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So now, we have come to it. This is the point where the NFL has it’s version of the Final Four, and we know two options per conference are left.
In the AFC, it will be an intriguing clash of styles. The Titans might not have a great offense, but they are a tough, physical team with a solid defense. They are very much made in the old mode of teams, almost a throwback to a different era. The Chiefs, meanwhile, have a wide open offense, one that can score touchdowns on seven straight drives like they did last weekend against Houston. That should be an interesting game, to be sure.
Then in the NFC, the two teams participating also are quit different from one another, but not to the same degree. The 49ers rely primarily on a tough defense and physical approach as well, although their offense can be explosive. As for the Packers, Aaron Rodgers is the most famous and obvious face of the franchise, and has been now for over a decade. But in fact, the Packers have also benefitted by s fairly strong running game and defense, and that added dimension has brought them back to the NFC Championship Game for the fourth time in the Rodgers era, but the first time since 2016, when they got blown out by the Falcons.
So, let’s take a closer look at both games and see what might happen:
In the AFC, it will be an intriguing clash of styles. The Titans might not have a great offense, but they are a tough, physical team with a solid defense. They are very much made in the old mode of teams, almost a throwback to a different era. The Chiefs, meanwhile, have a wide open offense, one that can score touchdowns on seven straight drives like they did last weekend against Houston. That should be an interesting game, to be sure.
Then in the NFC, the two teams participating also are quit different from one another, but not to the same degree. The 49ers rely primarily on a tough defense and physical approach as well, although their offense can be explosive. As for the Packers, Aaron Rodgers is the most famous and obvious face of the franchise, and has been now for over a decade. But in fact, the Packers have also benefitted by s fairly strong running game and defense, and that added dimension has brought them back to the NFC Championship Game for the fourth time in the Rodgers era, but the first time since 2016, when they got blown out by the Falcons.
So, let’s take a closer look at both games and see what might happen:
Green Bay Packers
at
San Francisco 49ers
NFC Championship Game
Green Bay at San Francisco
It is hard to look at this contest, and the two teams involved, and not remember what happened the last time that these two teams met earlier this season. In that game, the 49ers smashed the Packers 36-7 in San Francisco. It was the worst loss that Green Bay faced this season, and their worst defeat in years.
So the question, then, is can the Packers be competitive in this one/ Do they have a chance to reverse the outcome of that earlier game?
The 49ers have a very tough, physical defense. Granted, Green Bay will make adjustments, but they will not have an easy time against that Niner defense. Which means if the 49ers score a lot of points, it would be hard to imagine how the Packers can keep up, Aaron Rodgers or no Aaron Rodgers.
Which then begs the question of whether that Packers defense, which really did show significant improvements this season, are up to the task of holding the 49ers off better than they did in that last game? Can they keep San Francisco in check?
San Francisco seems not to be the most consistent offense. Sometimes, they can score a lot of points and look like one of the league’s elite units. Then at other times, they look a lot more limited. So, which version of the 49ers offense will show up this weekend? Will Jimmy Garoppolo be at his best? Will San Fran’s running attack be solid? Can they repeat what they did last time against the Pack?
There are obviously a lot of questions that will be answered this weekend. I am not a fan of the 49ers, admittedly, and would love to see them lose their last game of this season.
However, there appears to be just a few too many advantages in this game that are going their way. They certainly know that they can beat the Packers, having done it very convincingly earlier this season. San Francisco also enjoys the home field advantage, which could prove to be significant. And again, while the Packer defense has shown significant improvement, I am not entirely sure that they are fully to be trusted.
Weather should not be too much of a factor. It is projected to be overcast, and perhaps there is a chance of rain, although as of right now, it is not in the forecast. So, the conditions appear optimal for this game, at least for now.
This will be the eighth meeting in the playoffs between these two teams since the first meeting that I remember them having back in the mid-nineties, tying them with the Giants and 49ers for the most between any two teams in the playoffs during my lifetime. Back in the nineties, the Packers enjoyed a decisive advantage, knocking SF out three years in a row, before the Niners took that last one. The Packers won the next meeting a few years later, as well. But then in this last decade, that has completely reversed itself, as Aaron Rodgers and the Packers were knocked out of the playoffs twice in a row by San Francisco following the 2012 and 2013 regular seasons. My pick is that this trend will continue.
My pick: San Francisco
Tennessee Titans
at
AFC Championship Game
Tennessee at Kansas City
Here in this game, weather could be a factor, at least in terms of it being cold. The temperatures will be well below freezing. Not that this should be a determining factor, one way or the other. But it just seemed like it was worth putting out there.
Admittedly, I have underestimated Tennessee for many weeks now. They looked hot in the regular season, and just as I began to pick them based on how impressive they appeared to be, they began to go the other way and lose, and they were losing important games. But now, they have pulled off three straight road wins, beginning in the final week of the regular season, beating the Texans. But they were resting their starters. Still, that qualified them for the playoffs, and that was when they really got hot. They stunned the Patriots up in New England, and while I thought the Patriots were vulnerable, I did not think that the Titans were capable of that. Then, last weekend, they did the unthinkable, and dominated the Ravens in Baltimore. The Ravens had been the hottest team in the league, having won 12 straight games, and produced a league best 14-2 regular season record. It really felt shocking to think that they did not even earn one playoff win after all of that, but that was how strongly Tennessee played, to their credit.
So now, can the Titans do it one more time to get to the Super Bowl?
Tennessee clearly has a very tight and tough defense. They play physical, and when they are on, they are really on. Right now, they are really on. They have allowed 39 total points in the past three games, each of those being road games against division champions of the AFC. That is an average of 13 points allowed per game, so this defense is real.
That said, they are also facing one of the most explosive offenses in the league. Their status as a road team should clearly not faze them, since they have won those three straight road games. But nevertheless, the Chiefs offense should be able to stretch them a bit thin, and KC might be reaching their peak on offense. This should be a phenomenal match-up between a top-notch defense and an explosive offense, both seemingly reaching their peak right on time to face one another here in this game.
There are reasons for concern, as well as reasons for optimism, for both teams. The Titans have hardly been a model of consistency this season, and their offense is limited in what they can do. That could be a problem if they find themselves down and in need of some points to stage a comeback. As for the Chiefs, they have a defense that looked a lot better in the second half of the season, but which still can be a bit inconsistent. After all, let us not forget that Houston nevertheless did own a 24-0 lead at one point in this game. Granted, the Chiefs offense bailed them out, and in a hurry. And also, from that point on, the defense did step it up and played a phenomenal game the rest of the way. Still, remember that the Chiefs defense gave up 31 points against Houston, a team not exactly known as having the most explosive offense in the league. They cannot afford spotting another team a 24-point lead the way that they did last weekend, to be sure.
Yet clearly, both teams have their strengths as well. The Chiefs offense has not always looked like world beaters, but they were on point last weekend, and that bodes well for them. The defense has been stepping it up, and the two units combined make the Chiefs quite formidable. The Titans, meanwhile, have a very tough defense, and while their offense does not exactly rank among the elite units in the league, they seem to get the job done more often than not, especially in the past few weeks.
This will be an intriguing game, then.
So, who will win out? Will the Chiefs offense provide the spark to finally lift the team back to the Super Bowl for the first time in half a century? Or, will the Titans defense prove stifling again, and will their Cinderella playoff run see them go all the way to the Super Bowl, for only the second time in franchise history, and the first in two decades, when they just narrowly fell short against the Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV?
More than the NFC Championship Game, this game feels like it could go either way. It would really not be surprising at this point regardless of which team actually come out on top in the end.
But my job here in these previews is to make a prediction, and so here goes.
Home field advantage, an explosive offense, and a defense that is just good enough to get the job done will see Kansas City back in the Super Bowl. It feels like everything worked out just right for them to get this done this year.
There are reasons for concern, as well as reasons for optimism, for both teams. The Titans have hardly been a model of consistency this season, and their offense is limited in what they can do. That could be a problem if they find themselves down and in need of some points to stage a comeback. As for the Chiefs, they have a defense that looked a lot better in the second half of the season, but which still can be a bit inconsistent. After all, let us not forget that Houston nevertheless did own a 24-0 lead at one point in this game. Granted, the Chiefs offense bailed them out, and in a hurry. And also, from that point on, the defense did step it up and played a phenomenal game the rest of the way. Still, remember that the Chiefs defense gave up 31 points against Houston, a team not exactly known as having the most explosive offense in the league. They cannot afford spotting another team a 24-point lead the way that they did last weekend, to be sure.
Yet clearly, both teams have their strengths as well. The Chiefs offense has not always looked like world beaters, but they were on point last weekend, and that bodes well for them. The defense has been stepping it up, and the two units combined make the Chiefs quite formidable. The Titans, meanwhile, have a very tough defense, and while their offense does not exactly rank among the elite units in the league, they seem to get the job done more often than not, especially in the past few weeks.
This will be an intriguing game, then.
So, who will win out? Will the Chiefs offense provide the spark to finally lift the team back to the Super Bowl for the first time in half a century? Or, will the Titans defense prove stifling again, and will their Cinderella playoff run see them go all the way to the Super Bowl, for only the second time in franchise history, and the first in two decades, when they just narrowly fell short against the Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV?
More than the NFC Championship Game, this game feels like it could go either way. It would really not be surprising at this point regardless of which team actually come out on top in the end.
But my job here in these previews is to make a prediction, and so here goes.
Home field advantage, an explosive offense, and a defense that is just good enough to get the job done will see Kansas City back in the Super Bowl. It feels like everything worked out just right for them to get this done this year.
My pick: Kansas City
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