by Bill Barnwell

This weekend, Aaron Rodgers and LaDainian Tomlinson finally got the wins they needed to prove once and for all that they have the mettle and intestinal fortitude needed to play in the NFL playoffs, playing key roles in wins that pushed their respective teams towards the Super Bowl.

What a heap of garbage.

For each player, this weekend represented an outcome where their performance was met with competence by their teammates and the breaks of a particularly important game for the first time. Although Rodgers and Tomlinson took different paths to get tagged with the "unclutch" labels stuck on them, neither deserve the adjective -- and neither proved that it was unfair on Sunday.

Let's start with Tomlinson, who has the simpler case of the two. The iconic image of Tomlinson in the playoffs is that shot of him with his helmet on and head down on the bench from a few years ago, unable to play with one of the several injuries that afflicted him throughout his tenure with the Chargers. Maybe he was unable to play in the playoffs because the Chargers gave him an average of 341.7 carries through his first six seasons in San Diego; not a single back in the league got that many carries this year. Before those injuries, though, Tomlinson did have a great playoff game. In 2006, Tomlinson ran for 123 yards and two touchdowns on 23 attempts against the Patriots, throwing in a 58-yard catch for good measure. His touchdown put the Chargers up 21-13 in the fourth quarter, only for Marlon McCree to fumble away a potentially game-ending interception and create an opportunity for the Patriots to win. Had the Jets' one-minute drill come up short on Saturday thanks to a Mark Sanchez interception or a botched kick from Nick Folk, would Tomlinson's 82-yard, two-touchdown performance have been any less impressive? The better game from Tomlinson was in 2006, but he had a better team performance around him in 2010.

And Rodgers may even have a worse rap. He's taken heat for being unclutch (along with Mike McCarthy) because of his 2-12 record in games decided by the arbitrary cutoff of four points or less. It's arbitrarily chosen because Rodgers is 6-3 in games decided by five-to-seven points, but that doesn't fit the criteria chosen to tell the story. Last year, Rodgers's offense produced 45 points -- 24 more than they did on Sunday -- but lost when the defense allowed 45 through the end of regulation. Rodgers admittedly overthrew an open Greg Jennings downfield at the beginning of overtime, but the sack and fumble that ended the game came on a play where Rodgers was hit squarely, obviously, and illegally on the helmet.

Is Rodgers really to blame for that loss? What about the 16-13 defeat to the Redskins where Mason Crosby hit the goalpost at the end of regulation? The 20-17 loss to the Falcons that saw Rodgers convert a critical fourth down for a touchdown before the defense allowed Matt Ryan to drive the length of the field for a field goal? Or the 2008 three-point loss to the Bears that saw a tie-breaking 38-yard Crosby kick blocked with 18 seconds left and the Bears score on the opening possession of overtime? If David Akers had been a better field goal kicker on Sunday, would Rodgers have contributed less to his team's performance?

The truth is that some folks attach concepts of "unclutch" or "choker" to talented players who deserve more nuanced analysis. For Rodgers and Tomlinson, the bar will continue to rise. Their regular season performances weren't "clutch" enough until they produced in a playoff game that their team also won. If the Packers and Jets lose in Round 2, the games from this weekend won't matter. Take a look at Peyton Manning, who was characterized as a choker until he won a Super Bowl. That calmed the waters for a year or two, but the chatter was back last year. Consider his AFC Championship Game, when Manning played the top-ranked Jets pass defense. Had Manning lost and played poorly, it would have been perceived as a sign that he couldn't come through in a big game against a devastating defense. Instead, Manning had one of the greatest games of his life against the Jets, but because he then had a mediocre game against the Saints in the Super Bowl, that game against the Jets was no longer relevant.

Celebrate Rodgers and Tomlinson for being great players. They both are. But they didn't become any greater by virtue of winning this weekend.

Quarterbacks Rk Player Team CP/AT Yds TD INT Total

DYAR Pass

DYAR Rush

DYAR 1. Joe Flacco BAL 25/34 265 2 0 139 149 -10 After a Ravens drive ended with a Flacco sack at midfield in the second quarter, the offense suddenly clicked. Although Flacco had been able to piece together third down conversions by isolating Todd Heap against the smaller Brandon Carr and the inexperienced Eric Berry and finding Ray Rice against blitzes, he hadn't been consistently making plays on first and second down. From the beginning of the next drive and on, Flacco went 14-of-16 for 130 yards with nine first downs, two touchdowns, and just two sacks. Over the whole day, he faced third down 14 times and produced seven first downs and a touchdown. His numbers are depressed some by the absence of activity in the fourth quarter (Flacco threw just three times) and his fumble at the goal line in the first quarter. 2. Peyton Manning IND 18/26 225 1 0 124 124 0 Manning was pretty great in the fourth quarter, going 6-of-10 for 74 yards with five first downs against one of the league's better defenses. That includes four straight completions on the final drive. Although we don't have charting data in yet for the game, it certainly seems like the Jets blitzed Manning far less frequently than Rex Ryan had as the defensive playcaller in previous games. Considering that his blitz rate had been going up with each successive game (without success), that's an interesting tidbit. Will Ryan drastically change the Jets' scheme for the Patriots game? 3. Drew Brees NO 40/58 404 2 0 114 122 -8 Although Brees went 60 dropbacks with just one sack and no interceptions, his numbers are naturally depressed because he was playing a really bad pass defense. He finished with 187 YAR, well above Flacco (139 YAR) and any other quarterback this weekend. On the other hand, he finished with a 18.7% DVOA, and that was ahead of only Mark Sanchez and Matt Cassel. Brees attempted just two passes 20 or more yards downfield all game, completing one to Devery Henderson just before halftime. (He was 3-for-7 on passes between 15 and 20 yards downfield.) 4. Michael Vick PHI 20/36 293 1 1 112 111 1 Since we already discussed the final pass ad nauseum in Audibles, I won't get into that here. What's really interesting to me is that Vick accrued just 1 DYAR here on eight carries. Considering he snuck in a touchdown on fourth-and-1 in the fourth quarter, how does he end up with just 1 DYAR? In addition to the touchdown, he had three other carries for first downs: An 11-yard scramble on first down, a 14-yard scramble on third-and-10, and a run for three yards on third-and-2. All valuable. On the flip side, Vick was stuffed twice inside the Packers' three-yard line, including once on third-and-goal. He was also stuffed on a third-and-1 carry, and had a two-yard scramble on first-and-10 in the third quarter. Because we've got eyes and DVOA doesn't, we know about the actual shape of his runs, how they can involve incredible manipulations of hapless linemen and linebackers, how he looks like someone sent from another planet strictly to ruin the lives of Giants fans. Maybe a slightly lesser quarterback would have produced -25 DYAR with the same holes and opportunities. 5. Aaron Rodgers GB 18/27 180 3 0 99 119 -19 Rodgers has -19 DYAR because of his fumble on first down in the second quarter; he offset it some by scrambling for a first down two plays later. At one point, he completed nine consecutive passes, with each of the completions going for fewer than ten yards. His two sacks were also huge: One was a fumble that turned the ball over to the Eagles at the start of the third quarter, and the other was on Rodgers's final dropback of the game, forcing the Packers to punt to the Eagles with 2:16 left. He converted six of his ten third downs. 6. Matt Hasselbeck SEA 22/35 272 4 1 96 96 0 Hasselbeck hit his fair share of highs and lows. He had three passes for between 38 and 45 yards, including throws to noted deep threats Cameron Morrah and Brandon Stokley. (I've successfully blocked Stokley beating Jason Sehorn in Super Bowl XXXV out of my mind.) At one point in the first half, he had eight consecutive dropbacks resulting in either a completion or a defensive pass interference penalty, and then followed that with a 11-of-13 stretch that accrued 154 yards and two touchdowns. On the other hand, that run was followed by seven consecutive incompletions, giving the Saints a way back into the game. 7. Mark Sanchez NYJ 18/31 189 0 1 4 1 3 Sanchez was erratic for most of the game, but he was great over the final third of the game. Taking over with about 20 minutes left, Sanchez went 8-of-10 for 85 yards with six first downs. One of the incompletions was the bomb to an open Braylon Edwards that Sanchez missed; considering how effective he'd been before the throw (completing six of his seven previous throws), it seems reasonable to give Sanchez the opportunity to try and end the game with a touchdown pass. On first down, Sanchez was just 2-of-7 for 22 yards with a sack. 8. Matt Cassel KC 10/18 70 0 3 -128 -128 0 The system is understanding enough to chalk up Cassel's third interception to a Hail Mary, but wow -- a third of Cassel's dropbacks resulted in either an interception, a sack, or an intentional grounding penalty. He threw for two first downs all day, and he didn't have a single successful play after 11:23 of the third quarter. Before Week 17, Cassel had thrown five interceptions in 417 attempts for an interception rate of 1.2 percent. He threw five interceptions in his final 51 attempts.

Five most valuable running backs Rk Player Team Rush

Yds Rush

TD Rec

Yds Rec

TD Total

DYAR Rush

DYAR Rec

DYAR 1. James Starks GB 123 0 9 0 34 32 2 All year, the rumors coming out of Green Bay have pointed to Starks as the team's most devastating running back. He was the guy who could revitalize a dormant rushing attack if he would only practice hard enough to make it onto the active roster. Guess he practiced hard this week. Mike McCarthy unleashed him and Starks rewarded him with a 27-yard run to start off his day. Starks looked like a sound runner with a very low pad level, but there are some things to suggest that his day might be a little overcelebrated. He had carries of 12, 19, and 27 yards. That's good. He added a fourth first down with a six-yard carry, but those were his only rushing first downs of the day. His other 19 carries produced just five successful rushes. Chris Johnson is the master of this skillset, but it only works when his big runs are 27, 41, and 83, not the relatively low numbers Starks produced. Be excited, Packers fans, but don't expect a revolution. 2. LaDainian Tomlinson NYJ 82 2 17 0 33 37 -4 Many people suspected that the Chiefs were going to unleash Jamaal Charles as their primary back in the playoffs after keeping him rested all year, which they did until Charles fumbled. Perhaps the increase in carries for Shonn Greene at the end of the season was an attempt to keep Tomlinson fresh for the playoffs? If so, it worked. Tomlinson started with his biggest run of the day, a 23-yarder, and finished with a 50 percent Success Rate on the ground. He converted both of his runs on third down, with the second one a one-yard plunge for a touchdown. He picked up another first down in the fourth quarter on a crucial third-and-7 as a receiver. It wasn't as good as his performance in that Patriots game, but it was certainly a valuable component of victory. 3. Jamaal Charles KC 83 1 15 0 24 19 6 The Chiefs had five plays that went for ten yards or more; Charles was responsible for three of them as a runner and one as a receiver. His last carry of the game was his stuff on fourth-and-1 at the Ravens' 33-yard line with 9:45 left in the third quarter, at which point it was still a three-point game. The Chiefs got it back after a field goal, but Cassel took an intentional grounding penalty on first down, Dexter McCluster fumbled the ball away on third down, and then after another field goal, Cassel threw a pick on first down. Even down 16 points, though, Charles was probably Kansas City's best threat of catching up quick. 4. Marshawn Lynch SEA 131 1 0 0 23 28 -5 Lynch has taken some shots in this space during the season for a lack of production. They were deserved; he's been wildly inconsistent. On Saturday, though, Lynch had decent numbers -- 16 carries for 57 yards -- before busting off a glorious run that any running back in the history of the game would be proud to call their career highlight. Although he doesn't get any extra credit in DYAR for the broken tackles that made up his run, DYAR recognizes how valuable it was that Lynch finished with a touchdown as opposed to coming up a few yards short. Let's say that the momentum of Lynch's devastating stiff arm forces him to fall down and the Seahawks end up kicking a field goal instead of scoring a touchdown. The Saints' ensuing drive ends up being to tie the game with a touchdown, not try and chip away at a 10-point lead. Lynch's final few yards didn't just ensure his place in the all-time NFL highlight reel; it put the game out of reach for his team. That's production. 5. Ray Rice BAL 57 0 42 1 21 -12 33 The same Chiefs run defense that ranked last in DVOA during the second half of the season shut down Rice. 11 of his 17 carries were unsuccessful, including his lone third-down attempt of the day. He had just one first down on those carries. He was much better, though, as a receiver: His first three targets were successful, including a first down on third-and-11. He added a receiving touchdown to give the Ravens a lead they wouldn't reliniquish.

Least valuable running back Rk Player Team Rush

Yds Rush

TD Rec

Yds Rec

TD Total

DYAR Rush

DYAR Rec

DYAR 1. LeSean McCoy PHI 46 0 37 0 -8 3 -11 McCoy's been one of the league's most pleasant surprises this year, and with the Packers committed to stopping Michael Vick and preventing the deep ball, there should have been a place for him to contribute. Instead, he spent most of his day chipping and blocking, and he was unable to break a big play; his longest carry of the day was for nine yards, and his 12 rushes produced just one first down. He had two first downs on receptions of 11 and 16 yards as a receiver, but he also fumbled on his first target of the day.

Five most valuable wide receivers and tight ends Rk Player Team Rec Att Yds Avg TD Total

DYAR 1. Pierre Garcon IND 5 7 112 22.4 1 52 Few players in the league look as bad in producing good numbers as Garcon does; watch the tape and he'll drive you crazy, but his numbers sure end up looking impressive. His 57-yard touchdown catch came on a deep post courtesy of Brodney Pool, who decided to go for an interception and came up comically short. Like an outfielder diving for a ball and having it bounce five feet in front of him short. He had two other first downs, both of which came in the fourth quarter, and added two other catches for a total of 20 yards. Nobody had a dominant week, so Garcon's big play wins him receiver of the week by default. 2. Brandon Stokley SEA 4 4 73 18.2 1 47 Stokley joined the Seahawks almost as an afterthought at the end of September and immediately had a 62-yard game. As receivers got healthy, his role diminished, but he was great on Saturday. His five targets produced four catches and a defensive pass interference penalty; only one of those targets did not result in a first down or a touchdown. 3. Anquan Boldin BAL 5 7 64 12.8 1 38 Those five catches produced four first downs and a touchdown, including 27 YAC on his opening catch of the day. On a somewhat-unrelated note, I ran a study this offseason that ended up not making the book on players who caught passes on third down within two yards of the sticks and managed to make it over for a first down. Boldin led the league. The idea was to try and find those players who made third downs out of situations where others would've been stopped short of the sticks, but it requires us to also integrate broken tackle data, and there's not enough of a sample yet. Anyway, this year, he had three such plays. Aaron Hernandez led the league with six, and Danny Amendola had five. 4. Jason Avant PHI 7 9 93 13.3 1 34 Remember -- Avant had a couple of disappointing drops on back-to-back plays in the third quarter. Those were his only two incompletions of the game, which is pretty impressive considering how good the Packers' pass defense is. His touchdown came on a really pretty route, too. Are there any other teams in the league that have their third wide receiver (Avant) and third cornerback (Joselio Hanson) signed to long-term contracts as veterans? 5. Mike Williams SEA 5 8 68 13.6 1 25 Williams's touchdown pass came on a third-and-2 from the Saints' 38-yard line. I wonder if it's a little more valuable than the same play from the 32-yard line because having the ball on fourth-and-2 from the 38-yard line is really a no man's land of situations. None of the options there are particularly appealing. That was Williams's lone conversion on three third-down passes; his two other first downs came on second-down throws.