SIDELINED

New England tight end Rob Gronkowski needs surgery on his broken left arm, a person with knowledge of the injury told The Associated Press. Gronkowski was injured on the Patriots’ eighth offensive play of Sunday’s 41-28 victory over Houston. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the team has not released details of the injury. Running back Danny Woodhead also injured a thumb in the first quarter and the severity of it was uncertain. ... Atlanta played the second half of its 30-28 win over Seattle without defensive end John Abraham, who re-injured his ailing right ankle. There was no word whether he'll be able to play next week against San Francisco in the NFC title game.

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SPEAKING

‘‘Our quarterback is a special player. They call him Matty Ice, but I feel like we've got two Matty Ices. There’s Matty Ice Ryan and Matty Ice Bryant.’’ — Atlanta coach Mike Smith on quarterback Matt Ryan, who made two clutch throws to get the Falcons in good position, and kicker Matt Bryant, who kicked a 49-yarder with 8 seconds left to beat Seattle 30-28.

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‘‘I think the two best teams are in the final. Baltimore certainly deserves to be here and so do we.’’ — New England’s Tom Brady after the Patriots’ 41-28 win over the Houston Texans put them in the AFC title game for the second straight year against the Ravens.

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