While much of the attention between now and the National Football League championship game on February 5 in Houston will be focused on Brady vs. Ryan, the truly key matchup could be Atlanta's score-at-will offense, which produced the most points during the regular season, against the unheralded defense of New England, which allowed the fewest.
It's the Falcons' second ever trip to the Super Bowl and their first since 1998 where they would lose 34-19 to ...
"He never ceases to surprise us, because he makes the extraordinary plays seem ordinary, " Falcons coach Dan Quinn said.
On the flipside, Ryan, the third overall pick in the 2008 draft, also has to be thrilled about making his first Super Bowl appearance.
After beginning the 2016 season suspended for four games for his role in the "Deflategate" scandal, the New England quarterback relentlessly carried the Patriots to an unprecedented ninth appearance in the title game, and his seventh. "This team's got the opportunity".
Two months ago, Green Bay getting this far didn't seem possible.
In a rare occurrence, the Falcons were afforded the luxury of having all five offensive linemen start every single game this season.
But that didn't deter Rodgers, saying then he felt like his team could run the table. Atlanta has won all four of their games since that fateful day.
"If this has taught us anything, it's how important that home-field advantage is", Rodgers said. "I think it shows a lot of mental toughness but it's showing up with his ability to produce on the field".
Since the 1970 NFL-AFL merger, only one quarterback with an MVP award and a championship ring has failed to earn induction into the HOF.
So we are set for Super Sunday with Sanu, Ryan, Harmon, and Devin McCourty lacing them up. His 384 yards Sunday against the Steelers was his career high for a playoff game. After all, the unit featured Rob Gronkowski and Martellus Bennett, two top-ten players at the position.
Times the Steelers have played Brady at Gillette Stadium, and lost.
The post Cover32/RAVENS Staff Predictions for the AFC/NFC Championship games appeared first on Cover32. The Steelers' final touchdown also brought a windfall to bettors as the AFC Championship Game went over the total of 50 points with less than four minutes to go.
"The one guy tried to clip my heels and once I got out of that tackle, the other guy he really didn't have a chance to tackle me, because he didn't know I had too much room, " Jones said.
Soon enough, though, they will be in the same location: NRG Stadium in Houston.