Divisional Playoff Thoughts

San Francisco 49ers vs Seattle Seahawks for the NFC Championship.

New England Patriots vs Denver Broncos for the AFC Championship.

Congratulations to the 49ers on their divisional playoff victory over the Carolina Panthers and a third straight shot at the conference title.

The Patriots are playing in a third straight AFC Championship game.

Penalties had an unfortunately strong impact on the 49ers-Panthers game. Some that were called and many that weren't.

The officials missed an obvious 12-men in the huddle penalty on the 49ers at the end of the first half. That missed call was a big assist on Colin Kaepernick's touchdown pass to Vernon Davis to close the first half. I take this particular penalty very seriously. If the officials had missed an obvious 12-men in the huddle penalty in the 2009 NFC Championship game, the Minnesota Vikings would likely have been playing the Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl. Instead, the Saints won and defeated the Colts. Note to the officials. If you see a player leave a huddle and no one replaces that player in the huddle, there's a real good chance that 12 players were in that huddle.

The Panthers defense came out very, very chippy. There was a lot of stupid shit going on after the whistle. Those extracurriculars helped the 49ers first possession end in three points.

49ers linebacker Dan Skuta had a very unfortunate roughing the quarterback penalty called on him late in the game. Panthers quarterback Cam Newton spun right into Skuta. Skuta's shoulder hit Newton right in the head. If anything, Newton initiated all of the contact. Unfortunately, with the rules as they are, that will be called every time. It didn't matter much as the 49ers intercepted Newton a play or two later to seal the game.

Vernon Davis has been dynamite in the postseason. Every postseason. His touchdown at the end of the first half was his seventh in the postseason. Tying a postseason record for tight ends. That wasn't much of a surprise. Davis' playoff impact has been profound. The announcers mentioned that each of the seven touchdowns gave the 49ers the lead. Now, that makes those seven postseason touchdowns even more impressive.

49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks finally joined fellow linebackers Navorro Bowman and Patrick Willis in the Pro Bowl this season. Whenever I see Brooks or hear mention of Brooks, I think of him early in his college career at Virginia. I was stunned to see this big linebacker returning kicks for his college football team. Usually you see fast, agile little guys returning kicks. Ahmad Brooks had the quickness and agility to return kicks despite being a big guy. It's taken him a while to become an impact player in the NFL but he surely has.

The 49ers linebackers are truly amazing. Bowman, Willis, and Brooks made the Pro Bowl this year. If it weren't for his rocky off-the-field season, Aldon Smith would probably be there as well. Great bunch of backers.

The Divisional Playoff games didn't have the thrills of the Wild Card games. That was a real shame. The San Diego Chargers-Denver Broncos might have been the most entertaining of the four games. That's a real shame. It would have been a tremendous game if the Chargers had played the first three quarters like they played the fourth quarter. Their offense only generated 79 yards through three quarters. The Chargers defense did a fine job of limiting an explosive Broncos offense. If the offense had done anything through three quarters, we might have seen a different ending.

Chargers rookie receiver Keenan Allen wasn't drafted until the third round. He was a first round talent. I didn't understand his fall in the draft. I don't understand the surprise of many at his terrific play on the football field the last few months. If anyone had taken the time to watch Allen during his three years at Cal, they would have seen a great football player. I don't care what that stopwatch says.

I still think that the Broncos are the team to beat this year but I do think that they have to play better than they did yesterday to win it all. Maybe they were just playing as well as they needed to play.

Peyton Manning's 21-yard pass to Julius Thomas on 3rd-and-17 with just over three minutes to play may have saved the Broncos season. The Chargers were starting to roll and the Broncos seemed to be going through the motions, assuming that the game was theirs. That pass and catch seemed to wake up the Broncos. Manning and Thomas converted another 3rd down attempt but the first one was the big one.

Brady vs. Manning. Kaepernick vs. Wilson. The next one will be the "old guy vs. the new guy."