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VW returning to Super Bowl

Volkswagen of America will advertise during the Super Bowl for the third consecutive year, premiering a 60-second spot at the beginning of the third quarter.

The spot will feature the all-new Beetle, which arrived in dealerships in September. The 2012 Beetle was teased as a silhouette in last year's advertisement, but the iconic redesign is now ready for its Super Bowl close-up.

"The Super Bowl is the perfect platform to feature the bold, dynamic, and sportiest Beetle ever made," said Tim Mahoney, chief product and marketing officer of Volkswagen of America.

VW's spots in last year's Super Bowl were "The Force" and "Black Beetle." "The Force" featured the 2012 Chattanooga-made Passat and mini-Darth Vader.

A closer look at the New Orleans Saints' NFC South game against the Atlanta Falcons tonight at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The game kicks off at 7:30 p.m.

FALCONS (9-5) at SAINTS (11-3)

Coaches: Sean Payton (60-34 in six seasons, all with Saints); Mike Smith (42-20 in four seasons, all with Falcons).

TV: ESPN, WDSU.

Radio: 870-AM, 105.3-FM, 830-AM (Spanish broadcast).

KEEP AN EYE ON ...

THE RED-HOT QUARTERBACKS

As you might have read, Saints quarterback Drew Brees is 305 yards shy of breaking Dan Marino's single-season passing record of 5,084 yards heading into tonight's game.

But more important for this specific matchup, Brees is locked in. He's playing as well as he ever has in his career, and that's saying a lot.

Over the past five games, Brees has passed for 1,776 yards with 16 touchdowns and zero interceptions. He has thrown for at least 322 yards in each of those five games. As usual, he'll be the best player on the field tonight, which trumps every other matchup between these heated rivals.

On the flip side, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan also has shined. Over the past two games, Ryan has thrown for 544 yards with seven touchdowns and zero interceptions. Over the past five games, he has thrown for 12 touchdowns with just two interceptions, while leading Atlanta to four wins.

ESPN.com moved Ryan up to fifth place on its MVP Watch this week as he quietly has continued his steady growth in his fourth NFL season. Ryan is on pace to throw for more than 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns this season. And he's tied with Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco with 42 career wins -- most by a quarterback in his first four seasons in the Super Bowl era.

"He's definitely a guy that we feel is a great player," New Orleans Coach Sean Payton said of Ryan. "He has that size that you look for. He's very intelligent, and they ask him to do a lot at the line of scrimmage. He has a quick release, he's hard to sack, and he has that athleticism where he can make plays moving to his right or his left.

"And I think he's provided that leadership to put that program in a position it hasn't been in a while, much like Drew has done for us."

THE KICKERS

This game likely will come down to a kick by the Saints' John Kasay or the Falcons' Matt Bryant -- or both of them.

The last four games in this series were decided by three points, including the Saints' 26-23 overtime victory on Nov. 13 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.

In that game, Kasay made four of five field-goal attempts, including the winning 26-yarder in overtime. That came after Bryant's 27-yarder forced overtime as time expired in the fourth quarter.

The Saints lost a critical Week 3 matchup to Atlanta at the Superdome last season when Garrett Hartley missed a 29-yard field goal in overtime.

Kasay and Bryant should be up to the task tonight because the veterans have had impressive seasons. Kasay has made 26 of 32 field-goal attempts in his first season with the Saints. He had made seven in a row before missing a 50-yarder late last week at Minnesota.

Bryant has been even better, making 23 of 25 field-goal attempts.

KEY MATCHUP

SAINTS LT JERMON BUSHROD VS. FALCONS DE JOHN ABRAHAM

Saints left tackle Jermon Bushrod has had another quietly impressive season.

He has allowed only three sacks, including a shutout last week against the NFL's sack leader, Vikings defensive end Jared Allen. The Saints also held the Falcons without a sack in their Week 10 matchup.

Atlanta veteran John Abraham, however, has played his best football the past month after recovering from a nagging groin injury he suffered in Week 2. Abraham, 6 feet 3, 263 pounds, was chosen NFC Defensive Player of the Week last week after tormenting the Jacksonville Jaguars with 3.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. Abraham now has 8.5 sacks this season.

"He's been a consistent pain in the rear for a long time," Payton said of Abraham, a 12-year veteran who has 111 sacks in his career. "When you watch his recent games, he's a guy that can really change the outcome of your offensive production. ... You're not converting the third downs you normally convert because it's someone who has that speed and power. He's playing very well."

The Falcons' other defensive end, veteran Ray Edwards, also has played better lately after recovering from a summer knee injury. He has 1.5 sacks over the past two games.

Atlanta would love to generate a pass rush with just its four-man line, so the Falcons can drop everyone else back in coverage -- but that didn't work for them in the previous meeting.

GAME PLAN

This game is exactly why the Falcons paid so much to trade up and draft receiver Julio Jones in April.

The dynamic rookie has made Atlanta much harder to defend, giving it twin big-play threats in Jones and receiver Roddy White.

"You look in the long run, they wanted to have more explosive plays this year, and they've got 'em, New Orleans defensive coordinator Gregg Williams said. "They've had 'em, and it's a big part of the game. It's going to be a battle of big plays. Can Drew or Matt Ryan, who can create the most big plays? And we obviously had to change our approach to how we play them this year because of him being here. He's a very good, young talent."

The Falcons also have one of the league's best power-running games, led by tailback Michael Turner. They also have one of the NFL's most reliable possession receivers in tight end Tony Gonzalez.

To add even another dimension, Atlanta has increased its use of the no-huddle offense to limit defenses' substituting.

The Saints didn't have to worry much about Jones last time since he left early with a hamstring injury -- but he's back in peak form. The past two games, he caught eight passes for 189 yards and three touchdowns.

New Orleans simply can't roll its coverage to one receiver or the other to prevent a big play -- something that has been an issue for the Saints.

As potent as the Falcons' passing game has become, linebacker Jonathan Vilma said the first priority with Atlanta is always stopping the run. Turner began the week ranked third in the NFL with 1,129 rushing yards.

BY THE NUMBERS

Atlanta leads the all-time series 45-39, but the Saints are gaining fast. The Saints are 9-2 since Payton arrived in the Crescent City in 2006.
The Saints have won six consecutive "Monday Night Football" games, the longest active streak in the NFL, according to ESPN.com. They've beaten Atlanta four times in a row on Monday night, dating to the 2006 season.
New Orleans tight end Jimmy Graham is on pace to break a yardage record that's even older than Marino's passing record. He needs 120 yards to break the all-time mark by a tight end, 1,290 yards, which was set by Kellen Winslow in 1980.
New Orleans tailback Darren Sproles and Falcons tailback Jacquizz Rodgers are tied as two of the shortest players in the NFL at 5-6.

Voting for the 2012 Pro Bowl ended at the conclusion of the recent Monday Night Football game between the victorious San Francisco 49ers and losing Pittsburgh Steelers. A record 100 million votes were cast at NFL.com, and after the dust settled, there were an AFC leading seven players on the Baltimore Ravens who were the top vote-getters at their respective positions. The Green Bay Packers led the NFC and entire league with nine players topping their positions.

The Ravens who led their positions included Ray Lewis (ILB), Terrell Suggs (OLB), Haloti Ngata (DT), Ed Reed (FS), Brendon Ayanbadejo (ST), Vonta Leach (FB) and Michael Oher (T).

Hopefully, Ravens fans will have to miss seeing these guys in the game, which is being played the week between the AFC Championship Game and Super Bowl 46, since the teams in the big game will not be sending players to the Pro Bowl, which will be played in Hawaii on January 29, 2012. You can read more on the 2012 Pro Bowl at NFL.com/ProBowl, and check out the full NFL Press Release after the 'Jump.'

BALTIMORE — John Harbaugh aggressively pumped his fist when Joe Flacco converted a big third-down throw. He jumped on the back of linebacker Jameel McClain as he ran off the field after a key sack in the fourth quarter, and he gave several of his players hugs after receiving the first of two celebratory Gatorade baths.

And when it was all over, when his Baltimore Ravens had turned a superb all-around effort into a 16-6 victory over the San Francisco 49ers in front of an announced Thanksgiving night crowd of 71,435 at M&T Bank Stadium, Harbaugh jogged across the field and pulled his younger brother by 15 months in for an embrace, and some kind words.

The first matchup of head-coaching brothers in NFL history went the way of John Harbaugh’s Ravens as they scored the game’s final 10 points to deliver Jim Harbaugh’s 49ers just their second loss and their first since Week 2.

Flacco’s eight-yard touchdown strike to second-year tight end Dennis Pitta on the first play of the fourth quarter broke a 6-6 deadlock, and was all an inspired Ravens defense would need. Playing a second straight game without middle linebacker and emotional leader Ray Lewis, the Ravens tied a franchise record with nine sacks of 49ers quarterback Alex Smith and held standout running back Frank Gore to 39 yards rushing.

Linebacker Terrell Suggs, who spoke during the week about how badly the players wanted to get the head coach the victory over his younger brother, had three sacks — all in the second half — and defensive end Cory Redding had a career-high 2 1/2 sacks.

The Ravens improved to 8-3 and gained sole possession of first place in the AFC North pending the Pittsburgh Steelers’ game against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night. They are 6-0 at home and have won 16 of their last 17 at M&T Bank Stadium.

The Ravens’ lone touchdown drive was one of their finest all season as it covered 76 yards in 16 plays, and took up 7 minutes 34 seconds spanning the third and fourth quarters. Flacco (15 for 23 passing for 161 yards and a touchdown) was 4 for 4 for 34 yards and a touchdown on third down during the drive.

He hit Anquan Boldin for seven yards on third and six, Lee Evans for eight on third and seven, and Pitta for 11 on third and six before finding Pitta again on third and goal from the eight for a touchdown. It was the first of Pitta’s career.

The Ravens had a 6-3 lead heading into halftime, but that was erased when the 49ers opened the second half with a 13-play drive that lasted 7:36. A 10-yard sack by Terrell Suggs — the Ravens’ sixth of the night — forced San Francisco into a long field goal, but David Akers drilled it from 52 yards to tie the game and improve to 6 for 6 from 50 yards or beyond this season.

Both Harbaughs spent the week trying to divert attention off themselves and onto a matchup between two first-place teams. They weren’t very successful.

The story line dominated the couple of days leading into the game and the pregame activity Thursday night. When the two brothers met and embraced at midfield about an hour and a half before the game, they were swarmed by photographers and microphones. Perhaps made uncomfortable by the scene, their chat lasted only a couple of minutes before both Harbaughs headed upfield to be closer to their respective teams.

Nov 24, 2011 - A couple months ago, Laurent Robinson was a backup wide receiver that was probably happy just to be on a NFL roster. After his two-touchdown performance during the Dallas Cowboys' 20-19 win over the Miami Dolphins during Thursday's Thanksgiving Day game, he might just be the hottest wide receiver in football.

Robinson has now scored seven touchdowns in the past five weeks -- with at least one touchdown in each of those games -- when he got his first extended look following an injury to Miles Austin. His second touchdown of the game on Thursday showed an impressive ability to stay with the play, as Tony Romo bought some time while scrabbling around and allowed Robinson to get open in the back of the endzone.



That was the final play of an impressive drive that featured Romo going 7-for-7, including two long completions on plays in which he looked as though he would be sacked. The drive covered 77 yards on nine plays.

Although the Dolphins eventually took back the lead, the Cowboys ultimately won on Dan Bailey's second field goal of the game. His 28-yarder as time expired was his 26th consecutive field goal and finished off 54-yard drive that took up the game's final 2:59.

The Cowboys' ability to finish off their drives proved to be the difference. The Dolphins settled for four field goals, with all of them coming from inside the Cowboys' 20-yard line. Their only touchdown of the game came on a 35-yard catch by Brandon Marshall. Shayne Graham also missed a 47-yarder, which was his first miss in 26 tries that proved to be costly.

Dolphins quarterback Matt Moore outplayed counterpart Tony Romo in many ways, throwing for more yardage and throwing two fewer interceptions, but the Cowboys signal caller was much better when his team needed it most. Romo led the Cowboys to three second-half scores on five possessions. That helped him overcome a disastrous first half in which he was picked off twice and was generally ineffective.