Warner leads Arizona out of the proverbial desert

4 Kurt Warner was good for (4) touchdown passes in Arizona’s 32-25 victory vs. Philadelphia. Warner threw five touchdown passes in a playoff game nine years ago, a 49-37 St. Louis victory vs. Minnesota. Only four other QBs in NFL history have posted two playoff games with at least four touchdown passes: Daryle Lamonica, Joe Montana, Kerry Collins, and Peyton Manning.

5 My longest winning streak so far is (5) in the new ESPN Streak for the Cash – which sucks, I know. I picked Minnesota over Northwestern on Sunday (along with 98.7% of those who picked a winner for that game!) and I got hosed in the second half, 74-65. My quest for a million dollar streak is once again at 1.

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10 The Cardinals last made the playoffs (10) years ago – and it’s been six decades since the franchise made back-to-back appearances in the 1947 and 1948 title games. Arizona has been wandering in the desert longer than Moses & Co., but now, thanks to Kurt Warner & Co., the team is going to Tampa where it will play for the title once again. After beating Philly, Warner said, “I want to say Arizona Cardinals and Super Bowl in the same sentence. The Arizona Cardinals in the Super Bowl. How about it?”

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27 It took Larry Fitzgerald only (27) minutes to score three touchdowns vs. Philadelphia on Sunday. That’s the second fastest any player has scored three touchdowns in NFL playoff history. Ricky Watters scored five touchdowns in a playoff game in 1994, and he crossed the goal line for the third time that game with 4:03 left in the half.

34 Anquan Boldin caught four passes for (34) yards vs. Philadelphia – and he wasn’t happy. Did you see the shot of him arguing with offensive coordinator Todd Haley on the sideline? After Arizona gave up a big lead, only to methodically march down the field for the winning score and a berth in the Super Bowl late in the fourth quarter, instead of celebrating with his teammates Boldin was seen leaving out the backdoor of the Cardinals’ locker room. He was apparently upset the team did not use him in the game-winning drive – guess winning the NFC championship game is secondary in terms of his priorities.

52 Pittsburgh managed just (52) yards rushing on 28 carries vs. Baltimore – and yet, the Steelers won. In 49 postseason games, Sunday was only the second time in team history that the Steelers averaged fewer than two yards per carry.

65 Ben Roethlisberger hit Santonio Holmes for a (65)-yard touchdown pass in Pittsburgh’s 23-14 victory vs. Baltimore. In ten previous playoff games the longest touchdown pass given up by Baltimore was a 49-yard toss from Steve McNair to Justin McCareins five years ago.

253 Tim Hightower scored the game-winning touchdown for Arizona with (2:53) left on the clock. He became only the third rookie in NFL history to score a touchdown that sent his team to the Super Bowl: Lynn Swann (1974, Steelers) and Joseph Addai (2006, Colts) are the others.

419 Larry Fitzgerald set an NFL record with (419) receiving yards in one postseason – surpassing the legendary Jerry Rice. And, he still has one game left.

Georgia Coach Richt: We made enough mistakes to lose.

Georgia vs. Auburn

Saturday, November 15, 2008 – Auburn, Alabama

Final: 17-13

This is the second week in a row that Georgia escaped with a road victory over an SEC opponent. “The keys to this game were perseverance, guts and sticking together,” Georgia Coach Mark Richt said. “Neither team played good enough to win. We both made enough mistakes to lose.” One other “key” to winning this game was a bobbled snap on a PAT by Auburn – if not for that failed conversion, Auburn could have opted for field goal attempts instead of trying to convert on fourth down (twice) late in the game.

Well, Georgia did come out on top – here’s a look at how the game went:

14 Auburn was (14) yards from an upset win in The Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry. After driving the ball 66 yards on 11 plays with less than two minutes on the game clock, it all came down to a fourth-and-one from the Georgia 14 for Auburn quarterback Kodi Burns. He tried to hit Ben Tate in the end zone, but his pass was long and Georgia got the ball back with one tick left on the clock.

30 Auburn drove the ball (39) yards on nine plays and took 4:17 off the game clock after Georgia scored the go-ahead touchdown with 8:24 left in the fourth quarter. The Tigers stalled, however, at the Georgia 21, where they failed to convert on fourth-and three.

35 Mario Fannin scored on a (35) yard touchdown run that gave Auburn a 13-10 lead with 11:05 left in the game. The run capped off a drive that took 11 plays and covered 90 yards – and included a fourth-and-one conversion on a sneak by quarterback Kodi Burns.

81 The number of yards (81) receiving for A.J. Green. He caught five passes, but none were more important than his final catch of the day – it came just minutes after Auburn took the lead, and it went for 17 yards and a touchdown that proved to be the winning score.

131 The number of yards (131) rushing for Knowshon Moreno. He ran the ball 22 times and he also caught four passes for 58 yards, including a screen that Moreno took for 35 yards and a touchdown for Georgia’s first points of the game.

215 The number of yards (215) passing for Matt Stafford. The Georgia QB was 15 for 24 and was good for a pair of touchdowns. The Auburn defense was unable to pick off any Stafford passes, but Stafford did fumble the ball on his own 36 with only 2:26 left in the game. It could have been costly, had he not recovered the ball as well. Stafford said afterwards, “They are a very good football team and they play us tough every year. It’s a rivalry game, so you never know what can happen.”

Game Notes: Actually, with Georgia’s play this year “you never know what can happen” seems to be the mantra of every game. The all-time series between Georgia and Auburn is now 53-51-8 in favor of Auburn, but the difference in points is a mere 49 in favor of the Bulldogs.

Up Next: Georgia vs. Georgia Tech (November 29)