Atlanta dominated the first quarter, mainly on plays by receiver Julio Jones, who caught 5 passes in it for 100 yards, including a 46-yard touchdown catch on their opening drive, and a 27-yard reception on their next drive to set up a Matt Bryant field goal. Following a punt, Matt Ryan hit Roddy White for a 23-yard gain on the last play of the first quarter. Then he threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Jones on the first play of the second, giving the Falcons a 17–0 lead.
This time San Francisco struck back with an 80-yard scoring drive, with Frank Gore rushing for 20 yards and Vernon Davis catching a pass for 27. LaMichael James finished the drive with a 15-yard touchdown run. Then, after forcing a three-and-out, Colin Kaepernick rushed for 23 yards and completed three passes to Davis for 48 yards, the last a 4-yard touchdown pass to make the score 17–14. But Atlanta stormed back as Ryan completed five passes for double-digit gains on their next drive, the last one a 10-yard score to tight end Tony Gonzalez with 25 seconds left in the half.
The 49ers took the opening kickoff and drove 82 yards, with Kaepernick completing two passes to Randy Moss for 38 yards and one to tight end Delanie Walker for 20. Gore completed the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run, cutting their deficit to 24–21. On Atlanta's ensuing possession, defensive back Chris Culliver gave San Francisco a great chance to tie or take the lead by intercepting a pass from Ryan and returning it to the Falcons 25-yard line. But San Francisco failed to gain a first down and came up empty when David Akers hit the uprights on a 38-yard field goal try. Later on, the 49ers got another scoring opportunity when defensive lineman Aldon Smith recovered a fumble from Ryan on his own 40-yard line. They subsequently drove deep into Falcons territory, but once again they failed to score when defensive back Dunta Robinson stripped the ball from Michael Crabtree on the 1-yard line as he trying to get in for the go-ahead score, and linebacker Stephen Nicholas recovered it.
With 12 minutes left in regulation, Ted Ginn, Jr.'s 20-yard punt return gave San Francisco the ball on the Falcons 38-yard line. Five plays later, Gore scored his second touchdown on a 9-yard run, giving the 49ers their first lead of the game at 28–24. Atlanta responded with a drive to the 49ers 13-yard line, but consecutive incompletions on third and fourth down caused a turnover on downs with just 1:13 left in the game.
Atlanta managed to force a punt and get the ball with 13 seconds to go. Ryan completed a pass to Jones on the final play, but he was tackled at the 49ers 35-yard line as time expired.
Kaepernick finished 16/21 for 233 yards and a touchdown, along with 21 rushing yards. Davis caught 5 passes for 106 yards and a score. Gore rushed for 90 yards and two touchdowns. Ryan completed 30 of 42 passes for 396 yards and three touchdowns, with one interception. Jones caught 11 passes for 182 yards and two touchdowns, while White had 7 receptions for 100 yards. Gonzalez caught 8 passes for 78 yards and a score.
So now that we found out who will represent the NFC lets look at awho will play for the AFC in the Superbowl.
In the first quarter, New England receiver Brandon Lloyd caught two passes for 29 yards on a drive that ended with a Stephen Gostkowski field goal. In the second quarter, Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco completed 5/6 passes for 64 yards on an 87-yard drive that ended with Ray Rice's 2-yard touchdown run to take the lead. New England struck back with a 79-yard touchdown drive. The key player on it was Wes Welker, who caught a 24-yard pass and later finished it with a 1-yard touchdown reception from Tom Brady. Baltimore was forced to punt after three plays on their next drive, and Welker returned the ball 15 yards to the Ravens 43-yard line. New England then drove to the 7-yard line where Gostkowski kicked his second field goal as time expired in the half, giving the Patriots a 13–7 halftime lead.
In the second half, New England managed several drives deep into Ravens territory, but were unable to convert any into points. First, they drove to Baltimore's 34-yard line, but were halted there and decided to punt rather then attempt a 52-yard field goal. Tight end Dennis Pitta subsequently caught 3 passes for 32 yards on Baltimore's ensuring 87-yard drive, the last a 5-yard touchdown catch. New England was quickly forced to punt and Jacoby Jones returned it 11 yards to the 37. Baltimore then drove 63 yards, featuring a 23-yard reception by Torrey Smith and scored on Flacco's 3-yard touchdown pass to Anquan Boldin on the first play of the fourth quarter.
The Ravens dominated the final period, forcing a turnover on every New England drive. First, Pats running back Stevan Ridley lost a fumble while being tackled by Bernard Pollard and defensive end Arthur Jones recovered it on the New England 47-yard line. Three plays later, Flacco threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Boldin, making the score 28–13. The Patriots then drove to the Ravens 19-yard line, only to turn the ball over on downs after failing to convert a 4th down and 4. Following a punt, New England moved the ball back to the Ravens 19, only to lose it again when Brady threw a pass that was tipped by Pernell McPhee at the line of scrimmage and intercepted by Dannell Ellerbe. After another Ravens punt, Baltimore defensive back Cary Williams put the game away by intercepting a pass from Brady in the end zone with 1:13 left in regulation.
Flacco threw for 240 yards and three touchdowns. Linebacker Ray Lewis had 14 tackles, giving him a staggering 44 total tackles in the Ravens three playoff games. Brady threw for 320 yards and one touchdown with 2 interceptions. Welker caught 8 passes for 117 yards and a touchdown, while also returning 4 punts for 56 yards. Pats linebacker Brandon Spikes had 11 tackles. Tom Brady suffered his first career loss at home when leading by halftime, in which during that span he was 67–0 when leading at halftime at home.
So there you have it. Its a battle of brothers in this years Superbowl. Official game preview will be up in two weeks!
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