CLINCHED: Seattle ? playoff spot; Carolina ? playoff spot
The San Francisco 49ers, led by the the fiery Jim Harbaugh, will face his brother John's squad, the Baltimore Ravens, in Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans in two weeks.
The Niners overcame a 17-0 deficit to oust the top-seeded Atlanta Falcons, 28-24. The Ravens had a stellar second half as well, beating New England , 28-13 in Foxborough.
Kickoff: 3pm FOX
The Line: Niners by 4; OU 49
The NFC Championship Game features the top two seeds for the first time in three years. The second-seeded San Francisco 49ers (12-4-1) return to the game for the second consecutive season. They lost, 20-17, to the Giants last year. The Atlanta Falcons (14-3) clinched the top seed in the NFC and won their first playoff game in the Mike Smith/Matt Ryan era last week vs the Seattle Seahawks.
Kickoff: 3:00pm Eastern
The Falcons have won the past four and six of the last nine vs San Francisco. But that was before Jim Harbaugh took over as head coach of the Niners before the 2011 season. The Niners own the series edge,?44-29-1.
This is the 14th NFC Championship Game appearance for the 49ers. They have won five and lost eight since the game's genesis after the 1970 NFL-AFL merger. They appeared in the first two games, losing to Dallas both times.
One decade after being a rookie a kicker right in the middle of perhaps the most excruciating defeat in New York Giants history, kicker Matt Bryant was handed a fortunate reprieve on Sunday afternoon and became an instant hero.
Bryant responded by saving the Atlanta Falcons from being ridiculed as the worst chokers in recent NFL playoff history.?
The team that isn't all-in this year? Yup, it's the Giants.
The Atlanta Falcons will host the 49ers next Sunday at 3:00pm on FOX. The Ravens will travel up to Foxborough for a rematch with the Pats at 6:30pm on CBS.
NFC PLAYOFF PICTURE
CLINCHED:
Yes, folks, we knew it was going to come to this. The Giants lost, the Redskins and Cowboys won. Everyone is 8-6 with two games remaining. Currently, under the NFL tiebreaking procedures (see below link), the Redskins are in first place.
According to the NFL, if the Giants win their final two games they will be in the playoffs. The division is basically out of reach right now. They would have to outplay both teams and hope each team split their final two games.
It?s no secret: sports fans are enamored with rankings. Whether its preseason rankings, all-time franchise rankings, or power rankings, the arrangement of teams, players, games, or anything else sports-related into a numerical hierarchy is and will continue to be a much bigger deal than it needs to be.
It?s not surprising, then, that the recent unveiling of the NFL?s top 100 players?even in arguably the most news-filled offseason in the history of the sport, one that included Peyton Manning?s free agency saga, Tim Tebow?s trade, Saints bounty-gate and, most recently, the death of Junior Seau?is a hot topic of debate amongst NFL fans. The list is voted on by players and includes a mix of all positions. To no one?s surprise, it?s quarterback heavy, even including Jets backup Tim Tebow at #95.
The secondary struggled throughout most of the regular season, ranking 29th in pass yards per game allowed with 225.1. Luckily, Eli Manning made a habit of putting up those same numbers?often better?against opposing pass defenses.
The Giants thrive on being underdogs, but disrespected they will not be. They have a chip on their shoulder and now detractors are hearing from all corners - including Wellington Mara's widow, Ann.?
During the Giants' locker room celebration, as CBS' Terry Bradshaw was on stage trying to interview WR Victor Cruz, Mrs. Mara approached the Hall of Fame QB as the cameras were rolling.
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The Daily News Live roundtable debates which Giants' championship run has been more exciting, 2007 or the current 2011 campaign?
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Football fans across America continue to tune in to NFL games, resulting in the most-watched conference championship Sunday in 30 years. An average of 53.7 million viewers watched NFL games last weekend, the most for an NFL conference championship Sunday since January 1982 (game-by-game comparison below).
The New York Giants-San Francisco 49ers NFC Championship Game on FOX drew 57.6 million viewers to rank as the third most-watched conference championship game ever. tHE most watched game was the Cincinnati-San Diego freezer game in 1982. The second was New Orleans; OT win over Minnesota two years ago.
The team will be in the facility today but will take tomorrow off. Tom Coughlin said the team would practice Thursday through Saturday here before heading out to Indianapolis. They will resume their norman practice routine of Wed-Fri workouts next week.
K Lawrence Tynes is the first player ever to kick the winning FG in two NFC Championship overtime games. He did not give himself any due when asked. He saw how hard his teammates fought to win the game and he was just glad he could help out....
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It can be considered a miracle season, only because of the odyssey they've been on. Injuries and defensive breakdowns made the odds to get to the postseason nearly insurmountable at points, but the team held it together and got it done. They believed and went "all-in" and now find themselves on the cusp of another championship.
"I'm not surprised," said head coach Tom Coughlin when asked about going back to the Super Bowl. "I'm delighted...excited."
Philadelphia was all the rage after the lockout with their free-agent signings. Green Bay went 15-1 and was looking dynastic until last week. New Orleans and Detroit set records for offense and appeared to be headed for February.
But it was the Giants and the 49ers who ended up playing for the NFC Championship. And play they did.?It was a championship game for the ages.
The 49ers, outside of the TE Vernon Davis 73-yard TD play and one other long incompletion down the middle of the field to WR Michael Crabtree, they have been true to form: conservative.
The Giants held the football for the majority of the first half (over 18 minutes), but did little with it for the most part. ?They had a nice, ten-play, 69-yard drive in the early part of the second quarter that ended in a Eli Manning to Bear Pascoe 6-yard TD pass.
Rich Resch will be covering the game here on the blog with quarterly updates. ?Nobody does it better, folks. Don't miss it.
I will be tweeting from my perch @SNYGiantsBlog - if you aren't following us, you gotta start....
Ever since the Pittsburgh Steelers became the first six seed to win a Super Bowl six years ago, it?s become a lot more commonplace to see lower seeds reaching conference championship games in both conferences.
And, New York (of course, having the advantage of having two teams) seems to know how to shock the football world better than anyone.
49ers return specialist Ted Ginn, an impending free agent who could make a lot of money for himself with a big return or two tonight against the Giants, officially will be a game-time decision, due to a knee injury suffered last Saturday against the Saints.
Per a league source, the decision is expected to be that Ginn won?t play.The game, which is expected to be played in rainy and muddy conditions, will not be short on fanfare, however.
from Andy Furman of Ultimate NYG....
WHEN SF HAS THE BALL
The Giants have been traditionally known for their bruising rushing attack and their smothering defense. This time around, the teams have switched personalities.
The 49ers resemble the old Giants and the Giants are more like the 49ers of the 80's. It is a strange thing to watch. ?The one variable to keep an eye on is the Giants' ability to change their personality back to their old form.
But keep in mind, the Giants are the team that was stranded in transit after the collapse of the Metrodome last year. Minor delays won't fluster them at this point of the game anyway. The Giants won't really get a chance to unwind, which means they'll still have their edge tonight.
Before the trip, the Giants were business as usual. QB Eli Manning leads the way with his calmness and professionalism....there's no reason to think anything's changed.
The Giants (11-7) travel across the country to play the San Francisco 49ers (14-3) for the NFC Championship tonight in a matchup that no sane mind could have predicted at the beginning of the season.
San Francisco is the unlikeliest entry. They finished 6-10 last season and last qualified for the postseason in 2002. First year head coach Jim Harbaugh?(above) did not meet his entire team until training camp, five weeks before the regular season began. He has turned in one of the most remarkable coaching performances in NFL history.
From Greg Hanlon of CapitalNewYork.com....
For much of his 13-year N.F.L. career, Erik Howard basically did the same thing on every play, and nobody noticed. As the nose tackle in the Giants? 3-4 defensive scheme, his role was as important as it was unglamorous: Play after play, he would engage the offensive linemen in front of him in a furious, split-second sumo wrestling contest. Winning this mini-contest would enable his more famous teammates to succeed on the portion of the play that was actually visible to fans.
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If you're planning on taking aim at the Super Bowl, you better get yourself a battle cry or a motto or a slogan to take along with you. That's what the Giants have done with their "All In" campaign.
The origin of the motto is taken from a speech given by a local minister to some of the players the Friday before the regular season game against the Jets. Gian-Paul Gonzalez, who runs a ministry in Union City, handed out poker chips and told the group, "Sometimes we?ve got to step up and be all in. You have to be willing to say, ?I?m going to be all in and risk everything and bet everything.? ? (Read George Willis' article)
Since 1970, teams that KO?d the defending NFL champ in the conference playoffs have gone 0-13 SU the next week (1-12 ATS) and lost by at least 7 each time regardless if they were a double-digit home favorite or a road ?dog. (Excluded were teams that advanced next to the Super Bowl, largely because of the two-week break and assorted hoopla before games).On the other hand, New York recently has proven to be a solid giant killer. Including its January 2008 Super Bowl victory vs. unbeaten New England, the Giants twice have beaten teams in the postseason that had six more regular-season victories than them. No other team in history has done that even once. FYI: San Fran had four more wins than NYG this season.
- Bob Christ, gamingtoday.com
Who would have thunk this just a few short weeks ago...? ?Here is what you need to know while you are housebound on this snowy Saturday morning....
The Giants are in the throes of a mini stomach flu epidemic. First, QB Eli Manning had to leave practice on Wednesday. Now, C David Baas is dealing with it. ?Manning is fine and Baas is expected to be as well.
Giants' RB Ahmad Bradshaw has had a trying season. He signed a new deal before the year (four years, $18 million with $9 million guaranteed and a $5 million bonus), and was on his way to earning that contract in Week 6 with a 3 TD performance against the Buffalo Bills. He fractured a bone in his foot two weeks later in the Giants' win over Miami, forcing him to miss the next four games, which included the first contest against the 49ers. He continues to be plagued by the foot, only practicing once a week with the team and playing sporadically in games.
After breaking off a few good runs in the playoff wins over Atlanta and Green Bay, Bradshaw hopes to contribute more tomorrow in the NFC Championship Game in San Francisco...he spoke briefly with the media yesterday...
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With the possibility of heavy rains forecast for Sunday?s NFC championship game in San Francisco, the prevailing assumption is that the run-first San Francisco 49ers would have a distinct advantage over the pass-first New York Giants.
However, looking deeper, that might not necessarily be the case.
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In a season in which critics called for the firings of all three of the Giants' coordinators, the coaches suddenly found themselves in unusual demand yesterday. It's funny what winning a few games will do...
DC Perry Fewell on if the weather will affect his plans...."Because it?s the championship game. It doesn?t matter. You fight all year to get here. It can snow, it can hail, it can rain, it can do whatever it wants to do. We?re going to be there and we?re going to be ready to play."
Injuries nearly sunk them early on and malaise and uninspired play threatened to send the coaching staff to the unemployment line. The only possible luck in their future was Andrew Luck - and they probably would have missed out on him, too (not they they need him).
They also have had no breaks on the field, either. They have had to make their own luck and hope the officials don't hurt them too badly with dubious calls.
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