The AFC was up for grabs
For most of the season I had no idea who was the best team in the AFC. You could have made an argument for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Although look what happened when they relied on Ben Roethlisberger and his one good ankle. At one point you could have said it was the Houston Texans, but injuries caught up with them and their rookie quarterback showed he’s still a rookie. Looking at this years AFC Championship game it was down to the two best teams. Baltimore needed to have a great game from QB Joe Flacco and they did just as the 1st quarter came to an end. As soon as the Ravens intercepted Patriots QB Tom Brady for the first time a spark was lit on the Ravens offense. RB Ray Rice did not have a great game, but Flacco was carrying them to near victory. The Patriots did not play their best game offensively, but their defense played their best game of the entire year. A bit of luck was involved with the Ravens kicker Billy Cundiff missing, what looked to be for him at least, a 32 yard field goal to take the game to overtime. But before that happened the Patriots defensive back Sterling Moore knocked the ball out of Ravens WR Lee Evans hands a split second before his second foot came down in the endzone. That was the game winner for Baltimore which turned out to be the play of the game for New England. Either way the Patriots know now that their defense isn’t the worst in the NFL after this performance. But they will need QB Tom Brady to be on his A game if they are to win another Super Bowl.
Defense reigned supreme
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more nerve racking game before in the NFL. It also was the first time that you didn’t see an offensive shootout this year in the NFL. Both teams defenses were on display in the NFC Championship game. Early on I was impressed with the way Giants QB Eli Manning was playing, especially on 3rd down. By no means were they 3rd and short yardage situations. Either way he was converting those 1st downs with ease. That is until the 49ers defense got into their groove. Eli was sacked 6 times for the entire game, which ended in overtime. He was also hit 20 times throughout the course of the game. He took tremendous punishment and still delivered in critical situations. 49ers QB Alex Smith didn’t have a terrible game either as he threw 2 touchdowns, both to TE Vernon Davis. But he couldn’t recapture that magic from a week ago against the Saints. The Giants hardly blitzed in this game and that’s because they have 4 defensive ends that can rush the passer together just like they had in 2007. From the second half on Alex Smith wasn’t comfortable in the pocket for more than two consecutive plays. There were a lot of 3 and outs for both teams. It was a closely fought contest. Exactly what the NFL needed. A good defensive struggle to show that you still need a great defense if you want to win a Super Bowl. This one went in the Giants favor.
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