Denver Broncos, 26 New England Patriots, 16
So maybe the odds were a little more stacked against the Patriots than we were willing to admit. QB Peyton Manning and his blue-chip weapons man-handled the rag-tag collection of Patriots to a 26-16 game that was far more one-sided than the score admits. WR Demaryius Thomas was dominant with 7 recptions for 134 yards, and TE Julius Thomas had 8 for 85. The Broncos offensive line kept Peyton Manning clean as a whistle. The Broncos defense shut down the Patriots running game, last week's Patriot hero RB LaGarrete Blount was held to six yards on five carries. It was all Denver on this night.
In hindsight, It really says something about Coach Bill Bellicheck and QB Tom Brady's historical ability to overcome personell issues that the media coverage up to this game was universally unwilling to call this game for the Broncos. The offense had their two emerging rookie recievers hobbled and was missing their main weapon TE Rob Gronkowski. The defense was missing essential pieces including Vince Wilfork, Brandon Spikes and Jarod Mayo. When CB Aqib Talib went down after a brutal block from former Pat WR Wes Welker, the jig was up. The Broncos moved the ball with ease, and had their way with a limited Patriot offense.
KEY PLAY: In a game with no turnovers, and a Denver offense racking up more yards than any Bill Bellicheck Patriot team ever have up, the Broncos defense was the big surprise. Near the end of the 3rd quarter, New England went aggressive on 4th-and-3, down 20-3, hoping to even out the game, until DT Terrance Knighten came through with a massive, pounding 10-yard loss sack.
MVP: WR Demaryius Thomas was bigger, faster and stronger than the Patriots' secondary (especially without Talib). He sliced past, and bowled through various Patriot arm tackles all game. Honorable mention certainly goes to his quarterback who truly spread the ball around masterfully but Thomas was the main target, the Patriots could not account for him.
Seattle Seahawks, 23 San Francisco 49ers, 17
The pundits could not have been more correct about the nature of the Seattle/San Francisco Slugfest. Everyone and their mother avoided calling another home blowout by Seattle. Everyone knew the game would be close, it would linger hard-fought in the trenches and end in thrilling fashion. The 49ers and the Seahawks delivered exactly that. A Classic Slug-fest.
LB Aldon Smith sacked, stripped and recovered a fumble from QB Russell Wilson on the very first play of the game. This gave San Francisco the ball at their own 15 but they went 3-and-out had to settle for a field goal. The tone was set. The entire first half was a defensive slugfest and ended 10-3 in San Francisco's favor. The difference was QB Colin Kaepernicks electrifying 58-yard run that set up a 1-yard, 4th down thump by RB Anthony Dixon.
In the second half, the give-and-take ensued. The Seahawks pounded straight through with RB Marshawn Lynch while Kaepernick worked from the outside, breaking containment for first downs, and a jumping dart to WR Anquan Boldin just over S Earl Thomas. Seattle responded with a gutsy 4th-and-7 to WR Jermaine Kearse. QB Russell Wilson caught Aldon Smith inexplicably offisdes with a hard count on a 4th down of a NFC Championship game (really, Aldon?) and took the free play, his own amazing throw to Kearse to give Seattle the lead.
In the 4th quarter, both defenses clamped down again. Two Kaepernick turnovers in 49er territory could have spelled doom, but San Francisco's defense allowed only 3 points. Thus, San Francisco, with 3:32 to go, 3 timeouts, down 23-17, needed only a touchdown to win. They moved the ball slowly but surely, converting a 4th-and-2 to RB Frank Gore, and a 11-yard strike to TE Vernon Davis to put them in the red zone with 0:30 on the clock. Every pundit and their mother nodded their head "I told you so" they nodded "this game would be close".
KEY PLAY: The key play has to be the final play. QB Colin Kaepernick made the same fatal mistake he made in the Super Bowl, he locked in on WR Michael Crabtree, felt the pressure from DE Cliff Avril and the ball was tipped by CB Richard Sherman into the hands of LB Malcom Smith. Kaepernick was stripped or intercepted on all 3 of his 4th quarter possession.
MVP: Former Stanford WR Doug Baldwin was the difference in this game. 106 receiving yards, including an improvised 51-yard bomb to set up Seattle's first points and a crucial kickoff return counter-punch to the San Francisco 33 after San Francisco had went up 17-10.
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