Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots, Sunday, 3:00 PM ET, CBS
The top seeded Patriots will host the Baltimore Ravens in a great matchup of strength-on-strength as the Ravens defense faces off against the Patriots offense – both among the best units in the league. Both units are also aging at key positions and feeling the pressure to capitalize while they still, and both units aging at key positions.
The Ravens and Patriots last met in the playoffs in 2010, when the Ravens knocked the Patriots out of the playoffs with a 33-14 victory.
New York Giants at San Francisco 49ers, Sunday, 6:30 PM ET, FOX
The NFC did their best to prove that defense does still matter, as the top offenses in the conference were defeated by the 49ers and the Giants who are sound on both sides of the football.
The 49ers and Giants have met 7 times in the playoffs in the last 30 years, most recently in a wild, wild Wild Card game in 2003 which the 49ers won 39-38. In that game, Jeff Garcia led the 49ers from a 38-14 deficit in the final 20 minutes, with help from Terrell Owens who caught 9 passes for 177 yards and 2 TDs.
The Sports Caster Recaps of Divisional Playoff Games
Patriots 45 – Broncos 10: The New England Patriots ran the Denver Broncos through a buzz saw. Tim Tebow and all the praying wasn’t enough to keep Tom Brady from setting an NFL record for touchdown passes in a half. Rob Gronkowski was a beast as usual and this game was never close. The Patriots will host the Ravens next week with a chance to return to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2007. The Broncos will have a long interesting off season. Did Tebow do enough to prove to John Elway and John Fox that he should be the starting quarterback in Denver? Will the Broncos bring in a veteran QB to battle with Tebow? One last thing on this game, I have been blown away with the play of Von Miller all season. I was disappointed he let his emotions get the best of him last night. His cheap shot at the end of the game is a black eye that Miller didn’t need in his rookie season.
Ravens 37 – Packers 20: The Baltimore Ravens did just enough to eliminate the Houston Texans and set up a 1 vs. 2 matchup in the AFC next weekend. The Ravens got off to a fast start and then basically leaned on their defense and coasted to a victory. Arian Foster ran for over 100 yards and helped the Texans creep back into the game, but T.J. Yates couldn’t do enough and never could get Andre Johnson behind Ed Reed and the Ravens secondary. The Ravens will travel to New England and look to make their first trip to the Super Bowl since 2000. The Texans will go home and get healthy. Mario Williams and Matt Schaub both missed the magical run that lead to the Texans hosting their first ever playoff game. With Indy looking to rebuild after a disastrous season, the Texans could be the top dog in the AFC South for years to come.
Giants 37 – Packers 20: The New York Giants dominated the Atlanta Falcons at home last week and bought themselves a ticket to Green Bay where many people figured there late season run would come to a scratching halt. Instead, the Giants marched into Lambeau Field and stunned the defending Super Bowl Champions defeating the NFC’s #1 seed 37-20. The Giants got two first half touchdowns from Hakeem Nicks and held the Packers to only 10 first half points. Despite a slow third quarter, the Packers were only able to tack on a field goal. The Giants were impressive in the fourth quarter forcing turnovers, frustrating Rodgers, and making enough plays on offense to put the outcome of the game into focus with about five minutes remaining. Mario Manningham and Brandon Jacobs scored fourth quarter touchdowns for the Giants. Aaron Rodgers and his revivers never seemed to click. Packers wide receivers dropped a handful of passes and Rodgers missed a few open receivers. The Packers turned the ball over four times and Aaron Rodgers finished the game with a 78.5 QB rating. His rating during the regular season? 122.5. The Giants will travel to San Francisco next week with a spot in the Super Bowl on the line. The Packers will be forced to clean out their lockers and try to figure out what happened to a team that finished the season 15-1 but couldn’t win a single playoff game at home. Like the Saints, the Packers will be forced to consider if they ask for too much from their superstar QB.
49ers 36 – Saints 32: Alex Smith and Vernon Davis broke my heart in what was the playoff game of the Century. [Editor’s Note: As a lifelong 49ers fan, I had the exact opposite reaction, but I totally agree on the Game of the Century assessment. –JL] Four lead changes in the final four minutes and change capped off by a Smith to Davis TD pass with 0:14 seconds remaining. A Giants victory brought the NFC Championship game to SF. The Saints will go home and try to figure out how they let Alex Smith drive the ball on them twice in the last two minutes. Gregg Williams is likely to move on and join his buddy Jeff Fisher in St. Louis. The Saints will focus on trying to keep a load of talented free agents and improve the defense without a first round pick. Drew Brees, Marques Colston, Carol Nicks, and Robert Meachem will all be looking for new deals. It will be a long winter in the Big Easy.
