The stage is finally set for the football extravaganza! The Atlanta Falcons and the New England Patriots will face off for the most coveted prize in sports, the Lombardi Trophy.
The Falcons had a great season, and are heading back to the Super Bowl for the second time in franchise history. The last time they made it was back in 1998 under then head coach Dan Reeves.
The Falcons defeated the Green Bay Packers 44-21 in what many people thought was going to be a very competitive match up, but that was not the case.
Aaron Rodgers threw for 287 passing yards, three touchdowns and one interception, and finished with a QBR of 91.6. Matt Ryan threw for 392 passing yards, which is just four yards short of the passing record for the NFC Championship game.
He also threw four touchdowns and rushed for one, with a QBR of 139.4.
One of the main reasons why the Packers didn’t look like themselves was because of the notable injuries to key players on the offensive side of the ball. Wide receivers Jordy Nelson and Davante Adams both played despite their being doubts about their playing status heading into the game.
Nelson was dealing with a rib injury he sustained in the wild card game vs the New York Giants and Adams was dealing with an ankle injury he sustained in the divisional round vs the Dallas Cowboys.
Despite the effort they gave during the game, they just didn’t have the same effectiveness as opposed to when they are 100% healthy.
AFC Championship: Steelers vs Patriots
The Patriots defeated the Steelers 36-17 in a lopsided game that many were unsure about when wondering what the outcome would be, but the Patriots managed to win the game in a convincing way. This will be their ninth Super Bowl appearance which is an NFL record.
For Tom Brady and Bill Belichick this will be their seventh Super Bowl appearance together as a QB/Head Coach tandem, an all time record.
Brady threw for 384 passing yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions with a QBR of 127.5. Ben Roethlisberger threw for 314 passing yards one touchdown and one interception with a QBR of 83.1.
Steelers RB Le’Veon Bell sustained a groin injury early in the game and only appeared once during the second half. This really took away a big part of the Steelers offense, and made things a lot easier for the Patriots 3rd ranked rushing defense. So the Steelers offense had to rely on veteran RB DeAngelo Williams the rest of the way. He rushed for 34 yards on 14 carries and scored one touchdown.
Star WR Antonio Brown was held to 77 yards receiving and zero touchdowns.
The Steelers only managed to punch it in the end zone once after three trips to the red zone, and couldn’t muster up enough offense to rattle the Patriots defense.
After the loss on Sunday the Steelers are now 0-3 all time against the Patriots in the postseason.
BWILL MEDIA TV 