3 stats to know for Sunday's NFC Championship
3 stats to know for Sunday's NFC Championship
1. Colin Kaepernick's downfield arm
Everyone knows the 49ers' second-year pro ran for a QB playoff-record 181 yards with two TDs against the Packers. He's averaging 8.7 yards per rush -- best of any QB with 30 runs this season -- and the Falcons give up an NFL-worst 8.9 yards per rush to QBs.
Kaepernick's dynamic running ability sometimes overshadows his passing.
Since Week 10, when he first got significant playing time, Kaepernick (6-4, 230) is averaging 8.3 yards per attempt. That's third-highest among QBs from Week 10 on. The strong-armed Nevada product has a 98.7 passer rating since taking over.
2. Top seeds roll on this Sunday
The Falcons lost at home as the NFC's top seed two years ago, but that was in the divisional round. On conference championship Sunday, top seeds are 6-0 since 2005. The 2004 Steelers were the last No. 1 seed to lose a conference title game, falling 41-27 to the Patriots.
To continue the trend, Atlanta will have to pull off an upset as most sportsbooks have the 49ers favored by 4. San Francisco will try to break a five-game road playoff skid dating to 1989.
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3. Matt Ryan under pressure
When Ryan has a clean pocket, the fifth-year pro has completed 74.1 percent of his throws with a 110.6 passer rating, 27 TDs and eight INTs, according to Pro Football Focus. When he's pressured, Ryan hits 52.4 percent of his throws with a 63.8 rating, eight TDs and eight INTs.
The website says left tackle Sam Baker's ability to block the 49ers' Aldon Smith will figure heavily into whether Ryan has a clean pocket Sunday.
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