I don't think it's very often that all four first-round games are as good as these were. Sure, Bengals-Chargers wasn't great, but it was better than the final score, and fun if you were rooting for the Chargers. In recapping those games, I'm going to talk dynasty implications, because it's pretty much all I care about right now, and probably that a lot of fantasy readers are thinking about (especially if your fantasy playoff team was counting on Charles, Rodgers, or Green). So let's go.
Kansas City at Indianapolis: I spent the first half of this game hosting my son's birthday party at this place where kids ran around and jumped on trampolines and climbed walls, pretty much a formalized version of what they've been doing for the last few weeks anyway. I got updates about Jamaal Charles not playing, so I sweated out whether he'd blown out his knee or something (no, fortunately it was just a brain injury). I then got to watch the entire second half as the Colts made their miraculous comeback. Somewhat underappreciated in the recaps is the sack-fumble that set up a key Colts touchdown, because without that play, I don't know if the Colts get the ball enough to win -- Kansas City was also moving the ball up and down the field. NFL-wise, what comes to mind is that this was a bitter, bitter loss for Kansas City, but with some distance they may be able to look at it and say, wow, the way our defense struggled in the second half of the season, there is no way we'd have gone into Denver or New England and come away with a win.
Fantasy-wise, I think Kansas City has almost enough offensive pieces to have some solid fantasy prospects, not just Charles but Dwayne Bowe and Alex Smith, too. They just need one more quality receiver, probably not a wideout currently on their roster. Tight end Travis Kelce? Maybe. For the Colts, well, it's abundantly clear the main thing holding back Andrew Luck and T.Y. Hilton for most of the season is the team's efforts to build a running game with Trent Richardson and Donald Brown. Turn Luck loose and he'll put up the same kind of fantasy numbers as any of the top quarterbacks, and better than most because he'll also run in a few touchdowns around the goal line. Luck was kind of a disappointment in fantasy terms this year. Next year, if the Colts just let the man sling it, he should be a lot better.
New Orleans at Philadelphia: Not that anyone cares, but I thought New Orleans would win this game. They're not as good on the road and make too many mistakes, which is why they've lost their recent games away from home, but they still tend to put up plenty of yards and points, their defense is a lot better now than it's been the last couple of years (bluster or no, the Cowboys must sorely regret sacking Rob Ryan last offseason), and the Eagles, for all their offensive talent, had a bad defense and a head coach and quarterback making their first playoff appearances. They didn't make enough plays, they weren't good enough, but they've got the talent (on offense, anyway) to be right back there a year from now, where they'll have a better idea of how to win one of these games.
Fantasy-wise, the guy who impressed me in this game was Kenny Stills. He ran some nice routes and made some big grabs, and though the stat line was nothing you'd want to use in fantasy (3 for 35), I think he's the most interesting Saints wideout next season -- a guy who should outperform where he'll be drafted, and maybe emerge as more of a go-to guy in the offense. And then there's the much derided (including by us) Mark Ingram, who simply had a huge game and deserves all the credit in the world. He really stepped up with Pierre Thomas out and ran as well as I've ever seen him (can't really count his big game against a joke Dallas run defense). If the Saint lean on him again at Seattle, who knows? Maybe things go differently. For the Eagles, I like Zach Ertz; I like the passing offense in general. They've got a couple of pending free agents in Riley Cooper and Jeremy Maclin, so we'll see if their receiving corps changes. But they're going to have some good fantasy starters next year.
San Diego at Cincinnati: Players play, which is why I don't understand the criticism of Marvin Lewis today. Yes, he's 0-5 in the playoffs, but I don't know how he stops quarterbacks from throwing interceptions or running backs from fumbling. Let's talk about those guys; it's ugly to say, but Andy Dalton did in fact kind of choke. Just no excuse for a couple of throws he made, and that pivotal fumble. To lose the ball while diving untouched several yards short of the first down anyway...just terrible. He'll be back as their starter next year, and should be, but either he needs to respond better to pressure, or they need to find a way to put less of the pressure on him. As for Giovani Bernard's costly fumble, I'm going to say that I think running back committees are by and large bad. I think whenever you see a running back looking off the field to see if he's staying in the game after every play, his effectiveness is being damaged. Maybe BenJarvus Green-Ellis does some things better, and maybe you use a second running back to spell Bernard on occasion, but I think you've got to have a featured, main guy who knows he's going to be out there most of the time. Hmm, maybe the loss IS Marvin Lewis' fault.
Fantasy-wise, that Marvin Jones is a pretty good No. 2 wideout. He should be a nice player to have next season. With the tight ends, I'm mulling a dynasty trade for Tyler Eifert, but would like to see an indication that Jermaine Gresham won't be back. For the Chargers. you've got to love Ladarius Green, who looks like the next big thing at tight end, as Antonio Gates (assuming he returns) gets increasingly marginalized in the offense. Ryan Mathews didn't have the big game he could have had yesterday due to the ankle injury, but he'll be a guy I buy into next year. This team wants to run the ball and is pretty good at it.
San Francisco at Green Bay: Not surprisingly, this was the game of the weekend, yes better than KC-Indy. I couldn't have been the only one who felt, when Green Bay settled for a tying field goal with 6 minutes left, that that was going to be the end of their season -- that San Francisco was going to drive down, use up all the clock, and win it with a field goal. Right? I think Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rodgers probably knew it. Their defense simply wasn't good enough.
Two offensive players stood out in this game, and it wasn't the quarterbacks. Eddie Lacy and Michael Crabtree both took some criticism leading up to their respective drafts, but they were the team MVPs yesterday. Lacy, for as long as he's healthy, is a difference-making runner; only question is how high he goes in fantasy drafts next year. If it's the late first round, it's probably a steal. The guy is great. Crabtree just dominated the game, regularly making huge grabs and picking up extra yards after it. Kind of like Justin Blackmon until he got suspended. If San Francisco goes back to the Super Bowl, I kind of think Crabtree is going to be the reason why. For Green Bay, they've got to move on from James Jones. Nelson, Boykin, Cobb -- that's the receiving trio they need to lean on, and they'll run away with the North next year if they can stay healthy and play a little better on defense. Imagine if they'd had Clay Matthews yesterday; I don't know if Kaepernick makes all the runs he did with Matthews coming after him.
We'll look at the divisional round games later in the week, but I think we've got four more epics to come. Home field? Seeding? I don't think any of that matters much aside from maybe New Orleans-Seattle. I'll be watching just hoping none of my favorite dynasty targets gets hurt.