One theme about the opening weekend of NFL playoffs was this – quarterbacks starting their first playoff games went 0-4.
Tampa Bay’s Chris Simms (25-38, 198 yards) outgunned Mark Brunnell (7-15, 41 yards) but lost because Washington’s defense won the game.
Jacksonville’s Byron Leftwich (18-31, 179) was game but lost to Tom Brady (15-27, 201, 3TDs), who is now 10-0 in the postseason.
New York’s Eli Manning (10-18, 113) threw three interceptions against Carolina, and Cincinnati’s Carson Palmer threw only one pass — it was complete but he tore his ACL and left the game. His replacement, Jon Kitna, threw two interceptions and lost a fumble. Kitna had never played in a playoff game, either.
While the first-timers passed for more yardage (753-590) than their counterparts, they combined for one touchdown and eight interceptions. Brady, Brunnel, Jake Delhomme and Ben Roethlisberger combined for seven touchdowns and one interception.
Nice work, I didn’t actually see the statistics of the young QBs compared to the veterans, but the statistics enhanced the whole idea that all of the young quarterbacks wound up overmatched against the crafty veterans despite being outpassed in terms of yardage in several cases.