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The Green Bay Packers received a miracle. Now they will renew acquaintances with a former coach in the postseason.
The Minnesota Vikings experienced the ultimate heartbreak and Marvin Lewis' successful rookie season ended on a sour note.
Only four teams
from last year's playoffs returned to the postseason this time. One of those
clubs is the Packers (10-6), who appeared to be on the brink of elimination
before a leaping touchdown catch by Nathan Poole of the Arizona Cardinals catapulted
Green Bay into the postseason.
Ahman Green set a club record with 218 rushing yards, including a 98-yard touchdown,
to lead the Packers to a 31-3 rout of the shorthanded Denver Broncos.
But the Packers needed the Cardinals to upset the Minnesota Vikings (9-7) in order to qualify for the postseason as the NFC North Division champion. It didn't appear it was likely to happen when the Vikings held a 17-6 lead with under two minutes left.
However, Arizona staged a dramatic rally as Josh McCown hit Poole with the dramatic touchdown on the final play of the game for an 18-17 victory over Minnesota, sending the sellout crowd of Lambeau Field listening on radios into a frenzy.
Brett Favre, the three-time MVP quarterback of the Packers, waved to the fans and hugged teammates on the sidelines. It was quite a culmination to the week for Favre, who learned last Sunday that his father died of a heart attack. He played on Monday and threw for 399 yards and four touchdowns in a win at Oakland.
"I've been around people who have lost a family member or have lost someone close to them and they say that person's there watching or they have angels watching over them," said Favre, who buried his father on Wednesday. "I would say two weeks ago I didn't really believe in that, but I think we'd better start believing in something."
Green Bay will host former coach Mike Holmgren and the Seattle Seahawks (10-6) in the wild card round next Sunday.
Ironically, Holmgren traded Green to the Packers in 2000 and his performance on Sunday gave him an NFC-best 1,883 yards this season.
The playoff-bound Broncos (10-6) had wrapped up a wild-card berth and coach Mike Shanahan rested seven starters, including quarterback Jake Plummer and running back Clinton Portis.
Vikings coach Mike Tice will have nightmares thinking about McCown's touchdown pass to Poole on 4th-and-25.
"We lost the division because of one play," Tice said. "We didn't finish the deal. We made enough plays to take the lead, we didn't make enough plays to close it out. If you are going to be a champion you have to close it out. We didn't, so we lost the game."
The Seahawks earned their first postseason berth since 1999 when the Dallas Cowboys (10-6), who had already sealed a playoff spot, lost to the New Orleans Saints, 13-7.
The Bengals could not stop rookie Lee Suggs and were officially eliminated from the playoff race by the Cleveland Browns, 22-14.
A fourth-round pick out of Virginia Tech, Suggs rushed for 186 yards, including touchdowns of 78 and 25 yards.
Bidding for their first division title since they had their last winning season in 1990, the Bengals (8-8) lost their final two games.
The loss clinched the AFC North title for the Baltimore Ravens (10-6), who ended up beating the Pittsburgh Steelers, 13-10, in overtime in the Sunday night game.
Ironically, Lewis' first win came at Cleveland on September 28 after an 0-3 start. However, it turned out to be the Browns who broke his heart.
"We didn't play well enough to win," Lewis said. "I told them to be proud. Don't let anything or anybody diminish what you did. This was a good year for our team but not a great year."
Baltimore will host the Tennessee Titans (12-4) and the Broncos will visit the Indianapolis Colts (12-4) on wild card weekend.
The Colts clinched the AFC South title with a come-from-behind 20-17 victory over the Houston Texans as Mike Vanderjagt made his NFL-record 41st straight field goal as time expired.
Needing a win to capture their first division title since 1999, the Colts played uninspired for three quarters and trailed 17-3 entering the final period.
Titans coach Jeff Fisher decided to give his banged-up starting quarterback Steve McNair a rest and veteran Neil O'Donnell led Tennessee to a 33-13 win over Tampa Bay.
The St. Louis Rams (12-4) blew a chance at clinching home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs, losing to the Detroit Lions, 30-20.
Riding a seven-game winning streak and needing a victory to ensure that the road to the Super Bowl in the NFC would go through the Edward Jones Dome, where they have won 14 straight games, the Rams wasted a 20-10 halftime lead.
"It's very disappointing, particularly in the second half," Rams coach Mike Martz said. "There were so many mistakes in this game in so many different areas. This team wasn't prepared. That's my responsibility. They weren't focused, not like they need to be. We will regroup and make the repairs."
The loss by the Rams allowed
the Philadelphia Eagles to gain homefield. St. Louis still has a first-round
bye.