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Marshawn Lynch looked unsure about whether to cross the goal line
on this fourth-quarter touchdown run to put Seattle in the lead. |
Cory Puffett
Green Bay at Seattle
We can take a two-yard Hail Mary off the list of football
plays I’ve never seen.
Green Bay played a heck of a first half, which is what I
knew they needed to do if they wanted a shot at knocking off Seattle. Aaron
Rodgers had not thrown a first half interception all season until Sunday
afternoon. The second half of road games had been when he was most vulnerable.
What I did not expect was that he could throw an
interception in the first half and Green Bay survive it. They did, thanks to
Russell Wilson’s three first half
interceptions.
I had a strong feeling going into halftime that the game was
far from over. Of Green Bay’s four scores in the first half, three were field
goals. A 16-0 lead is solid, but in CenturyLink Field, that’s far from
insurmountable.
The comeback started with a fake field goal touchdown pass
from Jon Ryan to Clint Gresham. It cut the lead nearly in half, but a special
teams touchdown doesn’t restore much confidence in the offense’s ability to
score.
But as Earl Thomas pointed out after the game, Seattle never
gave up. As soon as Russell Wilson crossed the goal line for a touchdown just
before the two-minute warning, I had a strong feeling Seattle would win the game.
Just ask Eric, he was sitting right next to me when I said it. He thought I was
kidding. I was not.
Green Bay flubbed the onside kick and four plays later
Beastmode scored on a 24-yard touchdown run and was visibly upset that they had
not taken more time off the clock. The Russell Wilson was driven backwards on
the two-point conversion and tossed up a duck to the opposite side of the field
near the goal line. Luke Wilson was there and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix was unable to
keep him out of the end zone.
A masterful drive by Aaron Rodgers allowed Mason Crosby to
tie the game up just before time ran out, but Seattle got the ball to start the
fourth quarter. Six plays and 87 yards later, Russell Wilson made up for his
four interceptions by hooking up with Jermaine Kearse from 35 yards out to end
the game before Aaron Rodgers had a chance to take the field.
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Darrelle Revis had two pass deflections and an interception.
He will make his first Super Bowl appearance in two weeks. |
Indianapolis at New
England
Eric and I joked before the second game about the score I
predicted for this game. I said New England would best Indianapolis 35-10.
Turns out I gave Indy too much credit.
The temperature was bearable, but the wind and rain clearly
were not for the Colts. Andrew Luck got out to a slow start and never did get
into a rhythm. He completed just 12 passes on 33 attempts for 126 yards and two
picks. It’s the first playoff game in which he failed to throw for 250 yards.
Daniel Herron ran the ball fairly effectively, but he only
got 10 carries. Part of that was because he was benched for a while after two
egregious dropped passes. One thing the Colts must do next year is find balance
on offense. They relied too much on Andrew Luck all year despite having capable
running backs. That game plan carried into Sunday and was at least a small part
in them getting blown out of Foxboro.
Tom Brady played a very good game and Julian Edelman proved
very reliable as he caught 9 of 11 targets for 98 yards. But the key to victory
for the Patriots, besides their defense, was LeGarrette Blount.
Blount scored four rushing touchdowns in New England’s
playoff victory over Indianapolis last season. He started this year in
Pittsburgh but New England must be thrilled tonight that they let him go. He
scored three times and had 148 yards on 30 carries.
No doubt this is about the worst Super Bowl matchup I could
imagine in the sense that I can’t really get excited about rooting for either
of these teams. But this has the potential to be a terrific game. New England
is back to their late season form after a shaky performance against Baltimore
and Seattle’s never-say-die attitude is going to be very hard to beat.
Let’s just hope that Richard Sherman’s arm injury is not too
serious. Super Bowls tend to suck when both teams aren’t at their absolute
best.
