6:58 a.m.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- After the 2008 season, the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers met in one of the league's most-violent games in the AFC Championship Game, bodies falling all over the place.
Now they meet again Saturday in the AFC Divisional Playoffs.
"You can expect the same thing," Ravens safety Dawan Landry said after the Ravens beat the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday to move on to face the Steelers.
Let's hope so.
| NFL -- Week 18 |
| Judgements |
 Clark Judge Another Ravens-Steelers struggle? Expect the usual turbulence. |
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The Ravens and Steelers, who meet Saturday in Pittsburgh, will meet for the third time, with each winning on the other team's field.
The Jets and Patriots, who split their games, will meet Sunday in Foxboro in the other AFC game.
Now we know why they call it the divisional round since these both feature division teams playing for a third time.
The NFC will match the Green Bay Packers at the Atlanta Falcons Saturday night and the Chicago Bears hosting the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday. Atlanta beat Green Bay earlier this season and Seattle upset the Bears at Soldier Field for one of their seven regular-season victories.
It appears the AFC games offer more intrigue, and the way the matchups played out is something many expected -- and hoped -- to see.
"I think that's what everybody wanted to see, these matchups," Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs said. "Both teams split in the regular season. The third one is Armageddon. All four teams, and there can only be one winner at the end. What's better than these four?"
The NFC counters with the best team nobody is talking about in Atlanta against a Packers team that pushed the Falcons in a 20-17 loss in November. And there's the Seahawks playing at Chicago, fresh off their upset victory over the Saints. The Seahawks, who won the NFC West with a losing record at 7-9, would have to get to the Super Bowl just to get above .500.
It will be tough to top Wild Card Weekend. Two of the four games came down to the final possession, one featured a huge upset and the fourth highlighted a Ravens team that is loaded with veterans who know how to win big games.
It was a B+ weekend, and could have been A+ here in our CBSSports.com Weekly Grades if only the Chiefs had decided to show up for their game.
P.S.: Anybody seen Dwayne Bowe?
Here's a quick peek at next weekend's games:
Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers: The Steelers have won six consecutive games with Ben Roethlisberger against the Ravens. Baltimore beat Pittsburgh 17-14 in Week Four when Roethlisberger was sitting out because of a league-imposed suspension. Roethlisberger beat Baltimore 13-10 in Week 13 with a fourth-quarter rally, thanks to a costly Joe Flacco fumble. "The last time we let it slip away," Landry said. This Ravens team is better because it can now run the ball and because the defense has come on in recent weeks. The secondary, which had been a trouble spot, has played better. The key for both teams will be the running game. Both had run defenses that finished in the top 10 in the league, with the Steelers the best. Baltimore's Ray Rice and Pittsburgh's Rashard Mendenhall will be keys to the game. One thing we can count on: Wicked hits.
Green Bay Packers at Atlanta Falcons: Three days after Thanksgiving was when these two teams last met. The Falcons pulled out a 20-17 victory thanks to a game-winning field goal by Matt Bryant. That helped overcome the play of Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who threw for 344 yards. The Falcons have to be better against him this time. Atlanta's Michael Turner ran for 110 yards that day. Green Bay couldn't run it and Rodgers led them in rushing with 51 yards. The team that runs it better here will win. That's where rookie James Starks, who ran for 123 against the Eagles, could be key. He didn't get a carry the last time they met.
Seattle Seahawks at Chicago Bears: In Week Six, the Seahawks went into Chicago and won 23-20. The Seattle defense sacked Jay Cutler six times in that game, beating him up in the process. The Bears line was terrible early in the season, but has made big strides. They won't be as bad as they were in the first meeting, which could give Cutler a lot of big chances down the field in this one. The Seattle secondary struggled at times this season. Another mismatch might be the Bears defensive front against Seattle's offensive line. Julius Peppers will make life tough for Matt Hasselbeck. This is a much different Bears team than the one that lost to Seattle in the first meeting. The Seahawks are playing on borrowed time after upsetting the Saints, but I think that's about to end here.
New York Jets at New England Patriots: The last time they played at Gillette Stadium, the Jets were routed 45-3. They never stood a chance. The Patriots did what they wanted to do on offense against Rex Ryan's defense. They schemed it up to beat the defense inside as Tom Brady threw for 328 yards. That won't happen again -- at least not with so much ease. Ryan will scheme things differently. The Patriots have improved on defense in the past month, which could cause problems for the Jets. They don't want to get into a shootout. Low scoring would be good for the Jets. The last time they played, Mark Sanchez wasn't very good. If that happens again, the Patriots will be moving on. New England is a heavy favorite, so it will be a big upset if the Jets find a way to win this game.
| Saturday, Jan. 8, 2011 | |||
| Team | Grade | GPA | Seattle Seahawks 41, New Orleans Saints 36 |
 | A | 2.08 | Seahawks: Matt Hasselbeck was spectacular with four TD passes, Marshawn Lynch iced the game with one of the best TD runs you'll ever see, and the defense, after getting torched early, came up with some big stops when the Seahawks needed it. A lot of credit goes to the coverage units as well, which constantly pinned the Saints inside their own 20 all day. -- John Boyle, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | D | 2.46 | Saints: Drew Brees was, well, Drew Brees, but without a credible run game and a terrible defensive effort, the Saints couldn't do enough to beat a 7-9 team. Plenty of questionable coaching decisions as well such as going for it on fourth-and-inches in their own territory. Up 10-0, the Saints had a chance to bury the Seahawks, but instead they allowed an inferior team to rally. -- John Boyle, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | NY Jets 17, Indianapolis Colts 16 |
 | A- | 2.55 | Jets: The Jets came up big when they had to, especially in the third and fourth quarters, in avenging the loss in last year's AFC championship game. With their backs to the wall and time running out in the fourth quarter, New York moved the ball downfield quickly to get the game-winning field goal. -- Tom James, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | B+ | 2.65 | Colts: The Colts did just about everything right except win the game. Indianapolis' problems with kick coverage cost them in the end, giving up a 47-yard kickoff return late in the fourth quarter that set up New York's final game-winning drive. -- Tom James, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Sunday, Jan. 9, 2011 | |||
| Team | Grade | GPA | Baltimore Ravens 30, Kansas City Chiefs 7 |
 | B+ | 2.61 | Ravens: The Baltimore defense kept pressure on the K.C. offense and allowed only a long TD run by RB Jamaal Charles. But as the game went on and the difference on the scoreboard grew, they tightened the clamps. QB Joe Flacco led the offense with time-consuming scoring drives and third-down conversions. TE Todd Heap caught 10 passes for 108 yards and the Chiefs defense never found a way to slow him down. -- Bob Gretz, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | F | 2.50 | Chiefs: The Chiefs turned the ball over four times, picking up some very bad penalties along the way and just stumbling through their first game in the playoffs since 2006. The defense was better than the offense, as they held Baltimore to field goals several times when put in bad field position by turnovers. The offense could not sustain anything. Matt Cassel struggled, and Dwayne Bowe was not a factor. -- Bob Gretz, RapidReports Correspondent |
| Team | Grade | GPA | Green Bay Packers 21, Philadelphia Eagles 16 |
 | A | 2.82 | Packers: They won on the road in front of a hostile crowd against a good team. And they went out of character to do it as rookie RB James Starks rushed for 123 yards. QB Aaron Rodgers wasn't great, but he was good enough. The defense accomplished its two main goals, containing QB Michael Vick and WR DeSean Jackson. -- Kevin Noonan, RapidReports Correspondent |
 | D | 2.60 | Eagles: The Eagles lost because of their own mistakes and blown opportunities. The coaches never found a way to unleash Michael Vick and DeSean Jackson and Pro Bowl kicker David Akers missed two FGs that could have made the difference. And the defense allowed the Pack to convert 62 percent on third down (NFL average was 38 percent this season). A bad ending to a pretty good season. -- Kevin Noonan, RapidReports Correspondent extracted from cbssports.com |
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