Brady powers Patriots in playoff win over Chiefs

WASHINGTON -- Tom Brady threw for two touchdowns and ran for another to spark defending Super Bowl champion New England over Kansas City 27-20 Saturday, advancing the Patriots in the NFL playoffs.

With Brady completing 28-of-42 passes for 302 yards, the Patriots reached their fifth consecutive American Conference championship game and will fight for a Super Bowl berth on January 24 against the winner of Sunday's playoff matchup between the Denver Broncos and Pittsburgh Steelers.

It was four-time Super Bowl winner Brady's ninth career playoff 300-yard passing game, matching Peyton Manning for the most in NFL history.

Kansas City saw an 11-game win streak snapped. The Chiefs were thwarted in their bid to reach the conference final for the first time since 1993.

It was in last year's conference final that controversy erupted over the Patriots using under-inflated footballs, one that led the NFL to issue Brady a four-game suspension only to have the superstar quarterback take the issue to federal court.

A judge threw out Brady's suspension, citing a lack of fair due process, and the NFL has appealed that decision, a hearing set for after next month's Super Bowl so it will have no impact on New England's title repeat quest.

Cairo Santos kicked a 32-yard field goal with 12 seconds remaining in the second quarter to pull Kansas City within 14-6 at half-time.

But Knile Davis fumbled after a reception and New England recovered at its own 31-yard line. Five plays later, Brady connected with Rob Gronkowski on a 16-yard touchdown pass and the Patriots seized a 21-6 edge.

Kansas City answered with Alex Smith connecting on a 10-yard touchdown pass to Albert Wilson to lift the Chiefs within 21-13.

But New England responded with a 40-yard Stephen Gostkowski field goal and then defensively forced the Chiefs to punt from their own end zone, setting up a 32-yard Gostkowski field goal that gave New England a 27-13 lead with 10:20 remaining.

The Chiefs closed within the final margin after Charcandrick West scored on a 1-yard run around right end with 73 seconds remaining.

New England's Gronkowski recovered Kansas City's onside kick attempt and the Patriots ran the final seconds off the clock.

New England grabbed a 7-0 lead only 4:37 into the game as Brady capped an 11-play, 80-yard march with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Gronkowski.

Santos answered for the Chiefs with a 34-yard field goal, but Brady had more magic up his sleeve.

Brady went 6-for-6 for 63 yards passing in a 98-yard drive that ended when he scored on a 1-yard touchdown dive up the middle just 3:23 before half-time.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

49ers vs. Cardinals: Alex Smith's emergence key to San Francisco's success

There is only one element missing from the San Francisco 49ers' passing game: Consistency.

Believe it or not, quarterback Alex Smith's near-perfect performance (18-for-19, 232 yards, 3 TDs, 157.1 passer rating) in Monday night's 24-3 rout of the Arizona Cardinals wasn't his best of the season. Three weeks ago, he similarly picked apart the Buffalo Bills (18-for-24, 303 yards, 3 TDs, 156.2 passer rating) in a 45-3 win.




Going into Week 8, however, Smith had thrown for just 340 yards total with four interceptions to one touchdown in his past two games—including an ugly Week 6 loss to the New York Giants on the heels of what he did to the Bills.

Everyone knows the 49ers can effectively run the ball with power. Everyone knows the 49ers have a fast, furious and physical defense. Those are weekly givens. Now it's on Smith and his talented receivers to become reliables, too, if the Niners are to finish another great regular-season surge with a run to the Super Bowl.

The 49ers came out running as expected in Arizona, with Frank Gore gaining chunks of yards early. Even though opponents always key in on stopping San Francisco's rushing attack first, it has the offensive line and blocking schemes, along with Gore and backup Kendall Hunter's hard-charging styles, to execute against any loaded front.

There's no question the Niners are a "run to set up the pass" kind of team. Unlike last year, they have the wideout depth and talent to fully take advantage of this fact.

With Michael Crabtree, Mario Manningham, Randy Moss, there should always be a favorable one-on-one matchup for Smith to exploit. On Monday, it was Crabtree working on talented but still developing Cardinals second-year cornerback Patrick Peterson.

Crabtree (5 catches, 72 yards, 2 TDs) hasn't been used as much as he needs be. The same can be said for Manningham, and even more so with Moss. Moss proved again that it takes just one catch—see his 47-yard dash to the end zone through the entire Cardinals defense—for him make a big impact.

Throughout most of his career, Smith's best connection has been with his super-athletic tight end Vernon Davis. Opponents have become used to trying to take Davis away from Smith and daring Smith to beat them by targeting others more often. Following a catch-less game against Seattle in Week 7, Davis caught just two passes for 34 yards on Monday, one when the game was well out of reach in the fourth quarter.

It's important for Smith to stay in his rhythm after the Niners' Week 9 bye, by keep spreading the ball around. There's no doubt the additions of Manningham and Moss have created better opportunities for Crabtree, and eventually, Davis will see his chances open up again.

Smith got nine receivers involved with catches on Monday. A combination of play-calling and formations helped Smith find someone open almost every time he dropped back.

That brings us to the one place where Smith wasn't close to perfect, however. On a night when his receivers were quickly separating on their routes and his line mostly allowed him to work from a clean pocket, he was still sacked four times.

As much as Smith can get into a groove making the right decisions, he can also be frustrating when he holds the ball too long and is hesitant to confidently zip the ball downfield. He has too many weapons now—not to mention his running ability—where he shouldn't be letting the pressure get to him nearly as much.

Smith is in the ideal situation for a quarterback. He won't be called upon to drop back 30-plus times and expect to take a ton of deep shots. Now that he's no longer been put through the ringer with a revolving door of coaches and coordinators, the personnel around him is built for him to succeed.

We were reminded again of just how sharp and successful Smith can be in San Francisco's balanced offense on Monday night. He won't quite be able to raise his game to that level every week, but he needs more steady heady play if he's to deliver for his team when the stakes are raised in the playoffs.

source: aol.sportingnews.com