By Morris Phillips

For the 49ers, the required math was simple for their Divisional Round meeting with the Panthers.  They’re well aware that advanced calculus will be needed to pass their test in Seattle this Sunday.

The San Francisco road show continued at Bank of America Stadium as the 49ers shut out the Panthers in the second half, in route to a 23-10 victory that earns them a meeting with the Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game.  In the matchup that many have anticipated since the pre-season, the 49ers will offer their NFL-best eight-game win streak in a battle with the ‘Hawks and their noisy 12^th man.

“It’s going to be a knockdown, drag-out game,” Colin Kaepernick predicted.

More predictable in terms of approach was the 49ers’ game plan for Carolina.  In the first meeting, the 49ers’ offensive line couldn’t protect Kaepernick who was sacked six times and the 49ers fell at home, 10-9, in November.  With Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree healthy, and a more characteristic outing from the O-line, the 49ers expected and needed to put more than a meager three field goals on the board.   In support, the 49ers’ defense needed to customarily stop the run and attempt to hold Cam Newton and the Panthers to 10 points or less again.

So the math was simple: add a couple of touchdowns to the nine–score 20 to 23 points–and the 49ers would likely be moving on.  Score nine points again—or less—and the off-season most likely would begin in the visitors’ locker room.

But what was simple got complicated in the second quarter when the 49ers found themselves trailing and needing to stop the Panthers from increasing their 7-6 lead with a touchdown to cap an 11-play drive.  So intense was that juncture of the game, a moment of comedy—Ahmad Brooks’ pre-snap swan dive over the Carolina offensive line—resulted in tense pushes and shoves.  The penalty for Brooks’ anxiousness was a mere couple of inches, and that probably allowed the San Francisco defense to catch their breath and inspired NaVorro Bowman to tackle for Mike Tolbert for a two-yard loss.   The subsequent Carolina field goal put the Panthers up 10-6.

If we can hold up at the goal line four downs in a row that just lets you know we’re here to play and it’s going to be a long day,” Bowman said.

From the point of what was the second 49ers’ goal line stand in less than a quarter, the offense got the message, and took off.  Kaepernick led the 49ers down the field over 12 plays and capped the drive with a scramble right and a touchdown pass to Davis from one yard out.  The catch was initially ruled out of bounds, but the perfectly-angled replay showed that Davis dragged his second foot across the end zone for the score.

The 49ers (14-4) then opened the third quarter with a second touchdown drive keyed by Kaepernick’s 45-yard completion to Anquan Boldin.  Two plays after Boldin’s catch, Kaepernick scampered in for a 20-10 49ers’ lead.

In his first NFL playoff game, former Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton had some big moments early, but none late.  Newton’s beautifully thrown 31-yard pass to Steve Smith gave the Panthers their second quarter lead, but an early Newton interception set up a 49ers’ field goal.  Newton was picked again with the Panthers driving late and trying to shave into San Francisco’s 23-10 lead.  Throughout Newton was dealt a steady dose of physicality with the 49ers sacking him five times and Brooks stopping the big signal caller on a fourth down quarterback sneak at the goal line.

Meanwhile, Kaepernick was steady and confident even as the offense sputtered early.  With Crabtree facing frequent double coverage and leaving the game briefly with an injury, Kap leaned hard on Boldin, who came up with eight catches for 136 yards.   And while his numbers were far from spectacular, Kaepernick avoided turnovers and was sacked just once.

Frank Gore was responsible for just half of the 49ers’ 34 rush attempts, but he was more than that with the 49ers protecting their lead in the second half.  Gore had 84 yards rushing, including a vintage Frank 39-yard scamper that helped set up Phil Dawson’s 34-yard field goal and a 23-10 49ers’ lead.

Coach Jim Harbaugh registered his fifth career playoff victory and he’s led the 49ers to wins in all three of their playoff games on the road.  The former Stanford coach also became the first NFL coach to take his team to the league championship round in each of his first three seasons as coach.

The 49ers and Seahawks will follow the Patriots-Broncos AFC Championship Game in a 3pm PST start on Sunday.  The winners of the two games will face off on February 2 in Super Bowl XLVIII to be held at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.