It has been quite a turn for the Ravens as going into Week 8 the team was 2-5. Months later they upset Cleveland twice and won 3 straight road games to get to the big dance. The Giants battled through probably the toughest NFC East schedule to date. Like the Ravens, New York has 3 tough road games to get to the big dance including becoming the first team to beat the Eagles twice in a season when they stunned Philly 31-30 in a classic. Like the Giants 2nd postseason game this game turned out to be a defensive affair. Eli Manning and the giants would get the first crack at scoring but Joel Grady missed a 49 yard field goal midway through the first quarter. Bobby Brengel came up huge on the big stage when he hit Demetrius Williams for a 32 yard gain and then on the next play connected with TE Rufus Alaniz for a 16 yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead. The giants responded when Eli Manning connected with 3 different Giants on third down to get the ball to the 1. RB Rich Creaser did the rest when he ran around the right end for the score and a 7-7 tie at the half. The 3rd quarter started with the Ravens having the ball. Brengel went 4-4 on the drive and hit Mark Clayton for a 37 yard touchdown to get the Ravens back on top 14-7. The Giants again had a chance to cut into the lead but Grady again missed a field goal, this time from 40 yards. After that the defensives took over especially the Ravens D. The Giants didnt get back into Ravens territory until their final drive of the game. On 2nd and 10 from the Giants 48, Manning hit Mel McDaniel for an 11 yard gain. After 2 incompletions, OLB Rick Ellard sacked Manning for a 6 yard loss to bring up a 4th and 16. On 4th down Manning however was pressured by Earnest Robertson.He threw the ball anyway and tried to hit TE Mel McDaniel but overthrew him which gave the Ravens ar 14-7 win. Brengel was named EFL IX MVP with 233 yards and 2 TDs.

The game of the day happened in a most liklely place in Detroit. The Lions coming in at 2-7 took on 8-1 Minnesota. The Lions and Vikings started the game by trading field goals to make it 3-3. Tony Romo got the first touchdown of the game when he hit Roy Williams for an 11 yard touchdown to make it 10-3. But the Vikings dialed up their big play abilities when Jason Campbell hit Van Bilodeau for a 75 yard touchdown to tie the game back up at 10. At the 2 minute warning the Lions took the lead again when Brain Calhoun plunged in from a yard out to make it a 17-10 game which was the score at the half. The 2nd half started the same way it ended, with a Lions touchdown. Tony Romo hit Bart Oliver for a 2 yard touchdown to make it 24-10. But the Vikings responded. Jason Campbell hit Rod Dirks for a 9 yard touchdown to close it to 24-17. Then Chris Morris put a 47 yard field goal to make it 24-20. Early in the 4th quarter, the Lions increased the lead back up when Brian Calhoun scored from 6 yards out to make it 31-20. But again the Vikings came back. Brad Perini caught an 8 yard touchdown from Campbell to make it a 31-28 after a Bernstein 2 point conversion. 3 minutes later, the Vikings tied it up when Morris hit a short 18 yard field goal at 31-31. The game went into overtime and the Vikings won the toss. The Lions never got the ball. Vikings went down the field and Chris Morris hit a 47 yard field goal to win the game 34-31 and take the divison lead outright.

The Cards and Seahawks had a combined 2 wins going into week 7 so not much was hyped up about this game. it turned out to be the game of the day. The Seahawks quickly got things started when Eric Jordan scored from 8 yards out 3 minutes into the game. After a Neil Rackers field goal, Carson Palmer hit Bryant Pike for a 20 yard touchdown to make it a 14-3 lead. Carson then hit Rickey Randel-El for a 14 TD to make it 21-3 game. Then the Seahakws added to the lead when Jordan ran for his 2nd score of the day. The Tide however started to change. Down by 25 points, Arizona started their comeback when Harry Lange ran for a 5 yard touchdown. Then Carson Palmer threw a 3rd down interception which resulted in a Neil Rackers field goal. But the true momentum shift happened on the next kickoff when Ed Reed fumbled and the Cardinals recovered. Rackers then hit his 2nd field goal in 14 seconds to close the lead to 28-16. Rackers then opened the 3rd quarter with his 4th field goal of the game to make it 28-19. Matt Leinart got it within 2 as he hit TE Ethan Leopold for a 7 yard touchdown. Then the Cards took their first lead of the game when after another Palmer INT, Leinart hit Anquan Boldin for a 36 yard catch and gain touchdown to makei it a 33-28 game. The Seahawks retook the lead when Palmer hit Deion Branch for a 7 yard touchdown to put the Hawks back up by 1 at 34-33. But Neil Rackers hit his 5th field goal of the day to make it 36-34. Teh Cards would hold onto the lead for the comeback win.

The game of the day on paper did not disappoint as the defensing champion Rams took on the NY Giants in the Meadowlands. Rich Creaser got things underway when he took a 2 yard run into the endzone. At 7-0, the Rams came back with a 37 yard field goal and a 38 yard field goal by Jay Feely to make it a 7-6 game. Joel Grady then put his foot into a 45 yard field goal to make it a 10-6 Giants game. Marc Bulger hooked up with his favorite receiver Jorge Lyon from 37 yards out and then from 2 yards out to take a commanding 20-10 lead. But just before the half the Giants answered back Craig Melnik scored from 3 yards out to cut the lead to 20-17. Jay Feely hit his 3rd field goal of the half with 25 seconds left to make it a 23-17 halftime score. Bulger increased the Rams lead to 13 when he hit Reggie Robertson for a 2 yard score and a 30-17 lead with a quarter to go. But back came the Giants. Joel Grady hit a field goal from 35 yards out to make it 30-20. Then Eli Manning connected with Roy Ferguson for a 20 yard touchdown to make it a 30-27. Then the Giants took advantage of a Norbert Houston fumble. Giants recovered and they proceeded to kick a 47 yard field goal to tie the game up at 30-30. But Marc Bulger got the Rams into field goal range with under 30 seconds to go and Jay Feely connected from 24 yards to preserve the 33-30 victory for the Rams and a strong 4-1 start.

The Pack and Bears are no stranger to each other as they renewed their rivlary in Week 1 at Soldier Field. This game was that exciting for 45 minutes but luckily their is always a 4th quarter. Chicago opened the scoring when Richard Lincoln hit Skip Douthard for an 8 yard touchdown to give the Bears an early 7-0 lead. Then for a while it was the Deion Widner show as he a 28 yard field goal and then a 29 yard field goal in the 2nd quarter to make it a 7-6 game at the half. The 3rd quarter was also dominated by the kickers. First Widner hit another 28 yard field goal to make it 9-7. Then Rob Bironas hit a 51 yard field goal to make it a 10-9 game for the Bears. But the 4th quarter woke up both offenses. The Packers again regained the lead when Aaron Rodgers hit Peter Joseph for a 3 yard touchdown to make it a 16-10. The Bears also got into the endzone when Sam Sarnow scored from 3 yards out to make it a 1 point lead for the Bears. The Packers responded with their own 3 yard score to make it a 23-17 lead. The see-saw game continued when Richard Lincoln hit Airese Currie for a 5 yard score for Chicago and a 24-23 game. However it was the Packers who got the last laugh. Aaron Rodgers drove the Packers down from their own 20. He covered the 80 yards in just 1:41. The final play of the drive was when Aaron Rodgers hit Tracy Ammons for a 19 yard score to make the final score 31-24 after the 2 point conversion.

For the second straight season the St Louis Rams had to get by the Philadelphia Eagles to get to the EFL Bowl and they did just that dispelling them in overtime. The Rams opponent though had to get by the Cleveland Browns to make it to their first big dance. The weather would also play into the factor of the game as the Oklahoma forecast was calling for snow with heavy winds. The Rams got the bal first but quickly had to punt on a 3 and out. The Bills however got things going on their first drive on the hands of Richard "Honest Abe" Lincoln. With his passing and Shaun Myers running, the Bills got down to the Rams 13. But 2 penalties knocked them back to the 33 yard line. The Bills would be forced to settle on a 51 yard field goal. But KC Tolbert's 51 yard field goal attempt would hit the right crossbar and fall back. On the Rams next play Marc Bulger, who saw the ground a playoff record 9 times was sacked by Dale Billups. Bulger fumbled and the Bills got another shot. However, Bills penalties put this drive to bed quickly. Tolbert had another shot to redeem himself, but his 49 yard field goal attempt was wide right. Bulger duplicated this feat on the next Rams play. This time it was Adrian Olsson, who tallied a EFL Bowl record 4 1/2 sacks, that got to Bulger and it was the Bills again who picked up the fumble. This time however the Bills gave the ball right back when Richard Lincoln threw the ball to OLB Jon Alston. After some punts by both teams the Rams got another chance to put some points on the board. But this time Steven Jackson fumbled after a 28 yard gain to give the ball back to Buffalo. The Bills had a 3 and out. On the Rams next drive, points were finally put on the board when Bulger hit a quick slant to Wide Receiver David Hidy. Hidy broke through the defense and rumbled 54 yards for the score and a 7-0 lead for the Rams. That was the only score of the first half. The second half started with an explosion from RB Shaun Myers. Myers broke through the line and went 70 yards for a touchdown to tie the game up at 7-7 on just the 3rd play of the half. Bulger was unphased however as his Rams responded on the next drive when Bulger hit Jorge Lyon for a 13 yard touchdown to make it a 14-7 game for St Louis. Midway through the 4th quarter Jay Feely had a chance to ice the game when he attempted a 43 yard field goal. But the blustery wind pushed the ball to the right. On the next Rams possession, one of the Bills pickups via trade came through when CB Chris Gamble picked off Marc Bulger and took it 27 yards to the house to tie the game up at 14-14. This game would go into overtime. The Rams started with the ball but they could only make it to midfield before they had to punt. The Bills had to start their first overtime possession from their own 3 yard line. They drove it about to midfield as well before their drive stalled and they had to punt. The Rams however again had to punt as they couldnt move the ball into Buffalo territory. The Bills got a drive from their own 26 yard line. In 2 plays, the Bills got down into Rams territory. Honest Abe then hit Richard Henry for a 20 yard gain to get the Bills to the Rams 22. After a stuff and a sack Richard Lincoln would throw his costliest pass of the game. CB Tye Hill got his hands on the ball and picked it off. 2 plays later we were into double overtime in what was the longest EFL game to date. The Rams had enough of playing football though. Bulger hit former Eagle TE LJ Smith for 7 yards. Then on 3rd and 8 from the Buffalo 45, Bulger hit wideout Derek Hagan for 21 yards to the 24. Mitchell Kaplan got 7 yards on 3rd and 5 to the Bills 12. Bulger got the Rams to the Bills 3 before a sack pushed it back to the 8. But Jay Feely's attempt from 19 yards put the Rams into the record book with the win and their first championship ring. Bulger finished with 313 yards, 2 Tds and 2 INTs. Although his team loss Adrian Olsson was named game MVP with 6 tackles, 2 assists and 4.5 of the 9 team sacks on Marc Bulger. David Hidy had a solid day with 9 catches for 135 yards, and a score for the Rams.

The Eagles again espcaed the wrath of the NFC East to get into the divisional round. This time McNabb was up against the Chicago Bears. This was a back and forth affair. This game started slowly. Early on it seemed like Philly was getting the chances, but it was the Chicago Bears who got things going scoring wise. With 5 minutes to go, the bears started on a 12 play drive. It resulted in a 2 yard touchdown run from Michael Bush to give the Bears a 7-0 lead. That was the only scoring of the first half. CB Dana Tyler gave Philly a little spark in the 2nd half when he picked off Alvin Olsen early in the 3rd quarter. But the Eagles had to punt on the drive. On the Eagles following drive however, McNabb finally got things going. After a key 33 yard completion to Reggie Brown on a 3rd and 10, McNabb hit Hank Baskett for a 4 yard score to tie the game up at 7. But the Bears answered right back when Olsen hit Skip Douthard for a 13 yard score to put the Bears back ahead at 14-7. After a couple of punts, MCnabb got the Eagles moving again. Starting from their own 3 yard line, McNabbhit Reggie Brown for 32 yards. 6 minutes later, McNabb hit RB Sam Laforest for a 2 yard score to tie the score at 14 a piece. After a punt from Chicago, Donovan McNabb scrambled from midfeld 36 yards down to the Bears 14. The Bears defense also committed an unnecessary roughness penalty to push it down to the Bears 7 yard line. That was all that David "Green" Akers needed as he put through a 24 yard field goal at the end of the game to win it 17-14.