17th
Divisional Round Wrap up: an early 90’s NFC Title Game
What a weekend of football in the NFC. Saturday brought us one of the more memorable games in playoff history when the Niners outscored the Saints, and Sunday brought an end to the defending champs hope at repeating. After week 1, it was all about the hype for a Saints/Packers rematch in the playoffs and it was all but certain one of these teams would represent the NFC in Indy. But someone forgot to send the script to the Giants and 49ers. The Giants were expected to at least contend in the NFC this year, but no one predicted the 49ers doing what they have done this year.
Jim Harbaugh is a miracle worker, and his head coaching road that started at the University of San Diego has brought him within one game of the Super Bowl. San Francisco has not played for the Lombardi Trophy since the 1994 season, and a win Sunday against the Giants would give them a chance to get ring number 6 for the organization. Harbaugh has already cemented his bay area standing with what he did on the farm at Stanford, and if he makes it happen for the Niners he could be placed next to Bill Walsh as the greats in bay area coaching.
Lets take a look at the top stories from the weekend:
- Tom Brady is not a fan of religion, so it may seem.The Patriots did not give Denver the chance to compete. It was 14-0 quick, and things only got out of hand from there. The Broncos had no answer for Brady who threw for 6 touchdowns and seemed on a mission to end Tebowmania. The final was 45-10, but the story can be told with 35-7 halftime lead. Tim Tebow will get a lot of crap for the loss, but a lot of the blame has to be put on some drops by his wide receivers in the first half. There were at least 3 different situations where Tebow made the throw on third down, and his receivers dropped the ball. It most likely would have not made a difference, but maybe the scoreline would not have been as brutal.
- Alex Smith is clutch, at least for this week. What a game we witnessed at Candlestick. The two teams scored 4 times in the final 4 minutes with the 49ers getting the last laugh. San Francisco jumped out to a 17-0 lead thanks to some big turnovers by the Saints, but a lack of offense for most of the second half gave Drew Brees more then enough time to get his team back into it. Alex Smith made the plays when it mattered, and the 49ers answered the bell when it was time. The bootleg call on 3rd and short that led to Alex Smith sneaking out and finding the end zone was an absolute brilliant call, then Alex Smith and Vernon Davis connected twice on the final drive. The touchdown catch was a thing of beauty from both ends, as it was a perfect throw from Smith into tight coverage and Davis held onto the rock while taking a shot. It is being called the Catch 3, and will probably go down as another Candlestick memory for years to come.
- The Ravens won, and that’s about all I have to say about that game. Baltimore advanced to the AFC Title game for the second time in four years, which is a credit to John Harbaugh and the consistency in the defensive play. This game was a snoozer, so much so I fell asleep for half of it. Ed Reed sealed it with a late pick, and the final score was 20-13.
- The Giants have won two straight playoff games at Lambeau, and they do not care WHO plays quarterback for Green Bay. Last time New York played a playoff game in Green Bay, they ended the Brett Favre era. This time they shut down the hot Packers and Aaron Rodgers. Turnovers made the difference, as the Packers fumbled the ball three times. Everything went the Giants way, including a lob into the that was caught by Nicks that put Packer nation into silence that continued for most of the second half. The Giants are no stranger to winning road playoff games, and will look to do it on the West Coast again on Sunday.
I will post the predictions for Championship weekend later this week, looking forward to a great Sunday of football. Its just sad another season is coming to an end!!
