Last weekend was one great weekend, filled with lots of outstanding NFL action. The Baltimore Ravens were able to defeat the AFC number one seed Denver Broncos, the San Francisco 49ers outplayed the Green Bay Packers for the second time this season, the Atlanta Falcons became the top 'bird of prey' by winning against the Seattle Seahawks, and the New England Patriots won their divisional match up against the Houston Texans for the second year in a row.
These results have set up two
fantastic Conference Championship games for this Sunday, including one rematch
from last year’s playoffs. The 49ers will play against the Falcons at the
Georgia Dome and the Ravens will travel to Gillette Stadium to play against the
Patriots. Here are my previews and predictions of this Sunday's action.
NFC Championship
San Francisco 49ers vs Atlanta Falcons - Falcons win
Yes ladies and gentlemen, the Falcons will be going to the
Superbowl for the first time since the 1998 season. In my opinion too, they
should be able to defeat the 49ers with ease. Falcons WRs Roddy White and Julio
Jones won't be going against a CB like Seattle Seahawks Richard Sherman this
Sunday, so they might be able to get into more open spaces, giving QB Matt Ryan
more options. The 49ers Linebacker trio that will be trying to stop him any way
possible though, are Pro-Bowlers Patrick Willis, NaVorro Bowman and Aldon
Smith.
49ers QB Colin Kaepernick will be looking to continue his
good form from the Packers game last week. With the success of the option plays
last week, expect to see the option plays being run a lot in this game. It's
important not to forget the inclusion of RB Frank Gore in the rushing game and
WR Michael Crabtree in the passing game as well. Don't be surprised though if
you see Falcons DE John Abraham stopping Kaepernick ever allow this to happen.
Falcons DT Jonathan Babineaux will be hoping he can play the same way he did
against the Seahawks RB Marshawn Lynch, to stop any 49ers inside running game.
There are still some errors though in the Falcons secondary as shown by the
Seahawks and their 21 points in the fourth quarter. Falcons FS Thomas DeCoud
and CB Asante Samuel will need to recapture their regular season form though if
they want to stop Crabtree and 49ers TE Vernon Davis from getting any passes
this game. Falcons to win by a touchdown.
AFC Championship
Baltimore Ravens vs New England Patriots - Patriots win
This is a rematch of last year's AFC Championship game,
which the Patriots won and which was also at Gillette Stadium. I think they
will do the same this weekend as well. However, the Ravens and the Patriots
have already met each other this season back in Week 3, which the Ravens won
31-30 at M&T Bank Stadium with a fourth quarter comeback. Therefore,
although the Patriots may have home-field advantage which is a big factor in
games of this magnitude, they must make sure they don't
get complacent when they have the lead. Patriots QB Tom Brady is on
fine form as he always is, and is also the perfect leader to make sure his team
is focused on the task at hand. He has an equal counter-part in this field
though in the form of Ravens OLB Ray Lewis, who will be doing everything he can
to stop Brady, to make sure his last game before retirement is at the
Superbowl.
Brady will once again be looking to hand off to RB Stevan
Ridley and connect with WR Wes Welker this Sunday. Usual TE target Rob
Gronkowski though is out due to injury, so the likes of TE Aaron Hernandez and
WR Brandon Lloyd will be receiving a lot more of the ball. Lewis along with OLB
Terrell Suggs and CB Ed Reed will be looking to stop him, but also CB Corey
Graham will be looking to add more interceptions to his stats along with the
two he earned against the Denver Broncos last week. Ravens QB Joe Flacco still
has to prove to some critics that he is an 'elite' QB and one way he can do
this is going one step further than last year and get the Ravens to the
Superbowl. WR Torrey Smith and RB Ray Rice will be there to assist him.
However, if the Patriots defensive line of DTs Vince Wilfork and Brandon
Deaderick and DEs Rob Ninkovich and Chandler Jones can perform the same way
they did against Houston Texans RB Arian Foster, they'll force the Ravens to
pass the ball, applying more pressure on Flacco to perform. Patriots to win by a touchdown.
twitter - @ConorJPorter
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