Touch Downl NFL

The NFC Championship Game was decided when Richard Sherman made the play of the game. Then he followed it up with the quote of the day.

Sherman deflected a Colin Kaepernick pass intended for Michael Crabtree in the end zone. The ball was intercepted by linebacker Malcolm Smith with 22 seconds remaining to seal the Seahawks' 23-17 win against the San Francisco 49ers.

After the game, Sherman, known for his bold statements, took a shot at Crabtree.

The Seattle Seahawks booked their place in Super Bowl XLVIII with a dramatic victory over the San Francisco 49ers which was bookended by huge turnovers.

The Seahawks beat the 49ers 23-17 to win the NFC Championship and join the Denver Broncos in the Super Bowl in New Jersey on February 2.

The San Francisco 49ers' long road trip to a Super Bowl return will now take them to Seattle after beating the Panthers 23-10 in Carolina.

The fifth-seeded 49ers will head to the noisiest stadium in the world to play in their third straight NFC Championship game after already logging thousands of playoff miles while earning victories in Carolina and Green Bay. San Francisco split two games with their division rivals this season, winning at Candlestick Park but losing in Seattle.

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.

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

Although it has yet to play a match between the Steelers and the Bengals, I will be free for you this week as the best player of the week, introduce Marshawn Lynch. With three touch down, Lynch was unsolvable enigma for the 49ers. 

Lynch scored on touchdown runs of 14 and 2 yards, and added a 7-yard TD reception in the second half. Lynch finished with 135 total yards, including 98 yards rushing, to make up for quarterback Russell Wilson hitting on only two of his first 10 throws and Seattle's receivers struggling to get open. His TD run on the first drive of the second half gave the Seahawks a 12-0 lead. His TD catch pushed the advantage to 19-3 early in the fourth quarter. 

It's simple, really: If you love football -- if you love sports -- then you LOVE the Seattle Seahawks hosting the San Francisco 49ers this Sunday night.

Why?

It's the single best rivalry in the NFL today.

Yes, I understand the amazing history between the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears. I'm well aware of the classic battles waged by the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys. I know all about Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers -- that's a spectacular clash, fueled by smashmouth play and a whole lot of people (players and fans alike) who don't like each other. But it isn't Niners-'Hawks. Not now. In 2013, nothing gets the emotions flowing like this epic NFC West grudge match.

No other rivals truly loathe each other right now quite like San Francisco and Seattle. And pure hatred in today's NFL -- with free agency and general player movement -- is rare. Pure hatred is wonderful, needed and extremely juicy.

The Niners and Seahawks resemble each other in style and structure. They are the two best, deepest and most-complete teams in the NFL.

And to have this week's game in Seattle -- in front of the throaty "12th Man" crowd -- makes it even better.

This is The Game in professional football, and here are nine reasons why:

This personal rivalry goes back to the coaches' college days -- and it is flat-out awesome.

This will be the talk of this rivalry for years to come -- two young guns who ensure their respective teams will be in the Super Bowl race for the foreseeable future. These quarterbacks ooze leadership, talent, clutch play and likeability. And just like the teams in this rivalry, the signal-callers are similar in style. Both can throw deep, throw with pinpoint accuracy and effectively run the football. They are two of the brightest young stars in the NFL and two of my favorite players to watch.

Sherman is a great player. In fact, I think he's the best corner in the league. And if you don't believe in my assessment, just ask Sherman himself -- he'll be the first one to confirm this notion. He's loquacious, braggadocious and a whole lot of fun. He's the actor who steals the scene with his performance and personality.

In my opinion, the Seahawks and Niners boast the top two defenses in the NFL. They hit you hard -- and they let you know about it.

And they each will be tested by a strong offense on Sunday night. How cool is this?!

Both defenses are deep, talented, bone-crushing units that routinely churn out game-changing splash plays. It's not often that you call a defense "fun to watch," but that's exactly what we have here -- on both sides.

Lynch is a Bay Area product who starred at Cal, so many Niner fans rooted for him on the collegiate level.

With the rapid player movement in today's game, line cohesiveness has taken a hit. But not with the Niners. San Fran's offensive line is the best in the game. The unit does a brilliant job protecting Kaepernick and opening up holes for Frank Gore. These guys bloody you.

Silver: 49ers strike gold in Boldin

In his 32 Questions column, Michael Silver talks to Anquan Boldin following the receiver's dazzling debut with the 49ers. 

Throughout his entire career, Boldin has been the epitome of clutch. His debut effort as a Niner -- 13 catches for 208 yards and a touchdown last Sunday -- was astounding.

You know Boldin is going to do something to add his own chapter to this rivalry's book.

I know what you're thinking: It's Week 2. How is that possible?

Well, only one of these division foes can win the division. Sounds elementary, but it adds to the sense of necessity. A single win or loss can be the difference between a No. 1/No. 2 seed and playing on the road the entire postseason.

Move over Lambeau Field. See ya, Arrowhead. In today's NFL, no home-field advantage compares to the one experienced at CenturyLink Field. The place rocks at an unparalleled decibel level.

Article source: NFL; Adam Schein

Follow Adam Schein on Twitter @AdamSchein.