NFL Championship Games

The Championship games went pretty much as expected, I reckon. Patriots were run a bit closer by Ravens than I and most had thought they would be, but they still came out on top.

Patriots vs Ravens
It was a poor offensive start to the game, with the first 6 non-punting plays of the game combining for 11 yards. It took another 3-and-out, with no yards gained, before anyone established any real momentum. Brady managed to settle down and get down the field into the Red Zone, but Ravens defence held strong to restrict Patriots to a field goal.

Baltimore punted again after losing 15 yards on their 3-play drive. Brady then threw his first interception of the game, and then Flacco managed to get some yardage as he marched his team down the field in just over 4 minutes and got to the Patriots 3. However, much like Baltimore, New England held firm to restrict Flacco and co. to a field goal. Patriots then took a 10-3 lead through a 7-yard rush from Green-Ellis, who was holding the offense together. Brady only passed 4 times on the 10-play drive, including a 20 yarder to Tight End extraordinaire Rob Gronkowski.

Just a few plays later however, Ravens were back on level terms when a 37-yarder from Flacco to Boldin put them in the Red Zone on Patriots 18. 4 consecutive rushes for 12 total yards from Ray Rice edged them even closer to even things up, and then Pitta was found in the end zone to level the game at 10.

Brady was beginning to find some rhythm and made 5 consecutive passes to get New England into Field Goal range, but 3 incompletions in a row meant they had to settle for 3. This ensured they had a 13-10 lead going into half time.

Patriots went downfield on the opening drive of the 2nd half, but once again had to settle for 3 more after they could not find a way past Ravens superb defence. Ravens then took the lead for the first time 6 minutes later thanks to some steady play,  which was topped off by Torrey Smith getting into the end zone for a TD.

Ravens steady offense and fantastic defence had given them belief that they could cause an upset. The pressure got to Patriots kick off returner Danny Woodhead, who fumbled the ball on his own 28 to set up Ravens in an excellent position. A touchdown here would have made it an 8 point game, but defence once again came out on top and Ravens kicked a field goal to go ahead by 4.

Just one drive later, Ravens were made to pay for that missed chance when Brady decided he'd had enough of field goals and dived in himself on 4th & 1 at the Ravens 1 yard line.

Defence once again prevailed for the rest of the quarter when first Flacco was intercepted by Spikes, and then on the next play Smith returned the favour to intercept Brady. Flacco was on the Patriots 33 on the resulting drive, and he went for it on 4th & 6. The pass was broken up by some more good defence, but Patriots could not take advantage of this and went 3-and-out to give Ravens the ball back on their own 17.

Step up Joe Flacco. Starting on his own 21, he had the chance to do an Alex Smith and win the game. Patriots defence forced a couple of 3rd downs, but Flac held his nerve to convert them, and with 22 seconds left, Ravens were on Patriots 14. Flacco did not convert the 3rd & 1, so the Field Goal unit came on for a routine 32 yarder and 3 points that would have taken the game into OT. Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff stepped up and everyone was expecting OT. But the set wasn't great and Cundiff shanked it horribly wide left to give Patriots the game and a trip to the Lucas Oil stadium.

49ers vs Giants
A cautious start by both teams resulted in neither team getting a big play for the opening couple of drives, with the longest passing play being 12 yards. But then on the second play of 49ers 2nd drive, Alex Smith hit Vernon Davis, the hero of the Divisional win vs Saints, for a 73 yard touchdown play that gave 49ers the first points of the game.

Manning looked more settled, making some big plays, but neither team could establish some rhythm. A turnover on downs from New York gave the ball back to San Francisco, but they had to punt after some good defencive work. Eli then built a good drive, combining long and short passes to get to the 49ers 6 yard line. There Manning found Pascoe for the tying touchdown. The final 11 minutes of the quarter passed by, with most of the drives resulting in a punt. However Eli managed to string some more passes together and got down the field in 90 seconds to set up a field goal, which was duly converted by Tynes.

Defence dominated the start of the 2nd half, with 3 punts being forced in the opening 9 minutes. The final punt, from Giants punter Steve Weatherford, was returned for 24 yards by Williams to give 49ers good position on their own 46. Here, Alex Smith took just 3 plays to get the ball into the end zone, with Davis once again on the receiving end of his pass to make it 14-10.

Defence soon took over again, with 4 more punts being forced in the 11 minutes or so that sandwiched the 3rd and 4th quarters. The final punt however, was so crucial. It was a routine catch, but Williams fumbled the ball and it was recovered by new York to give them an excellent chance to take the lead on the 49ers 29. They did just that when a few plays and a 10-yard penalty later, Manningham caught the ball in the end zone to give the advantage back to the visitors.

A superb 40-yard kickoff return from Williams meant that Smith and co. started the drive on their own 45, and a couple of big rushes later, first from Smith himself, and then from Hunter, 49ers found themselves on the Giants 10. A touchdown here would have made it a 4-point game, but San Francisco could not find a way past the excellent  New York defence and they had to settle for 3.

The game looked destined for overtime as neither defence looked like crumbling under the pressure. More punts were forced, and before we knew it, overtime was upon us.

More punts followed, and another fumbled return by Williams (again), gave the Giants a fantastic chance to get to  the Superbowl when they lined up on the 49ers 24. In the next 5 plays, Giants made 11 yards to make it slightly easier for Tynes. He did not replicate what Billy Cundiff had done just a few hours earlier, and Giants were going to Indianapolis.