And adding to the intrigue of an already bitter rivalry are the massive stakes in Sunday's rubber match. The two teams split their regular-season meetings, but the Seahawks will be 3. Meanwhile, the Niners are already on the road this postseason and beat the Seahawks by two points in San Francisco in their most recent matchup back on Dec.
However, Seattle's top-ranked defense is like nothing San Francisco has faced through the first two rounds of the playoffs. The Seahawks ranked first in the league in fewest yards and points allowed during the regular season and shutout the New Orleans Saints through the first three quarters in their NFC Divisional Round win last weekend. For the 49ers to win on Sunday, they will need their big tight end to make more of an impact.
And given Seattle's annihilation of Jimmy Graham last week one catch for eight yards , I don't love his chances. On the other side, Seattle desperately needs Russell Wilson to step his game up. The young quarterback has been subpar in recent weeks, averaging just During that same stretch, he had as many interceptions four as touchdowns and completed just Thanks to his strong defense and the presence of Marshawn Lynch , Wilson doesn't have to be spectacular on Sunday.
The Broncos would go on to win in overtime, getting a yard field goal from kicker Rich Karlis to win It was the first of two consecutive gut-wrenching AFC championship defeats Denver would hand Cleveland. Washington entered the fourth with a commanding lead, but the 49ers mounted a furious comeback, tying the game at 21 with just over seven minutes left. The Redskins responded with a clinical play, yard drive that took six minutes off the clock and set up kicker Mark Moseley—who was 0-for-4 on field goals in the game—for his game-winning yarder.
Washington's John Riggins 44 rushed for yards and two touchdowns. One of the most famous plays in NFL history, Dwight Clark's leaping, fingertip touchdown grab of a Joe Montana pass—forever known as "The Catch"—gave the 49ers a lead over the Cowboys with just 51 seconds on the clock. San Francisco would go on to win the game and the Super Bowl. With his team down in the third quarter, hard-hitting Raiders safety Jack Tatum appeared to force a Denver fumble on Oakland's two yard line.
Unfortunately for the Raiders, the officials didn't see it that way, ruling that the Denver running back was down before the ball came out. The Broncos would score on the next play to take a lead. They never gave it up; icing the game after Oakland made it late in the fourth. What had been a defensive struggle turned into an offensive battle in the fourth quarter. The Steelers got on the board first in the final frame, getting a touchdown from Franco Harris to take a lead.
Oakland responded with a touchdown of its own, but Pittsburgh quickly cancelled it out to take a lead. The Raiders cut their deficit to with less than a minute left and recovered the ensuing onside kick, but came up 15 yards short on a Hail Mary attempt. Statistically, the Rams dominated this game. They outgained the Vikings to , including more than double Minnesota's passing yards. But in the only statistic that matters—the final score—the Vikings came out on top The critical sequence of the game came midway through the third quarter, when the Rams took the ball from their own one-yard line all the way to the Vikings' one-yard line.
But a defensive stand by Minnesota, capped by a Wally Hilgenberg interception in the endzone, helped Fran Tarkenton's Vikings advance to the Super Bowl. There's no denying Kaepernick's immense talents, but he clearly has improving to do. Earlier in the final stanza, he tossed an interception that would have made Andy Dalton blush, a hideous throw that Seattle safety Kam Chancellor easily picked off.
He failed to feel the pass rush on a number of occasions and relied too much on his natural ability. In the team's playoff victories in Green Bay and Carolina, Kaepernick got away with a number of questionable throws, none greater than the dropped interception by Packers safety Micah Hyde on what turned out to be the game-winning drive. On Sunday in Seattle, his luck ran out. To Kaepernick's credit, he took responsibility for his awful fourth quarter after the game, telling the news media via Dan Hanzus of NFL.
I turned the ball over three times. I cost us this game. Kaepernick and the 49ers will be back. For all of his success, it's important to remember that this was his first full year as the team's starting quarterback.
He'll continue to get better, which is a scary prospect for the rest of the league. But on Sunday, he lost the game for his team. If he had taken better care of the football, there's little doubt that the 49ers would have won the NFC title.
In the week leading up to the NFC Championship Game, the media made much of the playing status of Seattle Seahawks receiver Percy Harvin , who suffered a concussion in the divisional-round victory over New Orleans.
And when the team declared Harvin "out" on Saturday, many assumed it would be a fatal blow to Seattle's offense. Ultimately, the Seahawks didn't need Harvin to beat San Francisco. They had the next-best thing: receiver Doug Baldwin. Baldwin had a monster game, hauling in six passes for yards and returning three kickoffs for yards.
Not only were his statistics impressive, but his big plays also came at critical moments in the game. With the Seahawks trailing in the second quarter, Baldwin caught a yard strike from quarterback Russell Wilson that set up a field goal to draw within And after the 49ers scored a touchdown in the third quarter to claim a lead, Baldwin returned the ensuing kickoff 69 yards to set up another field goal by Steven Hauschka.
Without the efforts of Baldwin, it's difficult to imagine the Seahawks emerging victorious. He's a major winner from Championship Sunday. It was surely no coincidence that the 49ers lost to Seattle in Week 2 when Gore rushed nine times for 16 yards and won in Week 14 when Gore carried the ball 17 times for yards.
And if those statistics are true, then it could've been expected that the 49ers would lose the NFC Championship Game if Gore managed only 11 carries for 14 yards. It's true that the Seahawks possessed the best defense in the NFL this season and could go down as the best overall unit since the Baltimore Ravens. But for a player of Gore's caliber, rushing 11 times for 14 yards in a game of that magnitude is not acceptable. Blame the offensive line if you'd like; it certainly could have done a better job opening up holes for him.
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