NFL Recap – Conference Round
The New England Patriots and the New York Giants will face off in a rematch at the Super Bowl after both teams emerged as victors from Sunday’s games. While both were favored to win their own matches, neither was won as easily as predicted.
New England Patriots 23, Baltimore Ravens 20
Everyone expected Tom Brady to come out onto the field and rip the Ravens apart. That didn’t happen and for most of the game, it looked as though Baltimore was actually going to snatch the Super Bowl away from the Patriots. Brady ended the game with 239 passing yards and no touchdown passes — something he hasn’t done in a game for the past two seasons. More startling than that were the two interceptions Brady threw, something unheard of for the all-star.
Thankfully, the Patriots defense were able to hold Ravens’ quarterback, Joe Flacco, back; and Flacco had a pretty impressive game with 306 passing yards and two touchdowns. But it was really Baltimore’s kicker, Billy Cundiff, who won the game for New England. With only 11 seconds left on the clock, and the Ravens down by three, Cundiff’s final 32-yard field goal could have sent the game into overtime — if only he had made it. When the ball went way, way wide, the Patriots started celebrating while the Ravens watched their Super Bowl hopes go way wide along with the ball.
New York Giants 20, San Francisco 49ers 17
If you thought the Patriots game was full of twists and turns, you didn’t know what was coming when the Giants and the 49ers took the field on Sunday night. The Giants were again favored to win, but lagged behind the 49ers for most of the game. Going into the last quarter San Francisco was up 14-10, despite Eli Manning’s incredible ability to control the ball through pounding rain. When the Giants punted the ball in the fourth, wide receiver Kyle Williams did his best to avoid it but just couldn’t help colliding with the ball. That forced a turnover, which Mario Manningham used to score a touchdown for the Giants. The 49ers were down, but scored a field goal that sent the game into overtime. It was there that Williams made yet another huge mistake when he fumbled yet another punt and gave the ball to the Giants, who scored the only field goal they needed.
The two games send both the New England Patriots and the New York Giants to the Super Bowl on February 5. And this won’t be the first time the two teams meet for the biggest game of the year. In 2008 the New York Giants beat the Patriots 17-14.
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