The Patriots won on a missed chip-shot field goal, while the Giants won due to fumbles on special teams. It's hard to argue that either team was much better than its opponent Sunday, but at least the Giants had the excuse of being on the road.

John Harbaugh should have gone for it on 4th and a foot from inside the 10 in the first quarter, but he was right to go for it on 4th and 6 rather than try a 51-yard field goal with Billy Cundiff. And that was before Cundiff proved himself inept on the short game-tying attempt.

Joe Flacco played a strong game, except for one throw - a first-down interception thrown into coverage with 7:22 left. Until that point, the Ravens had been driving impressively, and there was no need to take that risk on first down. (Of course, Tom Brady returned the favor on the next play - thanks to one of the best plays by a secondary I've ever seen). I don't knock Flacco too much for the underthrown ball to Torrey Smith in the first quarter. While a perfect pass might have resulted in a touchdown, it was cold, and Flacco had yet to get into a rhythm. When a player is that wide open, you should err on the side of underthrowing and get the completion rather than missing him altogether like Alex Smith did with a streaking Kyle Williams in the late game.

Ed Dickson's false start on 2nd-and-3 from the New England 30-yard line with 4:20 left resulted in a failed 4th-and-6 try and might well have changed the outcome of the game.

Rob Gronkowski was arguably in-bounds on a 3rd-and-10 catch inside the Ravens' 10. There was no challenge thrown, and the Pats settled for a field goal. Lee Evansarguably caught a game-winning touchdown in the closing seconds that was called incomplete after the ball was batted out of his hands. It looked to me as though Evans had possession and possibly the toe of the second foot down in the end zone before the ball started to move. Some have argued he didn't make a "football move," but why would he? He's in the end zone. And the whole Calvin Johnson rule where you have to maintain possession to the ground doesn't apply because he was standing up. It was surprising it wasn't reviewed, and also that Jim Nantz and Phil Simms didn't once question the call.

I'm surprised John Harbaugh didn't call a timeout before attempting the tying field goal, instead opting to have his unit rush onto the field and hurry the kick. Maybe he expected Bill Belichick to ice his kicker, but that's not grounds to rush the kick. Actually the Ravens should have called a running play on third and 1, and if it worked, used the timeout and tried a throw into the end zone before settling for the would-be tie.

The 49ers beat the crap out of Eli Manning (six sacks, 12 knockdowns and 20 hits), but he never got rattled. He did make a couple throws that should have been picked but for two 49ers defenders taking each other out. He also fumbled on one sack, but the Giants recovered it.

For those of you who don't think the running game is important, part of the reason Eli took such a beating is that the Giants couldn't run, the 49ers knew it, and so they were safe to go all out in getting pressure. In the first half, Manning was burning them with short throws to Victor Cruz, but for some reason Cruz and Hakeem Nicks were running deeper patterns in the second half, and Manning never had time to get them the ball.

Vernon Davis got open down the field twice, and Alex Smith hit him with perfect throws. Smith missed a wide open Kyle Williams, shortly before Williams became the goat by fumbling twice on kick returns. Had Smith hit Williams, Williams (White Sox GM Kenny Williams' son incidentally) might have been a hero.

On the second fumble by Williams, he was barely touched by linebacker Jacquan Williams who reached his arm around and got his hand on football as Kyle Williams was running by. When players get hit or wrapped up, especially by more than one tackler, I'd expect them to instinctively tighten their grip on the ball. But while they're running untouched, it's probably easier to knock out.

49ers wide receivers totaled one catch for three yards (Michael Crabtree). Two tight ends (Davis, Delanie Walker) combined for five receptions, and Frank Gore had six. In other words, the 49ers completed 12 passes in an overtime game, while the GIants completed 32.

The Giants nearly had a similar disaster to that of the Ravens when they rushed the field goal team onto the field in overtime, expecting Jim Harbaugh to ice the kicker and got called for a delay of game, backing them up five yards. While a 31-yard field goal is still easy for an NFL kicker, it's a high-pressure situation, the weather wasn't good and it's easier to miss than a 26-yarder. It was also a bad snap, and I wonder whether it ever crossed Steve Weatherford's mind to fall on it.

If the Giants win the Super Bowl, they'll have beaten teams with the second most wins in playoff history (Falcons 10 + Packers 15 + 49ers 14 + Patriots 15). The record belongs to the 2007 Giants who beat teams with 10, 13, 14 and 18 wins.