Last week, the Broncos, Texans, Packers, and Seahawks all lost, leaving 4 teams left: the Ravens, Patriots, 49ers, and Falcons. All teams left are either 1 or 2 seeds, except the 4th seeded Ravens.
Sunday at 3PM, the NFC Championship will take place as the San Francisco 49ers visit the Atlanta Falcons.
The 49ers advanced last week by beating the Packers 45-31. Colin Kaepernick carried the 49ers on his back as he ran for a record 181 yards and 2 TDs, not to mention throwing for 263 yards and 2 TDs, both to Michael Crabtree. The great effort of Frank Gore, 23 carries for 119 yards and 1 TD, was overshadowed by Kaepernick’s phenomenal game. Kaepernick, in his first playoff game, defeated NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers, who just could’t establish a rhythm and finished with 257 yards.
The Falcons barely won last week. After winning 20-0 at half time, and still leading by 20 in the 4th quarter, the Falcons lost the lead with 31 seconds left, after Marshawn Lynch scored on a 2 yard run. After allowing the biggest 4th quarter comeback in NFL playoff history, Matt Ryan led his team down the field in less than 30 seconds, and set up Matt Bryan for a 49 yard game winning field goal, which was good. Russel Wilson had a great game, throwing for 385 yards and 2 TDs, and running for 60 yards and 1 TD. However, Wilson’s 4th quarter comeback wasn’t enough, and the Seahawks are going to be watching the NFC Championship game.
Looking forward to the NFC Championship game, I think the 49ers have too many weapons on offense and defense. I look for them to win and move on to the Super Bowl.
Sunday night is the AFC Championship game between the Ravens and Patriots in New England. This is a rematch of last years AFC championship game, which the Patriots won.
Not many people expected the Ravens to be in this game,. Everyone thought that Denver, who had an 11 game winning streak, would roll over the Ravens at home last week. The Broncos played well, but the Ravens did as well. With less than a minute left, and the Ravens down by 7 points, Joe Flacco threw a 70 yard touchdown pass because the Denver safety blew his coverage and misplayed the ball. There is no excuse for giving up such a big play in that situation. So, with the game tied, the Broncos were forced to play overtime. Unbelievably, no one scored in the first overtime period. But, at the end of the first overtime period. Peyton Manning threw his second interception of the game (the first one was returned for a touchdown). This second interception gave the Ravens great field position and shortly into the second overtime period, the Ravens rookie kicker Justin Tucker made a 47 yarder to win the game.
The Patriots’ victory was not as dramatic as the Ravens’. The Patriots under Tom Brady trampled the Texans, who were at one time thought to be the best team in the AFC. Brady, with the win, achieved the most postseason wins by a quarterback. Brady got his 17th victory, surpassing his childhood hero, Joe Montana. The Patriots did experience a major setback during the game, as All-Pro tight end Rob Gronkowski broke his forearm again. New England will miss him for the rest of the playoffs. He has been one of Brady’s favorite targets all season.
Baltimore will travel to New England, where they lost last year in dramatic fashion. A key match up in this game will be the match up between the Baltimore defense (primarily Ray Lewis), and Tom Brady. Everyone knows that Brady is among the best in the league at reading defenses and changing the play accordingly, and the Ravens will have their hands full trying to disguise their blitzes and coverages. I look for the Ravens to put up a good fight and come very close to victory, but in the end the Patriots will prevail and make it to their 6th super bowl in 11 years. I’m not 100 percent sure though, as the Raven’s have got a lot of momentum going, and have the ultimate source of inspiration, Ray Lewis. This will definitely be a great game.
After this weekend, there will be only 2 teams left.