Falcons Win a Playoff Game and Pats Destroy Texans... Again

Today were two more playoff games with conference championship appearances at stake.

First one had the Seattle Seahawks seeing if they could remain hot against the #1 seed Atlanta Falcons. It was the Falcons, however, that played well starting off the game leading 20-0 heading into halftime. The Seahawks then managed to make a great comeback in the 2nd half. Still being down by 20 heading into the 4th quarter, Seattle managed to score 3 touchdowns to take a one point lead with just 31 seconds left.

Seemingly down for the count, the Falcons didn't give up. Thanks to a good kickoff return from Jacquizz Rodgers and a couple of nice passes from Matt Ryan, they had a chance to grab the lead back with a field goal. After Pete Carroll attempted to ice the kicker with a timeout, Matt Bryant made a 49 yard field goal to take the lead back. Seattle got it back with just 8 seconds left and failed to make a Hail Pass that picked off by Julio Jones in the end zone. Falcons win it 30-28 and advance to the NFC Championship game. It was the first playoff win for Matt Ryan and tight end Tony Gonzalez.

The 2nd game featured the Houston Texans traveling to New England once more to take on the Patriots. The Texans got blown out in Gillette Stadium in week 14. The outcome wasn't too different. The Patriots managed to humiliate the Texans once more leading by as much as 25 early in the 4th quarter after Shane Vereen scored his third touchdown of the game. Houston came back a bit but still fell way short. Patriots win it 41-28 and head back to the AFC Championship game. This win for Tom Brady gives him more playoff wins (17) than any other quarterback in history.

Th conference title games are set. In the NFC, the San Francisco 49ers will face the Atlanta Falcons. It will be the first time that Atlanta is hosting the NFC title game. The AFC has a rematch from last year with the Ravens facing the Patriots again in Foxboro. New England won last year's AFC title game vs. Baltimore but the Ravens did beat the Pats back in September with a last second field goal by Justin Tucker. Looks like a couple of great match ups.