JON RALPH
THOSE famous inches that Al Pacino roared about in Any Given Sunday might just win San Francisco an NFL title.
As Pacino said in his famous drawl, in life and football the margin is so small that clawing those inches is everything.
San Francisco’s successful last stand in the last seconds of the NFL’s 100th home-and-away season was that critical to their path to the Super Bowl.
Linebacker Dre Greenlaw tackled tight end Jacob Hollister on a fourth down play when it seemed inevitable he was marching to the touchdown that would thrust the 49ers into a sudden-death playoff game.
Instead Greenlaw forced him back literally two inches from the line, the same San Francisco team that had the draft’s second pick last year won 26-21, and they now boast the NFC’s No.1 seeding.
It hands them a week off with the NFC West title, potentially two home finals and a legitimate chance to be the team that dethrones the New England Patriots.
Suddenly the 49ers look like the Patriots of old, with former New England quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, the new Gronk as tight end (George Kittle), a trio of potent running backs and wide receivers like Emmanuel Sanders and breakout star Deebo Samuel.
Seattle, just short of another remarkable Russell Wilson comeback, drop to the five seed and take on Carson Wentz’s Philadelphia Eagles away in next week’s wildcard weekend.
On a wild final weekend of the regular season where five teams that missed playoffs last year now have a shot at the title, the Patriots might be facing their last stand.
They lost 27-24 to some of Ryan Fitzpatrick’s ‘Fitzmagic’ as a Miami Dolphins team that were a laughing stock as recently as September thrust Bill Belichick’s team into a wildcard weekend clash.
So often in the six-title run rivals had to go through Foxborough to get to the Super Bowl, but not this year.
They take on No.6 seed Tennessee on Sunday (Australian time) after Ryan Tannehill guided the Titans into the playoffs with a 35-14 win over Houston.
Tannehill did the guiding and their hulking running back Derrick Henry did the stampeding.
He ran all over Houston with three touchdowns, 211 yards and the NFL rushing title after 1,540 yards and 16 touchdowns on 303 carries for the season.
So a Patriots team with six titles, one consistently written off this year despite its sublime defence, will need to beat Henry and win four playoff games to do what few believe it is capable of this year.
Elsewhere a battered Philadelphia only qualified for that playoff against Seattle on the final day of the year with a 34-17 victory over the New York Giants.
Missing every wide receiver and tight end threat that made it a title contender pre-season (it doesn’t have a 500-yard receiver this season), it still got over the line through Boston Scott.
Boston who?
The little-known running back from Louisiana Tech took his chance by peeling off three touchdown runs from 54 yards, meaning Dallas’s 47-16 mauling of Washington was irrelevant.
It was sweating on a Philadelphia loss to leapfrog the Eagles, yet without its destiny in its own hands it was a meaningless victory.
Dallas again finishes a season 8-8 and out of the playoffs, with owner Jerry Jones mulling over Jason Garrett’s job security at time of deadline.
Buffalo couldn’t move from the five seed so rested its stars and fell 6-13 to the New York Jets but after a 10-6 season will believe it can travel to Houston to take down the Texans.
Few will back the perennial underdogs Buffalo, especially if Houston’s defensive star JJ Watt returns from a pectoral muscle tear, with the Texans battery of stars including quarterback Deshaun Watson and wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.
Yet Buffalo went 6-2 on the road this year and will only start a slight underdog after running back Devin Singletary was rested on Sunday and quarterback Josh Allen made only a brief appearance.
In the final wildcard game, New Orleans will host the Minnesota Vikings at home with that Minneapolis Miracle of two years go fresh in mind.
In the NFC divisional playoff game in January 2018 the Saints gave up a miracle 61-yard touchdown pass to Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs as time expired.
The 24-29 loss – complete with botched tackle from New Orleans safety Marcus Williams – was the first NFL playoff game in history to end with a touchdown as the clock hit double zero.
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