Common D-nominator
More Carter: Six Points on the AFC | Divisional playoff breakdowns
Defense was the story in the NFC wild-card games.
The Washington Redskins held the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to 10 points, and the Carolina Panthers shut out the New York Giants. In both cases, inexperience at quarterback hurt the losing teams, the Bucs with Chris Simms and the Giants with Eli Manning. When there's inexperience on offense, a good defense is always going to prevail.
Because their defenses are playing so well, Washington and Carolina have a chance to get to the NFC championship game. What will work against them in the divisional playoffs is time – the time off the Seattle Seahawks and Chicago Bears got to enjoy during their first-round byes. The Seahawks and Bears weren't getting banged up over the weekend like the Redskins and Panthers.
Having to play every week and having to win every week over the past month also will hurt Washington and Carolina. The things they have going for them are momentum and confidence. Those are two huge assets in the playoffs.
CARTER'S SIX NFC POINTS
GO ROUTES
1. John Fox. The Panthers' head coach went up against his old team, the Giants, whom he used to serve as defensive coordinator, and his game plan was absolutely fabulous. He got the Carolina defense to take away Tiki Barber and make Eli Manning beat the Panthers. Barber was limited to a season-low 41 yards, while Manning was forced into four turnovers, three of them interceptions.
2. Joe Gibbs. He has the Redskins playing their best football at the right time. His ability to lead the Redskins on a six-game winning streak proves he has adapted to the new NFL – not the NFL he used to know in his first tenure as Washington's head coach – and he finally is enjoying success his second time around.
3. Carolina's setup man. When you get to the playoffs, the games are so tight that you have to manufacture some explosive plays. DeShaun Foster helped generate most of Carolina's big plays against the Giants by rushing for 151 yards on 27 carries. He and the Panthers' offense really exposed the Giants' patchwork lineup at linebacker.
FADE ROUTES
1. Misfiring young guns. Coaches talk all week about how their teams can't afford to commit turnovers. But when their young quarterbacks get into these games, somehow they still try to force the football into tight spaces. Simms and Manning both made bad reads by throwing into coverage. You can't win when you turn over the ball, especially in the playoffs.
2. Thin 'Skin. It'd be nice to talk about Sean Taylor's ability for a change. He's one of the best safeties – if not the best safety – in the NFL, and there's no one playing the position who has as much talent as him.
But the idiotic things he does, especially under pressure – are just inexcusable. Doing something like spitting in another player's face is totally uncalled for. The Redskins could have lost at Tampa Bay by not having Taylor on the field.
3. Giant disappointment. Plaxico Burress was the Giants' biggest offseason move, but in the team's biggest game of the season, he came up empty. You can blame part of it on Manning, but you can't be a featured receiver in a game of this magnitude and not catch a single pass. You just can't.
