Giants Beat Packers to Reach NFC Title Game Against 49ers

(Updates with comment from Giants coach Tom Coughlin in fourth paragraph.)

The New York Giants defeated the Green Bay Packers 37-20 to advance to the National Football Conference championship game and become the first team to win a game on the road this postseason.

Eli Manning threw three touchdown passes, including two to Hakeem Nicks during the first half, and the Giants’ defense forced four turnovers to end the Packers’ 13-game winning streak at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

New York entered the game as 7 1/2-point underdogs against the defending Super Bowl champions, who this season became the sixth team in National Football League history to go 15-1 or better. While the Packers’ season ends, the Giants advance to San Francisco, where they’ll face the 49ers for a spot in the Super Bowl.

“We were excited to come here and play. We knew what we were up against and I thought we did an outstanding job,” Giants coach Tom Coughlin said at his postgame news conference. “It was a back and forth game for a while, we were able to push some late scores in and we had some turnovers.”

The New England Patriots will host Baltimore in the American Football Conference title game after the Ravens beat the Houston Texans 20-13 today. Joe Flacco threw two touchdown passes for Baltimore and the Ravens’ defense forced four turnovers, including two in the final eight minutes.

Both conference championship games will be played Jan. 22, with the Super Bowl scheduled for Feb. 5 in Indianapolis.

First Road Win

The Giants’ victory at Lambeau Field ended a run of seven straight playoff wins by home teams this postseason. It also helped New York avenge a 38-35 loss to the Packers on Dec. 4 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

The Giants won their previous playoff trip to Green Bay following the 2007 season, when they beat the Packers in the NFC championship game before upsetting the Patriots in the Super Bowl. Green Bay had last lost at home on Oct. 17, 2010, against the Miami Dolphins.

For Green Bay, the defeat comes six days after the 21-year- old son of offensive coordinator Joe Philbin was found dead in an icy Wisconsin river. The Packers, who had a bye in the first round of the playoffs, had eight dropped passes and three fumbles after totaling six in the regular season.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers was sacked four times and also threw an interception for Green Bay, which had been averaging an NFL-best 35 points a game.

Turnover Margin

“We talk about that all the time, but in the playoffs, the turnover margin is usually the indicator of success,” said Coughlin, whose team didn’t allow the Atlanta Falcons’ offense to score in winning their playoff opener 24-2 last week.

After the Giants and Packers traded field goals on their opening possessions, Manning and Nicks connected for a 66-yard touchdown to put the visitors ahead 10-3. Nicks caught the pass over the middle at the Packers’ 47-yard line, spun free of a tackle and raced to the end zone.

Green Bay’s first touchdown came on Rodgers’s 8-yard pass to fullback John Kuhn on the first play of the second quarter. The score came five plays after Greg Jennings appeared to fumble at the Giants’ 38-yard line, though officials didn’t reverse the ruling on the field that he was down by contact.

Lawrence Tynes kicked his second field goal, a 23-yarder, to put the Giants in front 13-10 with 1:56 left in the first half. Manning and Nicks then connected for a second time against a Packers’ defense that allowed more passing yards this season than any team in NFL history. As time expired in the half, Manning lobbed a pass into the end zone where Nicks out-jumped the Packers’ defenders for a touchdown and a 20-10 Giants advantage.

Touchdown After Turnover

After a third field goal by Tynes, Manning threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Mario Manningham with 6:53 left. The score, which pushed the Giants’ lead to 30-13, came one play after New York returned a fumble to the Green Bay 4-yard line.

The Packers scored a touchdown with 4:46 remaining -- a 16- yard pass from Rodgers to Donald Driver -- and then were unable to get a defensive stop. Manning, who passed for 330 yards, directed a final scoring drive that was capped by a 14-yard touchdown run by Brandon Jacobs with 2:44 left.

Up next for the Giants are the 49ers, who beat the New Orleans Saints 36-32 yesterday in San Francisco on Alex Smith’s 14-yard touchdown pass with nine seconds left.

Ravens Hold Off Texans

The Ravens opened a 17-3 first-quarter lead over the Texans today at M&T Bank Stadium en route to their first home playoff win in 11 years. Flacco threw touchdown passes to Kris Wilson and Anquan Boldin, while the Ravens intercepted Houston rookie quarterback T.J. Yates three times.

Texans running back Arian Foster rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown, becoming the first player to run for more than 100 yards against the Ravens in the postseason. Houston was unable to score in the second half, however, and Ed Reed helped seal the win for Baltimore with an interception at the Ravens’ goal line in the closing minutes.

The Patriots will host the Ravens after routing the Denver Broncos 45-10 yesterday behind Tom Brady’s playoff record-tying six touchdown passes.

“It’s a big test next week. Tom is playing excellent,” Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis said. “What they did to the Broncos last night, I think they sent a message to whoever was coming up there. So we’ve got our hands full.”