It was apparently too much to hope the Steelers could take out the top seed Patriots and prevent another trip to the Super Bowl. A close game early turned into a blowout with the Patriots leading 33-9 by the end of the third quarter. From there it was a slow march to the inevitable.
In the NFC Championship game, it was the Falcons high-powered offense that ended the Packers’ late winning streak behind Matt Ryan who was on fire, throwing for 392 yards with 5 touchdowns (4 passing, 1 rushing) and Julio Jones’s 9 catches for 180 yards and 2 touchdowns.