Hello again, everyone.  Here's wishing you a fantastic, incredible, and wonderful Monday afternoon.

Divisional weekend has come and gone, and I feel I may owe everyone an apology.  In the preview section, I spoke of how this weekend was supposedly the best on the football schedule, and it should offer compelling, exciting games.  It was, in theory, the best eight teams facing off for the right to advance to their conference championship game.

The final scores of the first three games: 45-14; 20-3; 34-3.  Whoops.

So the Saints, Colts, and Vikings bludgeoned their opponents in blowouts.  With the three routes already, citizens of Gotham were afraid that the Jets would follow the trend of road teams getting destroyed.

But then it happened.  Everything happened.  Shonn Greene happened, Darrelle Revis happened, Jim Leonhard and Dustin Keller happened, Mark Sanchez didn't have to happen (that's a good thing.)  But most importantly, Nate Kaeding and Philip Rivers' crimson face happened.

In case you live in the eastern hemisphere or under a sound-proof boulder, the Jets pulled the upset of the NFL playoffs yesterday in San Diego.  The Chargers had won 11 straight games, had the hottest passing attack in the league, and were favored by a touchdown over the upstart Jets.
Two picks means no juice box for L'il Phil.

As the game played out, it certainly had its share of bizarre moments.  Revis made an interception that bounced off the foot and ass out Chargers receiver Vincent Jackson.  There were multiple pass interference calls that were questionable.  We witnessed the first "incomplete" pass in NFL history in which the receiver took two and a half steps with the football in his hands (a truly embarrassing ruling...I was ready to be REAL bitter about this if/when the Jets had lost.  Needless to say, it worked out ok.)  In the anatomy of an upset, a game filled with zany moments is usually very important.

Both teams got some breaks, but the game came down to San Diego's gag in the kicking game.  Kaeding was automatic for four months, but all anyone cares about now is that he was atrocious for one game.  Even though the Jets looked like a high school team in the first half, the Chargers could never get the crucial two-score lead.  The fact that New York was only down 7-0 definitely gave them confidence for the second half. 

To commemorate how remarkable the second half was, I've constructed this homemade mashup of the highlights.  Yep, Conor Reilly has turned into DJ Con Tron to show both the plays and how everyone was feeling while watching.  The mashup does a better job than anything I could type here, as the Jets escaped California with their biggest win in over a decade.  And it's definitely a top-5 win for the franchise's history.  Not bad, Rex.

So the Jets keep their upset train rolling.  Next stop: Indianapolis.  You could say that this train started in Indy, when the Colts pulled their starters and gave New York a gift win that they needed just to make the playoffs.  Now everything comes full circle in the AFC Championship.  Who saw that one coming?

As you can see from the final scores I listed above, there is a reason the other games from the weekend haven't really been mentioned in this post.  All three of them were completely uncompetitive and for the casual fan, practically unwatchable.  Nevertheless we will scrounge the remains for some important storylines as we head into the conference championships...

The Montauk BeverageWorks Delicious Performance of the Week:
Sidney Rice, Vikings.  If the Jets/Chargers game was the surprise upset of the weekend, the Vikings' decimation of the Cowboys was certainly the surprise letdown.  We all thought the game would be a coin flip, as Dallas looked on fire and poised for a Super Bowl run.  Minnesota had shown flashes of being a great time throughout the season.  But nobody thought they were capable of an all-around performance like that.  Their defense was merciless, and the Dallas defense had no answer for the Favre to Rice connection.  Six catches for 141 yards and three touchdowns.  He will be a handful for New Orleans to handle next week.

The Favorite Flop of the Week:
Well there's not much of a choice here.  In the first three games, all the favorites covered the spread by at least 13 points.  Hate to pile it on Chargers, but you're the only one that qualifies.

The Underdog Uprising of the Week:
Yep.  You bet.

• Well, hopefully the two stinkers in the NFC this weekend will lead to an epic matchup next weekend.  If there was any doubt that the Saints and Vikings were the best in the conference, they were put to rest yesterday.  The Saints scored at will and just beat up the Cardinals in every way.  The fact that Reggie Bush is playing like the star he was in college gives the Vikings another weapon to worry about.  Don't sleep on the Vikings though.  They will be comfortable in the dome setting of New Orleans, and they know it may be now or never.  Favre can stay or go in any given offseason.  So if they don't get there this year, Minnesota may not be afforded an encore opportunity.
• The Ravens did play some spirited football in Indianapolis.  They weren't spectacular in executing their gameplan, but the Colts were in reach for quite a while.  Baltimore had some opportunities and just squandered them.  If there was a defining play in the game, it was an Ed Reed interception in which he fumbled on the return.  Being an underdog in that setting, those tough-luck things just can't be overcome.  

So there you have it.  Divisional weekend, ladies and gentlemen.  Somehow, someway, the New York Jets are part of the NFL's final four.  Obviously, the toughest games are yet to come.  But after yesterday, who is anyone to tell this team "no."  Their coach has them playing far better than the sum of their talent, and they just took down the hottest team going into the playoffs.  Now it's back to Indy, where this momentum freight train began its big trip.

Come back to the site during the week for previews and analysis of next weekend's game.  And take these next few days to celebrate, Jets fans.  It's been 12 years since they've come this far.  And in the NFL, you never know how long it will be until the next one.

Enjoy!