(Image via SportsGrid.com)

Sunday’s 2012 Pro Bowl started out pretty much as expected, with defensive players giving minimal effort at little things like rushing the passer, covering and tackling, setting the stage for the offensive shootout that ensued. The AFC ultimately out-gunned the NFC 59-41, with Dolphins WR Brandon Marshall reeling in a Pro Bowl record 4 TDs and earning the MVP trophy.

And while this laissez-faire defensive attitude elicited boos from the crowd and groans from television viewers everywhere, the game did end up providing a few noteworthy moments. To be honest, we didn’t actually watch the whole thing, but we got a pretty good feel for things via the stats and game highlights … and with 100 total points scored, you get the general idea: defense (and running backs) took the day off in Honolulu today. For their part, the NFC had three players – Tony Gonzalez, Larry Fitzgerald and Steve Smith - with more than 100 yards receiving, with Fitzgerald pulling in three scores of his own.

Marshall finished with 176 yards on six catches, but none of them were as memorable as this unbelievable (and wildly lucky) third quarter grab of a tipped Andy Dalton pass while laying on his back in the endzone:

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BONUS GIF: The other worthwhile highlight came Drew Brees attempted the rarely-seen drop kick extra point late in the 4th quarter, only to miss it badly [VIDEO here]

(via mocksession.com)

This week 14 block effectively saved the Giants season (Photo: NYPost.com)

There are thousands of fan-made highlights packages to be found on YouTube, but this one of the New York Football Giants 2011-12 regular season stands out from the pack for its incredible editing, high quality footage, and of course, the tasteful use of  ”Run This Town” by Jay-Z (feat. Rihanna) as the backing music.

And even though the Giants barely squeaked into the playoffs as a Wild Card after finishing 9-7, with guys like Eli, Cruuuuuuz, and JPP having breakout seasons, there were still plenty of explosive and memorable plays from this year’s campaign … even before they were able to put it all together just in time for a stunning playoff run.

So if you’re a Giants fan looking for something to keep you fired up during the off-week before Super Bowl XLVI, you’ve come to the right place.

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Compiled in 2008 following their last Super Bowl run, this is by far the most comprehensive (and emotionally stirring) Giants highlights package we’ve ever seen. Featuring the highs and lows from New York’s storied franchise history – and with several classic moments from their rivalry with the Niners included – it is a must-watch for any fan of Big Blue.

Simply put, this is why I’m a fan of the New York Football Giants:

[Music – “This Is The Sea” by the Waterboys]

Sorry, but any objectivity we had been feigning until now goes right out the window today … GO GIANTS!!!

"The Hit" ended Montana's day, and ultimately his career in SF (Photo: NY Daily News)

On Sunday, the 49ers and Giants will meet in the playoffs for an NFL record-tying EIGHTH time … with all of those match-ups coming since 1981. Along the way, the two NFC powerhouses have won a combined 8 Lombardi Trophies, and have given us a few of the more memorable games in playoff history.

In looking back at the rivalry, some of the more indelible playoff memories include Jim Burt blasting Joe Montana in New York’s 49-3 Divisional drubbing in 1986, Roger Craig inexplicably fumbling late in the 1990 NFC Championship game to set up Matt Bahr’s game-winner, and Trey Junkin (whose name alone has become a curse word in Giants fandom) botching the game-winning field goal snap in 2002′s Wild Card game to complete the second-biggest collapse in playoff history.

So before these proud franchises take the field to provide the latest chapter in their long-running saga, we thought it fitting to look back at two of their previous meetings to get ourselves in the proper frame of mind. Specifically, we bring you the highlights from the 2002 NFC Wild Card game and the 1990 NFC Championship.

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 2002 NFC Wild Card game:

And of course, who could forget the 1990 NFC Championship game:

So "Gronking" is now an actual thing (Photo: Boston.com)

Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski has set a new standard for receiving tight ends in the NFL this year, with a record 1,327 yards and 17 regular season touchdowns, plus 3 more in last weekend’s divisional playoff game. Along the way, he’s made a habit of angrily spiking the ball into the turf after every score, spawning the term “Gronking” to describe his particularly violent  take on the traditional celebration.

In fact, in an obvious take-off of the Tebowing trend, Gronking has apparently become a thing among Pats fans - complete with it’s own website - who want to emulate their favorite player. Somehow, in his own jolly-meathead-icon fashion, Gronkowski has actually managed to make spiking the ball cool again.

Now, someone has gone ahead and set clips of Gronkowski’s spikes to Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture … and let’s just say it makes for a very explosive highlight reel:

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(Image via Sportsgrid.com)

We’re obviously a little late to the party on this, but the San Francisco 49ers took down the New Orleans Saints 36-32 in the game of the Divisional Playoff weekend, with Alex Smith delivering the game-winning TD to Vernon Davis on what will undoubtedly forever go down in San Francisco sports history as “The Catch III”. 

Both Smith and Davis turned in career-making performances and Smith finally delivered on his #1 pick expectations by out-dueling the NFL’s all-time single season passing leader (Drew Brees) in a game that saw four lead changes in the final 5 minutes! Smith had his NFL bar mitzvah and became a man on Saturday, finishing with 299 yards and 3 TDs passing, 0 INTs and one 28-yard rushing score to pus SF ahead late in the 4th.

For his part, Vernon Davis cemented himself in Niner lore with 7 catches for 180 yards and 2 TDs, including the game winner on a 14-yard strike from Smith with nine seconds remaining. After dominating all day long and when his team needed him most, Davis delivered a huge blow to Saints safety Roman Harper in the endzone and managed to hang onto the ball for the win.

On what was very nearly the 30th anniversary of the original “The Catch” – Dwight Clark‘s infamous touchdown grab in the 1981 NFC Championship game (1/10/82) – Davis’ play more closely resembled “The Catch II” by Terrell Owens in 1999, right down to crying on the shoulder of head coach Jim Harbaugh as he ran to the sideline (pic above).

VIDEO OF ALL THREE 49ERS “CATCHES” AFTER THE JUMP

But after the game, rather than embrace the obvious connection to his predecessors, Davis insisted that his catch go by a different name:

“You’ve got to call it “The Grab,’ ” Davis said of his play. “We were down. I had to make it happen to take my teammates where we want to go.”

“This is huge for us … It’s history, legendary, anything you can describe.”

Yeah … good luck with that, Vern.  It’s “The Catch III”. Get used to it.

The high-powered Saints offense also contributed five turnovers to the Niners’ cause, including 2 Brees interceptions, but give credit where credit is due. Much like their adopted team mascot the honey badger, Jim Harbaugh’s team took what it wanted and proved themselves the better team on this day. The win gives SF their first playoff win in nine years, and they’ll next play host to the New York Giants in Sunday’s NFC Championship game.

Now thanks to the wonders of Youtube, here are all three of the historic 49ers “Catches” in chronological order – Clark>Owens>Davis:

(Photo: Hyoung Chang, DenverPost.com)

When Tim Tebow and the Broncos upset the Pittsburgh Steelers in their wild card playoff match-up last Sunday, most people theorized that divine intervention had a something to do with it. But true football fans understood that it was actually the arrogance of coordinator Dick LeBeau and the Steelers defense – who stacked the box all day and challenged Denver to throw the ball downfield – that allowed Tebow to pass for 316 yards and 2 TDs (including 204 yards to Demaryius Thomas), and knock the defending AFC champs off their throne.

As usual, the NFL Films crew was on hand in Denver to capturing all the sights and sounds from the game for their super-awesome SoundFX program. For this contest, they had Ben Roethlisberger and Elvis Dumervil mic’d up, along with countless parabolic mics roaming the sideline to pick up all the extra-curriculars. So enjoy as we get to watch the action unfold through the eyes of the players and coaches on the field, in what will already go down as a game for the ages:

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in what will already go down as game for the ages,

Who's got two thumbs and is more popular than Jesus? THIS GUY! (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images via Yahoo.com)

Pretty much every “expert” in the media had written off Tim Tebow and the Broncos heading into this weekend’s Wild Card match-up against the the heavily favored Steelers. And for good reason. The magic seemed to have run out for Tebow and Denver, having lost their last three games in ugly fashion and backed their way into the playoffs, with Tebow’s fabled mystique noticeably deteriorating toward the end of the season.

Today, in an ironic role reversal, Tebow and the Broncos found themselves ahead early and having to fight off a furious comeback attempt by Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers. Tebow threw for one 2nd quarter score on a 30 yard bullet to Eddie Royal and ran for another to give Denver a 20-6 halftime lead. But Roethlisberger rallied Pittsburgh in the second half, tying the game on a 31-yard strike to Jericho Cotchery with just under 4 minutes remaining and sending things to overtime.

Then came “Tebow Time”: with the Broncos’ season on the line, Timmy did what he does best and came up with a huge play when it mattered most. On the very first play of overtime, Tebow hit Demaryius Thomas in stride at the 40 yard line for an 80-yard walk-off touchdown, giving Denver a stunning 29-23 victory:

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Tebow finished with over 300 yards passing on the day including an astounding 204 yards on four completions to Demaryius Thomas. Check out more of Tebow’s highlights HERE.

According to the NFL’s new playoff overtime rules, the team who wins the coin toss and gets the ball first needs a touchdown to win the game outright … otherwise, the other team gets a possession to try and tie or win the game. But Thomas made sure the new rules didn’t come into play today. In looking at the replay, Steelers S Ryan Mundy got caught out of position before the snap, so when Thomas caught the pass at the 40-yard line and stiff-armed his defender, there was nothing between him and the endzone but green grass.

And of course, immediately following the score, Tebow fell to the grass to give thanks to the man upstairs, taking his classic pose:

(Image via instntrply.com)

It’s a great win for Tebow and the Broncos, who will travel to New England to take on Belichick, Brady and the Patriots next weekend … so Tebow will continue to need all the help he can get.

(Photo: Nick Laham/Getty Images via Yahoo.com)

With second-year sensation Victor Cruz (and his salsa dance) getting all the press for the New York WRs dring the build up to this week’s Giants-Falcons Wild Card match-up, it was Hakeem Nicks who turned in the play of the day in leading the Giants to an impressive 24-2 playoff win.

After a defensive struggle in the first half, New York led 10-2 late in the third quarter when Nicks broke the game wide open with this 72-yard catch and run. Watch as Nicks splits no less than FIVE Falcons defenders at midfield and leaves them in the dust for his second touchdown of the game:

Nicks, who would finish with 115 yards receiving to go with his 2 TDs, added insult to injury for the Falcons by doing “The Dirty Bird” as his endzone celebration:

DIRTY BIRD GIF AFTER THE JUMP

(Via SBNation.com)

New York added another passing score to Mario Manningham, giving Eli Manning three TDs (277 yards, 0 INTs) on the day, and Perry Fewell’s defense played stout all afternoon, with Atlanta’s only points coming on an early safety. Now the Giants will head to Green Bay to face the mighty Packers, where they’ll attempt to avenge their 38-35 Week 13 loss and advance to the NFC championship game.

Nicks’ Dirty Bird celebration prompted this Twitter response from the dance’s originator, Jamal Anderson, who remained good-natured about the whole thing:

NO HE DIDN’T!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Btw, I’m not mad at Nicks. I Broke out the Dirty Bird in 98, its trending on Twitter in 2012.

(Photo: Thomas B. Shea/Getty Images via Guardian.co.uk)

The first game on today’s playoff slate was probably (let’s be honest) the least-compelling match-up of the weekend, with the Houston Texans making their first-ever playoff appearance against the Bengals in Houston.

The game was tied up with time winding down in the first half when Texans stud rookie DE J.J. Watt came up with this incredible game-changing interception of Andy Dalton‘s pass, which Watt snared out of the air at the line of scrimmage and returned 29 yards for the score:

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Now that’s some serious athleticism, right there. Watt – who played tight end at Western Michigan before transferring to Wisconsin where he converted to the defensive side of the ball – needed oxygen afterward, but the guy clearly has ball skills, and the play proved to be just the momentum swing the Texans needed. Houston took a 17-10 lead into the locker room and came out like a different team, dominating the second half and going on to beat Cincinnati 31-10.

Another Texans rookie, QB TJ Yates, looked the part and did just enough to get his first NFL playoff win, passing for 159 yards, 0 interceptions and 1 40-yard touchdown to Andre Johnson. But RB Arian Foster did most of the damage for Houston, rushing for 153 yards and 2 TDs to put the Bengals away.

Meanwhile, Dalton threw 3 interceptions on the day for Cincy, and rookie sensation AJ Green was held to just 47 yards receiving and no scores.