Battlefield Turf: 2012 Conference Championship Week
Thursday, January 19 2012 - Battlefield Turf - by: trentstorm
In the 1991 NFC Championship Game, the Giants practically ended Joe Montana's career in San Francisco. What next?
Conference Championship Week
Sunday, January 22, 2012
AFC Championship
Baltimore Ravens vs New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, Massachusetts
NFC Championship
New York Giants vs San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California
The History
Baltimore vs. New England
New England is 6-1 in the AFC Championship. Baltimore is 1-1.
Since 1997, this will be the fourth time that the AFC Championship will be held at New England.
The last time the Patriots won the AFC Championship was when they beat the San Diego Chargers in 2008.
The last time the Patriots lost was in 2007 to the Indianapolis Colts.
The last time the Ravens won the AFC Championship was when they beat the Oakland Raiders in 2001.
The last time the Ravens lost was in 2009 to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
In their postseason series, Baltimore leads New England 1-0.
Their only postseason encounter had been a wild card game on January 10, 2010 at New England. The Ravens struck first off of an 83 yard Ray Rice rushing touchdown. By halftime, the Ravens had the Patriots down 24-7. Tom Brady threw 3 interceptions during the game. The Ravens won 33-14.
The Patriots have never lost the AFC Championship at home.
The Ravens one victory and one defeat both came on the road.
New York Giants vs. San Francisco
San Francisco is 5-7 in the NFC Championship. New York Giants are 4-0.
Since 1971, this will be the ninth time that the NFC Championship will be held at San Francisco.
The last time the 49ers won the NFC Championship was when they beat the Dallas Cowboys in 1995.
The last time the 49ers lost was in 1998 to the Green Bay Packers.
The last time the Giants won the NFC Championship was when they beat the Green Bay Packers in 2008.
In their postseason series, San Francisco leads 4-3. Their first postseason game was in 1982.
Their last postseason encounter had been a wild card game on January 5, 2003 at San Francisco. At one point, the New York Giants led the 49ers 38-14 before Jeff Garcia led the charge and took the game back 39-38. With 6 seconds left, the Giants had a 41 yard field goal attempt, but the hold was botched and ended with a feeble attempt to pass the ball.
Their last NFC Championship game had been at San Francisco on January 20, 1991. The 49ers were attempting to return to their third straight Super Bowl under quarterback Joe Montana. However, Montana would be injured in the fourth quarter, as the Giants scored on all field goals, winning the game 15-13.
The 49ers are 4-4 when they held the NFC Championship at home.
In addition to being 4-0, the Giants won 2 of their NFC Championships on the road.
My Thoughts and Predictions:
AFC Championship
Yes, history says that the Ravens hammered the Patriots at Foxboro before. But both teams were different. The Ravens had Willis McGahee and Derrick Mason. The Patriots had Randy Moss and Wes Welker was out on injury. This time, the Patriots have Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez and hopefully a healthy Wes Welker. The Ravens have Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith. The Patriots defense did rather well holding down Tim Tebow and the Broncos. Almost as if they've magically improved. But the big test will be how well they do against Boldin, Smith and Dickson, and I'm quite sure they remember Ray Rice. Save for Tebow's recent performance, the New England defense has had a bad habit of making opposing quarterbacks look great, so Joe Flacco has another opportunity to shine here. But the Ravens didn't quite impress me during the game against the Texans. Months ago, they managed to dominate the Texans, but not so much here. And their defense may have taken a major blow should Ed Reed be out on injury. In the end, the window may be closing in on Tom Brady and the Patriots, and they know it. They should play like it.
New England 30, Baltimore 20
NFC Championship
The Giants and 49ers have had quite a postseason history together. The Giants being able to practically end the Super Bowl streak of Joe Montana. As for their last postseason meeting, both teams were radically different. The Giants had Kerry Collins at quarterback, Tiki Barber at running back and Amani Toomer was the #1 receiver. The 49ers had Jeff Garcia, Garrison Hearst and Terrell Owens. The Giants and 49ers met earlier this season at San Francisco in Week 10. It was a very good game, which saw the 49ers pull out with a 27-20 victory. The Giants really impressed me in their game against Green Bay. Eli Manning was on fire. Hakeem Nicks looked amazing. Brandon Jacobs had the ground game going. Shades of their 2007 season. As for San Francisco, there are some notes. They come in a compliment sandwich. The San Francisco pass rush looked stellar as they pressured Drew Brees throughout the day, hampering his ability to go to the air. There still is a major offense issue as they did not quite capitalize off the New Orleans turnovers. There is no doubt in my man that Alex Smith is a good quarterback. With another off season or two, he may be a great quarterback. But I feel this Sunday, the greater quarterback will lead his team to victory.
New York Giants 23, San Francisco 20
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