SI's Best of Wild-Card Weekend

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Jan 9, 2012

SI's Best of Wild-Card Weekend

Broncos 29, Steelers 23

Demaryius Thomas sprints to the end zone on the first play of overtime, an 80-yard touchdown pass from Tim Tebow that sent the Mile-High City and millions watching everywhere else into a frenzy.

Broncos 29, Steelers 23

Of course, Tebow "Tebowed" (or close to it) after the dramatic win, his first career playoff game.

Broncos 29, Steelers 23

Tebow passed for, notably, 316 yards, and added 50 more on the ground for three touchdowns and no turnovers. He snapped a streak of five straight games with a turnover.

Broncos 29, Steelers 23

Ben Roethlisberger entered the game with a severely sprained left ankle, and the Broncos defense didn't do him any favors. Big Ben was sacked five times and picked off once.

Broncos 29, Steelers 23

Tebow dives in for an eight-yard touchdown, part of a 20-point second quarter for the Broncos, who squandered a 20-6 halftime lead.

Giants 24, Falcons 2

Hakeem Nicks torched the Falcons' depleted secondary for 115 yards and two touchdowns on six catches, including this 72-yard score.

Giants 24, Falcons 2

Corey Peters and the Falcons forced a safety for the first points of the game. The Atlanta offense was held to 247 yards.

Giants 24, Falcons 2

Osi Umenyiora finished off Matt Ryan and the Falcons with a fourth-down sack in the final two minutes, preserving a defensive shutout.

Giants 24, Falcons 2

Mario Manningham's role dwindled with Victor Cruz's breakout this season, but the receiver reasserted himself with four catches for 68 yards, including this 27-yard fourth-quarter touchdown.

Giants 24, Falcons 2

Nicks' celebrations made the rounds on social media, including a Dirty Bird dance after his second touchdown that shocked Jamal Anderson .

Saints 45, Lions 28

Drew Brees and the Saints broke the playoff record for total yards with 626. Brees tallied 466 of them through the air, including three touchdowns (though he didn't score on this run).

Saints 45, Lions 28

Matthew Stafford threw for 380 yards and three TDs (and this rushing touchdown), but the Lions simply could not keep up in the second half.

Saints 45, Lions 28

The New Orleans faithful saw their team win a fifth straight playoff game at the Superdome.

Saints 45, Lions 28

Calvin Johnson (12 catches, 211 yards, 2 TDs) was nearly as unstoppable as the Saints in his first playoff game.

Saints 45, Lions 28

Jimmy Graham (6-foot-6) capped a three-yard touchdown catch with the signature celebration for basketball players-turned-tight ends.

Texans 31, Bengals 10

Rookie J.J. Watt (No. 99) returned the first of Andy Dalton's three interceptions for a 29-yard touchdown to break a 10-10 tie with 52 seconds left in the first half.