NFC Championship Afterword: Seahawks vs 49ers

Marshawn Lynch but the team on his back with this 40-yard
touchdown run early in the third quarter to tie the NFC title game.

Cory Puffett

It’s one thing to be excited because you’re going to the Super Bowl and you made a big play to make it happen. But Richard Sherman gave an “interview” after the game that was the definition of being classless.

I’ll give him credit for his two tackles and his clutch pass deflection that turned into an interception. But you still have another game to play. Do you really want to give your next opponent, the best team in the AFC, bulletin board material by declaring yourself the best cornerback in the NFL?

I’ll digress, though, because I’ve got a game to talk about. It was very sloppy compared to the AFC Championship game. The Broncos and Patriots combined for just six penalties and no turnovers. The 49ers exceeded those totals by themselves with three turnovers and seven penalties. Seattle added eight penalties and a lost fumble of their own.

Russell Wilson was under pressure all game. San Francisco sacked him four times and registered 10 “QB hits.” But his stat line doesn’t reflect that of a quarterback under duress. He completed 16 of 25 passes for more than 200 yards and a touchdown.

San Francisco has not allowed a 100-yard rusher in 22 games. Marshawn Lynch did it in December 2012 and then did it again on Sunday with 109 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries.

Doug Baldwin, who has been inconsistent during his career in Seattle until the last few weeks, came up big once again. He caught six of his seven targets for 106 yards.

A lot of people gave the edge at quarterback for this game to Colin Kaepernick. He lived up to it for the first half or so. He ran for 130 yards in the game and had a very impressive touchdown pass to Anquan Boldin in the third quarter.

But when it came down to it, Kaepernick was unable to get it done in the clutch. Marshawn Lynch coughed up the ball on the goal line and Kaepernick turned it right back over with an ugly interception to Kam Chancellor. He threw another on his last pass of the game.

It’s a tough loss for San Francisco. It was their third straight NFC title game and after losing in the Super Bowl last year they hoped to get the franchise’s sixth Lombardi Trophy this year.

Instead, Seattle will go to their second Super Bowl, both of them in the last ten years. They lost to Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XL in Detroit. Now they will play in MetLife Stadium in Super Bowl XLVIII.

We’re still 14 days away, but the current forecast for that day is a high of 37, a low of 25 and possible rain and/or snow showers.

Final Score:

San Francisco 49ers – 17

Seattle Seahawks – 23

AFC Championship Afterword: Broncos vs Patriots

Denver's pass rush wasn't constant, but it came in big spots,
including this fourth down sack late in the third quarter.

Cory Puffett

I’m sure this week will be ripe with talk of how Peyton Manning exorcised his playoff demons and came up clutch against New England. His stats certainly will back the talk up but let me be the first to throw Denver’s defense a bone.

Denver has been in the top third of the league in rushing defense all season, but their pass defense left more than a little to be desired. It stepped up big time against New England on Sunday. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie set the tone on New England’s first third down attempt. Tony Carter added a couple of pass deflections later.

And it wasn’t just the secondary that played lights out. The defensive line helped by getting pressure on Tom Brady quickly so that the defensive backs only had to cover for a few seconds.

Denver’s offense ran through Manning as it has all season, but the best part of their offense was their clock management for the first three 48 minutes of the game, during which the Broncos has possession for about 30 minutes.

Peyton threw for 400 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. He also tied an NFL conference championship game record with 32 completions in the game.

Knowshon Moreno and Monte Ball combined for 102 rushing yards and helped Denver convert on 7 of 13 third downs.

Some people might point to New England’s poor play as a reason why this game wasn’t particularly exciting or enjoyable. But I disagree. It was a clean game with only six penalties and no turnovers.

Denver played great offense all game. After punting on their opening drive, they scored on six straight possessions before running the game clock down to zero on their final drive.

And New England’s offensive struggles were mostly compliments of great play by Denver’s secondary and their ability to shut down LeGarrette Blount and the Patriots’ other running backs early in the game.

Denver is now the fourth team in NFL history to appear in seven Super Bowls. They will play in MetLife Stadium in two weeks against the winner of the NFC Championship game.

Congratulations to Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. If they win Super Bowl XLVIII, Peyton Manning will be the first starting quarterback to lead two teams to Super Bowl victories.

Final Score:

New England Patriots – 16

Denver Broncos – 26

Divisional Playoff Afterword: Broncos vs Chargers

Fresh off career-best seasons, Peyton Manning and Knowshon Moreno
will lead Denver against the New England Patriots in the AFC title game.

Cory Puffett

For two weeks, even as eleven other teams played out the first seven games of the 2014 postseason, the spotlight was on the Denver Broncos. They were bombarded with questions about topics ranging from Peyton Manning’s 9-11 career playoff record to Denver’s divisional playoff to the Ravens just a season ago. Stories ran covering everything Peyton Manning’s abysmal career weather in outdoor, cold-weather games to Denver’s regular-season home loss to San Diego just a month ago.

The Broncos didn’t necessarily rise to the occasion in the way their fans would have liked, but they got out to a fast start did just enough to hold off a fourth quarter surge by the Chargers.

Denver followed the trend of the postseason, albeit not to the tee. All eight winning teams have gained at least 100 rushing yards. But Peyton Manning was the only winning quarterback in the divisional round to throw for at least 200 yards.

Denver’s secondary struggled throughout the game, but a great pass rush during the first half covered up their shortcomings and allowed Denver to take a comfortable 14-0 lead into the intermission.

San Diego’s was able to take advantage of a couple drops, some poor play calls, a pair of errant throws by Manning and an onside kick recovery to make a huge fourth quarter comeback. All 17 of the Chargers’ points came in the final quarter.

But Denver managed one deep drive capped off by a touchdown run by Knowshon Moreno that ultimately made the difference.

Now Denver will host the New England Patriots in next Sunday’s AFC title game. The Patriots scored 43 points on arguably a better defense than what the Denver Broncos have, but I’ll talk more about that in my preview on Thursday.

This will be the 15^th meeting between Peyton Manning and Tom Brady and the fourth in the postseason. Brady leads the playoff series 2-1, but the home team has won every time so far.

Final Score:

San Diego Chargers – 17

Denver Broncos – 24

Divisional Playoff Afterword: Panthers vs 49ers

Carolina held Vernon Davis to just one reception for one yard, but it was
this touchdown at the end of the first half that shifted momentum to the 49ers.

Cory Puffett

Carolina beat itself early in the game. They seemed to get the boat back on track but San Francisco stole the moment at the end of the first half and their defense rattled Cam Newton in the game’s final 30 minutes.

On the 49ers’ opening drive, dumb penalties by Carolina on multiple third downs allowed San Francisco to get into field goal range. Cam Newton then had a pass picked off on a deflection during his first possession that led to another 49er field goal.

Newton looked good the rest of the half, completing almost all of his passes. But poor goal line execution by the Panthers’ offense left at least one touchdown off the board.

But a 12-play, 79-yard drive at the end of the second quarter, resulting in a go-ahead touchdown, shifted momentum to San Francisco and they never relinquished it.

Jim Harbaugh has now led his 49ers to three NFC Championship games in his first three years as an NFL head coach. He is 5-2 in the playoffs and 4-1 with Colin Kaepernick at quarterback.

Kaepernick threw for 196 yards and a touchdown in the game. Frank Gore took a while to get things rolling but put up 84 yards on 17 carries including a big 39-yard run on 3^rd & 1 late in the fourth quarter.

Anquan Boldin factored into the win with 8 receptions for 136 yards on 12 targets. Carolina had no answer for him and the few times they were able to take him away, Michael Crabtree found an opening to give Kaepernick another look.

The 49ers will face off with their NFC West rival in Seattle next Sunday in the conference championship game. San Francisco will be playing for a second straight Super Bowl appearance. The last team to do so was the New England Patriots nearly ten years ago when they made it to Super Bowl’s XXXVIII (38) and XXXIX (39).

Seattle has appeared in just one NFC title game, in 2005 when they defeated the Panthers to appear in Super Bowl XL against the Pittsburgh Steelers. That followed their only other 13-3 season in franchise history.

Final Score:

San Francisco 49ers – 23

Carolina Panthers – 10

Wild Card Afterword: Packers vs 49ers

Michael Crabtree led all players with 8 catches for 125 yards, bailing
out Colin Kaepernick a few times and helping lead the 49ers to victory.

Cory Puffett

The first three wild card winners each trailed at halftime of their games. The 49ers were determined not to give us the fourth second-half collapse of the weekend.

It looked like they might fail when Aaron Rodgers escaped massive pressure – yes, with the help of a hold – to convert a 4^th & 2. That led to John Kuhn’s 1-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter. It was Kuhn’s fifth straight playoff game with at least one touchdown.

But Colin Kaepernick led a quick scoring drive that took just a minute and a half, ending with a 28-yard touchdown strike to Vernon Davis. It took everything I had not to dub it The Catch IV. But every 49ers touchdown pass can’t carry that moniker, can it?

Jim Harbaugh pulled the reigns in on Colin Kaepernick during the regular season, forcing him to make plays with his arm instead of his legs. But in the playoffs coaches tend to throw caution to the wind, as do the players. Kaepernick picked his spots and gashed Green Bay for 98 yards on just seven carries.

The third-year quarterback struggled early in the game, but once he got some space to run the ball and the Packers had to protect against that, he found more passing lanes in the second half to keep momentum from swinging to Aaron Rodgers’ offense.

The Packers had their own share of troubles early in the game. Eddie Lacy had a pretty good game but it took him a while to get going. It also took Rodgers a while to warm up. He failed to complete a pass in the first quarter, throwing two incompletions and being sacked twice on four drop-backs.

To his credit, Rodgers came out and completed six of seven passes for 45 yards and a touchdown to Jordy Nelson on his first possession of the second quarter. Rodgers finished with 17 completions on 26 attempts for 177 yards and a touchdown. Nelson was on the receiving end of seven of those completions. No other Packer had more than two receptions.

San Francisco will play in Carolina next Sunday at 1:05 p.m. San Francisco already lost to Carolina at home, 10-9, in Week 10. But Colin Kaepernick began a hot streak two weeks later that has continued through this game.

San Francisco’s victory on Sunday will likely quiet the talk about playoff reseeding, at least for a while.

Final Score:

San Francisco 49ers – 23

Green Bay Packers – 20