Conference Championship Afterword

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.

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.

2014 Conference Championships: History

It took John Elway a while to conquer the Super Bowl, but there were
never any demons in the AFC title game as Denver is 6-2 in franchise history.

Cory Puffett

Since we only have two games this weekend and they are both being played on Sunday, I felt I should write something a little different today before previewing the games tomorrow.

So class is in session as I relay to you the history of conference championships involving the four remaining teams.

Seattle Seahawks: 1-1 in Conference Championships

The Seahawks are by far the least experienced of this year’s conference championship participants. This is only their third appearance in this round and second as a member of the NFC.

They lost in their first, and only, appearance in the AFC title game back in 1983. They went 9-7 and finished second in the AFC West. The Los Angeles Raiders finished first in the division at 12-4 then beat Seattle in the conference championship, 30-14.

Eight years ago they made their second trip this deep into the playoffs after going 13-3 and winning the NFC West. They beat the Carolina Panthers, 34-14, to advance to Super Bowl XL where they fell to the Steelers.

Seattle have played in five divisional playoff games since then but couldn’t get back over the hump until Saturday when they beat the Saints.

Seattle’s overall postseason record is 10-12 (.429). They are 7-7 since moving to the NFC prior to the 2002 season.

Denver Broncos: 6-2 in Conference Championships

The Denver Broncos made their first playoff appearance in 1977, the last of the 14-game seasons. They went 12-2 and won the AFC West. It was the team’s first 10-win season. They beat the Steelers in the divisional round then beat the Oakland Raiders, 20-17 in the AFC title game before losing to the Cowboys in Super Bowl XII.

Denver was one-and-done in their next four appearances. Then from 1986 to 1989 they made the playoffs three times and won the AFC Championship each time before losing in Super Bowls XXI, XXII and XXIV.

Denver’s first loss in the conference championship was in 1991, a 10-7 loss in Buffalo.

Denver made it back to the AFC title game following the 1997 and 1998 seasons. These, of course, were John Elway’s last two years as an NFL quarterback. They beat the Steelers in the 1998 playoffs then beat Green Bay in Super Bowl XXXII. The next year they beat the Jets in the AFC Championship before defeating the Falcons in Super Bowl XXXIII.

The Broncos made it this far just once since then. After the 2005 seasons, they lost to the Steelers in the AFC title game. The Steelers of course went on to beat the Seahawks in Super Bowl XL as I mentioned earlier.

This Sunday will be Denver’s ninth AFC title game.

Denver has had only four quarterbacks lead them this far in to the playoffs. Craig Morton was at the helm in the 1977 season. John Elway took them to their next six appearances before Jake Plummer led them in the 2005 season.

Fun fact, in Denver’s four AFC Championship games from 1986 to 1991, John Elway’s backup was former Houston Texans head coach, Gary Kubiak.

New England Patriots: 7-2 in Conference Championships

The Patriots are making their tenth appearance in the AFC Championship and followed a remarkably similar path to the Broncos. Denver won their first four, lost one, won two more, then lost their most recent title game.

New England did the exact same thing except, instead of winning their first four, they won their first five AFC title games. Their first came in 1985. They finished the season in third place in the AFC East despite an 11-5 record.

They had to play both teams that placed ahead of them in the division, the Jets and Dolphins, and they beat them both. The 31-14 victory over Miami came in the AFC title game. They went on to lose Super Bowl XX to Chicago.

The Patriots’ next AFC title game followed the 1996 season. Again they finished 11-5 but were the best team in the AFC East and had a first round bye. They beat the Jaguars (a second-year expansion team), 20-6 in the conference championship before falling to Green Bay in Super Bowl XXXI.

New England’s seven, and now eight, appearances since then have all come under head coach Bill Belichick. They won this game in the 2002, 2004 and 2005 playoffs and went on to win all three Super Bowls.

Their first loss in the AFC title game was in the 2007 postseason when they lost to the Indianapolis Colts, 38-34.

The next year they went 16-0 in the regular season, beat the San Diego Chargers in the AFC Championship, 21-12, and then lost Super Bowl XLII to the Giants.

Two years ago the Patriots got their seventh conference championship victory, a narrow win over Baltimore in which Billy Cundiff missed a field goal that would have sent the game to overtime. They fell to Baltimore last year, though.

This is New England’s first run of three straight seasons making it this deep in the playoffs, and they’ve done it despite have one of their unluckiest three-year stretches in terms of injuries and other distractions, such as the death of Robert Kraft’s wife just before the 2011 season began.

San Francisco 49ers: 6-8 in Conference Championships

The San Francisco 49ers, making their 15^th NFC title game appearance, are the most experienced of the four teams remaining. But the Broncos have as many conference championship victories as the 49ers despite only making barely more than half as many appearances.

But there is a reason for San Francisco’s poor record in this round of the playoffs, or at least poor in comparison to the other three teams that will play this weekend. Remember that until 2002, Seattle was in the AFC. So the 49ers are the only team that had to play in the NFC’s “golden age,” so to speak.

From Super Bowl XIX, which followed the 1984 season, to Super Bowl XXXI, following the 1996 season, the NFC champion won every single Super Bowl. That 13-year run is that “golden age.” During that run, San Francisco played in eight NFC Championship games. They went 4-4 in those games.

San Francisco’s first appearances in the conference championship came after the 1970 and 1971 seasons. They lost to the Cowboys in the NFC title game both years. They made the playoffs again following the 1972 season and the Cowboys beat them in the divisional round. San Francisco did not make the playoffs again for nine years.

After just one winning record in the prior eight seasons, San Francisco went 13-3 in 1981. They finally conquered Dallas, beating them 28-27 in the NFC title game, before beat the Bengals in Super Bowl XVI.

The Redskins knocked off the 49ers in the 1984 conference championship but San Francisco went 15-1 the following season and then crushed the Bears 23-0 to advance to Super Bowl XIX, where they beat Dan Marino’s Dolphins. That, of course, was Marino’s only Super Bowl visit.

San Francisco went one-and-done in the next three playoffs but then beat the Bears and Rams by a combined 58-6 in the next two conference championships. They edged the Bengals in Super Bowl XXIII and then recorded the largest margin of victory ever in a Super Bowl by beating the Broncos 55-10 in Super Bowl XXIV.

The 49ers’ next three playoff appearances resulted in losses to eventual Super Bowl champions, first the Giants in the 1991 playoffs and then to the Cowboys in in the 1993 and 1994 playoffs. They beat Dallas in the 1995 playoffs to advance to Super Bowl XXIX where they beat the Chargers.

They made it back to the NFC Championship following the 1997 season but lost to the Packers, then made the playoffs just three times in next thirteen seasons.

And that brings us to the Jim Harbaugh era of the past three seasons. The 49ers have made the NFC Championship in three straight seasons for the third time in franchise history. Harbaugh is the first coach to take his team to three of them in his first three seasons as an NFL head coach. He is 1-1 so far.

This year is the first time the 49ers have ever made the conference championship game after having to play in the Wild Card round of the playoffs.

Tomorrow I will preview both conference title games, so be sure to look for those two posts. I hope you enjoyed today’s history lesson of sorts.

Puff’s Points, Conference Championships

Most of the NFL's pocket passers are entering "old age," with just a few
young guns roaming. We may not see them again on this stage for a while.

Cory Puffett

In less than three weeks there will be just one team celebrating victory. Today, there are four that have finished their celebrations and now look ahead to Sunday.

In the NFC, we have division rivals with young mobile quarterbacks, veteran power running backs and stingy defenses.

In the AFC, old rivals square off once again, the last great ones in a strain of quarterback we rarely see anymore. Brady and Manning will duel for the fourth time in the postseason as they lead two teams that have faced and overcome adversity all year.

I will have plenty more to write and say about those two matchups later in the week. First, let’s get to my thoughts from the past weekend, both in the playoffs and around the rest of the NFL.

1. RGIII-va

I’ve been all over Robert Griffin III this year, voicing my concern and irritation with his apparent “diva” attitude.

On Monday, one of Griffin’s Facebook posts popped up all over Twitter. ESPN and NFL.com then ran stories about it. The status concerned fans’ concerns about his large number of commercials, the sleeve and glove he wears in games, and even his seeming “all about me” attitude.

But that status was posted on Friday. And even to me it didn’t seem out of line. Sure it was defensive, but I can’t blame him for wanting to issue a short statement to his critics.

News stories are supposed to be timely. Three days after the fact isn’t “timely,” not to me at least. And if it isn’t a news story, leave it for the tabloids. We’re in the midst of a very exciting postseason. We don’t need Robert to be in the headlines. Find something better to write about, people.

2. Eagles’ Streak Ends

For four straight seasons, the team that faced Philadelphia in their home opener has gone on to win the Super Bowl. This year it was the San Diego Chargers that played the first regular season game in Lincoln Financial Field.

San Diego was eliminated on Sunday, ending the Eagles’ four-year run of luck for their opening day visitors.

Speaking of streaks ending, the Redskins also had one that will end this season. They had beaten the last three Super Bowl champions during the regular season that they won. Washington beat the Baltimore Ravens last regular season, the New York Giants twice the season before that and the Green Bay Packers in 2010.

If the Broncos or 49ers win the Super Bowl this year, the Redskins streak of playing the eventual Super Bowl champion every season since 2006 will continue. You have to love meaningless stats.

3. Another Coach Hired

The Washington Redskins announced last week that Jay Gruden will be their man, signing the first-time NFL head coach to a five-year contract. That followed a couple other head coaching announcements across the league.

With San Diego now out of the playoffs, the Tennessee Titans wasted no time in announcing Chargers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt as their next head coach.

Coach Whisenhunt last held a head coaching position in Arizona from 2007-2012. He took the Cardinals to the franchise’s first Super Bowl after the 2008 season with Kurt Warner at quarterback. They won the NFC West again in 2009 and lost in the divisional round of the playoffs before winning just five games in two of the next three seasons.

Despite his poor record in five years as Arizona’s head coach, Whisenhunt is very well respected throughout the league.

4. Familiar Faces

The New England Patriots and San Francisco 49ers are both making their third consecutive conference title game appearance. In both cases, a lot of credit goes to the coaches.

Bill Belichick turned the New England Patriots into the dynasty of the 2000s. The team had some success in the late 90’s after Robert Kraft took ownership of the team, but three Super Bowl titles in four years cleared the 90’s out of sight and out of mind.

Though it’s been nearly a decade since New England last hoisted the Lombardi Trophy, they’ve been a mainstay at the top of the AFC, and it’s thanks in large part to Belichick’s ability to absorb losses and keep the ship intact.

Jim Harbaugh is quickly gaining recognition as one of the league’s elite head coaches, and he is in just his third year. The former quarterback is the first head coach in the Super Bowl era to take his team to a conference championship game in each of his first three seasons. It becomes even more remarkable given the 49ers’ status as an NFC West cellar-dweller before his arrival.

It’s a few years early, but if things keep progressing as they have, the 49ers might well be known as a dynasty not only from the 80s, but in the 2010s, as well.

5. The Rematches Continue

Three of four wild card games were regular season rematches. Then three of four divisional playoff games were rematches from the regular season.

The trend continues this week as both conference title games feature teams that played each other in the regular season, twice in the case of NFC West rivals San Francisco and Seattle.

So far, the winner of the regular season matchup is 3-2, or 3-3 if you include only the most recent regular season meeting since Denver and San Diego split their regular season series.

New England beat Denver in Foxboro less than two months ago. The Broncos built a sizable halftime lead off of some New England turnovers and a couple nice drives by the offense, but even with the wind at his back Peyton Manning could not keep the ball away from the Patriots and Tom Brady led his team back in the third quarter and ultimately won by three.

The 49ers and Seahawks split their regular season series, Seattle blowing out San Francisco in Week 2 at CenturyLink before losing a close one at Candlestick late in the season. Colin Kaepernick has yet to overcome the 12^th Man and I’m not holding me breath that it will happen this week.

6. Experience vs. Youth

This storyline is going to dominate the two weeks leading into Super Bowl XLVIII, so let me be the first to point out that no matter who wins this weekend’s games, the Super Bowl will see a veteran traditional pocket passer on one sideline and a young gunslinger who won’t hesitate to scramble your defense to death on the other.

It will be an exciting and rare opportunity to see two eras, two leagues almost, clash at the highest level. Even if it means Tom Brady lifting a fourth Lombardi, I have to say that I’m hoping the traditional style wins out. We may not see a quarterback of that breed playing on this stage again for a long time.

7. Power Rankings

Yeah, I know, I couldn’t come up with three other interesting things to write about that didn’t involve previewing this weekend’s games. And I’m saving that for Thursday.

Last week only one team beat a team ranked higher than them in my power rankings, and that was New England, but their ranking measurement was less than 0.02 points worse than Indianapolis, so I’m pretty pleased with how they turned out.

I’ve recalculated my rankings for the four teams that remain, so here are my conference championship power rankings:

1. Seattle Seahawks (1.102)

2. San Francisco 49ers (1.405)

3. Denver Broncos (1.545)

4. New England Patriots (1.827)

So based on these numbers, we should expect to see both home teams win. It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if it happens on the NFC side. It’s a little more dicey in the AFC.

Tomorrow I will write about the four remaining teams and their histories in the conference championship. Thursday I will preview both games and my official predictions will come on Friday.