Philadelphia, PA (My Sportsbook) - That the New Orleans Saints won't be repeating as Super Bowl champions shouldn't come as much of a surprise. We just expected Drew Brees and his mates to stick around the party a little longer.

The Saints became the latest in a growing line of Lombardi Trophy recipients to fail to win a playoff game the following year with Saturday's startling 41-36 setback to the left-for-dead Seattle Seahawks. New Orleans is the fifth straight defending title-holder to either be ousted in its postseason opener or not make the tournament altogether.

So, can the Saints' stumble to the Seahawks -- the first entry in NFL history to win their division with a losing record -- be termed as the biggest upset the league has ever seen under the circumstances? Hardly, especially when considering Seattle had won its last four playoff tilts at Qwest Field and New Orleans has never prevailed in a true road game in a postseason setting (now 0-4).

The greater impact of Saturday's result may be felt down the road, as those championing the cause for a revised playoff seeding system received a convincing piece of evidence for their argument that a 7-9 team that finished on top of a soft division should get a home game against one that won 11 times despite competing in a considerably tougher grouping. And while it wasn't the determining factor in Seattle's shocker, the presence of the "12th Man" came a very close third to quarterback Matt Hasselbeck's redemptive four-touchdown performance and running back Marshawn Lynch's jaw-dropping 131-yard display.

The Seahawks may have produced the most resonant moment of the 2011 Wild Card Weekend, but they weren't the only underdog to come through. Both the New York Jets and Green Bay advanced with gut-check victories on the road in which the final outcome wasn't decided until the last seconds.

The ever-resilient Jets spoiled Indianapolis' hopes at a second consecutive AFC crown with a thrilling 17-16 victory on Saturday, showing their trademark toughness under boisterous head coach Rex Ryan in the process. Sixth-seeded New York successfully played keep-away from Peyton Manning and his cast of weapons with a smash-mouth ground attack that amassed 169 yards, while young quarterback Mark Sanchez was the one who played like a four-time league MVP down the stretch, shaking off a poor first half to come up ultra-clutch on the game-winning drive.

Green Bay, the NFC's sixth and final seed, outlasted high-powered Philadelphia in a 21-16 decision that offered an impressive illustration of the versatility that one of the league's dangerous dark horses possesses. The Packers showed off a difference-making running game not many thought existed, while the conference's best defense was one step ahead of its most explosive offense for just about the entire day.

The lone expected entrant into next week's Divisional Round was Baltimore, which overpowered an upstart Kansas City squad in an easier-than-anticipated 30-7 shellacking Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium. The Ravens' vaunted defense set the tone with a stifling overall effort, limiting the Chiefs to a paltry 161 yards and forcing a season-worst five turnovers out of their shell-shocked opponent, while quarterback Joe Flacco turned in a coming-of-age experience by completing a crisp 25-of-34 passes for 265 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

All in all, there were no shortage of topics to cover from what was one very exciting -- and quite busy -- week. Here's a few that met my approval, and some that drew that drew my disfavor as well:

GOOD MOVE, Mike McCarthy. A superb job of game-planning and play-calling by the Packers head coach, who kept the Eagles' defense on its heels all game long with an array of jumbo formations (three-back sets, two tight-end looks) and installing a fresh and spry rookie running back James Starks into a feature role. Starks ran for 123 yards on 23 carries, Green Bay rushed for 138 as a team, and Michael Vick and Philadelphia's dangerous offense were glued to the sidelines for a good portion of the evening.

BAD MOVE, Matt Cassel. The judicious play that the Kansas City quarterback displayed during his team's surprising run to the AFC West title was non- existent at the end. Cassel's numbers over the Chiefs' final two games: 20- of-51 (39.2 percent), 185 yards, zero touchdowns, five interceptions. And zero targets to Pro Bowl wide receiver Dwayne Bowe in Sunday's loss to the Ravens.

GOOD MOVE, Brian Schottenheimer. The Jets' offensive coordinator made a key adjustment for the second half of Saturday's game, taking the onus out of the hands of a shaky Sanchez and allowing his strong backfield tandem of LaDainian Tomlinson and Shonn Green to do their thing. New York piled up 95 rushing yards in the second half, kept the ball for 18 minutes, and effectively neutralized a frustrated Manning by controlling the clock.

BAD MOVE, Jim Caldwell. The decision to call time out with 28 seconds left and the Jets desperately trying to move into field goal range was the highlight of a series of puzzling choices made by the Indianapolis head coach during Saturday's nail-biter. Choosing to send kicker Adam Vinatieri for a long field goal attempt (albeit successful) on a 4th-and-short situation late in the third quarter could also be questioned, especially with the outcome determined by a single point.

GOOD MOVE, San Diego Chargers...and New York Jets. New York's victory earned the Bolts a second-round pick in April's draft per the terms of the offseason between the clubs involving cornerback Antonio Cromartie. It's a verdict the Jets can certainly live with, especially after Cromartie came up with one of the biggest plays in Saturday's win, a 47-yard kick return that set Gang Green up near midfield on the deciding drive.

BAD MOVE, David Akers. The usually dead-on Philadelphia kicker misfired on two field goal tries against the Packers, including an unforgivable 34-yarder in the fourth quarter. That last shank forced the Eagles to need a touchdown on their final drive, which ended up with a Vick interception in the end zone in the closing seconds.

GOOD MOVE, Jim Harbaugh. For eschewing Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross' blood money. Not only do the 49ers offer the coveted former Stanford sideline boss a better chance of immediate success, he also won't have to deal with a management group that would undermine their own head coach while he's still under contract.

BAD MOVE, Stephen Ross. His widely-known flirtation with Harbaugh and previous overtures to Bill Cowher about Tony Sparano's job was disgraceful enough, but a self-serving public denial regarding the entire situation left the real estate tycoon with even more egg on his face. O.J. Simpson sounded more convincing.

GOOD MOVE, Bud Adams. For taking the sound advice of the entire Tennessee Titans front office and choosing Jeff Fisher over Vince Young. You've got a better chance of getting back to the Super Bowl with the former as your head coach than the latter as your quarterback.

BAD MOVE, John Elway. The Hall of Fame quarterback had two big fumbles in his first week on the job as the Denver Broncos' President of Football Operations, first mistakenly referring to potential head coaching candidate Mike Mularkey as "Mark Mularkey" during his introductory press conference and later giving a less-than-ringing endorsement of rookie Tim Tebow as the team's field general of the future. Incidentally, Mularkey -- currently Atlanta's offensive coordinator -- canceled his interview with the Broncos.

GOOD MOVE, Bob McNair and the Houston Texans. While the Texans clearly didn't meet expectations, firing head coach Gary Kubiak and starting from scratch would have been a major setback to a team that's still not that far off from being a viable Super Bowl threat (I know, you've heard that one before). The offense -- Kubiak's specialty -- wasn't the problem in this year's 6-10 disappointment, and getting Wade Phillips to make over a deplorable defense could be a coup.

THE DIVISIONAL ROUND -- AT A GLANCE

You couldn't ask for two more intriguing matchups in the AFC, with a pair of bitter division rivals going toe-to-toe once more under the most important and intense of conditions. Packers/Falcons presents a very interesting rematch as well, and a strong argument can be made that those teams are the two best going in the NFC right now.

Baltimore at Pittsburgh (Saturday, 4:30): Six of the last seven meetings in this series have been decided by four or less points, including three overtime games, and the winning team hasn't scored more than 23 points in any of those outings. Any reason to expect anything different?

Green Bay at Atlanta (Saturday, 8:00): The Pack gave the top-seeded Falcons all they could handle at the Georgia Dome in a 20-17 loss during Week 12, a result that may have turned out differently had Aaron Rodgers not lost a fumble at the goal line in the second quarter.

Seattle at Chicago (Sunday, 1:00): Do the Seahawks really have a chance to reach the NFC Championship Game? Well, their only victory over a playoff participant during the regular season came against the Bears in Chicago. On the other hand, Seattle has lost seven straight postseason tests on the road, with the franchise's last such win occurring in 1983.

N.Y. Jets at New England (Sunday, 4:30): In my best Rex Ryan swagger, I confidently guarantee that this game will be closer than the 42-point serving of humble pie the Patriots shoved down the Jets' throats back in December. Still a tall order for Ryan and his guys, but certainly not insurmountable. Remember how a similarly-built Baltimore team tore apart the Pats in Foxborough by running the football and harassing Tom Brady into a litany of errors during last year's playoffs.