The postseason tournament concluded with the Seattle Seahawks defeating the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII, 43–8, on February 2, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
This time the Colts managed to respond with a 61-yard scoring drive in which Luck completed a 16-yard pass to Griff Whalen and rushed for a 21-yard gain after faking a hand off up the middle on a fourth and 1 conversion.
On the first play of the second half, Husain Abdullah intercepted Luck and returned the ball four yards to the Colts' 18-yard line, sitting up Smith's 10-yard scoring toss to Davis that put them up by 28, 38–10.
But three plays after the kickoff, Luck fired a deep pass to Hilton over the middle, who caught it without breaking stride and took off for a 64-yard touchdown catch, giving Indy their first lead of the game at 45–44.
The Eagles managed to respond, with Foles' 40-yard completion to DeSean Jackson setting up a 1-yard touchdown run by LeSean McCoy, trimming their deficit to 20–14 with just over 30 seconds left in the third quarter.
However, the Saints would need to cover little ground for their game-winning drive, as Sproles returned the ensuing kickoff 39 yards, with a horse-collar tackle penalty on Cary Williams adding on another 15.
After a pair of punts started the game, San Diego drove 86 yards in 12 plays, including a 22-yard reception by tight end Ladarius Green, and scored on Danny Woodhead's 5-yard touchdown run.
But on the next play, linebacker Donald Butler forced a fumble from Bernard that Richard Marshall recovered for the Chargers in the end zone and returned 13 yards to the 11-yard line.
After forcing the Bengals to punt on their opening second half drive, Philip Rivers completed a 33-yard pass to Eddie Royal that set up his 4-yard touchdown toss to Green, giving the Chargers the lead at 14–10.
Then after two plays on the Bengals next drive, cornerback Shareece Wright intercepted a pass from Dalton and returned it 30 yards to the Cincinnati 3-yard line, setting up another Novak field goal that made the score 20–10.
Green Bay responded with Rodgers completing a 19-yard pass to Nelson and a 13-yarder to running back James Starks on a 59-yard drive that ended with Mason Crosby's 34-yard field goal as time expired in the half, making the score 13–10 at halftime.
San Francisco drove to the Green Bay 25-yard line on the first drive of the second half, but on third down, linebacker Nick Perry sacked Kaepernick for an 8-yard loss and the 49ers decided to punt rather than attempt a long field goal.
New Orleans was forced to punt on their opening drive, and punter Thomas Morstead bobbled the rain-soaked ball at the snap before shanking a 16-yard kick that gave Seattle a first down on the Saints' 40-yard line.
On the first play of the second quarter, defensive end Michael Bennett forced and recovered a fumble by New Orleans running back Mark Ingram II on the Saints' 24-yard line.
Then after an Indianapolis punt, Tom Brady completed a 25-yard pass to Julian Edelman and a 16-yarder to Danny Amendola as the Patriots drove 74 yards to increase their lead to 14–0 on Blount's second 2-yard touchdown run of the first quarter.
After the Patriots punted on the opening drive of the second half, Luck's completions to T. Y. Hilton and Fleener for gains of 40 and 16 yards set up Vinatieri's 21-yard field goal, cutting their deficit to 21–15.
On the Patriots' ensuing drive, Brady's 53-yard completion to Amendola moved the ball to the Colts' 32-yard line, and they eventually scored on a 1-yard touchdown run by Stevan Ridley; he added a two-point conversion, increasing New England's lead to 29–15.
San Francisco recovered from a 10–6 first half deficit by intercepting Panthers quarterback Cam Newton twice, sacking him four times, while scoring 17 unanswered points to earn their third consecutive trip to the NFC Championship Game.
Then after a long Panthers drive ended on the 49ers' 37-yard line with a punt, San Francisco running back Frank Gore's 39-yard burst set up a 34-yard field goal by Dawson, giving the 49ers a 23–10 lead with 7:35 left in the fourth quarter.
Denver jumped out to a 17–0 lead and held off a late San Diego rally to prevail 24–17 and advance to their first AFC Championship Game since 2005, running the final four minutes off the clock with a 10-play drive that included three third down conversions.
Denver crossed into San Diego territory again on their second possession, but the Chargers got the ball back when rookie safety Jahleel Addae recovered a fumble from tight end Julius Thomas.
Following another Chargers punt, Broncos returner Eric Decker broke several tackles as he ran the ball back 47 yards, but tripped himself to the ground without being touched at the San Diego 30-yard line.
Denver kick returner Trindon Holliday ran the second half kickoff 37 yards to the 36-yard line, setting up a 47-yard drive that ended with Matt Prater's 45-yard field goal, increasing the team's lead to 17–0.
Later in their drive, the Broncos were helped by a 23-yard pass interference call on Marcus Gilchrist on third down, and they eventually scored on Moreno's 3-yard run to take a 24–7 lead with just over eight minutes left in the game.
But the story was all about Denver as their offense racked up 507 yards without turning the ball over or giving up any sacks as they advanced to their seventh Super Bowl in franchise history, avenging a Week 12 defeat in which the Patriots rallied from a 24–0 halftime deficit.
The win was especially satisfying for head coach John Fox, who lost to Tom Brady and Bill Belichick in Super Bowl XXXVIII 10 years earlier when he was with the Carolina Panthers.
The Patriots eventually reached the Broncos' 18-yard line, but Robert Ayers sacked Brady for an 11-yard loss on third down, forcing them to settle for Stephen Gostkowski's 47-yard field goal.
With 22 seconds left in regulation, Richard Sherman deflected a pass in the end zone into the arms of linebacker Malcolm Smith for a game clinching interception as San Francisco was trying to drive for a winning score.
Things got off to a rough start for the Seahawks as their quarterback Russell Wilson was sacked on the first play of the game by linebacker Aldon Smith, resulting in a fumble that was recovered on the Seattle 15-yard line.
Carlos Rogers was flagged for shoving receiver Golden Tate out of bounds after the incompletion, resulting in a penalty that pushed San Francisco back 15 yards and the team decided to run out the clock.