 |
| courtesy of ESPN.com |
Wow! What a weekend of NFL Playoff football. This round of the playoffs had surprises and upsets, achievements and disappointments, playmakers and game changers. Now, as we look towards Championship weekend, only four teams remain: the San Francisco 49ers, the New England Patriots, the Baltimore Ravens, and the New York Giants.
The San Francisco 49ers showed me that they can show up on the big stage and not only their defense can play well, but their offense can put up points. If their defense can cause turnovers just like they did to Saints QB Drew Brees, they might have a chance against Eli Manning and the New York Giants.
The New England Patriots put on an offensive clinic against the Denver Broncos. Patriots QB Tom Brady had one of his best playoff games in his career. Brady passed for 363 yards and 6 TDs and 1 int, which is very efficient. But can Brady do that versus the vaunted Baltimore Ravens defense?
The Baltimore Ravens handled their business vs. the Houston Texans. The Ravens defense caused four turnovers and Ravens QB Joe Flacco had zero turnovers, but 2 TDs. This sounds like a winning combination but can they duplicate that vs. the New England Patriots?
Finally, the New York Giants go to Historic Lambeau Field and upset the #1 seed and defending Super Bowl champion, Green Bay Packers. Giants QB Eli Manning steps up in the biggest game of the playoffs so far and just handles the Packers defense. He threw for 330 yards and had 3 TDs and 1 int. The Giants defense had four sacks and four turnovers. Can Eli Manning have a flawless game vs. the San Francisco 49ers defense and can the Giants defense get pressure on 49ers QB Alex Smith? All of these questions will be answered next Sunday.
AFC Championship game: #2 seed Baltimore Ravens at #1 seed New England Patriots, 3 pm ET (CBS)
NFC Championship game: #4 seed New York Giants at #2 seed San Francisco 49ers, 6:30 pm ET (FOX)
© 2012 NFL/NFL on FOX/FOX Sports
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
