Was there any doubt that a matchup between Peyton Manning and the Baltimore Ravens would end any other way?  Now what perhaps seemed to be more surprising to everybody was the fact that Ravens QB Joe Flacco played better than Peyton Manning. The Ravens were taking advantage of one on one coverage with WR Torrey Smith blowing past Broncos CB Champ Bailey for two touchdown catches.  For some reason though the Ravens stopped that aerial attack in the second half.  Denver stayed one step ahead of the Ravens for most of the game.  They had the upper hand with less than a minute to go.  But they forgot that Flacco can throw the deep ball.  He connected with a wide open Jacoby Jones for the game tying touchdown.  It took two overtime periods for the Ravens to capitalize on a Peyton Manning interception. Their rookie kicker Justin Tucker nailed the game winning field goal with plenty of room to spare.  Now Denver will have to go back to the drawing and wonder, what if?  Baltimore gets one step closer to another Super Bowl for their leader LB Ray Lewis.

I guess switching to Colin Kaepernick was a good idea then.  He single handedly defeated the Green Bay Packers.  Even after throwing an opening drive interception that resulted in a touchdown for the Packers.  He was the third quarterback to throw for two touchdowns and run for two touchdowns in a playoff game.  Green Bay knew what the 49ers were going to do and yet they couldn’t stop it.  San Francisco was a dominant offensive team.  They kept Packers QB Aaron Rodgers off the field for a majority of the game. That left a small window for a Packers comeback win.  But in the end the Packers had no answer for Kaepernick.  His arm and his legs are a dangerous combination and not many teams have been able to contain him this year.

It was deja vu all over again for the Seattle Seahawks.  However, this one was a lot worse than their game in Washington.  They were down by 20 points at halftime.  They had opportunities to score some points in the first half.  But they couldn’t capitalize. Once the second half started the Seahawks were a completely different team.  Seahawks QB Russell Wilson was phenomenal in the second half and was nearly successful in completing one of the biggest comebacks in playoff history.  But Seattle’s defense was a huge let down as they allowed the Falcons to get in position to kick the game winning field goal. Also for some reason Seahawks coach Pete Carroll called a timeout to ‘ice’ the kicker, but as Falcons K Matt Bryant missed it.  He was able to nail the next one right down the middle.  Seattle has a long offseason to think about this game and Atlanta knows they narrowly escaped.

The score should have been closer than it was, but the Houston Texans couldn’t keep Patriots QB Tom Brady contained.  Houston was making headway in the first half with their offense, but turnovers at key moments in the second half put the Texans defense in a tough spot with trying to keep Tom Brady out of the endzone.  The Patriots were helped out with an unsung hero in backup RB Shane Vereen playing like a wide receiver for most of the game.  His two receiving touchdowns were a big part of the Patriots aerial attack on the Texans.  It wasn’t any secret that’s how the Patriots were going to beat the Texans, but Houston couldn’t get a consistent rush on Brady and it resulted in a loss. New England will get another shot at the Ravens who defeated them earlier this season in Baltimore.