Was that the best football weekend ever?

Maybe never before in our football-infested sports’ fans lives has there been an extended period of great football as the five days that have just passed.

Largely because of the expanded college football playoffs (12 teams now instead of four), and the expanded NFL playoff allowances (a.k.a. wild card teams),  there are now more postseason  “do or die” games than ever before.

Most recently we experienced, arguably, one of the best stretches of playoff tension-packed football in a short period of time that we have ever had.

Football couch potatoes everywhere went to bed each night with a big smile on their faces.

To recap quickly:

Thursday night. Notre Dame defeats Penn State in the college semi-final. Tremendous game. Back and forth she went, both teams playing high caliber football on both offense and defense.  In the end?  A Penn State late interception costs the Nittany Lions dearly, as the Irish then go on to kick a field goal at the buzzer to win it!

Friday night. Ohio State defeats Texas in the other semi-final:   Everything said above re Penn State and Notre Dame applies here, with even a slight upgrade. Just a sensational college football game with the level of play off-the-charts good. Back and forth she went, with Texas driving effortlessly for the tying touchdown to send it into overtime, but then the clock struck midnight. Buckeye star Jack Sawyer strips the ball from QB Quinn Ewers and runs 83 yards for a touchdown. Game over.  Heartbreak for the Longhorns, and on to the championship for the ecstatic Buckeyes. 

Saturday NFL game 1. Houston surprises the Chargers:  Most felt the Chargers were on a roll and would win this opening match up. Most were wrong. Houston, behind a stout defense and blue-collar play of running back Joe Mixon, pulls away at the end to win easily. But this one was tight and tension-packed for most of the game. 

Saturday NFL game 2. Baltimore over Pittsburgh: OK, they can’t all be great games. The Ravens win easily, and the second half was a good time to sneak in a quick nap.

Sunday Game 1. Buffalo over Denver.  OK, they can't all be great games, part 2.  Easy win by the far superior Buffalo team.  James Cook on the ground, and Josh Allen passing lead the way.

Quick note:  This sets up one of the best early round playoff matchups in recent memory, as the Bills will take on the Ravens in a “no holds barred, take no prisoners” matchup of two great teams.

Sunday Game 2. Eagles beat the Packers: Won’t call it great, but it was pretty darn good. The Eagles were clearly the better team, but the Packers kept hanging around, making it interesting right up till the end.  Off game for Packer QB Jordan Love; otherwise, this could have been a classic.

Sunday game 3. Washington defeats Tampa Bay:  This one was a classic! Two up-and-coming teams battling for the next step in playoff advancement, and back and forth she went. Baker Mayfield, the Bucs QB, was great—but it still wasn’t enough as rookie Jaden Daniels worked his end-of-game magic once again.  A late pressure-packed touchdown throw into the end zone does it for the Commanders. Been a loooong time since Washington fans had a playoff win to cheer about. They do now!

Monday Game 1. Rams over Vikings. It was over at halftime.  The Vikings lost whatever magic they had during the regular season. QB Sam Darnold came back to earth with a thud, and the Rams look like legit contenders.

Whew! Eight games in a five-day period.  All elimination games of the utmost importance. Never before this many in so short a period of time. 

A great football extended weekend for sure. I made it through “mostly” healthy, a sprained ankle on a fridge run during game 2,a badly stubbed toe (maybe broken?) after Sam Darnold’s eighth sack, and a pulled hamstring jumping too high after the Commanders’ winning field goal my only injuries.

 Not to worry. I will be rested and ready for this weekend’s NFL playoff games and Monday’s National Championship college game.