After 266 NFL football games only two teams remain, and fortunately for us, it’s two of the best in the
league. One final game in Miami will decide who will be called NFL Champions. But first, how did we get here? In case you hadn't heard, there were two Conference Championship games last weekend that set our Super Bowl matchup. The AFC Title game held my attention for a bit, but once Kansas City
took the lead it never felt like Tennessee had a chance. Meanwhile, the NFC
Title game was an absolute bloodbath, as the 49ers convincingly crushed the Packers.
As far as my predictions went, I was 2-0 straight up and 1-1 ATS on the weekend,
bringing my totals 7-3 straight up and 3-7 ATS. Hmmm, not great. For your sake, hopefully my
recaps are more accurate than my predictions… Let’s find out!
Kansas City Chiefs
(12-4) defeat the Tennessee Titans (9-7), 35-24
This one was certainly almost
interesting! The Titans deployed their best defense in the first quarter:
keeping their offense on the field. And it worked! Thanks to some slow
methodical drives, both teams were limited to only four possessions in the
first half. This was ideal for Tennessee, as keeping Mahomes off the field was
an effective way of stopping him. Unfortunately, their early ten point lead
quickly evaporated, due to three straight Kansas City touchdown drives to end
the half. Once the Chiefs took the lead, there seemed to be little hope for the
Titans, even though the game remained relatively close throughout. Tennessee
was simply not built to make a big comeback; Henry and the defense were built
to bleed away precious time, not strike quickly. So, when Kansas City stretched
their lead to 18 points in the second half, all hope seemed lost for the
over-achieving Titans.
Mahomes led the Chiefs
to touchdowns on 5 of 6 drives in the middle of the game, and that was all that
was needed to seal the win. Kansas City has won in bursts like this all season,
which is why they are always a threat to beat you. Right when the defense feels
like they might have the offense figured out, Mahomes and Reid make the
adjustment, and suddenly there is no slowing them down. In a blink of an eye,
you’ve given up a full games-worth of points, and there is no hope for victory.
But the offense is even more nuanced than being capable of a few big plays each game. Mahomes can
rip off multiple touchdown drives in a row, and he can do it either fast or
slow. The speedy touchdowns are daggers, meant to leave the defense wandering
around dazed and confused, questioning positioning and playcalls. The slow
drives are punishing, showing that the Kansas City offense can dictate the pace
of the game whenever they want, the equivalent of a cat playing with its food.
When the Chiefs are at their best, they are a pleasure to watch. Will they be
able to dictate the pace of the game in two weeks against the NFC Champs?
San Francisco 49ers
(13-3) defeat the Green Bay Packers (13-3), 37-20
Another weekend, another
winning team led by a quarterback with less than 90 passing yards (hat tip to
Ryan Tannehill for the first two). But seriously, what the hell is going on in
the NFL? This style of football predates my own existence, so I actually don’t
even recognize it as the “old way” of football; I just recognize it for the odd
monstrosity that it is. Garoppolo threw for 77 yards on only six completions!
Those stats are easily attainable on a single drive, let alone an entire
football game. In defense of the Niners, this wasn’t a team that was refusing
to change their game plan. San Francisco simply had no reason to try anything
else. As Mostert ripped off long run after long run, the Niners were probably
just as baffled as all the viewers at home who couldn’t figure out why the
Packers had no answer for the ground game. Mostert was averaging 10 yards per
carry on his first 19 attempts of the game, leading the Niners to a commanding
27-0 lead. He eventually finished with a slightly more reasonable
per carry average, rushing for 220 yards on 29 carries over the entire game.
Those are high school numbers (and I didn’t even mention the four touchdowns he
scored)!
It was simply a baffling
game. Rodgers did well to pad his stats towards the end, so the box score will
indicate that the Packers played honorably against the vaunted San Francisco
defense, save for a few turnovers. However, that was obviously not the story of
the game. Rodgers was harassed by a relentless pass rush. The offense had no
rhythm. The defense was simply overpowered. And both teams were basically
checked out by halftime. Now, will the Niners need Garoppolo to contribute on
Super Bowl Sunday, or can the run game provide enough offense to hang with the
firepower of the Kansas City offense? I can’t wait to find out.
On a side note, congrats
to me on an incredibly well-predicted NFC Title game. While I didn’t say San
Francisco would get out to such an absurd halftime lead, I did come fairly
close to predicting the final score exactly right, as my prediction of 37-18
was somewhat respectable. You know what they say, even the blind squirrel finds
the nut sometimes... Anyways, I’ll try to use
that momentum to carry me to some successful Super Bowl predictions. To my
loyal readers, you can expect those predictions to come in later next week. In
the meantime, I’ve got a lot to think about. This Super Bowl could really go
any way. Will the Chiefs’ dominant offense rule the day? Will San Francisco’s
smothering defense and run game control the tempo? What color will the Gatorade
be? It has to be red, right? I mean, c’mon, the primary color for both teams is
red! Unless that’s a decoy… so much to think about...
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