The National Football League has been in business since 1920 and there have been some unbelievable teams and games over the years. In the playoffs however the pressure rises, and only the teams with great leadership, coaching, and those who can keep their cool can make it one step closer to the ultimate prize.
AFC Championship: #3 Kansas City Chiefs 17, #1 Baltimore Ravens 10
The Kansas City Chiefs have been the team of the decade in the NFL so far this decade as they have participated in three of the last four Super Bowls, winning two. However, this season they have yet to look the part of a defending champion as they were leading the league in dropped passes and were struggling on offense. What saved the Chiefs was a dominant defense that picked up the slack left by the offense. The Ravens on the other hand are coming off of a strong second-half performance against the Texans and for the first time since 1970, the AFC championship game would be held in Baltimore. The Chiefs would strike first as Patrick Mahomes connected with Travis Kelce to grab the early seven-point lead. Lamar Jackson and the Ravens responded with a touchdown of their own as Jackson would improvise a 30-yard touchdown pass to Zay Flowers to tie the game up. The second quarter was dominated by the Chiefs as they outscored the Ravens 10-0 behind an Isiah Pacheco touchdown run and a Harrison Butker 52-yard field goal to make the halftime score 17-7 Chiefs. The second half was all about the Ravens’ mistakes as costly turnovers in the red zone doomed them as Zay Flowers fumbled the ball lunging for the goal line then later in the quarter Lamar Jackson threw a triple-covered end zone interception to seal the Ravens fate. Baltimore would tack on a late field goal but the Ravens did too little too late and for the 4th time in Patrick Mahomes’ six-year career as a starting quarterback, he would be going to the Super Bowl as the Chiefs defend their AFC crown 17-10 over the Baltimore Ravens.
NFC Championship: #1 San Fransisco 49ers 34, #3 Detroit Lions 31
The San Francisco 49ers have been the class of the NFC this season and this postseason they are taking the NFC North’s best shot as the Packers took the Niners down to the wire and now the upstart Lions were going to give them their absolute best. Speaking of the Lions the league’s former laughing stock is now a team of grit and personality that no one takes lightly and they showed why in the first half. Detroit jumped out 24-7 on the Niners thanks to the power running game of the Lions as Jameson Williams, David Montgomery, and Jahmyr Gibbs all found the endzone. In the second half the 49ers found some momentum and it turned into a tidal wave, thanks to superb play from the Niners and a few questionable 4th down decisions by Lions head coach Dan Campbell. San Fransisco went on a 27-7 scoring run to close the game as Brandon Aiyuk, Christian McCaffrey, and Elijah Mitchell all found the endzone to put the 49ers up 34-24. The Lions would score late as Jared Goff hooked up with Jameson Williams to make it a three-point game but that was as close as the Lions would get. The 49ers are looking for their first title in 30 years against a Kansas City team that beat them four years ago in Miami.