Could anyone have predicted what would happen in the NFC? It was all pretty smooth to start with, seeds 3 (Saints) and 4 (Giants) winning in the Wildcard rounds. Then came the Divisional championships, and one of the greatest playoff games of all time.
After destroying Detroit Lions at home, Saints had to to travel to Candlestick Park to face San Francisco 49ers for a place in the Conference championship game. It was a pretty average game initially; 49ers scored a pair of touchdowns and a field goal before Saints were on the board, but New Orleans hit back with 2 touchdowns of their own to cut the gap to 3 halftime at 17-14. The 3rd quarter consisted of interceptions, punts and fumbles, with a 41 yard field goal from David Akers being the only score in the quarter.
Then the game came alive.
The teams traded field goals to make the score 23-17, and then Saints took the lead for the first time in the game after a good run-and-catch from Darren Sproles. 49ers soon hit back after a gutsy play call on 3rd and 8 resulted in Alex Smith running the ball into the end zone for a 29-24 lead after the 2-point conversion failed.
Saints had 2:11 to score a touchdown, and score they did. A 4-play drive resulted in a 66-yard Jimmy Graham touchdown, and then Sproles held on to Brees' pass for a successful 2-point conversion to make it 32-29 Saints with 92 seconds left on the clock. All Saints had to do was stop Smith marching downfield from their own 15 after a poor return from Williams, but Smith and Davis had other ideas. After a 47 yard catch from Davis set up some good field position on the Saints 20, Gore made 6 yards and Smith spiked the ball with 14 seconds left. Smith then proved his doubters wrong by hitting Vernon Davis with an inch-perfect pass, as he was getting smashed by Saints Safety Roman Harper, and into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown. Saints tried to comeback with a touchdown with a lateral play on the final play on their own 16, but Meachem was tackled 1 yard ahead of the line of scrimmage after Sproles lateraled the ball to him via Brees. Just like that, Saints' record-breaking season had come to an abrupt end.
There was another great game the day after, this time the New York Giants travelled to 15-1 Green Bay Packers, who beat Giants 38-35 earlier on in the season. Giants were the brighter of the 2 teams, taking a 10-3 advantage in to the 2nd quarter. Giants added a field goal and Packers got their first touchdown of the game, but then with time expiring in the first half, Eli Hail Mary-ed it into the end zone. Hakeem Nicks then proceeded to make a fantastic catch with defenders draped around him to make it 20-10.
Based on that play and that play alone, Giants deserved to win this game. How many teams would have either taken a knee to run out the clock? Obviously a 56 yard FG is a bit far, but barely any teams would have done what Eli did. Only Packers themselves or Saints probably would have attempted it. It's that type of balls you need to win in the playoffs. Anyway, back to the game.
A slow 3rd quarter meant the only points were a Packers field goal with 3:55 left, and then the game picked up once more in the 4th quarter with the score at 20-13 Giants. Rodgers went for it on 4th down on the Giants 45, but was sacked, meaning New York got the ball back on the Packers 49, setting themselves up for a potential play that could all but eliminate the reigning champs. Giants strolled down the field in 5 minutes and hit a field goal to give them a 10 point lead.
Surely this would be where Packers showed why they're the best? It was perfectly set up: 10 points down, 7:40 on the clock. The stage was set.
But! Green Bay had not banked on Giants ruthless defence. Grant fumbled the ball on his own 44, and the fumble was subsequently returned just short of a TD for 40 yards. But it didn't matter as one play later, Manning hit Manningham to extend their lead to 30-13 and surely put the game out of reach. Never rule out a team that's gone 15-1 though. Just 2 minutes later, Rodgers found Driver to bring the deficit back to 10. Packers obviously had to go for the onside kick with just 4:46 left, but Victor Cruz recovered it. Another touchdown a couple of minutes later ensured Giants were heading to the Championship game. Rodgers had a chance to add another TD to his collection, but his pass was intercepted, thus ending the game.
Packers didn't lose this game. Giants didn't win this game. Giants defence won this game. They worked like Trojans to ensure passes didn't get to their intended receivers, and their linemen were brilliant at getting to Rodgers and putting the pressure on him.
To the AFC!
After the heroics of Tim Tebow last week (how many times did we hear that this season?), could he do it again against #1 seed New England Patriots? The answer to that question, was no. Not by a long shot. (This review will be a lot shorter than the previous 2. Sorry).
The opening quarter was dominated by Patriots, with the score being at 14-0 at the end of it. McGahee scored the Broncos only TD on a 5-yard run to half the deficit, but Brady took over once again. He dominated the rest of the quarter, throwing 3 touchdowns to pretty much end the game as a contest at 35-7.
The scoreline looked even worse for Denver when Hernandez was found by Brady early on in the 3rd, but a field goal from Splitter gave Broncos a morsel of hope. I know I said that I would never rule Tebow out, but surely even he could not come back from a 32 point deficit? Of course he couldn't. The 4th quarter passed by with barely a whimper, the only score coming from a New England field goal.
And so ended Tebowmania.
The final conference game came in Baltimore, between Ravens and Texans. This was the dullest of the games, with the game being dominated by defence and the score ending up 20-13 in the hosts' favour.
It was a promising start to the game, with Ravens taking a 17-3 lead to demoralise Texans. But Houston clawed their way back into the game with a touchdown and a field goal to get back within 4.
A dull 3rd quarter ended in 0-0, and the 4th quarter was a lot of Arian Foster running the ball and the Ravens defence playing superbly to keep him out. Yates was intercepted by Reed on the Baltimore 29 to set up Ravens for a score to put the game out of reach. But they had to settle for a field goal when Cundiff scored to make the lead a touchdown.
This gave Texans some hope, but Yates was intercepted Reed again with 2 minutes left to all but end the game. Ravens had to punt with 53 seconds left, but Yates got little-to-nowhere and Ravens advanced to the AFC Championship game.
Look out for my NFL Championship post coming very soon. Definitely before the Superbowl. There may also be a Superbowl preview and review in the next few days
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