Baltimore at New England
_20101017183550_640_480.JPG "Aaron Hernandez Ravens 2010")
Series: Patriots lead 6-1
Last Meeting/Playoff History: Baltimore Ravens 33 at New England Patriots 14; AFC Wildcard, 2009
The Patriots (10-6) finished just one game better than the Ravens (9-7) in 2009, but New England carried a strong playoff reputation into their first postseason game since Tom Brady’s 2008 knee injury. Even if the Ravens victory wasn’t a huge upset, the fact that they jumped out to a 24-0 first quarter lead and easily held on to it was pretty shocking. New England’s offense managed only 196 total yards—they’d only been held under 300 yards twice all season (299 in a road loss to the Jets, 224 in a road win over the Bills). Brady threw three interceptions that resulted in 95 return yards and he was sacked three times. Ray Rice ran for 159 yards and two touchdowns and Willis McGahee chipped in another 62 yards and a touchdown. Joe Flacco turned into Trent Dilfer for three hours: he went 4 for 10 for 34 yards with an interception. Baltimore lost the following week in Indianapolis.
Streaks: Five of the seven meetings between these franchises were played at Foxboro—Baltimore is 1-4 there. Although New England has won three of the last four games in the series, the Ravens own a plus-seven point differential thanks to their 33-14 win over the Patriots in the 2009 playoffs.
New York at San Francisco
Series: 49ers lead 18-17
Last Meeting: New York Giants 20 at San Francisco 49ers 27; Week 10, 2011
One of 2011’s best regular season games went somewhat under the radar. In Week 10, the 49ers, despite having lost only one game, were still an unknown entity, this year’s “out of nowhere” team. The Giants had overcome numerous injuries to start 6-2 and take the lead in the NFC East, but the Eagles and Cowboys looked ready to make runs of their own. The first six scores were field goals; both teams were moving the ball and avoiding third downs until they got deep in their opponent’s territory. San Francisco opened the second half with a 69-yard drive that resulted in a 28-yard field goal to put the 49ers up 12-6. After each team went three and out, the Giants finally broke through on offense.
Starting from their own 16, New York turned to Brandon Jacobs, who carried the ball five times for 23 yards and picked up two first downs. Eli Manning hit Victor Cruz for 36 yards, Bear Pascoe for 14 yards, and finally Mario Manningham for a 13-yard touchdown. New York’s special teams set the 49ers up with good field position with two punt gaffes: San Francisco went three and out following Manningham’s touchdown, but the Giants were flagged for holding; after the Giants also went three and out, punter Steve Weatherford kicked the ball just 29 yards. Starting from the 50, San Francisco needed only four plays to score. Smith his Vernon Davis for a 31-yard touchdown and the two-point conversion to Michael Crabtree gave the 49ers a 20-13 lead. Following the kickoff and a three-yard Jacobs run, the 49ers needed just two more plays to score again: Manning was intercepted by Carlos Rogers and Kendall Hunter ran 17 yards for a touchdown on the next play. The Giants answered on their next drive with a Hakeem Nicks score, but San Francisco held on to win with a 4th down stop at their own 10.
Streaks: Manning was 3-0 against San Francisco before this season (wins in 2005, 2007, 2008). Before he came along, the 49ers had a six game winning streak from 1992 to 2003, winning by 14 or more in four of those games—old Phil Simms, Dave Brown, Kent Graham, and Kerry Collins had plenty to do with this.
Playoff History:
1981: The Giants and 49ers played a wild divisional round game following the 1981 season. San Francisco put up 38 points and 423 yards despite 145 yards worth of penalties. The Giants turned the ball over four times and scored on 72- and 59-yard passes by quarterback Scott Brunner. Ronnie Lott intercepted Brunner in the fourth quarter and took it 30 yards for a score, putting San Francisco up 38-17. The Giants scored once more to make the final 38-24. San Francisco beat Dallas and Cincinnati to earn their first Super Bowl title.
1984: As in their 1981 postseason meeting, the Giants travelled to San Francisco following a wildcard win. Both teams turned it over three times, but the 49ers outgained New York by 152 yards and won 21-10, with all the scoring done in the first half. San Francisco beat Miami for their second Super Bowl victory in four years.
1985: Chicago took over the NFC in 1985, pushing the Giants and 49ers into a wildcard round matchup. This time the game was in New Jersey and, even though San Francisco outgained the Giants again, they managed just three points. Phil Simms hit his tight ends for two scores (Mark Bavaro for 18 yards and Don Hasselbeck for 3) and the Giants won 17-3. The offensive stars were Dwight Clark (eight catches for 120 yards) and Joe Morris (141 yards rushing), but neither scored. The Giants were shut out in Chicago the following week.
1986: The Giants earned homefield advantage in the 1986 playoffs and hosted the 49ers in the divisional round. New York overcame a 17-0 halftime deficit on a Monday night in San Francisco one month earlier and won 21-17. This time around they destroyed the 49ers, cruising to the NFC Championship with a 49-3 win. Lawrence Taylor capped off a 21-0 Giants second quarter with a 34-yard interception return for a touchdown. Just for good measure, New York also won the third quarter 21-0 then shut the 49ers out in the fourth. Joe Montana was 8 of 15 for 96 yards with two interceptions when he was knocked out of the game with a concussion. Jeff Kemp replaced Montana went 7 of 22 for just 64 yard, throwing in another interception. Morris had another big game for New York, rushing for 159 yards and two touchdowns. The Giants finished a dominating season with a Super Bowl win over Denver.
1990: In what turned out to be Joe Montana’s last start as a 49er, the Giants won without a touchdown in the 1990 NFC Championship. The 49ers 7-3 win earlier that year was an apt preview. Jeff Hostetler was steady if not especially effective filling in for the injured Phil Simms and the Giants did not turn the ball over. San Francisco scored the game’s only touchdown on a 61-yard pass from Montana to John Taylor in the third quarter. The score gave the 49ers a 13-6 lead, but the Giants finished with three Matt Bahr field goals and won 15-13. Montana was an efficient 18 of 26 with no interceptions, but the 49ers totaled only 240 yards in the game. New York rode Hostetler and Matt Bahr in the Super Bowl, where they beat Buffalo.
1993: After losing three consecutive postseason games to the Giants, San Francisco turned the tables in a 1993 divisional game. Ricky Watters scored five rushing touchdowns (that totaled 12 yards) and Marc Logan added the 49ers’ sixth to finish the scoring in a 44-3 win. Phil Simms threw two interceptions and Dave Brown tossed another. San Francisco lost in Dallas in the NFC Championship the following week.
2002: This post series came full circle in 2002 when the 49ers hosted New York on wildcard weekend. Amani Toomer caught three touchdown passes in the first half and the Giants jumped out to a 38-14 third quarter lead. Terrell Owens caught a 26-yard touchdown pass and the two-point conversion to get San Francisco within 16 after three quarters. Jeff Garcia then scampered 14 yards for a score and hit Owens again for two points to pull the 49ers within 8. After a Jeff Chandler field goal, Tai Streets put the 49ers ahead 39-38 on a 13-yard catch from Garcia. The Giants drove to the 49ers’ 25 for a game-winning field goal attempt, but veteran long snapper Trey Junkin tossed maybe his worst-ever snap and the Giants never got a kick off. The 49ers were crushed in Tampa Bay the following week.
I've got glue on my string 