Divisional Round-Up
By Ricky
Baltimore 38, Denver 35
The Broncos and Ravens kicked off the weekend with a crazy double-OT game in Denver. This one was tied at 7, 14, 21, 28 and 35 before finally being decided by Justin Tucker’s game-winning 47-yard field goal. An emotional Ray Lewis played in what will most likely be his final game in Baltimore. The Ravens go to New England next week for a rematch of last year’s AFC Championship game.
Green Bay 31, San Francisco 45
Despite being closely contested for three quarters, this game turned into a blowout in the fourth on the strength of 3 straight 49er touchdowns. Colin Kaepernick had one of those video game days for San Francisco, racking up over 440 yards, including 181 on the ground (single-game record for a quarterback). The 49ers will go to Atlanta for next week’s NFC Championship game.
Seattle 28, Atlanta 30
For my money, this was the best game of the weekend. Atlanta jumped out to a 20-0 lead at halftime that looked all-but insurmountable, until Russell Wilson led a Seattle comeback that saw them take the lead with 31 seconds left. But just when it looked like Atlanta would suffer another disappointing early-round loss, Matt Ryan led the offense on a last-minute drive to set up a a 49-yard Matt Bryant field goal to give Atlanta the win. The Falcons will host the 49ers next week.
Houston 28, New England 41
A game that many people expected to be a blowout was closer than that – but not by much. New England dominated the majority of the game, seemingly doing whatever they wanted on offense, whether through the air or on the ground. The Patriots advance to something like their 15th AFC Championship game in the last 10 seasons, and will host the Ravens next week.