Good Football Sunday

Photo: Sunday Night Football on NBC/Facebook

2023 started off terrific on the sports front, as New Years Day was a great football Sunday. 

We are used to New Years Day being about college football, but this year, it was a full NFL day. Most of the college football was played on Friday or Saturday. 

Before I get to the NFL games of Sunday, let's touch on Saturday's games. 

Both College Football Playoff Semifinal games were terrific. Texas Christian University (TCU) defeated Michigan, while Georgia defeated Ohio State. Both were high-scoring, back-and-forth affairs. Two tremendous college football games, with UGA and OSU finishing just as the clock struck midnight and the calendar flipped from 2022 to 2023. 

TCU will face Georgia in the National Championship on January 9. Hopefully it's a good game with drama and may the best team win. 

Now to Sunday and the NFL. 

First, the Giants picked up a nice win over the Colts to clinch a playoff spot for the first time since 2016. Daniel Jones was terrific with both his arm and his legs, and Landon Collins had a pick-six to help the cause in a 28-10 New York victory. 

The Giants will be the six seed in the NFC for the playoffs, no matter what happens next week. 

Then, the Browns beat the Commanders, which meant the Packers control their own destiny to make the playoffs. 

The Packers had the Vikings and the Lions left. Two divisional games that would not be easy. I felt like the tougher game would be Minnesota, so I was nervous for the 4:25 kickoff today. 

The Vikings got on the board first, but only with a field goal. From there, the Packers, led by their defense and special teams (yes, really!) dominated. 

Keisean Nixon had a 105-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and Darnell Savage had a pick-six, both in the first quarter. That was one of three interceptions Kirk Cousins would throw on the game. 

Green Bay won by a final score of 41-17, but it wasn't even that close, as Minnesota got two late touchdowns with the game out of reach and the backups in. 

Now it's win and in for the Packers next week as the host the Lions. With what Aaron Rodgers has done over the years, nothing surprises me. I think and hope they win, but I could very well see them losing, especially in heartbreaking fashion. That seems to be their mantra.