The Bengals playoff run was ended in much the same fashion as their second half of the season swoon, losing for the eighth time this year against a playoff-caliber foe.  Before you say the Bengals are this year’s edition of the 2010 Buccaneers (a team that took advantage of their lesser foes while losing to all the good teams), note that the Bengals have something the Bucs don’t have… and that’s a promising stout defense.  They also have Andy Dalton (274 total yards, 0 TDs, 3 INTs), who even though had a rough outing for his first playoff game, still has a promising career that’s just getting started.  For the Texans, TJ Yates (157 total yards, 1 TD) did exactly what he needed to do in this game; make a few timely throws, avoid big mistakes, and hand the ball off to one of the best running games in the league.

AJ Green (5-47) and Jermaine Gresham (5-46) led the Bengals in receiving for the game, although neither had their best days.  Both these two will form a solid core with Dalton for many years to come; if you can buy these guys in a keeper league, do so as soon as you can before next fantasy season.

So what if Andre Johnson (5-90, 1 TD) has missed most of the season with hamstring troubles?  Johnson showed he was back in top form for the playoffs and will be a solid option in the next round of fantasy playoff games, even against the stalwart Ravens defense.

Cedric Benson (7 car., 14 yards, 1 TD) probably played his last game in a Bengals uniform, and aside from an early touchdown, was quite forgettable.  Not sure what the Bengals will do next year, but the next Bengals feature RB is probably not on the roster currently.  Michael Bush, c’mon down!

The big story of the game was of course Arian Foster (24 car., 153 yards, 2 TDs; 3 rec., 29 yards), who shredded the formerly solid Bengals defense that faded down the stretch.  While Foster probably won’t roll 150+ on the Ravens, he’s such a focal point of the Texans offense you have to start him if you have him.
 
Matthew Stafford (380 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs) certainly didn’t disappoint fantasy-wise in his first playoff game, throwing for 380 yards and a triplet of scores.  The most important thing for Stafford though is he got through a whole season relatively healthy and has hopefully shaken the “injury prone” label for good.  Now he just has to shed the “hasn’t won a playoff game yet” label… but don’t worry Lions fans, that guy is going to win a lot of games before he’s through.  Speaking of not being through, Drew Brees (466 yards, 3 TDs) is still not done assaulting record books with reckless abandon, torching the Lions for almost 470 yards and three touchdowns.  The 49ers are up next, but are you gonna bet against Brees, even against that defense on the road?  Didn’t think so.

Calvin Johnson (12-211, 2 TDs) certainly made the most of his first playoff experience, catching enough passes and yards to have been a pretty decent line for an entire playoff run, let alone one game.  Nate Burleson (4-50) and Brandon Pettigrew (4-49) barely registered because of Johnson’s huge numbers.

Marques Colston (7-120) continued his hot streak at the end of the season, once again leading the Saints in receiving.  Jimmy Graham (7-55, 1 TD) had a game-high 11 targets, showing off the skills that will undoubtedly make him one of the first two TEs off the board next season.  Robert Meachem (4-111, 1 TD) and Devery Henderson (2-64, 1 TD) both got in on the scoring action, but it’ll be hard to count on either of them against the 49ers next week.

With the Lions getting into the expected shootout, Kevin Smith (6 car., 21 yards; 2 rec., 20 yards) didn’t matter much at all.  With the return of Jahvid Best and Mikel Leshoure to Detroit next season, he may not matter to the Lions at all in 2012.

Once again the split rushing attack of the Saints had plenty of room to the run, with Darren Sproles (10 car., 51 yards, 2 TDs; 4 rec., 34 yards) leading the way as usual, and Pierre Thomas (8 car., 66 yards, 1 TD; 6 rec., 55 yards) picking up plenty of useful playing time in the first half.  Chris Ivory (13 car., 47 yards) got the most carries in the cleanup role, and any of these runners could be worthwhile in the fantasy playoffs… I’d stick to Sproles next week though if you’re going to start a Saints runner.
Two freakin’ points, are you kidding me?  I think the Braves could have scored more points on the Giants than the Falcons did.  Matt Ryan (202 total yards) had a pretty decent stretch run this fantasy season, but this game had to leave a bad taste in his mouth and the mouths of Falcons fans everywhere.  Luckily they have a long off-season to try to forget about what was really a disappointing season for a team with big expectations.  Eli Manning (290 total yards, 3 TDs) continued his role, leading his team to what really was the second playoff game of the year for them (the play-in game against the Cowboys being the first).  This is a dangerous team, and if any team other than the Saints is truly capable of getting to the Super Bowl out of the NFC, it’s this Giants squad.

Julio Jones (7-64) ended up leading the Falcons in receiving, while Roddy White (5-52) couldn’t make good use of his whopping 12 targets in the game.  White had a great end of the regular season, but mark my words, next year is the year Jones takes over the #1 WR gig full time, as long as he stays healthy.  Tony Gonzalez (4-44) had a decent game, but he faded as well down the stretch; good news though, apparently he’ll be back for one more go of it next year.

For once it wasn’t Victor Cruz (2-28) getting the big game, as Hakeem Nicks (6-115) finally showed off why he’s a #1 WR in this league with a dominating performance.  Mario Manningham (4-68, 1 TD) also had the type of game people expected him to have on a regular basis, but ended up ceding those games to the aforementioned Cruz.  As long as the Giants are still dancing, all three of these guys are worthwhile plays.

With the Falcons falling behind early, Michael Turner (15 car., 41 yards; 1 rec., 5 yards) didn’t end up making much of an impact in this game.  Turner’s starting to get up there in age and mileage, so one has to wonder what his value is going to be going into next fantasy season.

Brandon Jacobs (14 car., 92 yards; 2 rec., 8 yards) had a renaissance in this game, gashing holes in the Falcons defense and looking like the Jacobs circa two or three years ago.  Ahmad Bradshaw (14 car., 63 yards; 5 rec., 22 yards) got the start, and he will probably be the one worth having next week with the expected shootout against Aaron Rodgers and the Packers at Lambeau. Now here’s a game that not a lot of people expected, but those who worship at the altar of Tebow believed would happen.  The Steelers and a gimpy Ben Roethlisberger (304 total yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) didn’t look like the Steelers from earlier in the year, falling behind early and only just recovering to force overtime.  Regardless, when Big Ben is healthy he’s one of the best in the business, so expect those big numbers to return with his health next season.  Tim Tebow (366 total yards, 3 TDs) just keeps adding to his legend, and he’s added an 80 TD bomb in OT to win a playoff game to his resume.  Now he gets a rematch with Tom Brady, with all bets off.  Gotta love the NFL!

Mike Wallace (3-26, 1 TD) continued his second half swoon into the playoffs, with Champ Bailey keeping him mostly locked down, even though he did score once.  Antonio Brown (5-70) and even Emmanuel Sanders (6-81) took advantage of the attention Wallace got; next year, the Steelers will have to figure out a way to get Wallace loose behind the secondary again.

And once again, there was one wide receiver on the Broncos that was worth having, and that receiver was Demaryius Thomas (4-204, 1 TD).  Thomas was electric on the game winning touchdown, and will be a matchup nightmare for the overmatched Patriots secondary next week.  If you can grab Thomas in your playoff pools, he’s an extremely solid play.
Isaac Redman (17 car., 121 yards; 2 rec., 21 yards) got the start for the injured Rashard Mendenhall and ended up posting a career best in yardage.  If Mendenhall misses the beginning of next season with his ACL tear, Redman wouldn’t be a drop off at all in terms of production, so he makes for a sneaky flex draft pick.

Willis McGahee (19 car., 61 yards) had a predictably tough go of it against the Steelers defense.  Luckily he now draws one of the worst defenses in the league in the Patriots next week, so if the Broncos can keep close enough to pound the rock, McGahee could have a very nice fantasy game.

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