Turnovers tend to play a big role in playoff games. You hand over short fields to a quality opponent, and it’s a recipe for disaster. Kansas City got 5 takeaways against Houston, helping to turn what should have been a low-scoring duel into a 30-0 blowout. Adrian Peterson’s fumble helped flip the Seahawks-Vikings game, and Jeremy Hill’s fumble greased the skids for another first-round exit for the Bengals.
Of the eight remaining quarterbacks, six have been really good at taking care of the ball. Four have been historically awesome at avoiding turnovers, averaging around 8 interceptions per year in recent seasons. Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Alex Smith and Russell Wilson. It’s really rare to see any of those guys throw 2 interceptions in a game.
Carson Palmer and Cam Newton haven’t been far behind those guys.
If you want errant throws, head to Denver. Peyton Manning has lost a lot of arm strength, and he’s floated up a lot of gifts this year. And Ben Roethlisberger, while he’s put up a ton of yards, tends to try to force some throws every game that simply aren’t there.
It will be a surprise if there aren’t more interceptions in the Pittsburgh-Denver game than in any of the other three games this weekend.
| PLAYOFF QUARTERBACKS, interceptions | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | G | Int | Avg |
| Tom Brady | 16 | 7 | .44 |
| Aaron Rodgers | 17 | 8 | .47 |
| Alex Smith | 17 | 8 | .47 |
| Russell Wilson | 17 | 9 | .53 |
| Cam Newton | 16 | 10 | .63 |
| Carson Palmer | 16 | 11 | .69 |
| Ben Roethlisberger | 12 | 16 | 1.33 |
| Peyton Manning | 10 | 17 | 1.70 |
—Ian Allan