Best backbone: The lead-up to the Jets-Patriots clash on Sunday was filled with trash-talking, much of it from New York. The Jets moved to the AFC title game with a win on Sunday. But the Jets backed up their brash words by locking down the Patriots offense in a 28-21 win against their rivals that earned them a berth in the AFC title game for the second straight year.
Biggest rout: The Bears left no doubt in a 35-24 win against the sub-.500 Seahawks at Soldier Field. Chicago scored early -- three TDs on its first four possessions -- and often in building a 28-0 lead and holding on to advance to the NFC title game.
Worst letdown: The Patriots had scored more than 30 points in eight straight games entering the playoffs. But their offense fizzled against the Jets in a 28-21 loss that sent the team with the NFL's best record home.
Worst gamble: Patriots coach Bill Belichick called for a fake punt that backfired late in the second quarter of the loss to the Jets. Safety Patrick Chung took a direct snap but fumbled and was tackled at the Patriots' 37. The Jets responded with a TD drive that extended their lead to 14-3 with 33 seconds left before halftime.
Best turnaround: CBS broadcaster Dan Dierdorf said the Heinz Field fans were "stunned" and "angry" as the Steelers fell behind 21-7 at halftime to the Ravens. But the Steelers rallied for a 24-3 advantage in the second half -- while capitalizing on three Ravens turnovers -- to claim a 31-24 win over their archrivals.
Worst drop: Baltimore WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh couldn't corral a fourth-and-18 pass on the Ravens' last-gasp attempt in a 31-24 loss to the Steelers. The Ravens turned the ball over on downs with 63 seconds left after Houshmandzadeh's drop -- which would have netted a first down. The receiver said he couldn't believe he missed the pass.
Worst collapse: The Ravens committed three third-quarter turnovers -- in the span of nine minutes of game time -- that led to 17 Steelers points in a 31-24 loss. Baltimore, which had forced 10 turnovers in its previous two games, had led 21-7 at halftime.
Biggest surprise: Jets QB Mark Sanchez outplayed his counterpart, Patriots QB Tom Brady. Sanchez threw three TD passes while going 16-for-25 for 194 yards and had a 127.3 passer rating. Brady, in the 28-21 loss, hit 29 of 45 passes and threw his first INT since October.
Best clutch pass: Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger connected on a 58-yard strike to rookie WR Antonio Brown to set up a game-winning TD against the Ravens. Brown, who held onto the ball against his helmet after making the catch, stepped out at the Ravens' 4-yard line with 1:58 left.
Worst let-up: The Bears took a 28-3 lead into the fourth quarter of their win against the Seahawks. But Chicago's defense failed to press hard down the stretch and nearly allowed the Seahawks back into a game that it eventually won 35-24.
Best heads-up play: Ravens DL Cory Redding appeared to be the only person on the field who recognized the ball was live when he picked up a fumble by Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger and returned it 13 yards for a TD. Many players likely assumed that Roethlisberger had made an incomplete pass, but Redding scooped up the ball and entered the end zone unchallenged to give Baltimore an early 14-7 lead.
Worst penalty: Baltimore's Lardarius Webb appeared to return a Pittsburgh punt 55 yards for a TD with 5:55 left that would have given the Ravens a 28-21 lead ... but a holding penalty on Marcus Smith nullified the score. The Ravens would settle for a field goal on the drive in a game they'd eventually lose 31-24.
Worst coaching decision: Trailing 28-0 late in the third quarter, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll elected to kick a 30-yard field goal. Olindo Mare made the kick, but Seattle -- unable to jump-start its offense to that point -- still trailed by 25 points with 16:52 to play. Had the Seahawks registered a TD there, they would have been down by just one TD after they scored with 1:25 to play in the 35-24 loss.
Worst time management: Down 21-11, the Patriots used 7:45 of clock time on a drive that ended in a turnover on downs in the fourth quarter. New England seemed to lack a sense of urgency as it attempted to claw back in a drive that ended with 5:15 left in the game.
Worst receiving unit: Ravens wideouts combined for just four catches for 36 yards in the 31-24 loss at Pittsburgh. Veteran Derrick Mason didn't catch any passes, while T.J. Houshmandzadeh (three) and Anquan Boldin (one) had little impact.
Worst flop: The top-seeded Falcons were embarrassed in front of their home crowd 48-21 by the Packers. Atlanta became the third No. 1 seed in the NFC to lose at home in the divisional playoffs in the past four years.
Best rushing defense: The Steelers held the Ravens to just 35 yards rushing in their 31-24 win. Baltimore's Ray Rice was held to 32 yards, and rushed for just 84 yards in three games against Pittsburgh this season.
Worst mistake: Trailing by seven with 10 seconds before halftime, Falcons QB Matt Ryan threw a short out that Packers CB Tramon Williams intercepted and ran back 70 yards for a TD. Ryan appeared to be trying to gain extra yardage for a field-goal attempt.
Best QB: Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers carved up the Falcons while hitting 31 of 36 passes for 366 yards and three TDs in a 48-21 win. Rodgers acknowledged it was "probably my best performance" as a pro.
Best DB: Green Bay's Tramon Williams picked off two passes by Falcons QB Matt Ryan -- one of which he ran back 70 yards for a TD -- in the Packers' 48-21 win. He has three INTs during the playoffs.
Worst wave: Seahawks S Earl Thomas whiffed badly as he tried to bat away a 39-yard TD pass from Bears QB Jay Cutler to Kellen Davis. Thomas mistimed his jump, and never came close to interfering with the path of the ball into Davis' hands.
Worst sign for home team: Packers fans who made the trek to the Georgia Dome on Saturday chanted "Go Pack go" late in their team's 48-21 win against the host Falcons.
Luckiest catch: Seattle WR Mike Williams caught a TD pass that had passed through the hands of Bears DB Charles Tillman late in Chicago's 35-24 win. Tillman dove for the ball and mishandled it, and Williams grabbed it before the ball fell to the ground.
Most unlikely streak: Patriots QB Tom Brady, who won his first eight career postseason games at home, lost his second straight playoff game in Foxborough.
Best kick return: In one of the few highlights for the Falcons, Atlanta's Eric Weems ran back a kickoff 102 yards for a TD in the loss to the Packers. It was the longest return in NFL postseason history.
Best playoff debut by a veteran QB: Chicago's Jay Cutler threw for two TD passes and ran for two TDs in the 35-24 victory against Seattle. In his first playoff start, Cutler set the tone for a Bears offense that built a 28-0 lead by midway through the third quarter.
Best unanswered stretch: The Packers scored 35 straight points in a span from the middle of the second quarter to the early fourth quarter in the 48-21 win in Atlanta. The five-TD stretch -- which included three Aaron Rodgers scoring strikes -- took them from a 14-7 deficit to a commanding 28-point lead.
Best INT: Jets LB David Harris became the first person to pick off Patriots QB Tom Brady since Oct. 17 in the first quarter of a 28-21 win in New England. Harris returned the pick 58 yards and helped disrupt the Patriots' offensive rhythm that was off-kilter for most of the day.
Worst big-impact receiver: Seattle's Mike Williams was a non-factor, his two garbage-time TDs in a 35-24 loss to the Bears notwithstanding. Williams had just four catches for 15 yards, including 3-yard and 2-yard TDs in the final quarter.
Best illustration of Packers' rout: Green Bay outgained top-seeded Atlanta 442-194 during its 48-21 win.
Worst use of home-field advantage: The Georgia Dome was considered an intimidating place to play ... until the past month. Falcons QB Matt Ryan was 19-1 in the team's home stadium until Week 16. Since then, Ryan and the Falcons have lost two of the last three, including Saturday's defeat to the Packers.
Worst career playoff record: Falcons TE Tony Gonzalez -- in his 14th season -- remained winless in his career in the playoffs. He also suffered an ankle injury that knocked him out of the loss against the Packers.
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