NFL Divisional Round: QB Lessons

What a great weekend of football, eh? After a disappointing wildcard round, the NFL Gods smiled down on us and provided a really exciting slate of games this time around. There was a lot to take away from the divisional round but I learned the most about the quarterbacks. Here are the 5 big things I learned this weekend:

1. Colin Kaepernick is... pretty effing good.

Two words sum up Kaepernick's performance on Saturday night against the Packers: holy shit. Let's not delve too deep into this and just look at the raw numbers: 17-for-31 for 263 yards and 2 touchdowns through the air; 16 rush attempts for 181 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground. Again, holy shit. Kaepernick accounted for 444 yards, while Green Bay as a team netted just 352. Every other team should be terrified by the mere thought of playing this guy.

One last time: holy shit.

Associated Press

2. Joe Flacco is... gonna get paid this off-season.

Flacco is set to become an unrestricted free agent after the season and, with his play Saturday, is now sure to get a hefty extension from the Ravens. For all the talk of Flacco being limited as a quarterback, he has his team in the AFC Championship again after leading an almost-impossible comeback against the Broncos in Denver. Flacco went 18-for-34 for 331 yards, with 3 touchdowns and no picks in tough conditions, improving his career playoff record to 7-4. He may be set for a Donovan McNabb-esque career (lots of trips to the Conference Championships, no titles), but he forced the Ravens' hand with that win.

3. Matt Schaub is... in dire need of some playmakers.

The lack of big-time threats in Houston was never more apparent than Sunday evening in New England, and is showed right out of the gate. After a huge return to start the game, Houston began their first drive deep in Patriots' territory. On a second-and-7 from inside the red zone, Schaub dropped back and flung it to an open James Casey. It would have been enough for a first down, and he may have even scored a touchdown if he caught it. Of course, he didn't. Casey got both hands on the ball, and still couldn't corral it. Until they get some pass-catchers who can make some big plays—other than Andre Johnson of course—the Texans are going to be only marginal contenders.

4. Peyton Manning is... an enigma.

The greatest regular season quarterback of all time struggles mightily in the playoffs. That's Manning's career at this point. Peyton turned the ball over 3 times on Saturday, including an overtime interception that set Baltimore up with a short field and essentially sealed the game. Inexplicably, Manning has a regular season winning percentage of 68.75% and a playoff winning percentage of only 45%. Yikes! We won't know what his legacy is until he retires, but at this point it appears "coming up short in playoff games" will be a major part of it.

5. Russell Wilson is... going to keep the Seahawks competitive for years to come.

Wilson's second half in Atlanta was a thing of brilliance. He essentially won the game for Seattle, but left a little too much time on the clock, with Atlanta managing to string together a couple long passes and kick a game-winning field goal. While the loss will be tough to swallow, Seahawks fans have got to feel great about Wilson going forward. In 2 playoff games, Wilson completed 62.9% of his passes for 572 yards and 3 touchdowns while also running for 127 yards and a score. The kid can play, and looks to be setting himself up for a great career.