San Fransisco Vs. Baltimore, Super Bowl XLVII

One Harbaugh will win Super Bowl XLVII. Another will lose it. John turned 50 on Sept. 23, the day his Ravens played New England in a Sunday night game. Jim turned 49 on Dec. 23, the day his 49ers played Seattle in a Sunday night game. A  huge amount of the pregame coverage will surround the brothers Harbaugh, but there's plenty of other, on-field stuff worthy of tuning in for.

Baltimore advanced while playing on the road, traveling to New England and upsetting the heavily favored Patriots 28-13, the 49ers rallied from a 17-0 hole to defeat the Atlanta Falcons, who had posted the best regular season record in the NFC.

The Patriots started out against the Ravens strong, jumping to a 3-0 lead and -- after a Baltimore score -- entering halftime up 13-7. New England had the better regular record, not to mention a playoff pedigree having played in five Super Bowls in the past 11 years. They also had  Tom Brady, who last Sunday passed Joe Montana as the quarterback with the most playoff wins ever. But the second half was all Baltimore. The Ravens scored touchdowns on their first three possessions, two of them on Joe Flacco touchdown passes to receiver Anquan Boldin.

"We came here last year and left with a bitter taste in our mouths," Baltimore's Boldin told reporters after the game. "We felt like this team took something away from us. And we wanted to come back and make that right." 

John Harbaugh to reporters, after the Ravens' win, that he and his brothers had a "few dreams" -- one of which may have been meeting up in the Super Bowl -- as well "as a few fights ... just like all brothers."

"We'll let the two teams duke it out, as much as possible," John Harbaugh said, smiling.

The 49ers haven't been in the Super Bowl since 1995, and their 2000s were marred by mostly losing regular seasons. Since the 2011 hiring of Jim Harbaugh, a former NFL quarterback himself who'd been coaching at nearby Stanford, things have turned for the best. The next season, they made it to the NFC Championship, only to fall to the eventual Super Bowl winners, the New York Giants. San Francisco's defense thrives on turnovers. It's also where they stole momentum against Atlanta, taking the ball away from Matt Ryan twice during the second half. Colin Kaepernick didn't put up impressive numbers, but he was solid in the 49er's victory over the Falcons. Trailing by three scores midway through the second quarter, San Francisco rallied for two quick touchdowns -- one on a LaMichael James 11-yard run, the other on a four-yard reception by tight end Vernon Davis.

This Super Bowl matchup features two of the most dominant inside linebackers of their eras. San Francisco's Patrick Willis counts Baltimore's Ray Lewis as a friend and mentor. The two have combined for 19 Pro Bowl appearances and 12 first-team Associated Press All-Pro selections. Lewis plans to retire after this game.

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NFL Wild-Card Preview

Cincinnati (10-6) at Houston (12-4)

When: 4:30 p.m. ET Saturday

This game will include a matchup of the two best interior defensive linemen in football: J.J. Watt and Geno Atkins. Houston drummed the visiting Bengals, 31-10, in an opening-round playoff game last season. With the Texans forced to start a rookie quarterback in T.J. Yates, running back Arian Foster carried the offense with 24 carries for 153 yards and two touchdowns. Defensive end J.J. Watt also scored on a 29-yard interception return in the first postseason game in Texans history. In the span of a month, Houston slipped from having the AFC’s best record to squandering a first-round bye by dropping three of its final four games. Particularly alarming are the struggles of quarterback Matt Schaub, who has one touchdown pass and three interceptions in the past four games. For the first time since 1981 and 1982, the Bengals have reached the playoffs in consecutive seasons. The next goal will be winning in the postseason for the first time since 1990.

Minnesota (10-6) at Green Bay (11-5)

When: 8 p.m. ET Saturday

It's a quarterbacks league, and the Vikings don't exactly have a dominant defense. There aren't many bigger upsets possible than a Christian Ponder-led team beating an Aaron Rodgers-led team in back-to-back weeks. The Vikings have won four consecutive games since their Dec. 2 loss to the Packers but must snap a three-game losing streak at Lambeau Field to advance. The Weather Channel forecast calls for temperature at kickoff at around 20 degrees but with no snow. The Packers can’t ask much more from Rodgers, who threw for 365 yards and four touchdowns without an interception Sunday. Rodgers, though, did lose a fumble that led to a Vikings touchdown and was sacked five times as rookie right tackle Don Barclay struggled in pass protection.

Indianapolis (11-5) at Baltimore (10-6)

When: 1 p.m. Sunday

The Ravens have won at least one playoff game in every year of the John Harbaugh-Joe Flacco era. But this is the worst defense they've had by far, and the offense was poor enough to get the coordinator fired in December. Baltimore hardly is a heavy favorite. Harbaugh has led the Ravens to an NFL-best five consecutive playoff appearances and is yet to lose an opening game since taking the reins in 2008. With negative differentials in turnovers (12) and points (30), the Colts are the NFL’s most improbable playoff team. Indianapolis, though, is among the league’s best when it comes to winning close games. Nine of 11 victories have come by seven points or less.

 

Seattle (11-5) at Washington (10-6)

When: 4:30 p.m. Sunday.



The Redskins beat Seattle, 23-17, in Week 12 last season but both teams have changed radically since then with the addition of Wilson and Griffin at quarterback. The Seahawks struggled on the road for much of the season, but their victory in Chicago was the biggest win of their season. Seattle followed that up with a blowout win over Buffalo in Toronto. The Seahawks aren't the same team away from home, but they are good enough to be the favorites next week in Washington. The Redskins simply can't match the Seahawks' defensive talents. Three rookie quarterbacks will start in Sunday's wild-card game. Two will face off in this matchup. It's the battle of the read option. It's the most intriguing game of the weekend, and it comes last.


My Favorite NFL Moment of 2012
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