2011–12 NFL playoffs

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"2012 NFL playoffs" redirects here. For the playoffs following the 2012 regular season, see 2012–13 NFL playoffs.

2011–12 NFL playoffs
DatesJanuary 7–February 5, 2012
Season
Indianapolis, Indiana
Defending championsGreen Bay Packers
ChampionsNew York Giants
Runners-upNew England Patriots
Conference
runners-up
NFL playoffs
← 2010–11 2012–13 →

The

National Football League playoffs for the 2011 season began on January 7, 2012. The postseason tournament concluded with the New York Giants defeating the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI, 21–17, on February 5, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis
.

The Houston Texans qualified the playoffs for the first time since entering the league in 2002, and the Detroit Lions qualified for the first time since 1999. The Buffalo Bills, who were eliminated from playoff contention for the twelfth straight year then, were the only team that had not made the playoffs in the 21st century (and would not do so again until 2017). This team was tied with the Lions for the overall longest failure streak entering the season (the Bills had also not made the playoffs since qualifying as a wild card in 1999 where they were defeated by the Tennessee Titans).

This was the first postseason since 2001–02 to not feature Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts.

Both the conferences’ runners-up made the Super Bowl the next year, which Baltimore won, 34–31.

Unless otherwise noted, all times listed are Eastern Standard Time (UTC−05)

Overtime rules

This was the second postseason that the modified playoff overtime rules were in effect. Under these rules, instead of a straight sudden death, the game will not immediately end if the team that wins the coin toss scores a field goal on its first possession (the game will end if a touchdown is scored by the offense or if the defense scores a safety on the first possession of the overtime period). Instead, the other team will get a possession. If the loser of the coin toss scores a touchdown on that possession, it will be declared the winner. If the winner of the coin toss does not score on its first possession, or if both teams score field goals on their first possession, the game will revert to sudden death.[1]

None of the games during the

Sports Authority Field at Mile High
. The Broncos won the coin toss and received. They proceeded to win the game 29–23 by scoring a touchdown on their first play from scrimmage, immediately ending the game.

Coincidentally, the same two teams had also played in the NFL's first regular season overtime game at Denver's Mile High Stadium on September 22, 1974, which resulted in a 35–35 tie.[2]

After the season, this "modified sudden death" overtime system was applied to all preseason and regular season games.[3]

Participants

Within each conference, the four division winners and the top two non-division winners with the best overall regular season records) qualified for the playoffs. The four division winners are seeded 1–4 based on their overall won-lost-tied record, and the wild card teams are seeded 5–6. The NFL does not use a fixed bracket playoff system, and there are no restrictions regarding teams from the same division matching up in any round. In the first round, dubbed the wild-card playoffs or wild-card weekend, the third-seeded division winner hosts the sixth-seed wild card, and the fourth seed hosts the fifth. The 1 and 2 seeds from each conference received a first-round bye. In the second round, the divisional playoffs, the number 1 seed hosts the worst-surviving seed from the first round (seed 4, 5, or 6), while the number 2 seed will play the other team (seed 3, 4, or 5). The two surviving teams from each conference's divisional playoff games met in the respective AFC and NFC Conference Championship games, hosted by the higher seed. Although the Super Bowl, the championship round of the playoffs, is played at a neutral site, the designated home team is based on an annual rotation by conference.[4]

Playoff seeds
Seed AFC NFC
1 New England Patriots (East winner) Green Bay Packers (North winner)
2 Baltimore Ravens (North winner) San Francisco 49ers (West winner)
3 Houston Texans (South winner) New Orleans Saints (South winner)
4 Denver Broncos (West winner) New York Giants (East winner)
5 Pittsburgh Steelers (wild card) Atlanta Falcons (wild card)
6 Cincinnati Bengals (wild card) Detroit Lions (wild card)


Bracket

Jan 8 – MetLife Stadium Jan 15 – Lambeau Field
5 Atlanta 2
4 NY Giants 37
4 NY Giants 24 Jan 22 – Candlestick Park
1 Green Bay 20
NFC
Jan 7 –
Mercedes-Benz Superdome
 4 NY Giants 20*
Jan 14 – Candlestick Park
2 San Francisco 17
6 Detroit 28 NFC Championship
3 New Orleans 32
3 New Orleans 45 Feb 5 – Lucas Oil Stadium
2 San Francisco 36
Wild Card playoffs
Divisional playoffs
Jan 7 – Reliant Stadium N4 NY Giants 21
Jan 15 – M&T Bank Stadium
A1 New England 17
6 Cincinnati 10 Super Bowl XLVI
3 Houston 13
3 Houston 31 Jan 22 – Gillette Stadium
2 Baltimore 20
AFC
Jan 8 –
Sports Authority Field at Mile High
 2 Baltimore 20
Jan 14 – Gillette Stadium
1 New England 23
5 Pittsburgh 23 AFC Championship
4 Denver 10
4 Denver 29*
1 New England 45


* Indicates overtime victory
This bracket:

Schedule

In the United States,

Fox the rest of the NFC
games.

Round Away team Score Home team Date Kickoff
(
UTC−5
)		 TV
Wild Card playoffs Cincinnati Bengals 10–31 Houston Texans January 7, 2012 4:30 pm NBC
Detroit Lions 28–45 New Orleans Saints January 7, 2012 8:00 pm
Atlanta Falcons 2–24 New York Giants January 8, 2012 1:00 pm Fox
Pittsburgh Steelers 23–29 (OT) Denver Broncos January 8, 2012 4:30 pm CBS
Divisional playoffs New Orleans Saints 32–36 San Francisco 49ers January 14, 2012 4:30 pm Fox
Denver Broncos 10–45 New England Patriots January 14, 2012 8:00 pm CBS
Houston Texans 13–20 Baltimore Ravens January 15, 2012 1:00 pm
New York Giants 37–20 Green Bay Packers January 15, 2012 4:30 pm Fox
Conference Championships Baltimore Ravens 20–23 New England Patriots January 22, 2012 3:00 pm CBS
New York Giants 20–17 (OT) San Francisco 49ers January 22, 2012 6:30 pm Fox
Indianapolis, Indiana
 New York Giants 21–17 New England Patriots February 5, 2012 6:30 pm NBC

Wild Card playoffs

Saturday, January 7, 2012

AFC: Houston Texans 31, Cincinnati Bengals 10

Game information

In the first playoff game in

Reliant Stadium
(and the first NFL playoff game played in Houston since 1993), Houston's defense forced four sacks and intercepted three passes, while their offense racked up 188 rushing yards en route to the team's first playoff win since the team's founding in 2002. For the Bengals, it marked their fourth consecutive playoff loss since 1990 and extended their playoff win drought to 21 years, the longest streak among all NFL teams.

In the first quarter, a 52-yard pass interference penalty against Texans cornerback Glover Quin while trying to cover A. J. Green gave the Bengals a first down at the Houston 24-yard line. Then facing third down and seven, backup tailback Brian Leonard ran a screen pass 16 yards to the 1-yard line, where Cedric Benson ran the ball into the end zone on the next play, giving Cincinnati a 7–0 lead. Houston struck back with a 6-play, 80-yard scoring drive. The key player on the drive was running back Arian Foster, who rushed five times for 44 yards, the last carry an 8-yard touchdown run to tie the game.

In the second quarter, Cincinnati drove to the Texans 23-yard line. But on third down, quarterback Andy Dalton was sacked for a 9-yard loss by linebacker Brooks Reed, and then Mike Nugent missed a 50-yard field goal attempt. On the Bengals next drive, Dalton's 36-yard completion to reserve tight end Donald Lee and a 15-yard penalty against Houston at the end of the play set up Nugent's 37-yard field goal to make the score 10–7. Houston countered with T. J. Yates completing four passes for 38 yards on a 59-yard drive that ended with Neil Rackers' 39-yard field goal. Then with just 52 seconds left in the half, rookie defensive end J. J. Watt intercepted a pass from Dalton at the line of scrimmage and returned it 29 yards for a touchdown to give the Texans a 17–10 halftime lead.

In the second half, Houston completely took over the game. After the first three drives ended in punts, Yates completed two passes to Foster for 27 yards before tossing a 40-yard touchdown pass to Andre Johnson. On the Bengals next possession, they moved the ball to the Texans 47-yard line. But on fourth down and 3, Dalton's pass was intercepted by former Bengal Johnathan Joseph. Then in the fourth quarter, Houston put the game completely out of reach with an interception by Danieal Manning that set up Foster's 42-yard touchdown run, increasing their lead to 31–10 with just over five minutes left in regulation.

Foster finished the game with 153 rushing yards, three receptions for 29 yards, and two touchdowns. He became the third undrafted player in NFL history ever to rush for over 100 yards in a playoff game, after Paul Lowe and Ryan Grant.

The attendance of 71,725 was a record crowd for a football game at

Reliant Stadium;[5] in 2009, WrestleMania 25 was attended by 72,744 fans. The Bengals extended their current playoff losing streak to four, dating back to the divisional round loss against the Los Angeles Raiders in January 1991
. This was the first game in playoff history ever to feature a starting rookie quarterback for each team.

NFC: New Orleans Saints 45, Detroit Lions 28

Game information

New Orleans never punted the ball, gained a postseason record 626 yards, converted three fourth downs, and scored 35 points in the second half to defeat the Lions, who were playing their first playoff game in twelve years.

Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford completed five of six passes for 70 yards on the opening drive of the game, the last one a 10-yard touchdown pass to tight end Will Heller. Later on, a 31-yard burst by Saints running back Pierre Thomas set up Darren Sproles' 2-yard touchdown run, tying the score early in the second quarter.

Detroit responded on their next drive, moving the ball 87 yards in nine plays and taking a 14–7 lead on Stafford's 13-yard touchdown pass to Calvin Johnson. With 21 seconds left in the half, New Orleans appeared to score the tying touchdown on a pass from Drew Brees to receiver Marques Colston, but the catch was overturned by official review, and the Saints ended up settling for a John Kasay field goal to cut the score to 14–10 at the end of the half.

The Saints dominated the second half, scoring touchdowns on five consecutive possessions before ending the game on their sixth. On the first play of the third quarter, Thomas rushed for 18 yards. Running back Chris Ivory then added a 19-yard run before Brees finished the drive with a 41-yard touchdown pass to Devery Henderson. Then after a Lions punt, New Orleans drove 92 yards, featuring a 40-yard completion from Brees to Henderson, and scored with his 3-yard touchdown pass to tight end Jimmy Graham.

This time Detroit stormed back, with Stafford completing two passes to Johnson for 63 yards before rushing the ball into the end zone himself on a 1-yard run, making the score 24–21. But their defense still could not stop Brees, who completed five passes for 52 yards on a 78-yard drive that ended with Sproles' second touchdown on a 17-yard run. Then on the first play of the Lions' next drive, Jabari Greer intercepted Stafford's pass at the New Orleans 39-yard line. Four plays later, Brees converted the turnover with a 56-yard touchdown pass to Robert Meachem. This time, Detroit managed to respond, with Johnson catching three passes for 38 yards on a 79-yard drive, the last one a 12-yard score. But New Orleans recovered Jason Hanson's onside kick attempt and stormed back for another touchdown, with Meachem's 41-yard reception setting up Thomas' 1-yard scoring run. Then the Saints sealed the victory with Greer's second interception from Stafford, enabling them to run out the rest of the clock.

Brees completed 33 of 43 passes for a franchise postseason record 466 yards and three touchdowns. Meachem and Colston both recorded over 100 receiving yards each, while Thomas and Sproles combined for 264 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns between them.

Stafford threw for 380 yards and three touchdowns, with two interceptions, while Johnson set franchise playoff records with 12 receptions for 211 yards and two scores.

With the victory the Saints ran their home playoff winning streak to five dating back to their 2000 victory over the St. Louis Rams, which was also the first playoff win in their history. The Lions continued their streak of playoff futility, having only one playoff win – their divisional playoff win over the Dallas Cowboys in January 1992 – in their history since the AFL–NFL merger. This streak ended in 2023.

This was the first postseason meeting between the Lions and Saints.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

NFC: New York Giants 24, Atlanta Falcons 2

Atlanta Falcons vs. New York Giants – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Falcons 0 2 002
Giants 0 7 10724

at

East Rutherford, New Jersey

Game information

New York shut out Atlanta's offense, outgaining them in total yards 442–247, while also limiting them to 4/14 on third down conversions and 0/3 on fourth down attempts resulting in a dominating win in their only playoff game to date at MetLife Stadium.

Both teams combined for just one first down over their first five possessions. Eventually, Atlanta managed to sustain a drive, but on the first play of the second quarter, quarterback Matt Ryan was stuffed for no gain on fourth down and one on the Giants 24-yard line. Two plays later, New York quarterback Eli Manning gave Atlanta the first points of the game by committing intentional grounding in the end zone, resulting in a safety that made the score 2–0. After forcing a punt, New York earned their first score with an 85-yard drive, featuring a 34-yard run by Brandon Jacobs, that ended with Manning's 4-yard touchdown pass to Hakeem Nicks, giving them a 7–2 lead.

In the second half, a 30-yard run by Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw set up a field goal by Lawrence Tynes. Atlanta responded with a drive to the New York 21-yard line, but once again they came up empty when Ryan was tackled for no gain on fourth and one for a second time. A few plays later, New York increased their lead to 17–2 with Manning's 72-yard touchdown completion to Nicks. In the fourth quarter, Manning threw his third touchdown pass, a 29-yarder to Mario Manningham. Meanwhile, all that lay in store for Atlanta were more punts and their third failed fourth down conversion attempt of the day.

Manning threw for 277 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions, while Jacobs added 100 all-purpose yards. Nicks caught six passes for 115 yards and two scores.

The win marked New York's first playoff win since their victory in Super Bowl XLII and their first home playoff win since their victory in the 2000 NFC Championship Game; they were defeated in the 2005–06 playoffs by the Carolina Panthers in the wild card round and lost in the divisional playoffs to the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2008 season after clinching the No. 1 seed in the NFC. Atlanta's playoff losing streak reached four games with the loss. It was the first playoff game an offense was shut out since the Giants were shut out by the Carolina Panthers in 2005.

This game was also notable for the fact that it was the first game in NFL postseason history in which a safety was the only score awarded to a team.[8]

This was the first postseason meeting between the Falcons and Giants.

AFC: Denver Broncos 29, Pittsburgh Steelers 23 (OT)

See also: 3:16 game
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Denver Broncos – Game summary
Period 1 2 34OTTotal
Steelers 6 0 710023
Broncos 0 20 03629

at

Sports Authority Field at Mile High, Denver, Colorado
Game information

This game was the first one ever played under the league's new overtime rules, in which winning would be more difficult for the team that won the coin toss because the game would not end on an opening field goal. It did not matter, as it took Denver just one play to win with Tim Tebow's 80-yard touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas.

Pittsburgh scored on their opening drive, with Ben Roethlisberger's 33-yard completion to tight end Heath Miller setting up a 45-yard field goal by Shaun Suisham. Later in the quarter, Steelers running back Isaac Redman rushed five times for 33 yards on a 47-yard drive that ended with Suisham's 38-yard field goal, increasing the score to 6–0.

But Denver, which gained just eight yards in the first quarter, suddenly exploded with offensive production in the second. On their first drive of the quarter, Tebow completed a 51-yard strike to Thomas. Then he followed it up with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Eddie Royal. Following a Pittsburgh punt, Tebow's 58-yard completion to Thomas set up his own touchdown on an 8-yard run, giving the Broncos a 14–6 lead. An interception by Quinton Carter quickly led to a 20-yard field goal from Matt Prater, and before the end of the half, Prater added one more, the second set up by Tebow's 41-yard completion to tight end Daniel Fells. With time running out in the quarter, Roethlisberger completed a 25-yard pass to Antonio Brown and an 18-yarder to Emmanuel Sanders on a drive that advanced to the Broncos 32-yard line. But on third down, a fumbled snap resulted in a 23-yard loss, pushing the team out of field goal range.

Pittsburgh regrouped in the second half. After its defense forced a punt, Roethlisberger completed an 18-yard pass to Sanders and Redman broke off a 32-yard run on the way to a 1-yard touchdown run by receiver Mike Wallace on an end-around play, cutting the score to 20–13. Denver struck back with their third field goal from Prater, aided by a 32-yard pass interference penalty on Ike Taylor, but Pittsburgh responded with their own field goal-drive, featuring a 28-yard run by Redman, making it a one-score game at 23–16.

With 7:35 left in regulation, Denver running back Willis McGahee lost a fumble while being tackled by Ryan Mundy, and linebacker LaMarr Woodley recovered it at the Steelers 45-yard line. Though Roethlisberger was sacked on the first play, he recovered with a 15-yard completion to Sanders and a 6-yard run before tying the game with a 31-yard touchdown completion to Jerricho Cotchery. Both teams had one more drive to attempt a winning score, but Denver could go no further than their own 35-yard line, while Roethlisberger was sacked twice on his drive as time expired in the fourth quarter.

Following a touchback on the opening kickoff, Pittsburgh anticipated that Denver would take to the ground, so the Steelers defense put all 11 players within six yards of the line of scrimmage. But Tebow hit Thomas in stride on a slant pattern across the middle of the field, and he took the ball 80 yards to the end zone for the game-winning score.

Tebow completed only 10 of 21 passes, but threw for 316 yards and two touchdowns without any interceptions, and added 50 yards and a touchdown on the ground, and also set a franchise record for passer rating in a playoff game, with 125.5. Thomas had 204 yards and a touchdown on just four receptions, an average of 51 yards per catch. Defensive end Robert Ayers had two sacks. For the Steelers, Redman finished with a career-high 121 rushing yards.

Many observers have pointed out the symbolism of Tebow's 316 passing yards in comparison to the Biblical passage of

Nielsen ratings for the game also peaked at 31.6.[10][11] Pittsburgh's time of possession was 31:06.[12] In addition, Thomas, who caught the winning touchdown pass in overtime, was born on Christmas Day
in 1987.

Denver won its first playoff game at home since defeating the New England Patriots in the 2005 playoffs, with their next game seeing them lose to the same Steelers. Pittsburgh failed to advance past the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2007, after winning the AFC Championship Game the year prior.

This was the seventh postseason meeting between the Steelers and Broncos. Both teams split the first six meetings. Pittsburgh won the most recent meeting 34–17 in the 2005 AFC Championship Game.

Divisional playoffs

Saturday, January 14, 2012

NFC: San Francisco 49ers 36, New Orleans Saints 32

New Orleans Saints vs. San Francisco 49ers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Saints 0 14 01832
49ers 14 3 31636

at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California

Game information

Alex Smith's 14-yard touchdown pass to tight end Vernon Davis with nine seconds left gave San Francisco their first playoff win since 2002 at the end of a wild, back and forth final quarter which featured four lead changes in a span of 3:53.

New Orleans started off the game with a 78-yard drive to the 49ers 2-yard line, but came up empty when Donte Whitner forced a fumble from Pierre Thomas that was recovered by linebacker Patrick Willis. Thomas was injured on the play and did not return. Later on, San Francisco opened up the scoring with Smith's 49-yard touchdown pass to Davis. A few plays into the next drive, Dashon Goldson intercepted a pass from Saints quarterback Drew Brees and returned it 41 yards to the 4-yard line, setting up Smith's touchdown completion to Michael Crabtree and giving the 49ers a 14–0 lead. Then Courtney Roby lost a fumble on the kickoff that San Francisco linebacker Blake Costanzo recovered on the Saints 13-yard line. This time New Orleans managed to keep them out of the end zone, but David Akers kicked a field goal to give the 49ers a 17–0 lead less than a minute into the second quarter.

Brees led the Saints back, completing seven consecutive passes for 65 yards and rushing for five on an 80-yard drive that ended with his 14-yard scoring pass to tight end Jimmy Graham. Then after a punt, he threw a 25-yard touchdown completion to Marques Colston, cutting the deficit to three points. Later on, Brees threw his second interception, this one to Tarell Brown, but San Francisco could not convert and the score remained 17–14 at the end of the second quarter, despite four Saints turnovers.

Early in the second half, Costanzo forced a fumble from Darren Sproles on a punt return and Colin Jones recovered it, leading to Akers' second field goal. In the fourth quarter, the Saints managed to close the gap back to three points with a franchise postseason record 48-yard field goal from John Kasay. But a 42-yard run from San Francisco's Frank Gore helped put the margin back up to six on Akers' third field goal of the day.

With 4:02 left in the game, New Orleans took their first lead of the game at 24–23 with Brees' 44-yard touchdown pass to Sproles. But it lasted less than two minutes before San Francisco took it back, with Smith hitting Davis for a 37-yard gain before taking the ball into the end zone himself on his career long 28-yard run, making the score 29–24 after the two-point conversion failed. Not to be outdone, Brees matched the score with his fourth touchdown pass of the day, a 66-yard completion to Graham, and then threw the ball to Sproles for a successful 2-point conversion, giving the Saints a 32–29 lead.

San Francisco got the ball back on their own 15-yard line with 1:37 left in the game. Smith started the drive with two completions to Gore for 18 yards. Then after an incompletion, he connected on a 47-yard pass to Davis, advancing the ball to the Saints 20-yard line. A 6-yard completion to Gore then moved the ball to the 14, where Smith spiked the ball to stop the clock. On the next play, he threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Davis with nine seconds left, who managed to hang onto the ball despite a hard hit from Roman Harper while he was still in mid-air, earning San Francisco their first conference championship game since 1997.

Smith threw for 299 yards and three touchdowns without an interception, while adding 28 yards and a touchdown on the ground. He was the first quarterback in NFL playoff history to lead two go-ahead touchdowns in the final three minutes of a game.[14] Davis caught seven passes for 180 yards and two touchdowns, breaking Kellen Winslow's NFL postseason record for receiving yards (166) by a tight end.[15] Gore rushed for 89 yards and caught seven passes for 38. For the Saints, Brees completed 40 of 63 passes for 462 yards and four touchdowns, with two interceptions. His top target was Sproles, who caught an NFL playoff record 15 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown, while adding 59 more yards on rushing and special teams returns. Graham caught five passes for 103 yards and two touchdowns, while Colston caught nine passes for 136 yards and one score.

Davis' game-winning touchdown catch occurred four days after the 30th anniversary of The Catch – Joe Montana's touchdown pass to Dwight Clark in the 1981 NFC Championship against the Cowboys – known as the most famous play in 49ers history. San Francisco had another famous playoff win in the 1998 Wild Card round against the Packers on a last second touchdown pass from Steve Young to Terrell Owens known as The Catch II. Sports writers and 49ers fans dubbed Davis' catch as The Catch III, also considering that all three times, the 49ers were trailing with less than a minute to go at Candlestick Park and facing 3rd and 3. The league later seconded the moniker on social media.[16][17]

This was the first postseason meeting between the Saints and 49ers.

In April 2012, leaked audio of a pre-game team meeting of Saints defensive coordinator Greg Williams from a day before the game that was captured by Sean Pamphilon showed that bounties where placed by the Saints to injure Alex Smith, Michael Crabtree, Vernon Davis, Kyle Williams, Frank Gore, and Kendall Hunter as a part of the New Orleans Saints bounty scandal.[18][19][20]

AFC: New England Patriots 45, Denver Broncos 10

Denver Broncos vs. New England Patriots – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Broncos 0 7 3010
Patriots 14 21 7345

at Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts

Game information

New England quarterback Tom Brady completed 18 of 25 passes for 246 yards and a postseason record five touchdowns in the first half as the Patriots dominated the game the whole way through, setting new franchise postseason records for total yards (509), points (45), and margin of victory (35). Brady finished with six touchdown passes, while Denver quarterback Tim Tebow completed just nine of 26 passes, and the Denver offense had 14 plays that lost yardage.[22]

New England scored on their opening drive, moving the ball 80 yards in five plays, including a 43-yard run by Aaron Hernandez, before finishing it off with Brady's 7-yard touchdown pass to Wes Welker. Denver responded with a drive to the Patriots 37-yard line, but Tebow lost a fumble while being sacked by Rob Ninkovich, and New England linebacker Brandon Spikes recovered it. Brady went right back to work, completing five consecutive passes for 47 yards on the way to a 10-yard touchdown toss to Rob Gronkowski.

After a punt, Quinton Carter intercepted a pass from Brady and returned it 17 yards to the New England 24-yard line. On the last play of the quarter, Tebow kept the drive going with a 12-yard completion to Demaryius Thomas on third and 3, and then Willis McGahee ran the ball into the end zone from five yards out, cutting the score to 14–7.

However, this would be the closest scoring margin the Broncos would reach for the rest of the game. At the end of New England's next drive, Zoltan Mesko's 40-yard punt pinned Denver back at their own 5-yard line. After a three and out, the Patriots got the ball back with great field position at their own 48. Brady then completed four consecutive passes for 41 yards, the last one a 12-yard touchdown pass to Gronkowski. Later in the quarter, New England increased their lead to 28–7 on Brady's 61-yard touchdown completion to Deion Branch. And after forcing a punt, Brady threw a 20-yard completion to Hernandez, and an 11-yarder to Julian Edelman on the way to his 19-yard touchdown pass to Gronkowski, increasing the lead to 35–7 with just five seconds left in the half.

The second half didn't get any better for the Broncos. New England forced a punt on the first drive, which Edelman returned 15 yards to the Broncos 42-yard line. Five plays later, Brady tied a playoff record with his sixth touchdown pass of the day, a 17-yarder to Hernandez. Denver responded with Tebow completing an 18-yard pass to Matt Willis and a 15-yard pass to Eddie Royal on fourth down and 3. However, New England halted the drive at their 24-yard line, forcing them to settle for a 41-yard field goal by Matt Prater. In the fourth quarter, Brady completed two passes to Gronkowski for 48 yards to set up the last score of the day, a 20-yard field goal from Stephen Gostkowski making the final score 45–10, New England's first playoff victory since the 2007 AFC Championship Game.

Brady completed 26 of 34 passes for 363 yards and six touchdowns. Gronkowski caught 10 of those passes for 145 yards and tied a playoff record with three touchdown receptions. Ninkovich had four solo tackles, 1.5 sacks, and a forced fumble. McGahee was the top rusher of the game with 76 yards and a touchdown, while Thomas was Denver's top receiver with six receptions for 93 yards, including a 41-yard catch in the fourth quarter. The Broncos also gave up a postseason record of 16 negative yardage plays from the line of scrimmage.

This was the third postseason meeting between the Broncos and Patriots. Denver won both previous meetings, including handing Tom Brady his first playoff loss 27–13 in the 2005 AFC Divisional playoffs.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

AFC: Baltimore Ravens 20, Houston Texans 13

Houston Texans vs. Baltimore Ravens – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Texans 3 10 0013
Ravens 17 0 0320

at M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland

Game information

Despite gaining 227 yards, Baltimore's defense forced four turnovers, which included Ed Reed's clutch interception on his own 4-yard line with less than two minutes left, to win the game and send the Ravens into their third AFC Championship Game in franchise history.

Houston's Danieal Manning returned the opening kickoff 60 yards to the Ravens 41-yard line, setting up a field goal by Neil Rackers. Their defense quickly forced a punt, but returner Jacoby Jones fumbled the ball and cornerback Jimmy Smith recovered for Baltimore on the Texans 2-yard line. Two plays later, Joe Flacco put the Ravens on the board with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Kris Wilson, Wilson's first reception of the year. Then after forcing a punt, Flacco's 21-yard completion to Anquan Boldin set up a 48-yard field goal from Billy Cundiff, making the score 10–3. Later in the quarter, Baltimore cornerback Lardarius Webb intercepted a pass from T. J. Yates at the Houston 34-yard line. On third down and 9, Ray Rice kept the drive going with a 20-yard gain on a screen pass, and Flacco ended up finishing it off with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Boldin.

In the second quarter, Houston managed to fight back. First, Arian Foster rushed three times for 29 yards and caught a pass for 16 on a 59-yard drive that ended with Rackers' second field goal, cutting the score to 17–6. Then after a punt, Foster rushed for 53 yards, including a 28-yard burst on the first play, on a 12-play, 86-yard drive that consumed just 5:46 and ended with his 1-yard touchdown run, making the score 17–13. Baltimore responded with a drive to the Texans 33-yard line. But on third down, J. J. Watt sacked Flacco for a 9-yard loss, pushing the Ravens out of field goal range.

On Houston's first drive of the second half, Yates completed a 17-yard pass to Andre Johnson and a 19-yarder to Kevin Walter, moving the ball to the Ravens 32-yard line. But Baltimore halted the drive there and Rackers missed a 50-yard field goal try. The Ravens then took the ball back and drove all the way to the Texans 1-yard line, but Rice was stuffed for no gain by Tim Dobbins on fourth down – Dobbins' only tackle of the game – and they failed to score.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Webb recorded his second interception of the day on the Ravens 29-yard line, and Baltimore converted the turnover with a 44-yard field goal, taking a 7-point lead at 20–13. Yates responded with two completions to Johnson for 34 yards, moving the ball to the Ravens 38-yard line. But on the next play, Reed picked off a deep pass from Yates on his own 4-yard line with less than two minutes left in regulation. Houston still managed to force a punt with 45 seconds left, but the Ravens defense rose to the occasion once again, forcing a turnover on downs at their own 43-yard line.

Flacco threw for 176 yards and two touchdowns. Webb had four tackles and two interceptions. For Houston, Foster rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown, while also catching five passes for 22 yards. Johnson was the top receiver of the game with eight receptions for 111 yards. Watt had 12 total tackles (nine solo) and 2.5 sacks, while linebacker Brooks Reed had six solo tackles, 2.5 sacks, and a forced fumble.

This was Baltimore's first home playoff game since 2006, and their first home playoff win since 2000.

This was the first postseason meeting between the Texans and Ravens.

NFC: New York Giants 37, Green Bay Packers 20

New York Giants vs. Green Bay Packers – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Giants 10 10 01737
Packers 3 7 3720

at Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin

  • Date: January 15
  • Game time: 4:30 pm EST/3:30 pm CST
  • Game weather: 31 °F (−1 °C), sunny
  • Game attendance: 72,080
    Fox): Joe Buck (play-by-play), Troy Aikman (color commentator), Pam Oliver, and Chris Myers (sideline reporters)
  • Recap
Game information