The NFC and AFC Championships looked on paper like they were going to be good games. On paper is the only place they looked good. Both games were rematches from the regular season; both teams that won the first meeting came away victorious in the second go around. The biggest surprise is how bad both the Packers and Steelers looked and how dominant the Patriots and Falcons looked. Super Bowl 51 will see the Atlanta Falcons and New England Patriots square off for bragging rights in the league, but we will look at that next week. This week is going to be thoughts and feelings on the NFC and AFC Championships.
AFC Championship
The late game on Sunday pinned the Pittsburgh Steelers against the home team New England Patriots. The first time these two NFL powers met back in week 7 many believed the Steelers lost largely since Landry Jones not Ben Roethlisberger was under center. Fast forward from week 7 to Sundays AFC Championship, Roethlisberger proved to be just as unproductive. Roethlisberger went 31-47 for 314 yards and a touchdown pass at the end of the game that meant nothing other than making the score look a little better. 36-17 was the final as the Patriots won their 9th AFC crown and no sequence was bigger than near the end of the first half when the Patriots forced the Steelers to settle for 3 point after three tries from the half inch line were turned away by the Patriots’ staunch defense.
If the Steelers could score on that drive it would have made the score 17-13 going into the half with the Steelers getting the ball to start the 2nd half. That did not happen the score was 17-9 to end the half and almost all momentum was with the Patriots at that point. As for the “Killer B’s” stats went down as followed Le’Veon Bell was held to 20 yards on 6 carries and was sidelined most of the game with a groin injury. Antonio Brown who was double covered most of the game had 7 catches for 77 yards and no scores. Just was not a good day for a group that was titled “high powered” by so many experts, that did not show during the AFC Championship game. On the other side, Tom Brady was as much if not more terrific than normal, Brady turned in his best postseason performances his career finishing with 384 yards, 3 scores, two of which went to Chris Hogan and no interceptions. In seven career games against the Mike Tomlin lead Steelers, Brady has 22 touchdowns and not one interception.
NFC Championship
It's was an old-school butt whooping for the Atlanta Falcons as they steam rolled the visiting Green Bay Packers 44-21 was the final. For only the second time in franchise history the Atlanta Falcons will play for a Super Bowl. Four years ago, Matt Ryan and company were right at the doorstep of making the Super Bowl, losing 28-24 to the San Francisco 49ers. Matt Ryan and Julio Jones learned from that experience and were not going to waste the second chance they got. Matt Ryan threw 392 yards, four touchdowns in the air, and 23 yards on the ground where he added another score. Julio Jones had a game high 180 yards and added 2 touchdowns for his day at the office. Ryan also connected with the hero from game one, Mohamed Sanu caught five balls for 52 yards and a score.
Aaron Rodgers, with completed passes, did do what he could but was visibly frustrated all game long against the Falcons Defense; Rodgers went 27-45 for 287 yards and 3 touchdowns. His receiving core highlighted by the return of Jordy Nelson where no match for the Falcons who seemed to respond every time the Packers gained a little bit of momentum. Nelson, who was playing with broken ribs, still had 6 passes for 67 yards and a score. He was joined by previous week hero Jared Cook who caught 7 passes for 78 yards and a score, rounding out Rodgers favorite targets was Randall Cobb who caught 6 passes for 82 yards. The Packers just did not have an answer for the Falcons who closed the Georgia Dome they way they saw fit and that was with a win and punching a ticket to Huston for Super Bowl 51.
This was not a good week for the football fan that did not have anything invested in the games at hand, this was not a good week for Pittsburgh and Green Bay Fans. This was a good week for the NFL (But what week isn't) and especially for the Atlanta Falcons fans and New England Patriots Fans. If the numbers tell the story, Super Bowl 51 should be a high scoring affair. What do you think? Who is your early front runner? Who wins the MVP? We will talk about all that next week!
Written by
Carlo Guadagnino
http://cguadagn.wixsite.com/carlo-guadagnino
Edited by:
Daniel Bishop M.A.
References:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/syndication.bleacherreport.com/amp/2688579-packers-vs-falcons-score-and-twitter-reaction-from-2017-nfc-championship.amp.html?client=safari
https://www.google.com/amp/www.bostonherald.com/sports/patriots/2017/01/patriots_defense_stands_ground_against_steelers_in_afc_championship_game_win%3Famp?client=safari
https://www.google.com/amp/www.sbnation.com/platform/amp/2017/1/22/14351990/falcons-packers-2017-results-score-nfl-playoffs-nfc-championship?client=safari
https://www.google.com/amp/www.sbnation.com/platform/amp/2017/1/22/14353286/patriots-steelers-2017-results-score-nfl-playoffs-afc-championship?client=safari
It's going to be a good super bowl after watching both games this past Sunday. The Falcons looked scary good on both sides of the ball. The Patriots did have a few calls to their way but that doesn't really matter when you lose 36-17. I think the red hot Falcons are going to win it all this year. Their ability to throw and run is just too good for the patriots to compete with right now.
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