2006 DIVISIONAL GAME RECAPS

January 15, 2006 10:00 PM ET

A new champion will be crowned on February 5 thanks to the Broncos, who knocked off the defending Super Bowl champion Patriots on Saturday. The Seahawks survived earlier that afternoon despite losing Shaun Alexander to a concussion in the first quarter of their game against the Redskins.

On Sunday, the Steelers pulled off the biggest upset of the weekend by beating the Colts 21-18 in Indianapolis. Pittsburgh led the game 21-3 heading into the fourth quarter, but Bill Cowher's club had to hang on to win at the end. Jerome Bettis fumbled with just over a minute to play in regulation and gave the Colts a chance tie up the game, but Mike Vanderjagt shanked a 46-yard field goal with less than a minute left on the clock.

Finally, the Panthers scored just 55 seconds into their game with the Bears and never trailed on their way to their second consecutive road win. Rex Grossman played well for the Bears, but their vaunted defense didn't live up to the hype on Sunday.

Check out the game-by-game recaps below:

Redskins 10, Seahawks 20
Patriots 13, Broncos 27
Steelers 21, Colts 18
Panthers 29, Bears 21

Redskins 10, Seahawks 20
Summary: No one would have been surprised if the Seahawks had fallen apart after Shaun Alexander left the game with a concussion in the first quarter. However, Seattle's defense stepped up and helped carry the squad to their first playoff victory under head coach Mike Holmgren.

Fantasy MVP: Darrell Jackson came through with his best performance since returning to action following surgery to repair torn meniscus. Jackson had nine receptions for 143 yards and a touchdown, which is three times more yardage than his fellow wideouts had on Saturday.

Other studs: Matt Hasselbeck is famous for putting up big fantasy numbers in the month of December, but he's also been pretty good in January. Although the folically challenged quarterback had never won a playoff game before Saturday, he did pass for more than 300 yards in his last two playoff appearances. He didn't reach that milestone this week, but he hooked up with Jackson for a score, and added a six-yard touchdown run later in the game. Santana Moss was terrific for the Redskins with seven receptions for 103 yards and a score. Moss nearly scored a second touchdown late in the game, but Seahawks defensive back Michael Boulware knocked the ball away at the last second.

Fantasy LVP: Obviously, fantasy owners were expecting more than six carries for nine yards from Alexander, who became a glorified cheerleader after leaving the game in the first quarter.

Other duds: Clinton Portis delivered another disappointing performance. After being held to 53 yards last week by the Buccaneers last week, Portis was limited to just 41 yards on Saturday. Trailing 17-10 with eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, John Hall missed a 36-yard field goal. It proved to be a costly miss, as the Seahawks pulled ahead by 10 points on the ensuring drive when Josh Brown converted a 31-yard attempt.

Up Next: The road to the Super Bowl runs through Seattle. It has rained 28 straight days in the Emerald as of Saturday, so it could be a soggy NFC Championship game when the Panthers come to town.
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Patriots 13, Broncos 27
Summary: The Patriots are mortal. They suffered their first playoff loss under head coach Bill Belichick on Saturday. Mike Shanahan's squad scored 10 points in the last two minutes of the first half and never looked back. New England committed only six turnovers during that 10-game winning streak, yet coughed up the ball five times on Saturday.

Fantasy MVP: Mike Anderson was limited to 69 yards on 19 carries, but he scored a pair of touchdowns and helped lead his team to victory. There was nothing flashy about Anderson's performance, but he got the job done and delivered a pair of Mile High Salutes in the process.

Other studs: The second most notable performance from a Bronco player belonged to wide receiver Rod Smith, who had six grabs for 96 yards and a score. Despite the loss, a couple Patriots earned a spot in this section. Deion Branch is famous for stepping up in the playoffs and he did so again this weekend. Although he didn't find the end zone, Branch had eight receptions for 153 yards. And we have to give a shout out to tight end Ben Watson. He didn't have a catch on Saturday, but he did chase down Champ Bailey, stopping him just shy of the goal line, after the Broncos Pro Bowl corner picked off a Tom Brady pass in his end zone and nearly took it coast to coast. Watson even knocked the ball loose and there was some question as to whether Bailey fumbled the ball into the end zone, which would have resulted in a touchback. The officials ruled in Bailey's favor and the Broncos took over at the one-yard line. Even so, Watson showed great effort on the play.

Fantasy LVP: It wasn't a good night for Corey Dillon, who was held to just 66 yards from scrimmage. Dillon couldn't get anything going against the stingy Denver defense, which limited him to 57 rushing yards on 13 carries.

Other duds: Don't take this as a sign of disrespect, Tom, but this wasn't one of your finer playoff performances. Yes, you put up an impressive yardage total (341 yards), but you also took the wind out of your team's sails when Bailey picked off the pass in his own end zone on the aforementioned play. Anderson scored on the very next snap. Even the Iceman had an off night. Although he converted a pair of field goals, Adam Vinatieri missed a 43-yard kick by a matter of inches that would have brought his team to within four points in the fourth quarter.

Up Next: The Broncos don't have to make another visit to the RCA Dome, where they lost their last two playoff meetings by a combined score of 90-34. Instead, the Broncos will stay home and host the Steelers in the AFC Championship game.
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Steelers 21, Colts 18
Summary: Vanderjagt will be remembered as the goat, but Bettis nearly played the role. The Steelers took over on downs at the Colts two-yard line with a three-point lead and just 1:20 left on the game clock. Bettis took the handoff and darted toward the goal line, but fumbled when Gary Brackett knocked the ball loose. Colts cornerback Nick Harper picked up the ball and returned it all the way to the Steelers 42 yard-line. Five plays later, Vandy pushed the 46-yard field goal wide right.

Fantasy MVP: There's no disputing that Ben Roethlisberger was the star of this game. Big Ben passed for 197 yards and two touchdowns, and even made a game-saving tackle when he tripped up Harper to save a touchdown following the Bettis fumble.

Other studs: It didn't take long for Heath Miller to make his presence felt. Big Money had two receptions for 54 yards just four plays into the game. He followed up with a seven-yard touchdown reception later in the first quarter. Reggie Wayne didn't score, but he led all receivers in this game with seven grabs for 97 yards.

Fantasy LVP: Whatever happened to Marvin Harrison? He finished the first half with one reception for 24 yards and added only two grabs the rest of the game.

Other duds: The Colts held Willie Parker to 59 yards on 17 carries. Parker had a few decent runs, but he failed to break a long one against the Colts quick defense. This wasn't one of Peyton Manning's better performances. Although he finished the game with 290 passing yards and a score, fantasy owners can't be happy with the one touchdown pass he gave them in the playoffs this year.

Up Next: The Steelers, who are the first No. 6 seed in history to advance to the AFC Championship game, will head west to Denver.
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Panthers 29, Bears 21
Summary: With the league's No. 2 and No. 3 ranked defenses colliding, most fantasy owners expected a low-scoring game. Instead, the two teams combined for 50 points as the Panthers topped the Bears 29-21 to advance to the NFC Championship game.

Fantasy MVP: The Bears didn't have an answer for Steve Smith. The feisty little wideout lit up the Chi-Town defense for 169 receiving yards when these teams met back in week 11, and he erupted for 12 receptions for 218 yards and two scores this time around.

Other studs: One could also make a case for Jake Delhomme being the fantasy MVP given that he passed for 319 yards and three touchdowns. The Cajun quarterback picked apart the Bears defense all day, using nine different receivers in the process. Thomas Jones owners have to be frustrated after watching Adrian Peterson and fullback Jason McKie rush for touchdowns. Nonetheless, Jones took 20 carries for 80 yards and added another 30 receiving yards against a stingy defense.

Fantasy LVP: It's hard to pick an LVP when two both offenses exceeded expectations. Therefore, we'll give the nod to the Bears defense, which surrendered 434 total yards and their second-highest point total of the season.

Other duds: Keary Colbert continues to be a bust as the Panthers No. 2 receiver. The second-year wideout had just one catch for nine yards. Fantasy owners who were expecting big things from Muhsin Muhammad due to the matchup against his former team had to be letdown by his three-catch, 58-yard performance.

Up Next: The Panthers will travel to Seattle for a showdown with the Seahawks. The two squads did not meet during the regular season. For whatever it's worth, the Seahawks beat the Panthers 23-17 back in 2004. Unfortunately, the Panthers will be without DeShaun Foster, who suffered a broken ankle early in the second half.
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