2014 NFC Championship game, 49ers vs. Seahawks: Seattle punches ticket to Super Bowl XLVIII

Sherman made waves for not only talking on the field, but for his postgame interview in which he called out 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree. While the talking didn’t get Sherman in much trouble other than in the court of public opinion, the gestures he made were considered taunting and got Sherman in a bit of financial trouble with the league.

Following the game, Sherman tried to shake Crabtree’s hand and later admitted it was bad timing to do so. In his postgame press conference, Sherman did not apologize for the gesture he made toward Kaepernick.

The Seattle Seahawks will be wearing their road uniforms in Super Bowl XLVIIII on Feb. 2 at MetLife Stadium in New York, featuring white tops and blue pants, according to the team’s official website.

• SB Nation’s complete coverage of Super Bowl XLVIII

• SB Nation’s complete coverage of Super Bowl XLVIII

• Sherman’s deflection: The Xs and Os behind the big story

“I apologize for attacking an individual and taking the attention away from the fantastic game by my teammates,” Sherman said, via Ed Werder of ESPN. “That was not my intent.”

Sherman has never been one to shy away from speaking his mind. He explained the interview and the comments about Crabtree in a column he wrote for Sports Illustrated on Monday. The apology came less than 24 hours after he made the comments, which have since garnered extensive attention -- possibly more than the play Sherman made to seal the game or Seattle’s victory.

Update: Sources have told Pro Football Talk that Bowman has torn his ACL and MCL.

Somehow, the refs gave the recovery to the Seahawks. A fumbled snap on fourth down provided cosmic justice and gave the ball back to San Francisco.

Sherman wrote an article for The MMQB in which he recounts a simmering feud boiling over after a series of events in which he felt disrespected.

There’s a school of thought that Sherman should have shown some ethereal concept known as “class,” a one-word, often misused term that’s supposed to connote an air of being gracious in victory and turning the other cheek. Immediately after the game, Sherman wasn’t capable of containing his emotions and suddenly “passion” became “behaving like a thug.” The All-Pro defensive back isn’t backing down from his statements, despite being criticized for his outburst.

Iupati was hurt on an Anthony Dixon 1-yard touchdown run, staying on the ground for minutes before limping off and getting onto a cart. Iupati was listed as having an ankle injury. Bowman was hurt while trying to recover a fumble at the 1-yard line, having his leg landed on.

It’s feared Bowman suffered a torn ACL on the play, which could affect his 2014 season, per FOX Sports. Iupati will undergo further testing to determine the severity of his issue.

Now there is an account of why Sherman was so angry.

The rivalry between Sherman and Crabtree transcended the field last year, according to Jerry Brewer of the Seattle Times.

Over at Field Gulls, Jacson Bevens attempted to sum up the incredible ride the Seahawks have put their fans on:

• SB Nation’s 2014 NFL playoff coverage and brackets

Lane attempted to cover a punt in the second quarter when he was forced out of bounds into the 49ers bench area. He was met with a stiff elbow from a non-uniformed member of the team and hit the ground before trying to return to the field.

It’s unclear who delivered the elbow. It could have been a member of the coaching staff or an inactive player, but the angle and down marker makes it difficult to discern. One thing we can safely say is that subtlety isn’t his forte. He delivers the elbow, bounces and takes a step toward where Lane fell -- all while staring at the player.

That mismatch was enhanced further by the complete disappearance of the New England pass rush as the game moved onward. Manning to Demaryius Thomas was one of the league’s most potent weapons this season, but an un-pressured Manning throwing to Thomas running a post-corner-post is completely unfair.

From there, it was all over but the crying. Manning continued to work the ball to Demaryius Thomas with ease, as his #1 receiver racked up a game-high 134 yards in the air. The Patriots kept fighting and managed a pair of late TDs (including a frankly hilarious Brady scramble that will ensure the Broncos’ Mitch Unrein two weeks of hell in the film room), but the Broncos kept answering to keep New England at arms’ length before sealing the deal with a pretty play action flip to Jacob Tamme that ensured Denver would take the clock to zero on their terms.

Iupati’s injury was confirmed post-game by head coach Jim Harbaugh via Mike Maiocco of CSN. The 26-year-old offensive lineman will have plenty of time to rehabilitate, but will be unable to participate in the Pro Bowl which takes place on Jan. 26. Iupati was named to the roster for the second straight year following a season where he was integral to the 49ers’ interior blocking despite missing four regular season games due to injury.

There is no official announcement on how long recovery will take, however if the ankle injury was a routine break he should be able to return at full strength when the 49ers open training camp for the 2014 season.

Twitter. It’s a place a unfiltered emotions and filtered photos. A chance for the public to have a direct line to athletes without pesky stuff like fact checking get in the way.

Convincing argument Tom, if that is your real name. We’re going to need some more proof that you weren’t on the field while tweeting about the game on Sunday night:

After his postgame interview on the field, Richard Sherman was called classless. He was called a thug. He was called just about everything he could be called.

Let’s talk about who Richard Sherman is for a moment, to provide context. Here’s a guy who grew up in Compton, attending Compton Dominguez High School, before getting into Stanford. He played under Jim Harbaugh, and there’s a lot of bad blood there. He also came back to start his masters in his final year of eligibility.

Hours are spent in the week before a football game analyzing tape, working against the scout team, searching for any advantage that can be exploited. It is work devoted to Plan A, and Plan A is where your superior knowledge and preparation are supposed to light the way to a win.

Plan A was meaningless on offense in the first half on Sunday. The Seattle and San Francisco defenses were not just ready for Plan A, they were eager for it. Plan A never worked to the offense’s advantage; the defense had position, or numbers, or mismatches in its favor. Plan A only yielded failure -- sputtering, retreating, painful-looking failure.

If Richard Sherman gave the season’s most impassioned postgame soundbite, 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh and Pam Oliver had the year’s most awkward exchange. The FOX sideline reporter caught Harbaugh in the tunnel after the game. For some reason, she decided to go with the “grief counselor” tone as opposed to the usual straight reporter tone.

But the best part came after Harbaugh threw out a Hemingway quote, “A man can be destroyed but not defeated” from “The Old Man and the Sea.”

Kaepernick was the one making waves early in the game. He certainly didn’t make things happen with his arm, but he ran the football as well as he ever has. Early in the game, San Francisco used numerous designed runs for Kaepernick, and he escaped more than his fair share of pressure. He finished with 11 carries for 130 rushing yards, all of which were pivotal in the game being close.

But at the end of the game, it was his arm that hurt the 49ers the most. Kaepernick threw an interception on the second play of the team’s penultimate drive, after San Francisco came up with a huge stop and fumble recovery on the previous drive.

I’m sorry I’m sorry I don’t even know what I did but I’m so sorry, Richard.

The game ended at 23-17, with Wilson kneeling out the remainder of clock.

Seattle came up just short in the playoffs last year, blowing a lead in the final 30 seconds against Atlanta. Had the Seahawks held on, they would have played San Francisco for the right to go to the Super Bowl. Despite the missed opportunity, the Seahawks returned one of the most talented rosters in the NFL this season. Unlike last year, when Seattle lost a few games it probably shouldn’t have, the Seahawks took care of business during the 2013 regular season, clinching the NFC West and the No. 1 seed. That meant that NFC foes would have to advance through the playoffs by beating Seattle at CenturyLink Field, a very tough place for opponents to win as New Orleans found out last week and San Francisco this week.

Bowman was down on the field for a significant portion of time before the 49ers brought out the cart to take him to the sideline and the locker room.

We have a gif below, if you can handle it:

It’s time to measure this one on the Jim Harbaugh Richter scale.

It was a go-ahead touchdown = 7.5

Just one quarter later, Harbaugh was back at it losing his mind on two separate occasions. The first came when he interrupted referee Gene Steratore while he was announcing a 5-yard running into the kicker penalty. It looked like one of the 15-yard roughing variety, but Harbaugh’s plea went unheard.

Fortunately, Harbaugh’s sideline sanity was momentarily restored when Steratore did finally throw the grounding flag following lengthy deliberation.