NFL Divisional Playoffs

Ravens win thanks to Flacco's fling – In a matchup that was one of the coldest games in NFL history (the temperature dropped to 10 degrees and felt even colder with wind chill, the offenses of the Baltimore Ravens and host Denver Broncos were somehow as hot as ever, combining for 10 touchdowns.  In every quarter the Broncos took a one touchdown lead and in every quarter, the Ravens came back to tie them.  None was more stunning than what happened in the fourth quarter as the Ravens, down by 7 with no timeouts, 70 yards to go and only 31 seconds left in the game somehow completed a 70 yard pass down the field to Jacoby Jones after safety Rahim Moore misjudged the ball in the air.  In overtime, both teams took turns ineffectively moving the ball before Peyton Manning threw his second interception of the game (the first one was returned for a touchdown) and a few plays later Justin Tucker nailed a game winning field goal to eliminate a stunned Broncos team from the playoffs.  Denver hadn't lost a game since October 7th, reeling off 11 straight wins since then but in the end Peyton Manning's 2012 Broncos won fewer playoff games (zero) than Tim Tebow's 2011 Broncos who beat Pittsburgh before losing to New England.  And if you were wondering how the Tebow family feels, check out this series of tweets.

Niners, Kaepernick steamroll Packers – Aaron Rodgers is a former MVP, as State Farm commercials keep reminding us, but after Saturday's game it might be the Packers defense who needed to do some double-checks, specifically on QB Colin Kaepernick who ran wild, setting an all-time NFL record for rushing yards by a QB (not in the playoffs but in ANY game) exploding for 181 yards and 2 TD's while also throwing for 263 yards and 2 more TD's in a 45-31 win over Rodgers and the Packers.  The game was close for a while (it was tied as late as 7:07 remaining in the third quarter) but eventually San Francisco's running duo of Kaepernick and Frank Gore (who went for 119 yards and a TD) wore down the Packers, who had just shut down the best runner in the NFL week before in Vikings superstar Adrian Peterson.  The game pitted two QB's who grew up as fans of the opposite teams but for this weekend anyway, it's the Packers fans who probably wish Kaepernick was still one of them and not vice-versa.

Atlanta Wins Thriller – With 2 minutes left in the third quarter in Atlanta, the Falcons took a seemingly insurmountable 27-7 lead over the Seattle Seahawks, who looked lost and unorganized. Then the fourth quarter saw the Seahawks mount one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history.  First, Rookie QB Russell Wilson had a one yard run and after Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan threw an ill-advised interception, Wilson led the Seahawks on another quick TD drive, culminating with a pass to Zach Miller. With 2:30 left in the game, the Falcons punted the ball back to Seahawks holding a 27-21 lead. Wilson marched the Seahawks down and scored a go-ahead touchdown with 31 seconds left in the game to take a 28-27 lead. As the Carolina Panthers can attest Matt Ryan can take any small window and burst it wide open. Ryan needed only 23 seconds to go 41-yards in three plays setting up a 49-yard field goal attempt by kicker Matt Bryant. Bryant missed the first kick, but Seahawks coach Pete Carroll had called a timeout right before the kick.  Given another shot, Bryant made good giving the Falcons a 30-28 lead, that held up, allowing the Falcons to host the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game next weekend.  It was the first playoff win for QB Matt Ryan or TE Tony Gonzalez, who is unquestionably the greatest TE in NFL history.

Patriots Sprint to AFC Championship Game – The Houston Texans started the game with a 94 yard kickoff return but despite starting the game on the New England 12 yard line, they only kicked a field goal to start the scoring in this game.  After that, the Patriots scored the next 17 points in a row and never looked back. Two minutes into the fourth quarter, the Patriots had a 38-13 lead. The Texans scored 15 straight points to make the game a little closer, but a late field goal gave the Patriots a 41-28 victory that was not as close as the score may indicate. The Patriots suffered one big loss in the first quarter when stud tight end Rob Gronkowski landed on his left forearm, breaking the bone for the second time in the past 2 months, ending Gronk’s season. The victory was Tom Brady’s 17th playoff victory giving him one more than Joe Montana , for the all-time NFL record. The breakout star of the game was Shane Vereen. The seldom used running back scored three times (two running one receiving). The Patriots go on to host the Ravens next weekend in the AFC Championship Game.