We start things off with by far the closest game of the entire weekend, the double overtime thriller between the Baltimore Ravens and Denver Broncos. Baltimore defensive back Corey Graham's interception from Peyton Manning set up Justin Tucker's 47-yard game winning field goal 1:42 into double overtime to stun the heavily-favored Broncos. This brought Denver's 11-game winning streak to an end and sent the Ravens to their third AFC title game in the last five years. It was the sixth double overtime game in history, the first since 2003, and the fourth-longest game in NFL history[9] which coincidently also featured head coach John Fox. With the loss, the Broncos became the seventh #1 seed in the last six years to lose their first playoff game. The other six were, the Dallas Cowboys in 2007, the New York Giants and the Tennessee Titans in 2008, the Atlanta Falcons and the New England Patriots in 2010, and the Green Bay Packers in 2011.
Broncos receiver Trindon Holliday opened up the scoring by returning a Sam Koch punt 90 yards for a touchdown, the first postseason punt return score in franchise history. Things seemed to get even better for Denver when Jacoby Jones fumbled the ensuing kickoff and was downed on the 6-yard line. But two plays later, defensive back Tony Carter was hit with a 25-yard pass interference penalty on third down. Then Joe Flacco tied the game with a 59-yard touchdown pass to Torrey Smith. The situation only got worse for Denver on the next drive, as Graham picked off a deflected pass and returned it 39 yards for a touchdown, making the score 14–7. But Manning rallied his team back, completing 5/7 passes for 69 yards on a 74-yard drive that ended on his 15-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Stokley.
Later in the second quarter, a 32-yard reception by Broncos receiver Eric Decker set up Manning's 14-yard touchdown pass to Knowshon Moreno. Denver then forced a punt and drove to the Ravens 34-yard line, but this time they failed to score as Matt Prater missed a 52-field goal. Taking the ball back on their own 42 with 1:16 remaining, Flacco hit Anquan Boldin for 11 yards and tight end Dennis Pitta for 15 before finding Smith in the end zone on a 32-yard score, tying the score at 21 at the end of the half.
Holliday quickly broke the tie just 13 seconds into the third quarter by returning the second half kickoff 104 yards for a touchdown, making him the first player ever to return a punt and kickoff for a touchdown in a postseason game since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger. Later in the quarter, Manning lost a fumble while being sacked by Pernell McPhee, and Ravens lineman Paul Kruger recovered it on the Broncos 37-yard line. Running back Ray Rice took it to the end zone from there with five consecutive running plays (one of them for 32 yards), the last one a 1-yard touchdown run to tie the game back up at 28.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Denver drove 88 yards and scored on a 17-yard pass from Manning to Demaryius Thomas, taking a 35–28 lead with just over 7 minutes left in regulation. Baltimore responded with a drive to the Ravens 31-yard line, but turned the ball over on downs with 3:16 left. The Ravens defense had to use all their timeouts on Denver's ensuing drive, but managed to force a punt and get the ball on their own 23-yard line at the 1:09 mark. After an incomplete pass and a 7-yard scramble, Flacco tossed a 70-yard touchdown pass to Jones, sending the game into overtime.
After the first three drives of overtime ended in punts, Graham intercepted a pass from Manning on the Broncos 45-yard line. On the last play of the first overtime period, Rice's 11-yard run moved the team into field goal range. A few plays later, Tucker kicked a 47-yard field goal to win the game.
Flacco threw for 331 yards and 3 touchdowns. Smith caught 3 passes for 98 yards and two scores. Rice rushed for 131 yards and a touchdown. Graham had 8 tackles, 2 interceptions, and a touchdown. Linebacker Ray Lewis had 17 tackles, the most by any player in the postseason up to this point, while linebacker Terrell Suggs recorded 10 tackles and 2 sacks. For Denver, Manning finished 28/43 for 290 yards and three touchdowns, with 2 interceptions. Holliday's 90-yard punt return and 104-yard kickoff return were the longest ever in each NFL postseason category. His 248 total special teams return yards were an NFL postseason record as well, breaking Andre Coleman's record of 244 return yards in Super Bowl XXIX (and later tied by Desmond Howard in Super Bowl XXXI).
If that game wasn't exciting enough for fans on Saturday, the next game tried to top that one. Great football game closed out the day Saturday between the Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers. In his first career playoff game, 25-year old 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick rushed for 181 yards and two touchdowns, setting the NFL single game record for rushing yards by a quarterback, while also adding 263 yards and two scores through the air. Overall, San Francisco racked up 579 yards, including a franchise record 323 rushing yards, and scored a touchdown in every quarter to earn their second consecutive trip to the NFC championship game.
However, Kaepernick didn't get off to a good start. Less then two minutes into the game, he threw a pass that was intercepted by Sam Shields and returned 52 yards for a touchdown. But he quickly rallied his team back, completing a 45-yard pass to running back Frank Gore before taking the ball into the end zone himself on a 20-yard run. Later in the period, Green Bay took a 14–7 lead with Aaron Rodgers' 44-yard completion to James Jones setting up an 18-yard touchdown run by DuJuan Harris. The Packers then forced a punt, but returner Jeremy Ross muffed the kick and C. J. Spillman recovered it for San Francisco on the Packers 9-yard line. Two plays later, Kaepernick tied the score at 14 with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Michael Crabtree. Then defensive back Tarell Brown intercepted a pass from Rodgers, setting up Kaepernick's second touchdown pass to Crabtree, this one from 20 yards out.
With 2:39 left in the half, Rodgers' 20-yard touchdown pass to Jones tied the score at 21. But on the 49ers next drive, a pair of runs by Kaepernick for gains of 19 and 17 yards enabled David Akers to kick a 36-yard field goal, sending the teams into their lockers rooms with San Francisco leading 24–21.
In the third quarter, Green Bay drove 76 yards in 9 plays, featuring a 30-yard reception by Greg Jennings and scored a Mason Crosby field goal. But the tie turned out to be short lived. On the third play of their next drive, Kaepernick faked a handoff, rolled right, and took off for a career long 56-yard touchdown run, retaking the lead at 31–24. Then after a punt, he completed a 44-yard pass to tight end Vernon Davis, setting up Gore's 2-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter. Following another punt, Kaepernick led the 49ers back for more points, this time on a 93-yard drive. First he ran for a 16-yard gain, and later he completed a 17-yard throw to tight end Delanie Walker. On the next play, Gore's 26-yard burst moved the ball to the Packers 27-yard line. Anthony Dixon eventually finished the 11-play drive with a 2-yard touchdown run, making the score 45–24.
With under a minute left, Rodgers threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Jennings. But any hope of a miracle comeback was dashed when Walker recovered the ensuing onside kick attempt.
Crabtree was the top receiver of the game, with 9 catches for 119 yards and two touchdowns. Gore rushed for 119 yards and a touchdown, while also catching two passes for 48 yards. Linebacker Patrick Willis had 7 tackles and a sack. Rodgers finished 26/39 for 257 yards and two touchdowns, with 1 interception, while also rushing for 28 yards. Kaepernick finished the game responsible for more yards gained (444) then the entire Packers team (352).
So that takes care of the action from last Saturday. But wait there is still two more football games from Sunday. First up was the down to the wire nail bitter between the Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks. The Atlanta Falcons built up a 20–0 first half lead, but had to overcome a furious Seattle comeback to earn their first trip to the conference championship game since 2004. Trailing 28–27 with 25 seconds left, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan's completions to Harry Douglas and Tony Gonzalez moved the ball 41 yards in just 12 seconds of game time to set up Matt Bryant's 49-yard game winning field goal. For Gonzalez, the NFL's all time leader among tight ends in nearly every receiving category, it marked the first playoff win in his 16-season career.
Atlanta scored on their opening drive, moving the ball 55 yards on the way to a 39-yard field goal from Bryant. Later in the quarter, Seattle got a scoring opportunity when linebacker Bobby Wagner intercepted a Ryan pass and returned it to the Falcon's 33-yard line. But running back Marshawn Lynch fumbled the ball while being tackled by Sean Weatherspoon and defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux recovered it. On Atlanta's ensuring drive, a pair of 16-yard receptions by Roddy White and tight end Chase Coffman set up Ryan's 1-yard touchdown pass to Gonzalez.
On the last play of the first quarter, Atlanta running back Jacquizz Rodgers ran the ball 45 yards to the Seahawks 42-yard line. Atlanta then continued on to the 19-yard line where Bryant kicked a 37-yard field goal. Seattle responded with a drive to the Atlanta 11-yard line, but turned the ball over when fullback Michael Robinson was dropped for a 1-yard loss by safety William Moore on fourth down and one. Taking the ball back on their own 12, Michael Turner ripped off a 33-yard run before Ryan's 47-yard touchdown pass to White increased their lead to 20–0. Seattle responded with a drive to the Falcons 11-yard line on a drive that used up all their timeouts. With 17 seconds left in the half, they attempted one last play before sending in the field goal unit, but quarterback Russell Wilson was sacked by Babineaux and the clock ran out before they could run another play.
Seattle started out the second half with an 80-yard touchdown drive, with Wilson rushing for 19 yards and completing a 19-yard throw to tight end Zach Miller before tossing a 29-yard touchdown pass to Golden Tate. Atlanta countered with an 80-yard drive of their own, featuring a 21-yard reception by Julio Jones and scoring on Ryan's 5-yard pass to fullback Jason Snelling. But it wasn't long before Seattle completed the third consecutive 80-yard possession, Wilson hit Tate for 24 yards, rushed for 12, and then completed a 26-yard pass to Miller on the Falcons 13-yard line. A few players later, he took it into the end zone himself on a 1-yard run, making the score 27–14 with 13:06 left in regulation.
Three plays into Atlanta's next drive, safety Earl Thomas intercepted a pass from Ryan at the Seattle 38. Wilson then moved the ball into the Falcons red zone with a 24-yard completion to Sidney Rice and a 30-yarder to reserve running back Robert Turbin. On the next play, his 3-yard touchdown pass to Miller cut the deficit down to one score, 27–21.
With 3 minutes left in the game, Seattle's Leon Washington returned a punt 15 yards to his 39-yard line. Then Wilson went back to work, with completions to Tate and Lynch for gains 19 and 24 yards. Then with just 31 seconds left, Lynch's 2-yard touchdown run gave them their first lead of the game, 28–27.
Rodgers returned the ensuing kickoff 34 yards to the 28-yard line, giving the Falcons the ball with 25 seconds and two timeouts left. On their first play, Ryan completed a 22-yard pass to Douglas near the left sideline, running just 6 seconds off the clock. Then he found Gonzalez over the middle for a 19-yard gain to the Seattle 31-yard line that used up just six more seconds before the clock was stopped on their final timeout. With only 13 seconds left in the game, Atlanta decided to try the game winning field goal on their next play. Shortly before the ball was snapped, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll called a timeout, giving Bryant a "practice kick" on the field, which he missed. But after the timeout, Bryant's 49-yard field goal kick was good, retaking the lead for Atlanta with 8 seconds left on the clock.
However, Seattle was not quite out of the game. Taking the ball on their 46-yard line after Atlanta's squib kick, Wilson's 6-yard completion to Doug Baldwin moved the ball to the Atlanta 48 where he went out of bounds at 00:02. Rather then attempt a 65-yard field goal (which would have been two yards longer then the NFL record for longest field goal ever made), Seattle decided to try a Hail Mary pass with their final play. Wilson heaved the ball into the end zone, but Jones, who had been brought in as an extra defensive back, intercepted the pass to seal the victory.
Ryan finished 24/35 for 250 yards and three touchdowns, with two interceptions. Turner rushed for 98 yards. Rodgers rushed for 64 yards, and added 104 more on five kickoff returns. Wilson threw for 385 yards and 2 touchdowns with 1 interception, while also rushing for 60 yards and another score. Miller was the top receiver of the game with 8 receptions for 142 yards and a touchdown, while Tate added 6 catches for 103 and 1 TD. Wagner had 8 tackles and 1 pick.
Now for the final game of the weekend. The first three games had all been exciting, tight games. However the final game wasn't able to keep up the intensity level of the first three games. The last game Sunday was the Houston Texans and the New England Patriots from New England. In week 14 of the regular season, New England defeated Houtson 42-14. This time around, the Texans managed to keep the score tighter, but the final result didn't change. New England quarterback Tom Brady passed for 344 yards and 3 touchdowns as he led the team to their seventh AFC championship game in his 12 years as a starter. This was also his 17th postseason win, surpassing the NFL's all time record held by Joe Montana. However, the win did come with a price: Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, who suffered a season ending arm injury.
Houston started out with a huge burst of momentum when Danieal Manning returned the opening kickoff 94 yards to the New England 12-yard line. But a dropped pass by James Casey and an overthrown pass in the end zone forced them to settled for a 27-yard field goal from Shayne Graham. Later in the quarter, Brady completed 3 consecutive passes for 51 yards on a 65-yard drive on the way to a 1-yard touchdown run by Shane Vereen.
On their next drive, a 30-yard completion to Wes Welker, along with Vereen's 22-yard run and 12-yard reception, set up a 37-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski. Following a punt, Brady completed a 47-yard pass to Welker, moving the ball to the Texans 8-yard line. On the next play, he threw a touchdown pass to Vereen, making the score 17-3. On the ensuing kickoff, a 35-yard return by Manning and a 15-yard penalty against Gostkowski for a horse collar tackle gave Houston the ball at the Patriots 47-yard line. Arian Foster took the ball to the end zone from there with five consecutive running plays, the last a 1-yard touchdown run. Then after forcing a punt, quarterback Matt Schaub completed three passes for 25 yards in a span of just 22 game seconds, moving the ball to the Pats 37 where Graham made a 55-yard field goal as time expired in the half and cutting the score to 17-13.
However, New England dominated the second half with 21 unanswered points. On the first drive of the second half, Brady's 40-yard completion to tight end Aaron Hernandez set up Stevan Ridley's 8-yard touchdown run. Later in the quarter, Patriots linebacker Rob Ninkovich intercepted a pass and returned it to the 37-yard line. Ridley then rushed 4 times for 37 yards on a 63-yard drive that ended with Brady's 5-yard touchdown completion to Brandon Lloyd. Early in the fourth quarter, Houston failed to convert a fourth down and one on their own 33-yard line, and Brady threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Vereen on the next play.
Now trailing 38-13, Houston made one last comeback attempt. Manning's 65-yard kickoff return gave them the ball on the Pats 37-yard line, where they scored on a five play drive that ended with Schaub's 25-yard touchdown pass to receiver DeVier Posey. Then after a punt, they drove 79 yards, including a 24-yard catch by tight end Owen Daniels and scored on Schaubs 1-yard completion to Foster. On the next play, he completed a 2-point conversion pass to Andre Johnson, making the score 38-28 with 5:11 left in the game. But New England ended their comeback chances when Ninkovich recovered their onside kick attempt, leading to Gostkowski's 38-yard field goal to put the game away.
Vereen finished with 124 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns. Welker caught 8 passes for 131 yards For the Texans, Schaub threw for 352 yards and two touchdowns, with 1 interception. Foster rushed for 90 yards, caught 7 passes for 63 yards, and scored two touchdowns. Johnson caught 8 passes for 95 yards.
So there you have it, a very long but full recap of the Divisional round of the NFL playoffs. Check back here later on this week for a preview of the NFC and AFC Championship games!
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