Conference Championship recap

AFC:

CHIEFS 17, RAVENS 10

Boy am I an idiot. I truly believed that this Chiefs team was shaky entering the playoffs, and were due for a loss. But here they are again, in their 4th super bowl in 5 years. This was the most impressive of their 3 wins, a defensively dominant game on the road against what I certainly thought was the best team in the NFL. 
Honestly, good for Patrick Mahomes that he can get to a super bowl with his defense pulling its weight this much. But Mahomes himself was very good, and Kelce was dominant. On the other side, Lamar Jackson was pretty bad, a victim of both himself and a terrible game plan that almost completely ignored the run. You figure this version of the Ravens will have more chances, but this was as good a chance as they will ever have. 

NFC:

49ERS 34, FRAUDS 31

The season from hell is OVER! FINALLY! I can rest now, after the Detroit Darlings, the frauds, at last revealed their true colors in one of the greatest collapses in conference championship game history.
I went in picking a Lions rout, and right from the start it looked like I was regrettably going to be right. Detroit completely dominated the first half, scoring at will, and the 49ers looked unprepared to even try to play defense. Brock Purdy also looked bad again. So at halftime I conceded the game, and faced the horror of having to watch the Lions make a super bowl in my life before the Vikings.
But then, it was as if all the bad luck and misfortune that the Lions didn't have to deal with during their easy ride to this game, was unleashed at once.
The cascade began when Dan Campbell's showboating gambling nature finally started to bite him back. With a chance to do the simple thing and kick a field goal to go back up 3 scores, he went for the 4th down and didn't convert. 
Then Purdy launched a deep ball that bounced off a Lions DB's facemask, and was cradled by Brandon Aiyuk for a huge gain that set up a TD to cut it to 7. 
I wasn't buying in yet. The season from hell burned me too many times. 
But then the collapse really hit fast-forward on the Lions very next play, with a Gibbs fumble. The 49ers cashed in with a McCaffrey TD to tie the game. 
The Lions had to punt after a wide open drop, and the 49ers drove to a go ahead field goal. I figured not getting the 7 would prove the 49ers undoing. But, after the Lions got in field goal range, Dopey Dan again tried to show off how daring he is, and went for the 4th down. Jared Goff's pass was incomplete. And then the 49ers took the Lions soul with a long drive to seal the game, including a huge Purdy scramble.
One last bit of Dan dopeyness occurred on the Lions last drive, where they needed 2 scores yet he had them burn too much trying for the TD first, including a moronic 3rd and goal run. 49ers grabbed the onside kick and it was over. 

Finally over. This awful NFL season at least did not end with the indignity of the Lions, and a fraudulent Lions at that, reaching heights the Vikings haven't in nearly 50 years. Ultimately, all the Lions bullshit this year, and all the insufferable cocky bullshit from their bandwagon fans, was worth it to see them have their hearts ripped out in such grand fashion, to a degree that even the Vikings haven't put their fans through. 

This was the easiest path to a super bowl these.Lions will ever have, and they didn't get it done. They got exactly what they deserved. 


SUPER BOWL 

So we have the same matchup as 4 years ago. Easy to forget, but the 49ers controlled that game well into the 4th quarter before Mahomes went cheat code.
I think this 49ers team is comparable, and arguably better. They are actually the early favorites surprisingly. 
But no way am I going to be stupid enough to pick against Patrick Mahomes 4 times in a single postseason. He's still capable of dominance, and the 49ers spent much of the last 2 games getting lit up by QBs far inferior to him. And the Chiefs have an excellent defense to pair with him, which just dismantled the MVP on his home field. 
So I think this will be title #3 in 5 years for the Chiefs.

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