Well, it was a wild divisional games weekend in the NFL! It started off in a chilly (26 degrees at game time!) Baltimore, as the Ravens hosted the Houston Texans. It was a strong defensive game on both sides, with both Texans QB CJ Stroud and Ravens QB Lamar Jackson being held to under 100 yards passing. Just before the half, Houston caught a break, with Texans punt returner Steven Sims slicing thru the Ravens special-teams to score a touchdown and have the game all knotted up at half-time,10-10. In the third-quarter, Jackson was able to score on a 15-yard run to give the heavily favored Ravens the lead at 17-10. Early in the 4th, Jackson threw a 15-yard pass that Isiah Likely made a twirling grab to haul it in for a Ravens TD, giving them a 24-10 lead. I've noticed that the Ravens are crushing the Texans on TOP (Time of Possession), having an almost ten minute advantage so far, which tells me the Raven's defense is causing a lot of three-and outs for Houston. In the end, it was too much Lamar and the Ravens defense as Baltimore beats Houston, 34-10 and moves on to the AFC Championship.
The Green Bay Packers came to Levi Stadium to take on the San Francisco 49ers in rainy conditions. In the first quarter, the Packers ate the clock with a seven minute, 12 play drive, but had to settle for a field goal to take a 3-0 lead. The first quarter ends with Packers inside the Niners 15 yard line and a 3-0 lead. Key stat: 49ers offense only had possession for 3:13 minutes! That HAS to change going forward!
The 49ers defense came up with a big stop on 4th down, and take over the ball on downs. San Francisco then proceeded to march 86 yards down the field, ending with Purdy extending the play with his feet to find tight end George Kittle for a 32 yard TD catch! Kicker Jake Moody made the extra point, and 49ers took the lead, 7-3 halfway thru the 2nd quarter! The Packers then marched down the field, but the 49er defense held and forced the Packers into another field goal, making the score 7-6 49ers with 4:09 to go in the half. San Francisco marched down the field, but Moody had his field goal attempt blocked, and we stay at 7-6 Niners, going into halftime. 49ers Deebo Samuel left the game with a shoulder injury and has been ruled out for the rest of the game.
San Francisco got the ball to start the third quarter and went three-and-out as the 49er offensive line could not keep the pressure off of Purdy (see my last post about keys to the game!). After a devastating 41-yard pass interference penalty (on CB Ambry Thomas, his second!) on 3rd and long for the Packers, Love throws a strike to a wide open Bo Melton to give the Packers a 13-7 lead, mid third quarter. San Francisco then came back and scored a touchdown on a brilliant 39 yard run by CMC (Christian McCaffrey) to make the score Niners 14 Packers 13, with 7:39 left in the 3rd. On the kick-off return, Nate Nixon avoided most of the 49ers special teams and returns the ball for 73 yards to the Niners 20 yard line! Tucker Craft then gets the touchdown pass from Love, and then the Packers converted the two-point conversion to give the Packers a 21-14 lead. After a Niners three-and-out, the Packers turned it over when Dre Greenlaw intercepted Love; the Niners now have the ball at mid-field, and end the third quarter with Moody lining up for a Niners field goal.
Fourth quarter opens with Moody nailing a 52 yard field goal, making the score 21-17 Packers. The Packers did shut down the Niners next possession, but the 49er defense was able to hold the Packers to try a field goal, which the kicker missed, Keeping the score 21-17 with over six minutes to go in the game! After the Niners stopped the Packers on offense, San Francisco marched down the field in 12 plays and 69 yards, capped by CMC's 2nd rushing touchdown to take the lead , 24-21 with one minute to play with Green Bay trying to to score. It is pouring rain in Santa Clara/Levi's at this time, so the field and the ball were slippery, so with 34 seconds remaining, Dre Greenlaw grabs his second interception off of Love to seal the win for the San Francisco 49ers, who win in a thriller, 24-21! As a San Francisco 49er fan, I need an adult beverage after this game! 49ers move on to the NFC Championship next Sunday! After that exhaustive and gut-check of the 49er recap, I'm just going to do summaries for Sunday's games! In Detroit, the Lions and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers faced off front of an ecstatic home crowd and pleasant conditions. The first half was basically a defensive stand-off, with the halftime score being tied at 10. Lions QB Jared Goff game alive in the 2nd half, as the Lions put 21 points on the board, and the game was sealed in the final minute by Buccaneers QB throwing an interception, winning, 31-23, thus sending the Detroit Lions to the Bay Area to face off against the 49ers for the NFC Championship next Sunday at 3:30 PST!
In a chilly Buffalo, the Bills hosted the Kansas City Chiefs in 26 degree weather (wind chill 15 degrees) and rough winds0 going to be a tough game for the kickers if these conditions hold. The first half saw a pretty even game plan by both teams, total offense was about equal, but Bills QB Josh Allen been using his legs to score two touchdowns and Buffalo has had a large advantage over Chiefs in both first downs and time of possession. The first half ends with Buffalo in the lead, 17-13.
The 2nd half saw at least five lead changes! Cheifs QB Patrick Mahommes had his offense humming in the passing game, and eventually the Chiefs, on the road, defeated Buffalo, 27-24 in what turned out to be an exciting game! Kansas City will travel to Baltimore to face the Ravens for the AFC Championship!
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