Subject: Round 1- It was a Day for Runningbacks....

	The 49ers flew into Chicago (Tritt) high on their success in the regular
season, their indiv. achievement trophies neatly tucked away to give them
the confidence they needed to make their presence felt in the postseason.
It was a cold, cold day for these Californians, however, and soon the field
was obscured by a swirling blizzard of snow.  As drifts piled up between the
cleared the yardlines, the Niners piled on layer after layer to keep warm.
	It started well for the 49ers, as their adrenaline numbed them to the
freezing wind.  The opening drive saw Owens leap up to make a one-handed
grab, and then simply burn the entire Bears defense, snow or no, to run the
rest of the way for the TD.  Da Bears were not fazed, however, knowing that
soon the cold and wet would creep its way into the Niners bodies and souls.
Using their typical power attack, the A-Train powered their way to the
endzone.  Then, past the midway mark through the second, with the score tied
14-14, Terrel Owens made a decidingly non-MVP move: his frozen hands simply
could not hold onto the ball, and he fumbled it on the 14.  The cracks in
the Niners had begun to form.  Miller, battered about all day, took the
field, but was quickly taken down hard... breaking his thumb.  While Thomas
ran them downfield, Miller shot up on the sideline, returning just in time
to throw the TD pass to give the Bears the lead going into the half, 21-14.
It turned out to be a key turnover.
	The second half saw the complete disintegration of the Niners offense.
Battered by the cold-wind, and disheartened by the Bears ferociousness, they
slowly let the game slip away.  Owens never quite recovered his composure
after that fumble and repeatedly dropped easy (for him) passes.  That lead
to it being Barlow's show, but he was simply outclassed by the quickest way
to Harlem, Anthony "Fuckin-A" Thomas.  The Bears offense could simply do no
wrong, no matter who was leading it.  First, Miller injured himself again
early in the second half and, painkillers/heroin or no, Miller was out.
Chandler took the reigns, and completed deep plays to his fullback (fucking
Tritt) for the yardage and then a bullet to him for the TD.  Owens finally
recovered his poise just in time and completed a clutch 4th and 7 play to
keep San Fran in the game.  Then, down by only 5, the Niners perked up as
disaster once again struck the Bears- Chandler, the back-up Qb got sacked
and was hurt as well.  As Chandler went to pop some codeine, Burris, the
third-string, completed for a deep pass to the red-zone, and then an easy
run in by Thomas kept the Bears ahead.  The demorilization was complete, and
the game ended sloppily, though the final score was not indicative of the
hard-fought game.

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	Now, over in the AFC, though it might be the Steelers who were known for
their defense, it was the Cleveland Browns (Brian) D who made their presence
felt early.  Bettis, once again, was simply a monster, bowling over
linebacker after linebacker to put the Steelers up by 7 early on.  The
Browns answered back, however, with a high-octane passing game that took
them all the way.  From then on, it was the defense who stole the show.  A
stop by the Browns left the Steelers with a long 50 yard field goal that
fell juuuuust short.  The Browns managed to drive to the 5 yard line, and
then could do nothing else as the Steelers simply swarmed all over them,
forcing the field goal and limiting it to a 10-7 lead midway through the
second.
	After that, neither team could put together a cohesive offensive effort.
In doing so, the Browns played right into Pittsburgh's hands.  Although Yogi
Bera always said "good offense could beat good defense and vice versa,"
today Pittsburgh proved him wrong.  They held the *relatively* high-powered
Brown's offense scoreless for just too long.  With a scoreless 8 and a half
minutes, it was not until the very beginning of the fourth that the next
visitor to the endzone appeared, on a surprise passing play from Stewart
that gave the Steelers the lead.  It soon devolved into a shooting match at
the OK Corrall, as the Browns rediscovered their offense.  One Browns
wideout literally lept OVER the CB to break free and run it into the endzone
to regain the lead.  Then Bettis answered back, and the game seemed to be
shifting towards a more Browns-favored type high-scoring game.  It was not
too be, however, as Pittsburgh made a clutch 4th and inches stop with a
minute-thiry left that decisively proved why they are known as defensive
animals.
	Although it was sad to see poor Yogi proven wrong, the Steelers did a great
job in remembering their strengths and playing to them.  If they continue to
play this way, the Jets are in trouble, and there is no way we will not be
seeing the Steelers in the AFC championship game (I feel pretty safe making
this prediction considering it already happened).  The deciding statistic of
the game- Steelers, 250+ rushing yards to the Browns 43.  There was just no
answer for "The Bus."