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GREEN BAY, Wis. – A few observations from the 49ers’ 23-20 win over Green Bay on Sunday evening:

The San Francisco 49eers are moving on. The 49ers survived severe cold and vintage Aaron Rodgers to win this game in the final seconds. San Francisco kicker Phil Dawson hit an 33-yard goal with as time expired to go to give the 49ers the win. They will play at Carolina next week. The 49ers are now 13-4 and have won seven straight games and 12 of their past 14 games.

After big game in the second half, Chargers win over Bengals 27:10. A few thoughts on the San Diego Chargers’ 27-10 win over the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Wild Card round. 

What it means: San Diego’s Cinderella season lives on. The Chargers kept Cincinnati’s 22-year playoff drought alive, and in the process earned their first postseason victory since the 2008 season. San Diego advances to the AFC divisional round, where the Chargers will face a familiar foe in the Denver Broncos. The Chargers split with the Broncos during the regular season, losing 28-20 in San Diego on Nov. 10, and winning in Denver 27-20 on Dec. 12. 

Turnover bonanza: San Diego's defense forced the Bengals into four turnovers on Sunday – a fumble by running back Giovani Bernard and three costly miscues by quarterback Andy Dalton – a fumble and two interceptions. The Chargers only scored six points off those turnovers, but defensively San Diego did a nice job of putting consistent pressure in Dalton’s face. 

Cool-hand Rivers: While Dalton once again struggled in the postseason, Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers showed the value of having a franchise quarterback. Philip Rivers didn’t throw for a ton of yards, but he didn’t need to. Rivers finished 12 of 16 for 128 yards, including a 4-yard touchdown to tight end Ladarius Green. More important, Rivers and the San Diego offense finished with zero turnovers. 

Stock watch: Scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent during the offseason, Chargers linebacker Donald Butler showed way San Diego should consider keeping him around. Butler finished with a team-high 11 tackles, a forced fumble and a tackle for a loss. 

What’s next: The Chargers travel to Denver to face the Broncos in the AFC divisional round playoffs on Sunday, 4:40 ET.  

Article source: ESPN

Shayne Graham's 32-yard field goal, the fourth of the game for the recent addition to the team, won the wild-card game on the final play, 26-24 over the Philadelphia Eagles on Saturday night. Drew Brees, who threw for a touchdown and guided the 34-yard drive to the winning kick, didn't need to be a big star because the Saints' running game and defense -- along with Graham's leg -- provided the heroics.

"It's just, man, believing in each other, ignoring what everyone else has to say," Brees said.

INDIANAPOLIS -- A couple of quick thoughts on the Indianapolis Colts' 45-44 win over the Kansas City Chiefs .

What it really means: The Colts created history . They went from looking like they were on their way starting their vacation just after the game to pulling the second-largest comeback in playoff history . The Colts were down 38-10 when quarterback Andrew Luck performed his magic and receiver T .Y . Hilton was on the receiving end on almost all of those passes . Luck shook off three interceptions to go 29-of-45 for 443 yards and four touchdowns . The Colts completed the 28-point comeback when Luck hit Hilton down the middle of the field for a 64-yard touchdown with less than five minutes remaining . Buffalo's 32-point come-from-behind victory over Houston in 1992 playoffs is the largest.

Hilton plays big : Luck deserves a lot of credit for bringing the Colts back – and also for why they fell behind – but he got lots of help from Hilton , his go-to receiver since Reggie Wayne was lost for the season with a torn ACL . Hilton finished with 13 catches for a franchise-playoff record 224 yards , including the game-winning 64-yard touchdown that put the Colts up 45-44 .

Toler leaves the game : Colts cornerback Greg Toler’s day went from bad to worse when he left game with a groin injury in the first half . Toler’s bad game started when he missed tackled Chiefs receiver Dwayne Bowe twice on a 63-yard reception on their second offensive series . Then former Colt Donnie Avery blew by Toler for a 79-yard touchdown on the third play of the second quarter . Toler left the game later in the quarter with the groin injury . Toler missed seven games during the regular season with a groin injury .

What’s next : The Colts will travel to Denver or New England next weekend depending on the outcome of the Cincinnati-San Diego on Sunday.

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Perhaps Green Bay Packers fans have little faith in this year's team.

How else to explain why they are thousands of sold tickets short of a sellout for Sunday's NFC playoff game at Lambeau Field against the San Francisco 49ers? As of Thursday morning, according to a team spokesman, the team has 5,500 unsold tickets. On Wednesday, the number stood at 7,500.

The Packers have a streak of 319 consecutive sellouts (301 regular-season games and 18 playoff games) and nearly 100,000 people on their season-ticket waiting list.

The Packers must sell out by 3:40 p.m. ET on Thursday to avoid a local television blackout. NFL rules say teams must sell out games at least 72 hours prior to kickoff to ensure they will be shown on local TV.

Green Bay isn't the only team having trouble selling out for this weekend's games, with the Indianapolis Colts and Cincinnati Bengals also faced with thousands of unsold tickets.

The Colts, who have sold out 137 of their last 138 games, have 5,500 tickets remaining that they need to sell to avoid having their Saturday game against the Kansas City Chiefs blacked out in the Indianapolis area.

The league extended the Colts' deadline to avoid a blackout to Thursday at 4:30 p.m. because Wednesday is a holiday.

In Cincinnati, Jeff Berding, the Bengals' director of sales and public affairs, said late Monday that after a good day of sales, more than 10,000 tickets remained for Sunday's game at Paul Brown Stadium against the San Diego Chargers. That number dippedto 8,000 tickets as of Wednesday afternoon.

In an effort to sell more tickets, the Bengals kept their ticket office open on New Year's Eve and will do the same New Year's Day. According to Berding, the office will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

Bengals team spokesman Jack Brennan says the team is confident they can get an extension from Thursday to Friday to try to avoid a blackout.

The Bengals' ticket push has even become a civic issue in the city. On Monday, Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley held an impromptu news conference at the start of coach Marvin Lewis' weekly remarks to encourage fans to come out for the game.

The Packers, at 8-7-1, have the worst record among the 12 playoff teams.

The organization sent out playoff ticket invoices to season-ticket holders during the seven-game stretch in which quarterback Aaron Rodgers was sidelined because of a broken collarbone. When Rodgers returned for the regular-season finale Sunday and helped the Packers beat the Chicago Bears to win the NFC North, the team still had 40,000 tickets available for the opening round of the playoffs.

The team gave season-ticket holders another chance to buy seats on Monday morning before opening the sale to the public later in the day. A team spokesman said Tuesday the four-ticket limit per transaction that was in place Monday has been lifted.

The Packers added 7,000 seats this season behind the south end zone, bringing capacity at Lambeau Field to 80,750. The waiting list for season tickets was more than 100,000 people before the seats were added.

ESPN.com previously reported that owners can buy postseason tickets for 34 cents on the dollar to avoid blackout. While that is the case for regular season games, owners must pay full price for playoff tickets.

Ticket sales weren't a problem for the Seattle Seahawks on Tuesday, with the team saying it sold out in less than 30 minutes. The NFC's top seed opens in the playoffs on Jan. 11.

ESPN.com sports business reporter Darren Rovell, Colts reporter Mike Wells and Bengals reporter Coley Harvey contributed to this report.

Article Source: ESPN