Championship Sunday

Thoughts on the NFC and AFC Championship Games.

49ers 28
Falcons 24
It was the same story that played out last week in Atlanta, only this time the Falcons ran into a coach that knew what he was doing.

Falcons - This loss falls squarely on the shoulders of Matt Ryan. In the 2nd half he threw an INT, fumbled a snap, and on 4th down with the game on the line he threw a pass that WR Roddy White had to turn to try and catch. It was a disaster for Ryan, one he will have a hard time living down.

49ers - Was head coach Jim Harbaugh really going to let the 49ers lose back to back NFC Championship games? No, he isn't Rex Ryan. After getting manhandled in the first half, Harbaugh rallied the defense and got them to pitch a shutout in the 2nd half.

This team is a win away from birthing a new dynasty.

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Ravens 28

Patriots 13

Before the start of the season Joe Flacco declared himself the best QB in the NFL, well he is a win away from being the best of the 2012-13 season.

Patriots - Yet another puzzling loss for Tom Brady and Bill Belichick post Spygate, Gisele, Bernard Pollard knee shot, 18-1. One of those was the death knell for this group. The Patriots are eerily similar to the New York Yankees post late 90's early 00's. The mystique and aura is gone. Nobody, especially the Baltimore Ravens, are afraid to play them in their building. Unless they dramatically overhaul the offense you can expect much of the same in the future.

The game was lost at the end of the half. The Patriots had a chance to go up 17-7 and set the fork on the table. Instead Brady, who is afraid to run with conviction slid cleats up and in the confusion cost the Patriots 10 seconds of time. They settled for a FG and a 13-7 lead. They wouldn't score again.

Ravens - It was only fitting that they got over the AFC Championship Game hump by beating the Patriots.

Benard Pollard won this game. He delivered a vicious hit on Patriots RB Stevan Ridley, causing him to fumble. This led to a Ravens TD that would put them up 28-13. Once again, he ruins a Patriots season. Pollard has taken out Brady, Welker, Rob Gronkowski, and now Ridley.

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Harbaugh Bowl - Two brothers coaching against each other in the Super Bowl. Ray Lewis' last game. Kaepernick and Flacco. This game has a ton of story-lines and will be great. If I had to pick, I'm going with the litte brother and the 49ers. He's on the verge of replacing Belichick as the best coach in the NFL.

Divisional Weekend Day 2

Thoughts on the Sunday games.

Falcons 30

Seahawks 28
The Seahawks rallied from a 20-0 halftime deficit to take a 28-27 lead late in the 4th quarter, but in the end it wasn't enough as Matt Ryan drove the Falcons into field goal range, setting up Matt Bryant for the 49 yard game winner.

Seahawks - The Seahawks overcame a ton of bad coaching and adversity to take a 28-27 lead with 30 seconds to go in the game. Marshawn Lynch's fumble in the 1st quarter and Michael Robinson's stoning on 4th down resulted in touchdowns for the Falcons, who dominated the first half. It looked like this one would be a laugher, but Russell Wilson (who deserves the rookie of the year more than anyone) and the Seahawks offense clawed their way back into the game.

The bad coaching reared it's head twice in the fist half. The Seahawks should've kicked a FG instead of going for it on 4th and 1 with Robinson. You have to take the points, especially when you're on the road and playing with a rookie QB. Getting that goose egg off the board is the most important thing. The play to end the half was bizarre. Wilson was sacked and time expired. Had the Seahawks not used their final timeout to preserve the clock after an awful slant pass, they'd have been able to stop the clock and attempt a FG. Had they done all this, it would've been a 6-20 deficit and a 34-28 win.

Pete Carroll had an awful game, but in the end it doesn't take away from what was a great season for the Seahawks. The key for them going forward is getting a 1 or 2 seed so that they can play in front of their home crowd (which is the best in the NFL). They'll be around for a long time if Wilson matures the way we all expect him to.

Falcons - It was storybook to have Matt Ryan connect with Tony Gonzalez on a pass that would lead to Matt Bryant's 49 yard game winning FG. Gonzalez was 0 for his career in the playoffs, and Matt Ryan had more pressure on him than any QB entering the playoffs. The Falcons were lucky to win this game, but that's exactly what you need when the teams are so evenly matched.

The keys to victory were that they turned the Lynch fumble and the bad call on 4th and 1 into 14 points. That's what you would expect from a 1 seed. They also ran the ball extremely well. Michael Turner turned back the clock, carrying the ball 14 times for 92 yards. Jacquizz Rodgers pitched in with 10 carries for 64 yards as well. Being able to run the ball for positive gains on a consistent basis will be huge against the San Francisco 49ers.

They should be worried about how their defense played. The Seahawks moved the ball effortlessly in the 2nd half. If Colin Kaepernick plays the way he did against the Packers, the Falcons will not be in the game. They have to find a way to pressure the QB while not exposing huge running lanes.

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Patriots 41

Texans 28
After scoring 10 straight points to end the first half, the Texans succumbed to Matt Schaub's inability to throw the deep ball and lost 41-28.

Texans - The Texans are fooling themselves thinking that Schaub is a franchise QB. He was unable to complete a pass over 30 yards and the Patriots feasted on this. He lacks the swagger you want from a franchise QB, and his boneheaded interception to Rob Ninkovich that led to a Patriots touchdown was the death knell.

The Texans have to take a long hard look at Schaub. If they want to be taken seriously they'll think about drafting a QB to put some pressure on him ala the 49ers.

Patriots - It was exactly what we expected to see from the Patriots. Once they grabbed the lead they never gave it back. The news coming out of the game will undoubtedly be about Rob Gronkowski re-breaking his forearm, but the Patriots shouldn't be concerned about this.

Aaron Hernandez is the more valuable of the two. His ability to line up all over the field and use finess to beat defenders is more valuable than Gronk's raw power.

This game featured the emergence of Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen. If these two young runners can contribute, the Patriots will have no problem making up for Gronk's absence.

The Patriots and Ravens always play down to the wire, and there's no reason to expect that this will not be the same.