Falcon Points
5 key points from the NFL Playoffs as we head to the conference finals
Jan 13, 2019, 7:53 pm
Hard to ignore the Patriots in the postseason. Patriots/Facebook
The NFL conference championship games are set, and the pretenders have been discarded. All four higher seeds won and advanced this past weekend. Only the Saints-Eagles game was competitive. Five thoughts as we move on to the next round:
1) Old vs. new. Both championship games will feature all-time great quarterbacks (Drew Brees and Tom Brady) facing two young up and coming superstars (Jared Goff and Patrick Mahomes). The ageless Brady will have to go on the road, but what the Patriots have done is amazing. Eight straight trips to the AFC Championship is simply silly. This may be the Chiefs year, but Brady and the Pats won't make it easy. Brees and Sean Payton have never lost a game at the Superdome in the playoffs. The Rams are solid, but the Saints played poorly Sunday and still advanced.
2) The Colts are close. They were dominated by the Chiefs, but they are a few players away from being a strong force in the future. Beef up the secondary, maybe add to the running game, and hope to keep Andrew Luck healthy, and they will be legitimate Super Bowl Contenders next year.
3) The Cowboys, too. They weren't competitive against LA, but the Cowboys are a team with potential. They can upgrade their DL, get a tight end and add to the secondary, but they don't have a lot of weaknesses. They just need to get a little better and hope they can win with Dak Prescott.
4) The Chargers are fool's gold. Everyone says they have the most complete team. But they are a lot like the Falcons. They seem to be lacking something. They have the coaching and the talent, but they just don't seem to be up for the big moments. They were run out of Foxboro by a Patriots team with flaws.
5) Predictions. I took New England over the Saints before the season. If I had to do it over, I would probably go with Chiefs over Saints. The four best teams in the regular season will be meeting for a shot at the Super Bowl. Both home teams (New Orleans and KC) have huge home field advantages. The Chiefs - who had one playoff win under Andy Reid (Texans fans will remember 30-0) - cleared a huge hurdle by housing the Colts. This might be their year.
Regardless, unlike this week, we should get competitive games. It will be surprising if we had the boring routs that we had in three of the four playoff games.
The bad news? We only have three football games left in the season. Hopefully they will be entertaining.
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Astros eye a bounce-back before momentum gets away
Jul 9, 2025, 2:46 pm
Angel Martínez hit a grand slam off closer Josh Hader with two outs in the 10th inning to lift the Cleveland Guardians to a 10-6 win over the Houston Astros on Tuesday night.
José Ramírez and Brayan Rocchio also homered to help the Guardians beat the Astros for a second straight night after entering the series on a 10-game skid.
Out for a second inning after throwing a scoreless ninth and with a runner on starting on second, Hader (5-2) intentionally walked Ramírez before walking Carlos Santana to load the bases. Hader struck out pinch-hitter Johnathan Rodríguez before Martínez sent a sinker 344 feet, into the first row of the seats in left field to put the Guardians on top.
Cleveland closer Emmanuel Clase struck out one in a scoreless 10th to end it after Jakob Junis (2-1) struck out two in the ninth to earn the win.
Houston scored two runs in the eighth inning, with an RBI single from Jose Altuve, to tie it.
Altuve had two hits and drove in four runs, and rookie Cam Smith added three hits.
Houston starter Hunter Brown, who entered with an MLB-leading 1.82 ERA, yielded six hits and a season-high six runs in six innings.
There was one on with one out in the first when Ramírez homered for a second consecutive game, giving the Guardians a 2-0 lead.
The Astros cut the lead to 2-1 when Isaac Paredes scored on a sacrifice fly by Altuve in the bottom of the inning.
Rocchio doubled to start the third before scoring on a one-out double by Nolan Jones, making it 3-1. A two-out single by Daniel Schneemann scored two more, extending the lead to 5-1.
Altuve’s two-run double cut the lead to 6-3 with no outs in the fifth. Houston got within 6-4 when he scored on a sacrifice fly by Victor Caratini.
Cleveland starter Joey Cantillo allowed five hits and three runs with seven strikeouts in four-plus innings.
Key moment
The grand slam by Martínez into the Crawford Boxes.
Key stat
It’s the first time Cleveland has won back-to-back games since beating the Athletics June 21-22.
Up next
Houston LHP Brandon Walter (1-1, 4.15 ERA) opposes RHP Slade Cecconi (3-4, 3.56) when the series concludes Wednesday.