Ravens Headed to the Super Bowl!

Both the offense and defense seemed to be working in Baltimore's favor today as they came out on top 28-13 in New England. Now they get to look forward to the Super Bowl against the San Francisco 49ers.

The first quarter of the game favored New England in just about every category, the most important of which could be the time of possession, the Patriots were on offense for 10:30 minutes. Giving the Ravens only 4:30 minutes with ball. But the Ravens defense stepped up and kept New England to only a field goal.

Ray Rice put the Ravens up on the board on a 2-yard rush in the 2nd quarter and took the lead for the Ravens. That would be it for the Ravens offense in the first half, and they would head into halftime down 13-7.

Joe Flacco seemed to really pick up his game starting in the 3rd quarter. His 5-yard touchdown pass to Dennis Pitta would be the only score of the 3rd quarter. Pitta's touchdown came seconds after receiving a monstrous hit from New England lie backer Jerod Mayo.  That touchdown would put the Ravens ahead 14-13.

The 4th quarter is when Baltimore's offense and defense really stepped up to close out the game. Joe Flacco would throw 2 more touchdowns, both to Anquan Boldin, and would finish the game with 240 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Tom Brady would go on to have the opposite 4th quarter experience. He went on to throw 2 interceptions against the determined Ravens' defense. One to Dannell Ellerbe, and one to Cary Williams in the end zone that let Baltimore just run out time and celebrate being the AFC Champions.

Ray Lewis had 6 tackles in the win. And now has a chance to go out on top and retire a champion.

49ers Going to the Super Bowl!

 

Kaepernick and the Niners had to play catch-up early on in this game as the Falcons came out firing. Building an early 17-0 lead behind the deadly duo of Matt Ryan and Julio Jones. In the First quarter alone Ryan put up 162 yards and a touchdown to Julio Jones who already had 100 yards receiving. All while the Niners racked up a total of -2 total yards to close out the first quarter of action.

Luckily for the 49ers, Falcons aren't too good at playing keep away with the lead. After letting a 20 point lead slip last week against the Seahawks, they were at it again. Allowing a touchdown pass to Vernon Davis and watching LaMichael James run 15 yards for his first career touchdown, they watched yet another lead shrink. But never lost it and headed into halftime ahead 24-14

Still working against the lead,  the Niners defense would step-up and keep the Falcons off the board for the entire 2nd half. Their defensive half included an interception by Chris Culliver and a recovered fumble by Aldon Smith on a bad snap fumbled by Ryan.

Aside from a few mistakes for Matt Ryan, he had a solid game. Finishing with 396 yards and 3 touchdowns. Julio Jones also had a career day for himself hauling in 11 catches for 182 yards and 2 touchdowns. But it just wasn't enough to earn a spot in the Super Bowl.

Offensively for the 49ers it was Frank Gore's game in the 2nd half who racked up 62 more rushing yards and 2 touchdowns, making 49er fans feel better after watching David Akers miss a game tying field goal, oh and the fumble on the 1 yard line by Michael Crabtree.

Behind Gore's offensive contributions, Kaepernick finished 16 for 21 with 233 yards and a touchdown to Vernon Davis, who finished with 106 yards himself. Leading the 49ers to be named the NFC Champions after winning 28-24. Now they get to sit back and wait to see who they will be facing in the Super Bowl.

NFC Championship: 49ers at Falcons

Matt Ryan and Tony Gonzalez both just won a playoff game for the first time in their careers, and you can bet they want another playoff under their belts as they host the Niners this Sunday. The 49ers will be trying to avenge themselves after falling in the NFC Championship last year in OT.

During last weeks matchup against the Green Bay Packers, Colin Kaepernick literally ran through their defense scooping up 181 yards on the ground alone, an NFL rushing record for quarterbacks, in a 45-31 win to send the 49ers to their second consecutive NFC Championship game. His rushing yards were accompanied by his 263 passing yards and 4 total touchdowns (2 passing, 2 rushing).

The Falcons' offense can be considered just as dangerous as any with Matt Ryan having so many options to throw to. With options like Tony Gonzalez, Roddy White, and Julio Jones how can he go wrong? Not mention the backfield of Jacquizz Rodgers and Michael Turner. So where is their weak spot? Many might say their defense after letting a 20-0 halftime lead slip then barely beat the Seahawks last week, they will definitely need to tighten up if they want to attend the Super Bowl.

It's always fun watching teams play each other for the first time in a playoff game, no stats to check against one another, no past results, just two teams who have to figure each other quickly to adjust accordingly. With both quarterbacks just coming off their first career playoff wins, they will both want this game pretty badly.

This game will be a fun one. With both offenses looking really good and executing so well, I can only assume that this game will be decided by whichever team's defense can hold up longer. In that case I will be guessing a win and a trip to the Super Bowl for the 49ers, 38-31

AFC Championship: Ravens at Patriots

 

Ray Lewis looks to prolong his farewell this Sunday against the Patriots, in a rematch on last year's AFC Championship game. While Tom Brady and the Pats look to reach the Super Bowl for the second year in a row.

Last years AFC Championship ended in a 23-20 win for New England, but in the week 3 match up it was Baltimore who came out on top 31-30. So what these past results tell us? Nothing, no matter who beat who recently, it's always a good game when these two teams go at it.

Aside from a 101 yard, 1 touchdown performance from Ray Rice; week 3 seemed to be a quarterback dual, one that Joe Flacco had won. Flacco's 382 yards, 3 touchdown game trumped Brady's 335 yards and 1 touchdown performance in what seemed to be an offensive game, Flacco's interception was the only turnover of the game.

After slipping by the Broncos in overtime in the Divisional Playoffs, the Ravens will have their hands full while visiting the Patriots, who won in a 41-28 rout of the Texans. It's not doubt that with Gronkowski out is takes a huge offensive weapon away from the Patriots, but Brady isn't short of talented players to throw to. Standing in his way on the other side of the ball is Ray Lewis, who is looking to make his last season a memorable one.

As much as I want this game to be a defensive battle, as would Lewis, I don't think Brady or Flacco will allow that to happen. But at the end of it all my guess is that Ravens will move on to the Super Bowl in a 37-35 win, behind another clutch kick from the rookie Justin Tucker.

No. 1 Louisville Rallies in Second Half to Beat UConn

Ryan Boatright and the Huskies looked to knock off the visiting Louisville, but Peyton Siva and his number one Cardinals had other ideas and get to travel home happy after a 73-60 victory.

Aside from Russ Smith's 15 points and Gorgui Dieng's 10 rebounds, the first half was a bit of a struggle for the Cardinals. Adding to Louisville's struggles, Peyton Siva ran into early foul trouble and was benched with 16 minutes to go and didn't return until the second half.

UConn may have felt like they had an advantage with Siva out, and their play was giving Huskie fans some faith in them pulling off the upset. That's when the Huskies started to shine shooting 53% from the field and 55% from long range. They even played their way to a 10 point lead, and finished the half up 34-28 behind the 10 point, 2 block, 2 rebound performance of Omar Calhoun, who finished the game with 20 points.

Louisville came out determined in the second half and played like the number one team should. Their defense came out strong and never let up, having a big part in the 9 minute stretch where the Huskies made no baskets. They should also give some credit to UConn themselves due to their poor shooting and poor shot choices.

Peyton Siva's return to the court must have fueled the offense,who started hot and never cooled off, including the 9 point, 4 assist performance from Siva himself, who was well rested after only playing 4 minutes in the first half. Other notable players include Behanan who put up 16 points and 9 rebounds, and Dieng's 16 rebounds.

Even in Siva's return it still seemed to be Russ Smith's game, who led the team to 45 points in the second half and ending the game with 23 points himself.

Louisville will return home to host #6 Syracuse January 19th, as UConn slips to 2-7 all time against No. 1 teams.

Contact: bblom13@yahoo.com
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NFC Division Playoffs: Seahawks at Falcons

This NFC features two teams who haven't met this season as the Falcons play host to the visiting Seahawks. Playing in the Georgia Dome and having home field advantage may be the reason a lot of people are favoring the Falcons to win this game.

Seahawks seem to be much better at home, posting an 8-0 home record. Those home wins include a 24-23 win over the Patriots, a 14-12 win over the Packers on what can still be considered a controversial call, and a very convincing 42-13 win over the 49ers. All playoff teams.

The Falcons are also a good home team (7-1), but that one loss was against the 7-9 Buccaneers. That's no reason to panic or question the Falcons, we all know they are a good team. How could they not be with Matt Ryan throwing to Roddy White and Julio Jones?

Though they might not be favored by many, Russell Wilson and the Seahawks will head into this game confidently after erasing a 14-point deficit and beating the Redskins on the road, having the 4th ranked defense doesn't hurt either. You can give a lot of credit to the Seahawks secondary who nicknamed themselves as 'The Legion of Boom' for their success.

Headed into this game fifth in the league with 4719 yards and 32 touchdowns, Matt Ryan probably wont shy away from that challenge. Hopefully for the Falcons they have enough momentum going into this game after losing their week 17 matchup to the Bucs and not playing in the Wild Card round. But with the loud 12th man behind them, I think they'll be pretty confident.

This may be my favorite game to watch this weekend since its features one of the best quarterbacks in the game put up against one of the best defenses this year. My guess is that Russell Wilson continues to surprise everyone and prove the doubters wrong, and wins another one on the road 25-20.

AFC Division Playoffs: Texans at Patriots

Texans are headed to Gillette Stadium tomorrow after slipping by the Bengals last week 19-13 behind the legs of Arian Foster, who ran for 140 yards and a touchdown. Schaub accounted for 262 yards through the air, but no touchdown passes in the win. Texans will definitely need a stronger performance from Schaub in this game if they want to leave Foxborough with a win in this AFC divisional matchup.

J.J. Watt and the Texans defense better hope they have an answer for arguably the best quarterback in the league, Tom Brady, who couldn't be stopped in their week 14 matchup throwing for 296 yards and 4 touchdowns in a 42-14 rout of the Texans.

Andre Johnson, who is behind only Calvin Johnson in receiving yards this season, will need to have a big game tomorrow against the 29th ranked pass defense who allows an average of 271 passing yards a game. This game could be another chance for Schaub to shine, will he come through?

Texans middle of the road defense will also have their hands full, as would any defense going up against Brady. It's not only the Texans secondary that will need to step up tomorrow, but their pass rush too. They only sacked Brady 1 time in the week 14 game.

I don't see the Texans defense slowing down Brady and I don't see him getting sacked any more that 2 times, because of that my guess is that the Patriots win this one. Brady will shine and put up big numbers, and win the game 35-23.