Tom Brady and the Patriots were on the road in the playoffs for the first time in seven years, which was also the last time they faced Peyton Manning when he was with the Colts. But the story was all about Denver as their offense racked up 507 yards without turning the ball over or giving up any sacks as they advanced to the 7th Super Bowl in franchise history. That was going to be a key in the ball game was to whether or not Denver could hang on to the ball, something they did with great effectiveness. Peyton Manning set a conference championship record with 32 completions for 400 yards and two touchdowns. The team also got a big performance from receiver Demaryius Thomas, who caught 7 passes for 134 yards and a touchdown, and kicker Matt Prater, who made four field goals. The win was especially satisfying for head coach John Fox, who lost to Tom Brady and Bill Belichick in Super Bowl XXXVIII 10 years earlier when he was with the Carolina Panthers.
Midway through the first quarter, Manning got the Broncos into scoring range with an 18-yard completion to Knowshon Moreno, a 29-yard pass to Demaryius Thomas, and a 19-yarder to Eric Decker. Prater finished the drive with a 27-yard field goal to put the team up 3–0. The next time Denver had the ball, they advanced 93 yards in 15 plays on a drive that took up nearly half the second quarter. At one point they faced 3rd and 10 from the Patriots' 39-yard line, and made the conversion with a 28-yard draw play by Moreno. Manning eventually got the team into the end zone with a 1-yard pass to tight end Jacob Tamme, making the score 10–0.
This time New England managed to respond, with Brady completing a 27-yard pass to receiver Aaron Dobson on the first play of their next drive; this ended up as Brady's longest completion of the game. The Patriots eventually reached the Broncos' 18-yard line, but Denver lineman Robert Ayers sacked Brady for an 11-yard loss on third down, forcing them to settle for Stephen Gostkowski's 47-yard field goal. Denver then took the ball back and drove for more points, as Manning hooked up with Demaryius Thomas for a pair of completions that netted 53 yards. Prater finished things off with a 35-yard field goal, giving the team a 13–3 lead with 25 seconds left in the half.
Denver started out the second half with a long touchdown drive that took up almost the same amount of time (7:08) as their last one (7:01), moving the ball 80 yards in 13 plays. Manning completed 7 of 8 passes for 59 yards on the drive, the last a 3-yard touchdown toss to Demaryius Thomas that increased Denver's lead to 20–3. New England responded with a drive to the Broncos' 29-yard line, but on a 4th and 2 conversion attempt, Brady was sacked for a 10-yard loss by defensive tackle Terrance Knighton. Denver then took over and set up a drive for more points, with Manning completing two passes to tight end Julius Thomas for 28 yards and a completion to Demaryius Thomas for 30. New England managed to halt the drive at their own 1, but Prater kicked his third field goal to put Denver up 23–3.
New England finally scored a touchdown with just over 9 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Starting the drive with an 18-yard pass to tight end Michael Hoomanawanui, Brady followed it up with completions to Austin Collie and Julian Edelman for gains of 20 and 16 yards. He eventually completed the drive with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Edelman, cutting the score to 23–10. However, Denver scored again with their next possession, with Manning's 37-yard completion to Julius Thomas setting up Prater's 4th field goal, this one from 54 yards.
New England now faced a 26–10 deficit with 7 minutes left in regulation; Brady completed 5 of 7 passes for 54 yards on their next drive, and took the ball into the end zone himself on a 5-yard run. However, their 2-point conversion attempt failed, keeping the score 26–16. Then after Decker recovered New England's onside kick, Denver managed to run the final 3:07 off the clock with their last drive. Brady finished the day 24-for-38 for 277 yards and touchdown, along with 2 carries for 7 yards and a score on the ground. Edelman caught 10 passes for 89 yards and a touchdown. Julius Thomas had 8 receptions for 85 yards for Denver, while Decker had 5 catches for 73.
Now after the game, Patriots coach Bill Belichick made some interesting remarks towards former Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker. Welker took out Patriots defensive back Aqib Talib when Welker made a block on him late in the ball game. Belichick said it was a “deliberate attempt” by Welker to “take out Aqib,” who was injured on the play. The Patriots coach said he “would let the league handle the discipline on that play,” Yeah sure you would their Bill.
In the 2nd game of the day Sunday, the Seattle Seahawks showed up in a big way against the 49ers. With 22 seconds left in regulation, Seattle defensive back Richard Sherman deflected a pass in the end zone into the arms of linebacker Malcolm Smith for a game clinching interception as San Francisco was trying to drive for a winning score.
Things got off to a rough start for the Seahawks as their quarterback Russell Wilson was sacked on the first play of the game by linebacker Aldon Smith, resulting in a fumble that was recovered on the Seattle 15-yard line. However, their defense managed to keep San Francisco out of the end zone, forcing them to settle for Phil Dawson's 25-yard field goal to take a 3–0 lead. There would be no more scoring until the 2nd quarter, when 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick took off for a 58-yard run that gave the team a first down on the Seattle 10-yard line. Three plays later on 4th and goal, running back Anthony Dixon dove over the goal line pile to score a 1-yard touchdown run, increasing the lead to 10–0. This time, Seattle managed to respond with Wilson's 51-yard completion to Doug Baldwin leading to a 32-yard field goal by Steven Hauschka with just under 6 minutes left in the quarter. Near the end of the quarter, the 49ers appeared to have a chance to drive for points when Wilson threw an incomplete pass on 4th down from the 38-yard line with 20 seconds to go. Defensive back Carlos Rogers was flagged for shoving receiver Golden Tate out of bounds after the incompletion, resulting in a penalty that pushed San Francisco back 15 yards and the team decided to run out the clock. Commentators Joe Buck and Troy Aikman both said they felt the penalty call was improper, as it appeared to be only a mild push.
San Francisco was forced to punt on their first drive of the second half, and Tate returned the ball 10 yards to his 40-yard line. Three plays later, Marshawn Lynch scored on a 40-yard touchdown run, tying the score 10–10. The 49ers struck back with Kaepernick completing a 22-yard pass to Michael Crabtree and then rushing for a 22-yard gain himself. Kaepernick fumbled the ball on the next play, but center Jonathan Goodwin recovered it and ran for a 6-yard gain. Kaepernick then finished the drive with a 26-yard scoring completion to Anquan Boldin, putting the 49ers back in front at 17–10. Baldwin returned the ensuing kickoff 69 yards to the 49ers' 33-yard line, setting up Hauschka's 40-yard field goal that made the score 17–13 with less than four minutes left in the third quarter. Seattle took their first lead of the game on the second play of the fourth quarter, 20–17, scoring on Wilson's 35-yard touchdown pass to Jermaine Kearse on 4th down and 7. A series of fumbles and turnovers followed; firstly, Seattle defensive end Cliff Avril forced and recovered a fumble from Kaepernick on the 49ers' 23-yard line. Seattle then drove to the 10-yard line, and on third down Wilson completed a pass to Kearse. But Kearse fumbled on the 1-yard line as he was going in for a score, while being tackled by linebacker NaVorro Bowman. Replays showed Bowman making a recovery and being touched down by contact, but the play did not end and the ball was pulled away from Bowman. Seattle receiver Michael Robinson ended up with the ball, allowing the Seahawks to maintain possession. The play was not reviewable, and to make matters worse for San Francisco, Bowman suffered a severe leg injury. Now with 4th and goal on the 1-yard line, Seattle coach Pete Carroll decided to go for the touchdown. But Lynch fumbled a handoff from Wilson and the 49ers ended up getting the ball back on the Seahawks 15-yard line. However, all they managed to do with this opportunity was give it back, as Kaepernick was intercepted by safety Kam Chancellor on the second play of their ensuing drive.
Now with the ball on the San Francisco 40-yard line, Seattle drove to the 29-yard line where Hauschka kicked a field goal to give the team a 23–17 lead with 3:37 left in the game. San Francisco responded with a drive to the Seahawks' 18-yard line, featuring a 17-yard reception by running back Frank Gore on 4th down and 2. With 30 seconds left, Kaepernick threw a pass intended for Crabtree in the end zone, but Sherman made a leaping deflection and the ball fell right into the arms of Malcolm Smith for an interception to put the game away. Wilson completed 16 of 25 passes for 215 yards and a touchdown. Lynch rushed for 109 yards and a score. Baldwin had 6 catches for 106 yards, and added another 102 yards on three kickoff returns. Chancellor had 11 tackles – of which 5 were solo tackles – and an interception. Kaepernick finished the game 14-for-24 for 153 yards and a touchdown, with 2 interceptions and a lost fumble, while also rushing for 130 yards on 11 carries. This was his second 100-yard rushing game in the postseason; only two other quarterbacks in NFL history up to this point ever had one. Bowman had 14 tackles – including 6 solo tackles – along with a sack, and a forced fumble. Both teams achieved the same amount of total yards, with 308.
In the postgame Richard Sherman went off on 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree saying something to the effect of that Cabtree should never have called him out ect. Of course Sherman later apologized for his outburst but still it left a pretty good impression.
So there you have it. The Super Bowl is now set as the Seattle Seahawks will take on the Denver Broncos. We will have a full preview of the game next week!
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