Giants dethrone Packers
GREEN BAY, Wis. — With their own star quarterback and a dominating defense, the New York Giants exposed the Green Bay Packers for what they now are — former Super Bowl champions.
The Packers dropped passes, fumbled the ball and simply couldn't stop Eli Manning and his receivers in the Giants' shocking 37-20 divisional playoff victory Sunday. To the Giants' delight, a Green Bay team that had a real shot at an undefeated season less than a month ago is heading home.
And that the win came at Lambeau Field, well, that was just as sweet. The site has become a familiar launching pad for the New Yorkers. After beating the Packers (15-2) at home for the second time in four years, they only hope this trip ends the same way — in the NFL title game.
The Giants will play the 49ers in San Francisco for the NFC championship next Sunday.
“I think we're a dangerous team,” Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. “I like where we are and how we're playing.”
The Giants (11-7) have been on a roll ever since beating the rival Jets on Dec. 24, beating the Dallas Cowboys to get in the playoffs and then blowing out Atlanta in the wild card round last week.
They took down the Packers on Sunday, as Manning threw for 330 yards and three touchdowns.
The Giants are 3-4 against the 49ers in the playoffs, including their memorable collapse in a wild card game at San Francisco on Jan. 5, 2003. New York led 38-14 in the third quarter but fell apart and lost 39-38.
That probably won't be much of a worry for this year's Giants, who were oozing confidence even before they beat the Packers.
“This team knows how to win on the road,” defensive end Justin Tuck said. “It seems like right now it's our time.”
The Giants stunned the Packers with a touchdown off a long heave from Manning to Hakeem Nicks just before halftime, then knocked them out with a late touchdown off a turnover.
Lambeau Field fell silent as the Giants swarmed the field in celebration, with a handful of New York fans chanting, “Let's go, Giants!”
“I knew we were going to beat them on Wednesday, to be honest with you,” running back Brandon Jacobs said.
The win came four years after the Giants beat a Brett Favre-led Packers team in the NFC title game. It wasn't nearly as frigid this time around, and the Packers' vulnerable defense seemed to be waiting to get sliced up.
Manning found six different receivers against a porous Packers defense. But Manning did the most damage with his throws to Nicks, who caught seven passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns.
Nicks' biggest play was a 66-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter. His score at the end of the half came on a 37-yard pass into the end zone with defenders all around.
BALTIMORE — If style points and offensive fireworks meant anything, the Baltimore Ravens wouldn't stand a chance of making it to the AFC championship.Playing defense and protecting the football are what they do best, and that formula led to a 20-13 victory over the Houston Texans on Sunday, putting Baltimore in the AFC title game against the New England Patriots.“I always say there is a right way to do things, there is a wrong way to do things and there is just the Ravens' way of doing things,” linebacker Terrell Suggs said. “It wasn't pretty but we're not really a pretty team. We got the W and now it's on to the AFC championship.”The Ravens (13-4) had almost as many punts (nine) as first downs (11) and scored only three points over the final 46 minutes. But Baltimore wasn't penalized once, didn't commit a turnover, intercepted rookie quarterback T.J. Yates three times and totaled four takeaways — two in the first quarter and two over the final eight minutes.“If we didn't get any of those turnovers it would probably be a different game,” Ravens defensive tackle Haloti Ngata said.Baltimore visits New England next Sunday, with the winner advancing to the Super Bowl in Indianapolis on Feb. 5.The Patriots lead the series 6-1, but Baltimore's lone win came in the postseason.“We don't play the game until next week,” Suggs said. “I'm going to enjoy tonight.”Veteran defensive stars Ed Reed and Ray Lewis led a unit that yielded only one touchdown and came up with the big play when one was needed. Lewis had a team-high seven tackles and Reed sealed the victory with the Ravens' fourth takeaway, an interception near the goal line in the closing minutes.“It's winning by any means necessary,” Reed said. “That's what it's got to be.”The Ravens finished 9-0 at home, but this one was anything but easy. Baltimore led 17-3 after the first quarter, and interceptions by Lardarius Webb and Reed in the final 7Z\x minutes helped the advantage stand up.Reed has eight interceptions in 10 playoff games, few bigger than the last one.“You can't say enough about him,” Ravens linebacker Jarret Johnson said. “His big plays always seem to happen when you need one.”One week earlier, in the first playoff game in Texans history, Houston didn't commit a turnover in a 31-10 home rout of Cincinnati. Against Baltimore, the Texans couldn't hold onto the ball and quickly fell behind by two touchdowns.Arian Foster ran for 132 yards, the first player ever to rush for 100 yards against the Ravens in the postseason. But Yates' three interceptions matched the total he had in six regular season games.
SAN FRANCISCO — In one triumphant afternoon, playoff first-timer Alex Smith joined a pair of 49ers Hall of Fame quarterbacks with his own indelible postseason moment.Joe Montana had “The Catch.” Steve Young had “The Catch II.” Now, Smith added another epic play to the 49ers' storied history: “The Grab.”Smith completed a 14-yard touchdown pass to Vernon Davis with 9 seconds left just after Drew Brees had put the high-powered Saints ahead, and resurgent San Francisco capitalized on five New Orleans turnovers for a thrilling 36-32 playoff victory Saturday.“You've got to call it ‘The Grab,'” Davis said of his play. “We were down. I had to make it happen to take my teammates where we want to go.”What a way to celebrate the 30-year anniversary of “The Catch.”Montana to Dwight Clark then. Smith to Davis now.Smith ran for a 28-yard TD with 2:11 left and threw another scoring pass to Davis in the first quarter. Coach Jim Harbaugh's NFC West champions (14-3) proved that a hard-hitting, stingy defense can still win in the modern, wide-open NFL by holding off one of league's most dynamic offenses.“This is huge for us,” Davis said. “It's history, legendary, anything you can describe.”Brees completed a 66-yard touchdown pass to Jimmy Graham with 1:37 left and the Saints seemed poised to rally from an early 17-point deficit when Smith and Davis delivered once more. It was a wild back-and-forth finish featuring an impressive passing duel over the waning moments.Their highlight show came in the opposite end zone from where Clark caught a stretched-out 6-yard pass from Montana on Jan. 10, 1982. Saturday's game-winner by a leaping Davis — who plowed over a defender as he landed — came in the same end zone where Steve Young hit Terrell Owens for a winning TD with 3 seconds left in a 30-27 wild-card win over the Packers in the 1999 playoffs. T.O.'s grab became known as “The Catch II.”San Francisco triumphed in its first playoff game in nine years and will move on to face the New York Giants or defending champion Green Bay Packers, who play Sunday. A win by the Giants would give the 49ers the home field.The 49ers pulled off another last-second win in a season full of them — and on a day former coach George Seifert served as honorary captain for the coin toss. San Francisco came from behind for five victories during the regular season, four on the road.Smith helped the Niners become the first team in NFL history to score two lead-changing touchdowns in the final 3 minutes to win a playoff game, according to STATS LLC.Davis, who wept on the sideline afterward days after saying he was overwhelmed early on by Harbaugh's thick playbook, finished with seven catches for 180 yards. It was the most yards receiving by a tight end in a playoff game. He averaged 25.7 yards per catch.Smith found Davis for a 47-yard completion on a cross to the left sideline with 31 seconds left and Smith then connected with Frank Gore to put the Niners on the 14 for third down. Davis produced on a play they call “Vernon Post” — one they worked on all week, just from the right side instead of the left where it worked Saturday.Brees came up big down the stretch just as he did throughout a record-setting season, also hitting Darren Sproles for a 44-yard TD with 4:02 remaining — one of Sproles' 15 catches for 119 yards.“It stings right now because of the expectation level that we had coming into this tournament and understanding that if we win here we're into the NFC championship game and anything can happen,” Brees said. “That's tough. Tough to swallow at this point.”
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Tebowmania had no chance against Tom Brady's playoff pedigree.All the heroics, all the big plays and quite a few records belonged to Brady and the New England Patriots on Saturday night in a 45-10 rout of overmatched Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos. Brady threw six touchdown passes, five in the first half, putting the Patriots into the AFC championship game and silencing the nationwide frenzy surrounding Tebow.The Patriots (14-3), winners of nine straight games, will host either Baltimore or Houston next Sunday for a spot in the Super Bowl. Saturday night's romp snapped a three-game postseason losing streak, two of those at Gillette Stadium, and lifted the Patriots to the verge of their fifth Super Bowl appearance in 11 seasons. They've won three of those, two with Brady as the game's MVP.“We came in and started fast and it was a big win for us,” said Brady, who even got off a 48-yard punt on third down.“I have no idea about records and stuff like that. Anytime you score 45, obviously with the help of our defense, and special teams played great — hopefully we can go out next week and play even better.”From the first snap in 24-degree temperature (wind chill of 12), this was a mismatch. The Patriots were not going to make the same mistakes the Steelers made against this team.“He's been around the block a few times,” cornerback Champ Bailey said of Brady. “He knows how to win games. If you're not ready to punch him in the mouth he's going to eat you up all night.”A nation transfixed by Tebow's play, if not his religious beliefs, tuned in Saturday to see if he had any more magic in store for Brady and company. He had nothing left as the Patriots made this must-see TV only for those who live in New England.“Any time you're getting beat like that, it doesn't change how you fight,” Tebow said. “It didn't matter whether it was the first play or the last play or whether we're down by 42. ... I wanted to be the same player.”With New England up 42-7, the fans began their derisive Teeee-bow chants. On the next play, the Broncos quarterback was sacked for an 11-yard loss — one of five sacks for New England's 31st-ranked defense.“We went out and played very hard and good things happened,” defensive tackle Vince Wilfork said. “A great team win.”And so ended one of the season's most exciting story lines — one that began when Denver was 1-4 and made Tebow a starter. The one-time third-stringer promptly won six in a row and seven of eight, with a string of stunning comebacks.“A lot of ups and downs,” Tebow said of his second NFL season. “Overall, it's been a very special opportunity for me, something I'm really thankful for. There's a lot of things we're proud of. Obviously, it's hard to see them all right now.”
