It's Conference Championship weekend in the NFL as we come a game closer to the Super Bowl! Which teams will be able to get themselves into the big game: the Baltimore Ravens, New England Patriots, Atlanta Falcons or San Francisco 49ers? Find out in this preview!
49ers-Falcons
The 49ers and Falcons square off this Sunday at 3:00 PM EST. Both teams are led by phenomenal young quarterbacks, and both of those young men have just one playoff win in their careers thus far. Atlanta's Matt Ryan has more overall experience, but San Francisco's Colin Kaepernick is clearly the more gifted runner of the two.
These teams never faced each other in the regular season, so there is no benchmark to look back on to help analyze how this game might go. With everything on the line in this win-or-go-home match-up, previous game scores might not matter much anyway. A better indicator could be how both teams did last week against different opponents.
The Falcons let an early 20-point lead crumble late in their slim victory over the Seattle Seahawks last week, but the 49ers went up by a field goal before halftime in their tilt with the Green Bay Packers last week and never lost the lead after that. The Seahawks are not nearly as stacked on offense as the 49ers are, and their defense doesn't really compare to San Francisco's.
San Francisco dominated the Packers despite that team being back at full-strength on offense. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers had all his targets healthy and ready for a real slugfest that never quite materialized. Instead, Kapernick proved that raw talent is key in the NFL while San Francisco's defense shut down the Packers running game and kept Rodgers in check. Rodgers only managed one late touchdown pass completion in the second half, which was all but meaningless by the time the San Francisco defense allowed it.
The Falcons showed last week that they are susceptible to a late surge against a rookie quarterback who often takes off running, but Russell Wilson is no Colin Kapernick. The 49ers QB is taller, faster and supported by a much better offensive line. To win this game, the Falcons defense will have to step up in a big way, stuffing Kaepernick's strategy of sprinting for a first down when he doesn't see an open throwing target.
If Kaepernick doesn't pose a problem for Atlanta, running back Frank Gore surely will. Once the focus was on Kaepernick's scrambling last week, the 49ers began handing it off to Gore religiously. Those tactics paid off, eating up the clock and allowing San Francisco to cruise to an easy win. This week the team might employ Gore earlier to shake things up a bit, making Kaepernick even more dangerous.
Prediction: Ryan will have to have the best day of his career to outshine Kapernick. Atlanta's defense will have to perform above and beyond the call of duty to handle all the offensive threats the 49ers will pose in this game.
Barring a near perfect performance on both sides of the ball for Atlanta at home, the Falcons will have a tough time getting to the Super Bowl without a major catastrophe like a Kaepernick injury that sidelines the young star for most of the game.
The 49ers are more suited to win this game and have the momentum from last week carry over into this game. They showed few weaknesses outside of Kaepernick's ealy pick-six that he quickly put behind him last week. Kaepernick will run wild again, though not for as many yards as he racked up in his first playoff game.
This time around, he'll be all warmed up and primed for action. He'll use Gore earlier in the game to throw of Atlanta's defense and open up running lanes for himself. He'll also use more than one primary receiver and rely less on Michael Crabtree this week. This week, it will be Atlanta trying to mount a late comeback, but their home crowd won't be able to will this team to a win.
Final Score: 44-27, 49ers.
Ravens-Patriots
Sunday's NFL nightcap features what promises to be an epic game between the Patriots and Ravens in a cold and stormy Foxboro, Massachusetts. The game kicks off at 6:30 PM EST and will be aired on CBS.
It is also a rematch of a Week 3 battle that came down to the wire. Baltimore QB Joe Flacco threw for 382 yards in that game, and the Ravens won by a single point thanks to a Justin Tucker field goal that barely soared inside the right upright as time expired. The last time the Patriots met the Ravens in the playoffs, it was their field goal that won the game. This year's contest might be just as close, but don't count on it.
Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis has the most to play for in this game, and it will be up to him and his defense to decide if the team moves onto the Super Bowl. The Patriots have always been better on offense this season than they have been on defense, but that hasn't really mattered late in the season.
They won seven of their last eight regular season games, only falling to the 49ers by a slim seven-point margin in week 15. The Pats led the league in points scored and total yards while coming in at ninth in average points scored against and rushing yardage against. Their pass defense was much worse, ranking 29th in the league with an average of 271.4 passing yards allowed during the regular season.
The Ravens were much better than the Patriots on defense throughout the year, though their offense only cracked the top 10 in one category: average points scored (24.9). Still, Flacco proved last week he can be just as dependable as Brady when it comes down to the last second.
Flacco's Hail Mary connection late in the fourth quarter of the Ravens overtime win against the Denver Broncos last week proved he can be just as "elite" as he wants to be considered in the NFL. He'll have a chance to really prove he belongs in that category this week, and he'll try for his third straight week without throwing an interception.
He's also only been sacked twice in the post-season. Flacco is more on his game than he's ever been, and going up against Tom Brady and all his Super Bowl rings is a true blessing in disguise for Flacco. If he can really outshine his counterpart in this game, the NFL experts and pundits will gladly put him in the elite category.
Unfortunately for Flacco, these are not the same Patriots who fell to the Ravens in Week 3 of the regular season. This is a much improved squad with new stars on both sides of the ball. Last week, Patriots running back Shane Vereen averaged 5.9 yards per carry after a season in which he served in more of a supporting role for the breakout running of Stevan Ridley.
Both Ridley and Vereen scored rushing touchdowns last week. A late season acquisition on defense also helped the Patriots win last week as cornerback Aqib Talib racked up 9 solo tackles and an assist as the Pats rolled over the Houston Texans by a score of 41-28. Talib, imported from Tampa Bay, is picking up the slack for the Patriots defense in a big way. He came in at a perfect time to make a monumental difference.
Though this is bound to be an "any given Sunday" type of game where either team could win it in the right conditions, the Ravens put in a very long and ugly game last week. Penalty flags flew from every direction with both teams struggling mightily at different times in the contest.
As much as Flacco's arm and the talent and speed of his receivers helped edge the team to victory, there was also quite a bit of lucky breaks that went his team's way. The cold and thin air of Denver was a perfect opportunity to practice for playing in New England weather, but Baltimore won't benefit from the poor coaching decisions of an opponent this week.
Pats head coach Bill Belichick would never ask Brady to hand off the ball on 3rd and 7 when a first down on offense could end the game. He is also a master of adjustment, which will help the Patriots if the Ravens happen to get a head start on points in the game.
Prediction: Brady will put on a passing clinic in this game, and the Ravens defense will have a hard time dealing with the dynamics of Wes Welker's breakout speed and the running attack the Patriots will execute between throwing downs. Aaron Hernandez will also have a big day at tight end thanks to Rob Gronkowski's absence.
Lewis' retirement party will feature him being on the field for the bulk of this game. Ray Rice will not be able to rack up any huge runs, because the Patriots will be able to learn from how the Broncos managed to contain Rice last week. Brady will avoid getting sacked by getting rid of the ball quickly with more passes to the flat and a strong running game that will establish itself early in this game.
The defense for the Patriots will be classic "bend but don't break" and will allow more field goals than touchdowns this week. Flacco will give up his first interception of this year's playoffs and never recover from the resulting frustration.
The Patriots are virtually unstoppable at home, and despite the past history of these two teams the Patriots have improved enough to make sure this game doesn't come down to a field goal.
Final Score: 34-19, Patriots.
