsburgh recovers the onside kick to end any hopes of the first overtime in Super Bowl history. Final score: Steelers 24, Falcons 17. Roethlisberger, Hines Ward and Mike Tomlin add another ring to their collection, and the Steelers hoist their seventh Lombardi trophy as the confetti rains down upon them...if the Eagles didn't come back to beat the Giants.
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