If you were looking for a titanic defensive struggle, last night wasn't a game to remember. If you were looking to see two patient, methodical offenses chew up yards back and forth all night, you're probably pretty pleased right now. Most importantly, if you're a Patriots fan, you're extremely relieved this morning.

The first half was an amazing display of mirror-image drives, with Tom Brady and David Garrard piloting their teams down the field back and forth. It's a wonder every defenseman in the game isn't nursing sore calves after spending so much time running backwards. Every pass thrown was caught, just about, and at halftime it was a well-deserved tie.

In the second half, it was just a matter of which offensive machine would sputter first. Hint: it wasn't the Patriots. Offensively, the Pats made two mistakes all night; Gostkowski's missed bunny of a field goal, and Wes Welker Recheing a pass in the fourth quarter. One of two incompletions for Brady, who was the Bradyest we've ever seen him. He never went for the long bomb (one catch for Moss?!?), but kept happily accepting the midrange passes that Jacksonville was allowing him. We even saw the ol' Statue of Liberty Play. And let's not forget that Laurence Maroney made everyone who spent November fretting about the running game (yes, for example us) feel pretty silly.

Happily, the game wasn't as close as some predictions. Meanwhile, in the NFC Divisional Game, the Seahawks put 2 quick TDs up on Green Bay, then took the rest of the afternoon off as the Packers and snow poured down on Seattle's heads. (Seriously, Mike Holmgren, would it have killed you to brush some of the snow off your cap and at least make it look like you were conscious?)

The Bruins beat Philly in overtime, and most importantly, left Philly without any broken limbs or shattered faces. In DC, the sputtering Celtics lost their 2nd game in 3 tries, dropping their record to a non-Olympian 30-5 and giving Tommy Heinsohn fits of apoplexy. They'll rematch the Wizards on Monday.

Photo by Bostonist Victoria Welch.