Hero: Tony Gonzalez

NFL Championship Weekends Heroes and Goats

The Falcons tight end was almost unstoppable in what is likely the final game of his career. Gonzalez caught all eight passes thrown in his direction for 78 yards and a touchdown. That's the way to go out. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

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The Best and Wor... Jordan Raanan, XFINITY Sports

In do-or-die games there are winners and losers. There are heroes and goats. That's the harsh reality of the NFL.

There's rarely an in-between, especially for quarterbacks. Just ask Matt Ryan. He had maybe the greatest half in playoff history and yet is facing criticism on Monday. Harsh.

Here are championship weekend's heroes and goats:

(AP Photos)

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Hero: Joe Flacco The Ravens went into Baltimore and New England in consecutive weeks and won. Flacco outplayed Peyton Manning and Tom Brady in those game. That's pretty much all you need to know. Baltimore admittedly put the game on Flacco's right shoulder in the second half and he came through with 159 yards passing and three touchdown tosses with their season on the line. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

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Hero: Ravens Def... Baltimore's defense turned nasty in the second half. It shut out the league's top offense and forced Tom Brady and Co. into three turnovers. Very impressive. Linebacker Ray Lewis and defensive tackle Haloti Ngata played better than at any point this season. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

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Goat: Tom Brady The Patriots had four red-zone trips and just one touchdown. Brady had more interceptions than touchdown passes. It wasn't a memorable day for the legendary quarterback. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

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Hero: Harbaugh B... John Harbaugh (Ravens) and Jim Harbaugh (49ers) each led their team to road victories in a championship game. Both did it with great halftime adjustments, particularly on defense. To think that two brothers are now set to face off against each other in the Super Bowl is pretty unbelievable. Think about it, there are only 32 of these jobs in the world. Two of them belong to brothers who are going to coach against each other in the Super Bowl. Wow. Just wow. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

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Hero: 49ers Offe... You'll hear a lot in the coming days about Colin Kaepernick, Frank Gore and Vernon Davis. They all played well. It was possible, though, because of the 49ers' offensive line. They took over and dominated -- much like they have been doing all season -- as the game progressed. The 49ers compiled 213 yards in the second half of their 28-24 victory. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

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Hero: Patrick Wi... Willis is the leader of the 49ers' defense. He was all over the field on Sunday in Atlanta and finished with 12 tackles. He also helped limit Tony Gonzalez and shut out the Falcons in the second half. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

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Goat: Matt Ryan It's unfair. Ryan threw for an NFC Championship record 396 yards in the Falcons' loss. He threw three touchdown passes. He was great for most of the game. The two turnovers in the second half, however, were very costly. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

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Hero: Tony Gonza... The Falcons tight end was almost unstoppable in what is likely the final game of his career. Gonzalez caught all eight passes thrown in his direction for 78 yards and a touchdown. That's the way to go out. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

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Goat: Harry Doug... The officials questionably ruled a pass to Douglas late in the fourth quarter a reception. But if he didn't trip over his own feet in the first place, Atlanta may still be celebrating a win over the 49ers. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

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