On Wildcard weekend, My selections went 5/6 a record I am pretty proud of. Now, I have returned for conference championship week. With 2 matchups I predicted would happen at the start of the season.
AFC
Ravens vs 3) Chiefs
Man! Just as we all thought we were finally going to get rid of Mahomes and the amount of obnoxious media attention this team gets, they came from behind and beat the Bills in an absolute thriller last week. Somehow, and someway this team finds a way to win. Their offense has seemed to figure itself out. Pacheco, running as hard as ever, Kelce finally catching the ball and Mahomes figuring out if you just beg your receivers to catch instead of throwing a hissy fit on the sideline every time then maybe, just maybe they will want to catch the ball for you. One thing both teams have in common is their elite defense. More specifically if you look up elite defense in the dictionary you would see the words “Baltimore Ravens” right there. It seems that the Ravens always have a top defense in the league with the key contributors being Kyle Hamilton, Roquan Smith, Justin Madubuike, Jadeveon Clowney, and Marlon Humphrey. However, this year it’s paired with a top offense, one that has been extremely productive behind an MVP campaign from Lamar Jackson.
Jackson had the most rushing yards by a quarterback this year. The Ravens also led the league with 156.5 rushing yards per game. A number that is shocking considering they had 2 season ending injuries to their backroom this year. The Chiefs have the 19th best rushing defense in the league giving up an average of 113.2 yards per game. They are the worst team currently in the playoffs at stopping the run but they have the fourth best passing defense in the NFL and are the best at stopping the pass out of all the teams remaining. This game is going to be a great one and will probably be the most watched game of the season other than the Super Bowl because of the big names. But, I’m going to go with the better team to win.
Ravens 27 – Chiefs 24
NFC
1) 49ers vs 3) Lions
At the start of the regular season I predicted who would make the playoffs and who would win each game in the playoffs and who would win the Super Bowl. I still believe that if the Bengals didn’t get hurt they would have won this year, however this is not important. I also predicted the Lions and 49ers would face off. While it may have been in a different round I just want to point out that I still can predict the future its just a little bit off. Anyways, The Lions have made it back to a championship game for the first time in 30+ years. A feat that Lions fans born after 1992 have never seen which is crazy to think about. Detroit has built its success off its gritty, never giving up attitude and faith in their leader Dan Campbell. While he might not be the best game planner in the league, in fact he is probably at the bottom in terms of preparation, his team fights like no other. Jared Goff has blossomed into an elite game manager, a term that has been turned into an insult but it is true, with the ball in his hands Goff will manage to get a win if the defense does its job. Their elite passing attack paired with its two headed monster in the backfield with the power of Montgomery and speed of Gibbs make this offense a well rounded unit. This defense in my eyes has shown flashes of greatness. They have a lot of big time playmakers and underrated hard working players too but they just can’t seem to put it together every week. They have an amazing game every once and a while but they can’t seem to get that every single sunday and that’s what’s slowing them down.
The 49ers entered the year off of a disappointing playoff loss to the Eagles where quarterback Brock Purdy severely injured his elbow at the start of the game causing him to not be able to grip the ball and Christian Mccaffrey the running back having to be put in as an emergency QB. They look to seek revenge after blowing out the Eagles in the regular season and make it to their 2nd superbowl in 5 years. This defense has played outstanding despite losing DC Dameco Ryans at the end of last season with Nick Bosa being paired with his former Ohio State teammate Chase Young at the trade deadline and the cornerbacks playing their best football of their veteran careers. This offense has also been explosive with Brock Purdy leading the NFL in QBR and third in passing touchdowns. Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel have formed an explosive receiving core and George Kittle and Christian Mccaffrey have been playing consistently elite football. Mccaffrey was so good this year he is in the MVP conversation, A running back hasn’t won the MVP since Adrian Peterson in 2012. The 49ers have an overall outstanding, consistent roster and will be a tough beat this week. Even though I want the Lions to win with everything in me, I dont think it’s going to happen.
49ers 35 – Lions 31
