ATLANTA (AP Jan 20, 2013) — Make way Joe Montana and Steve Young. Colin Kaepernick is leading a brash new group of 49ers to the Super Bowl.

 

Frank Gore scored a pair of second-half touchdowns and San Francisco, after falling behind 17-0 by the first play of the second quarter, pulled off a record rally for a 28-24 victory over the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC championship game Sunday.

 

Kaepernick didn’t put up the same dazzling numbers he did in the divisional playoff against Green Bay. But he was solid enough to justify coach Jim Harbaugh’s decision to bench Alex Smith and go with the youngster. The 49ers’ defense did its part, shutting out Atlanta in the second half and making a big stop in the final two minutes.

 

San Francisco (13-4-1) moves on to face either New England or Baltimore at New Orleans in two weeks and will try to join Pittsburgh as the only franchises with six Super Bowl titles. It could be a brother-vs.-brother matchup, too, since John Harbaugh coaches the Ravens.

 

“This is what we play for. We play for this moment,” said 49ers tight end Vernon Davis, who hauled in a touchdown pass from Kaepernick. “We put in all the hard work and get the opportunity to play on the big stage. So, it’s not about me. It’s all about the team.”

 

Montana led the 49ers to four Super Bowls wins and Young took them to No. 5. It’s up to Kaepernick to get No. 6 when the 49ers play in the NFL title game for the first time since 1995.

 

The second-year quarterback who runs like a track star guided San Francisco on a pair of second-half scoring drives that wiped out Atlanta’s 24-14 lead at the break. Gore scored on a 5-yard run early in the third quarter, then sprinted in from 9 yards out for the winning score with 8:23 remaining after both teams made crucial mistakes to ruin potential scoring drives.

 

Both times, the Falcons had to worry about Kaepernick running it himself out of the spread option, and they barely even touched Gore on either of his scoring drives.

 

The 49ers pulled off the biggest comeback victory in an NFC championship game, according to STATS. The previous NFC record was 13 points — Atlanta’s victory over Minnesota in the 1999 title game, which sent the Falcons to what remains the only Super Bowl in franchise history.

 

In the AFC, the record is 18 points, when Indianapolis rallied past New England in 2007.

 

The top-seeded Falcons (14-4), in what may have been the final game for tight end Tony Gonzalez, tried to pull off another season-extending drive. But, unlike the week before against Seattle, they needed a touchdown this time.

 

They came up 10 yards short.

 

On fourth down, Matt Ryan attempted a pass over the middle to Roddy White that would’ve been enough to keep the drive going. But linebacker NaVorro Bowman stuck a hand in to knock it away with 1:13 remaining.

 

The 49ers ran off all but the final 6 seconds, not nearly enough time for Ryan to pull off his greatest comeback yet.

 

The celebration was on in the city by the bay, which is rapidly becoming the new Titletown USA. The 49ers will try to follow the lead of the baseball Giants, who won the World Series in October.

 

The Falcons were trying to reach the Super Bowl for only the second time in franchise history. They came up short, leaving the 1995 Braves as the city’s only major sports champions.

 

This one figures to hurt for a while in Atlanta.

 

After a nearly perfect first half, in which Ryan threw three touchdown passes, the quarterback known as Matty Ice made a couple of crucial blunders over the final two quarters.

 

First, he tossed a pass that was picked off by Chris Culliver, halting a drive in 49ers territory. Ryan ripped off his chinstrap in disgust.

 

Then, with the Falcons in scoring range for at least a field goal, Ryan failed to grab a shotgun snap, appearing to take his eyes off the ball before he caught it. The ball squirted away and Aldon Smith recovered for the 49ers at their own 37.

 

“Against a good team, you can’t have those of mistakes,” Ryan said.

 

San Francisco also squandered some chances. Struggling kicker David Akers clanked a 38-yard field goal try off the upright, and Michael Crabtree fumbled just short of the goal line, the ball stripped away by Dunta Robinson and recovered by Stephen Nicholas. But, after that big defensive stop with 13 1-2 minutes remaining, the Falcons went three-and-out.

 

The 49ers drove for the winning touchdown.

 

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Joe Flacco outdueled Tom Brady, throwing three touchdown passes in the second half and leading the Baltimore Ravens to their first Super Bowl in 12 years with a 28-13 victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday for the AFC championship.

The win sets up the first Super Bowl coached by brothers, Baltimore’s John Harbaugh and San Francisco’s Jim. The 49ers won the NFC title earlier Sunday 28-24 at Atlanta.

The 49ers have been listed as 5-point favorites.

Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis’ final season will conclude in two weeks in New Orleans; he was the MVP of the 2001 game, the Ravens’ only Super Bowl win.

Flacco had two touchdown passes to Anquan Boldin and one to Dennis Pitta as the Ravens outscored the Patriots 21-0 in the second half. Baltimore’s defense made Brady look ordinary and stymied the league’s top offense. Brady was 67-0 at home when leading at halftime.

Flacco’s three touchdown passes came in just over 10 minutes in the second half. He connected with Bolden for two TDs in the first four minutes of the fourth quarter – a 3-yarder and an 11-yarder – after hitting Pitta with a 5-yard strike with 6:14 left in the third.

The Ravens (13-6) gained just 130 yards in the first half before Flacco guided them on scoring drives of 87 and 63 yards.

New England (13-5) suffered three injuries in the first half. Cornerback Aqib Talib hurt his thigh and defensive tackle Kyle Love injured his knee. The return of both starters was questionable. Backup safety Patrick Chung was helped off the field after one play.

The Patriots played without tight end Rob Gronkowski, who broke his left arm a week earlier in their 41-28 divisional win over the Houston Texans.

Stephen Gostkowski had given the Patriots a 3-0 lead with a 31-yard field goal with 6:21 left in the first quarter. But the Ravens went ahead on Ray Rice’s 2-yard touchdown run with 9:28 to go in the second.

Wes Welker then scored with just over 4 minutes remaining in the half on a 1-yard pass from Brady and the Patriots increased their lead on Gostkowski’s 25-yard field goal on the final play before intermission.

New England outgained Baltimore 214 yards to 130 in the half. Brady completed 14 of 24 passes for 139 yards, while Flacco went 6 for 12 for 81 yards. Neither team committed a turnover.

The scoring pass to Bolden ended a drive on which Flacco completed five of six passes, the longest a 23-yarder to Torrey Smith.

The touchdown by Pitta capped the Ravens’ best drive of the game, covering 87 yards in 10 plays. It started with a 15-yard defensive pass interference penalty. Then, Flacco completed six of his other nine passes on the series. Three of them went for first downs – 22 yards to Pitta, 15 to Rice and 12 to Bolden that gave the Ravens a first-and-goal at the Patriots 10-yard line.

Flacco then connected with Pitta for a 5-yard pass and finished the drive with another 5-yarder to Pitta, who easily beat single coverage by safety Steve Gregory.

The Patriots began the scoring on Gostkowski’s kick, ending a 13-play, 67-yard drive during which Brady completed five of seven passes for 55 yards.

Rice’s touchdown ended a 13-play, 90-yard drive that lasted 5:51. Flacco threw completions for first downs of 17 yards to Pitta, 11 yards to Rice, 8 yards to Bernard Pierce and 25 yards to Smith. With a first down at the Patriots 15-yard line, Rice ran for 8 and 5 yards, giving the Ravens a first down at the 2.

After Flacco threw an incompletion out of bounds, Rice took a handoff, ran to the left and scored easily.

Welker’s touchdown came 4:18 before intermission and capped an 11-play, 79-yard drive. He scored on a pass to the right as cornerbacks Corey Graham and Chykie Brown appeared to get crossed up on their assignments.

On the first play of the series, Baltimore’s Dannell Ellerbe was penalized 15 yards for a blow to the head. Then a 24-yard completion from Brady to Welker gave the Patriots a first down at the Ravens 16-yard line.

Both teams punted on their first possession before the Patriots began their scoring drive at their 21-yard line after a 50-yard punt by Sam Koch.

The Patriots began the series with Brady’s 8-yard completion to Brandon Lloyd. The pair teamed up for three completions, gaining 37 yards, on the drive.

The Ravens punted on their first three possessions in the first quarter. The Patriots punted on three of their four series, forcing Baltimore to start deep in its territory.

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