AFC Championship Game
Denver Broncos 26, New England Patriots 16
Neither team stormed out of the gate in this game. But it was the Broncos who drew first blood, albeit it just a little bit. They notched a field goal in the first quarter, to take a 3-0 lead after their second possession.
But the Patriots failed to respond, and Denver was able to capitalize again. This time, they got a touchdown, when Manning passed it short to Jacob Tamme for a 1-yard touchdown, giving the Broncos a 10-0 advantage midway through the second quarter.
This time, the Patriots did respond, but only with a field goal, to close the margin to 10-3.
Denver was able to get another field goal in their next drive, to get the score to 13-3, just before halftime.
Manning had been good in the first half. he was downright great in the second half, and essentially led his team to the Super Bowl, as he completed 24 of 32 pass attempts in the second half alone, and threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Demayrius Thomas. Suddenly, Denver was up 20-3 in the second half of a home game, with time running out on the normally prolific Patriots.
Try as they might, New England just couldn't seem to get anything going. Denver's defense just kept shutting them down. They were very prepared for the Patriots on this day.
The Broncos were able to add yet another field goal early in the fourth, and owned a 20-point lead, as time was quickly running out on New England. It was looking like Denver was going to waltz into the Super Bowl, and that the celebrations might start early.
But you knew New England was not going to go without a fight. After being shut down and frustrated all day, Tom Brady finally found Julian Edelman for a 7-yard touchdown pass, to close the margin to 23-10.
Still, the Patriots simply could not stop Denver all day. They were able to contain the damage, often forcing field goals, rather than allowing touchdowns. But it was still just too many points. With exactly seven minutes to go, Matt Prater, Denver's placekicker, kicked his fourth, and longest, field goal of the day, getting a 54-yarder, to bring the score to 26-10. It was still a two possession game, but that was assuming the New England, if they even scored, would get two touchdowns, and follow both up with successful two-point conversions.
Well, not surprisingly, the Patriots did indeed get a touchdown when Brady himself rushed up the middle into the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown. But there was only 3:07 left on the clock, and the two-point conversion was no good. It was still a two possession game, with Denver leading it, 26-16.
The Broncos obviously wanted to kill the clock. Still, New England's defense, almost for the first time all day, seemed to have stopped Denver cold. The Broncos faced 4th down and 2 deep in New England territory, with 1:19 back. But instead of going for a field goal, they went for the conversion. And when Montee Ball was able to pick up 5 yard for the first down, the Broncos had the game won. New England had no time outs left, and no way to stop the clock.
Manning knelt down on the last play, and the Broncos are in the Super Bowl!
Manning completed 32 of 43 pass attempts for 400 yards and two touchdowns overall.
Brady, by contrast, completed 24 of 38 pass attempts for 277 yards and one touchdown. Neither man threw an interception in this game.
For the Broncos, it will be their seventh time as a franchise participating in the Super Bowl, but their first trip to the big game in fifteen seasons. They won back to back title in 1997 and 1998. Prior to that, the Broncos had lost their previous four times in the Super Bowl, by increasing margins each time. They will have a chance at their third overall Lombardi Trophy in two weeks, and Peyton Manning has a chance to become the first ever quarterback to quarterback two different teams to Super Bowl titles. He already won one with the Colts. Also, it is worth noting that John Fox, the head coach in Denver, became only the sixth coach to have coached two different teams to the Super Bowl. He took the Carolina Panthers there in the 2003-04 season, where they narrowly lost to Belichek, Brady, and the Patriots, 32-29.
NFC Championship Game
Seattle Seahawks 23, San Francisco 49ers 17
Early on, it looked like the 49ers were entirely capable of not just winning this game, but of blowing away the Seahawks. They scored a field goal early, and then added a touchdown in the second quarter, for a quite sizable 10-0 lead.
Yes, I know that there was still plenty of time left. But the Niners are tough, and looked to be in gear. They have a very strong defense, a dangerous offense, and usually play their best when they have the lead, and are in control of the momentum in a game, as they were in this one.
But Seattle battled back, and eventually won the game. First, they got a field goal to close the margin to 10-3. But in the second half, they tied it up with a Lynch touchdown, and the game went back and forth from that point onward.
Kaepernick went 14 of 24 for 153 yards and one touchdown, but also two costly interceptions. That said, that last pass for Crabtree looked like it might actually be a touchdown, but the tip by a Seattle's Richard Sherman, fell right into the hands of another Seattle defender, Malcolm Smith, for the key interception that iced the game for Seattle.
Marshawn Lynch proved a powerful asset for Seattle again this game, running for 109 yards on 22 carries, which, included a 40-yard touchdown run in the third quarter to tie the game up at 10-10.
But just minutes later, Kapernick was able to find Alquan Boldin in the end zone for a 26-yard touchdown, and another 49er lead. Those were the last points San Francisco would score on the afternoon.
But not much later, Doug Baldwin had a 69-yard punt return, and the stadium, and Seattle's infamous "12th Man", were suddenly rocking.
Perhaps the biggest platy in the game came early in the 4th quarter, when on fourth down, Seattle went for it. Then, Aldon Smith of the San Francisco defense jumped offside, giving Seattle a free play, and allowing Wilson to connect with Jermaine Kearse for a touchdown that gave Seattle the lead. They never looked back, adding a field goal to put some cushion between the two teams, and then securing the victory with that final interception.
After the interception, Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman went right up to the face of 49ers receiver Michael Crabtree, and essentially began to talk trash. Crabtree shoved Sherman away from him, and Sherman then looked for a penalty. In the postgame interview, Sherman received a lot of attention, almost exclusively negative, for essentially talking trash about Crabtree, and generally being loud and classless, which he was. Don't get me wrong, I certainly am no fan of the 49ers. But I am a big fan of sportsmanship, and I like a bit of humility, at least. Sherman should have been more elevated, and celebrating his team's accomplishment in reaching the Super Bowl, rather than bringing the moment down to the gutter, and making it personal with Crabtree, both during the game and then, especially, afterward. You got the better of the team, and the man. If your playing spoke for itself on this afternoon, then there is really no reason to rub it in like he did. The 49ers lost, and they will have a long offseason to try and regroup. No reason to make matter worse for them.
It was a hard fought game on both sides, and Seattle was the better team. But as for being the better man, I think it's fair to say that Sherman lost that battle. He received a lot of criticism for his actions, and deservedly so. These are the kinds of actions and arrogance that can really turn people away from sports, and which gives these millionaire athles a bad reputation. When you contrast how Sherman reacted to his team winning, versus how Manning reacted with such a huge degree of humility and class when he orchestrated Denver's victory over New England, it is like comparing apples to oranges. Sherman's reactions overshadowed Seattle's huge victory, and I would say, cast kind of a dark shadow over the Seahawk victory, and it's what people are talking about now. Manning, on the other hand, essentially stayed consistent with his past humility, just expressing his gratitude for the opportunity, and looking forward to the Super Bowl. It was similar to the other times that he led his team (back then it was the Indianapolis Colts) to the Super Bowl, when he said that he felt very humbled by it all. Two different approaches to winning, and I'm pretty sure by now you can guess which one I personally prefer. It is the reason that people always view Manning as a class act, while Sherman came across as a clown act.
In any case, the Seattle Seahawks will qualified for their second ever Super Bowl. They lost in their previous big game appearance to the Steelers, 21-10, in the 2005-06 season.
One Interesting Side Note....
It should be a really great game, pitting the NFL's best offense in Denver, versus the NFL's stingiest defense in Seattle!
But that said, I did not realize until going on Facebook after the games, that this Super Bowl pits the two professional football teams representing the two states that legalized marijuana! It's the Marijuana Bowl!
Perhaps this is sending some kind of message to the rest of the league, and the country?
In any case, this means that it should be the most relaxed, laid back Super Bowl in history. If not, at least the fans of the losing team can console themselves with a little bit of pot to ease their pain after the game, right?
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