Wild-card games live up to name

Associated Press

So this is why they call it wild-card weekend. It can’t get much wilder than this.

One of the great comebacks in NFL history, followed by an even greater one. A 41-point rout. And, perhaps most difficult to believe, the Packers losing a playoff game at home.

If the rest of the NFL’s postseason is anything like the last two days, well, get it on.

“As long as you live, you might never see a game better than that,” said 49ers coach Steve Mariucci after his team staged the second-biggest comeback in playoff history, rallying from 24 points down in the second half to beat the New York Giants 39-38 Sunday.

Hours earlier in Pittsburgh, the Steelers came from 17 points down and scored four touchdowns in the final 19 minutes for a stunning 36-33 victory over archrival Cleveland in the greatest playoff comeback in team history.

“It’s one of those wins you can’t see happening, but you just keep hoping it will keep going the way it’s going,” Steelers coach Bill Cowher said.

Those two incredible comebacks followed two lopsided games on Saturday. The New York Jets, playing perfectly on offense, defense and special teams, romped past the Indianapolis Colts 41-0 in their first playoff meeting since the Jets beat the Baltimore Colts in the 1969 Super Bowl.

“This is more than what we could ask for,” said linebacker Marvin Jones, whose team was 1-4 and 2-5 before starting its turnaround. “I didn’t imagine we could win it like this.”

And hardly anyone imagined what would happen that night, in the cold and the snow of Lambeau Field. Michael Vick looked like a seasoned pro, and Brett Favre was ordinary. Vick guided the Atlanta Falcons to a 27-7 victory that was Green Bay’s first home defeat in the playoffs. Ever.

“I think we all believed in our hearts that we were going to go in and accomplish what we did,” linebacker Keith Brooking said. “A lot of teams go into Lambeau beat before they even step on the field. I think 90 percent of it is going in with belief and without any doubt. We had that.”