In the playoffs it’s simple a one game season. You have one game to give it everything you have all to continue chasing the trophy…… it doesn’t matter what your regular season record was, it doesn’t matter what your team has done in the past ….all that matters is this moment …this one game. In these moments you can become a legend or prove once again why you are considered one. This weekend’s divisional games lived up to those standards and the results were instant classic performances. Let’s start our coverage with the 49ers and the Saints. This had all the makings of a classic matchup between one of the league’s best offenses and one of its top defenses. The start of the game looked like more of the same for the Saints as QB Drew Bress lead them right down the field for a scoring opportunity , but then that 49ers “D” stepped up making the game’s first big play. 49er FS Donte Whitner leveled Saints RB Pierre Thomas causing a fumble which the 49ers recovered. Alex Smith and the 49ers underrated offense took over moving the ball down the field , but the Saints “D” stood tall stopping the drive with a couple of sacks. With the Saints getting the ball back I expected them to drive down the field and score….. I mean C’mon its Drew Bress right?
Well again the 49ers defense has served noticed that they are for real forcing the Saints into early turnovers which the 49ers turned into touchdowns one by TE Vernon Davis and the other by WR Michael Crabtree giving them a 14 - 0 lead at the end of the first quarter. Early in the second quarter the 49ers offense would manage a field goal pushing the lead to 17 – 0.
Are the 49ers gonna blow the Saints out????? Drew Bress got the offense moving scoring back to back touchdowns to TE Jimmy Graham and WR Marques Colston cutting the lead to 17 – 14 going into halftime.
Even with the slim lead you kinda had the feeling that the Saints were taking back the momentum ……so what would the second half bring???? The Saints got the ball to start the second half and it was almost a given that they would be able to go down and score on their opening drive, but RB Darren Sproles fumbled on the kickoff return giving the ball right back to the 49ers on their side of the field. Listen I don’t care who you are and what your offense can do …. You turn the ball over four times in 3 quarters you’re not gonna win many games especially in the playoffs. The 49ers defense would continue to disrupt the Saints offense making big play after big play in critical situations, allowing their offense to put another field goal on the board pushing the lead to 20 – 14. The Saints would put a good drive together on their next possession but a drop by WR Marques Colston in the end zone would force the Saints to settle for a field goal closing the gap to 20 – 17 early in the fourth quarter. On the 49ers next possession they would give the ball to RB Frank Gore aka The Inconvenient Truth in a move to run time off of the game clock and keep that explosive Saints offense on the sideline. After a 42 run by Gore the 49ers were back in scoring range but could only manage another field goal for the 23 – 17 lead. Now the next 8 minutes of this game were classic material. The Saints offense got the ball with 8 minutes left in the fourth quarter and Drew Bress step up to let everyone know this is “What I Do” ….leading the Saints down the field for a TD pass to RB Darren Sproles taking the lead 24 – 23 with 4:06 left on the game clock.
Could the 49ers and there highly criticized QB Alex Smith answer ………… ummmmmmm YES THEY DID (Obama Voice). Smith and the 49ers offense drove the ball right back down the field completing a big pass to TE Vernon Davis up the sidelines and then he would take it in himself on a QB bootleg around the left side for a 28 yard rushing touchdown for a 29 – 24 lead with 2:11 left on the clock.
Now I looked at this and said great play but man y’all left Bress a lot of time on the clock. Bress again said this is “What I Do” leading the Saints back down the field connecting with TE Jimmy Graham for another touchdown and two point conversion for a 32 -29 lead with only a minute left on the game clock. I can’t front I said “game over” but remember what I said in the beginning these moments can make legends out of the most unlikely players. Alex Smith was clearly ready for the moment or he gave his jersey to 49ers Hall of Famer Steve Young and Vernon Davis gave his to T.O. because the two reinvented the drive they had against the Packers in the 95 Wild Card game. Smith found Davis on a big play in the middle of the field with 35 seconds left in the game that put the 49ers right in field goal position. Another pass to RB Frank Gore for a 5 yard gain and a spike to stop the clock set the stage for a historic ending. Now with 14 seconds left on the play clock the 49ers could take one shot at the end zone and if unsuccessful they could still get a game tying field goal. Well y’all know the saying If “IF” was a …… y’all know the rest and apparently the 49ers were ready to take that next step as QB Alex Smith found TE Vernon Davis over the middle for the game winning touchdown wrapping up a 36 – 32 victory.
An instant classic game…. for the 49ers they await the winner of the Greenbay Vs. New York game. For the Saints another record breaking season for this offense and there QB, but they have to address the defense during the off-season.
Next it was Tebow Time? Fresh off the stunning win against the Steelers last weekend did they have another trick in the bag for the Pats? Funny thing is for much of the week leading up to this game people were talking about how Broncos QB Tim Tebow could be ready to take that next step given how well he played last week against the leagues number one ranked defense and now facing one of the league’s worst defenses could lead to another upset. Honestly people if it was anyone else going into Foxboro I would say yeah there’s a chance but Tebow vs. Brady……. I’m taking Brady! Listen to recap this game would really be pointless because it was dominance from beginning to end as the Pats clearly outclassed the Broncos with a 45 -10 victory. Brady lead the offense to five first half touchdowns for a 35 – 7 halftime lead. The second half was more of the same as the Pats continued to move and score the ball adding 10 more points in this half while only allowing 3 points to the Broncos. For the Pats this performance was scary as Brady seems to be playing with a huge chip on his shoulder as he looks to get back to the Superbowl. He only threw for six touchdown passes …… just another day at the office right (smdh).
The Pats defense has gotten healthy and is playing better as they sacked Tebow five times keeping them out of sync the entire game. For the Broncos a magical season with Tebow and the defense leading the way. Even with a bad performance in this game I feel like he’s earned the right to be starter in Denver next season and if they continue to build around him the future will be bright. Up next for the Pats either a rematch with the Ravens or the upstart Texans come to Foxboro either way the Pats seem more than ready. The only question I have is with all those touchdown passes Bardy threw yesterday he could throw to Ocho once? Yeah I said Ocho y’all remember Chad Johnson …..Ok Evelyn from Basketball Wives boyfriend …… Oh so y’all really gonna act like y’all don’t remember him …… OK just look at the pic …. C’mon Tom help a brotha out
The Ravens and the Texans would kick off the action on Sunday. A rare home game for the Ravens and for future HOF MLB Ray Lewis could the championship window be closing? If so you know that Ray and the rest of that defense would come out and play well. For the Texans even with a third string QB in rookie TJ Yates they have to figure that they are playing with “house money” as they won the division for the first time, made the playoffs for the first time, won their first playoff game and now a divisional game …. What more could you ask for right? With two great defenses, two great running backs you have to figure that this would be a hard fought low scoring game. In a game like this it always comes down to what offense can make enough big plays that result in touchdowns. The Texans would start the game with a solid drive that ended up with a field goal giving them an early 3 – 0 lead. After a Ravens three and out the Texans would get the ball back, but a fumbled kickoff return would give the Ravens the ball back in scoring range. The Ravens took advantage immediately with a rushing touchdown by QB Joe Flacco for a 7 – 3 lead. On the Texans next possession they would find out why the Ravens “D” has been so good over the last decade as an interception ended there drive. The Ravens again capitalized with a touchdown pass to WR Aquan Boldin pushing the lead to 14 – 3. The Ravens offense would add a field goal in the opening quarter for an offensive explosion and a 17 – 3 lead …..Yeah the Ravens had an offensive explosion! I guess that crazy mustache is working for Flacco huh ……. man please somebody cut that mess off. He looks like one of those guys they be looking for in Law & Order SVU episodes.
The Texans lead by RB Arian Foster would get their act together putting 10 points on the board in the second quarter cutting the lead to 17 – 13 going into half time.
After a scoreless third quarter that saw the both defensive units make play after play not giving up any scoring opportunities In the fourth quarter it was more of the same but the Ravens were able to make enough plays to put another field goal on the board and keep the Texans out of the end zone capping a 20 – 13 victory. We all knew the Texans would be hard pressed to beat the Ravens, but playing in Baltimore aka “The Wire”….sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeit we knew what the outcome would be.
The Texans should be back in the playoffs next year as the will get QB Matt Schaub and LB Mario Williams back which is major. So we get the Ravens vs. the Pats for a ticket to the Superbowl. Big Time Offense vs. Big Time Defense it’s gonna be a great game.
The night cap was the game everyone was focused on as the Packers welcome the Giants. Now the Giants have people reminiscing on their 07 championship run with a dominate running game and that defense playing as well as they have been all year. For the Packers a 16 -1 season got them a home playoff game as they look to defend their championship , but questions regarding the health of big name offensive players especially on the offensive line have most saying this is the perfect set-up for an upset. The Giants would strike first as they drove down the field for an early field goal. The Packers would answer back with a scoring drive of their own tying the game at 3 apiece. On the Giants next possession WR Hakeem Nicks came through with a big catch and run for a Giants touchdown and a 10 – 3 lead. The Packers looked out of sync with a number of drops by there WR’s early keeping them out of the end zone. On their next possession the Packers were able to put a drive together answering with a touchdown pass to FB John Kuhn and a 10 – 10 tie. Eli drove the Giants down for a field goal and a 13 – 10 lead. A quick three and out by the Packers brought the defense back on the field that struggled during the first half getting off the field on third down. The Giants offense would get the ball back close to the end of the half and they just needed two offensive plays to score on a hailmary to WR Hakeem Nicks for a 20 – 10 halftime lead.
Packers miscues would continue throughout the second half as they only managed a field goal in the third quarter making it a 20 – 13 game going into the fourth quarter. The Giants continued to make plays and take advantage of the Packers mistakes outscoring them 17 – 7 to close out the game and a chance for a repeat with the 37 – 20 victory. Eli showed that he is an elite QB in this league as he made all the big plays the Giants needed on the afternoon.
The Giants get the 49ers next which should be a great game as both teams mirror each other. For the Packers a long off-season where all they can think about is what would have been, but don’t write them off yet …….. We’ll be back #GOPACKGO!!!!!
So the championship round is set with the Ravens and Pats meeting for the AFC crown and the 49ers and Giants looking to add to their trophy case with a NFC championship. Can’t wait to see next week’s action.
In this week’s version of “Say Word” I don’t want to talk about nothing because I’m a PACKER fan and we just got our butts kicked by the Giants. So for all my friends, family, FB friends, friends of the blog …… YES THE GIANTS BEAT US …. NO EXCUSES WE GOT BEAT! ON THIS DAY THE GIANTS WERE BETTER THAN US…….. Like I said though we will be back, but I must tip my cap to the Giants on their victory. Til next week people “Be Easy” ….. You’ve just read The Rucker Report.
