49ers NFC CHAMPS DEFEAT ATLANTA 28-24

By

Scary

Barry

Rodriguez

January 21, 2013

ATLANTA - The San Francisco 49ers and Atlanta Falcons game was the tale of two contrasting half's . The Falcons dominated in the first half and the 49ers defense shut down Atlanta in the second half. The Niner offense has had the habit of starting slowly in all their recent games. That in itself is nothing to panic about but combined with the Falcons offense feasting on the Niner secondary it almost spelled disaster for their Super Bowl hopes !

Early in the first quarter Falcon receiver Julio Jones beat the coverage of Dashon Goldson and hauled in a 46 yard pass from QB Matt Ryan for a touchdown. This wouldn't be the only blown coverage in the first half by the 49ers. Atlanta confused the Niner defense by using bunch formations thus avoiding press coverage and allowed Ryan to have more time in the pocket. The Falcons added a Matt Bryant field goal of 35 yards to take a 10-0 lead into the second quarter.

In the second quarter Julio Jones again beat the 49er defensive secondary and caught a 20 yard Matt Ryan pass for a touchdown. The Niners were down 17-0 and hadn't even had a first down at this point. Playing in his first playoff game Colin Kaepernick calmly directed the Niner's first drive of the game , 11 plays 85 yards , culminating in a La Michael James 15 yard touchdown run. This put the score at 17-7 in favor of the Falcons. The Niners added another score after a 7 play 76 yard drive which was capped off by a Vernon Davis touchdown reception. Davis had been featured on this drive , using his speed to run to the open field. It looked as if the the 49ers had a chance to catch up before the end of the first half with score at 17-14 in  favor of Atlanta but that was not to be. The San Francisco defense couldn't stop the Falcon's passing attack as future hall of Fame TE Tony Gonzalez hauled in a 10 yard pass from Matt Ryan just before the end of the first half putting the score at 24-17 .

Scoring wise the second half was all 49ers . During the halftime break maybe the 49er defense ate their Wheaties . Because much to the dismay of the Atlanta offense the Niners put Matt Ryan under a better pass rush.  In the third quarter the only scoring consisted of a 5 yard touchdown run over right tackle by Frank Gore. An interception by corner back Chris Culliver at the 49er 38 yard line snuffed out a Falcon drive. Matty " ice " Ryan started to have problems executing plays.

The fourth quarter was more of the same. The Niner defense shut down the Atlanta running game and kept Matt Ryan in check. Frank Gore broke off chunks of yards while running time off the game clock yet San Francisco still trailed by a score of 24-21 in favor of the Falcons midway through the quarter. Aldon Smith recovered a Matt Ryan fumble to stop another Atlanta drive. Kaepernick led the niners on a 7 play 82 yard drive to put San Francisco ahead 28-24. This was the result of another Frank Gore run over right end from 9 yards out. Ryan tried to bring the Falcons back but the 49er pass rush proved to be too much for his team. On a fourth down play deep in 49er territory , Navarro Bowman batted down a Ryan pass to stop the Falcon's drive and end the their Super Bowl hopes.

It was must see TV as the cameras caught the anguish on the face of Tony Gonzalez . After 16 NFL seasons , this  most likely his last, his dream of going to a Super Bowl went up in smoke ! Tony is a class act and in any other circumstance the Scary one would be rooting for him. Falcon coach      Mike Smith was disappointed but his team will have other chances . Once again the other team's quarterback had more impressive statistics. Colin Kaepernick is just concerned about the next game ! Vernon Davis starred with 5 catches for 106 yards and one touchdown. He came up big when the Niners needed him to ! Frank Gore had 21 carries for 90 yards and two touchdowns. The 49er defense shut down Atlanta in the second half allowing the comeback victory.

Note :  This article is dedicated to the Harbaugh brothers. The John Harbaugh led Baltimore Ravens will face the Jim Harbaugh led San Francisco 49ers. Brother against brother ! The ultimate story line ! Forget the Ray Lewis angle or any other manufactured drama ! This family feud played out before millions of viewers . Put Dr. Phil on standby ! His services may be needed after this game ! Peace and love to all from Scary Barry .