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NFC Championship Game
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Guess it's safe to say that I underestimated the Eagles, when I picked the 49ers to win. Traditionally, the team that is best on defense does well come playoff time, and the 49ers had seemed to me to be red hot. The Eagles still had some question marks, or appeared to me to have some uncertainties, in any case. Jalen Hurts even admitted that he was not one hundred percent. And it as just a few weeks ago that they appeared to be struggling, even stumbling to the finish line.
Also, I thought that the 49ers looked potentially explosive on offense. This was a team with incredible talent in their running game. And Brock Purdy had been filling in admirably at the quarterback position. Plus, he had George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey, among others. So I had assumed - wrongly, obviously - that San Fran would give the Eagles all that they could handle. In fact, my assumption was that they would give Philly more than they could handle, given the incredible talent, experience, and coaching that the 49ers franchise is currently blessed with.
None of that was in evidence in yesterday's game, however. If Hurts looked less than one hundred percent, than seeing what he is capable of when he is at one hundred percent is terrifying thought. Indeed, Philadelphia dominated in every way that they wanted to. They held onto the ball for well over 37 minutes, produced 25 first downs while limiting San Francisco to just 11 first downs, and produced 269 total yards while allowing just 164 for the Niners. Plus, the Eagles committed no turnovers, while the 49ers committed three.
All of that led, not surprisingly, to the kind of lopsided game that we got. Philadelphia dominated most of this game, although they really assumed full control for good late in the second quarter. Prior to that, the 49ers looked like they were keeping up, as the game was even after San Francisco had scored a touchdown to tie it midway through the second quarter. But the Eagles capped a 13-play drive that took 6:53 off the clock with a 13-yard touchdown by Miles Sanders for a 14-7 lead. Shortly after that, they capitalized from a bizarre San Francisco turnover with a drive of just three plays which culminated in a 10-yard touchdown run by Boston Scott. It might not have been ball game over by that point, but certainly, Philly had San Fran on the ropes.
To get back into the game, the 49ers would have needed a strong passing game. The problem was that their quarterbacks kept getting knocked out of the game. Brock Purdy was injured in the first half, and although he would come back to play later in the game, he simply handed off, clearly uncomfortable with passing. He had been impressive on the day, completing 4 of 4 passes for 23 yards. The man who replaced him, Josh Johnson, completed 7 of 13 passes for 74 yards. The running game did not save them, either. Christian McCaffrey led all Niners running with 84 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. Deebo Samuel led 49ers receivers with 33 yards on three catches.
None of it was enough to even come close for the 49ers. They were not able to get back into the game in the second half, crippled as they were in their passing game. And the Eagles kept wearing down that top-rated defense, sustaining a 15-play, 91 yard drive that ate up almost eight minutes of the clock in the third quarter, and culminated with a one-yard touchdown run by Hurts.
As Warner Wolf used to say, you could turn you television sets off by that point.
Hurts completed 15 of 25 passes for 121 yards. He also ran 11 times for an additional 39 yards, including a touchdown. Still, he did clearly look less than one hundred percent, although he nevertheless obviously helped his team to victory in this one. Kenneth Gainwell added 48 yards on 14 carries, and Miles Sanders earned 42 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries. Finally, Boston Scott got 21 yards and a touchdown on 6 carries. So Philadelphia had a very solid level of production on a balanced running attack.
DeVonta Smith led all Eagles receivers in terms of yards, earning 36 yards on just two catches. Dallas Geodert caught the most passes with five, but picked up only 23 yards. A.J. Brown had four catches for 28 yards. Again, not the most explosive day for Philly's offense. However, it was more than enough to help the Eagles score a decisive victory, earning the fourth Super Bowl berth in franchise history.
Now, they will have to prepare for Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs, led by their former head coach Andy Reid, in Super Bowl LVII. Should be interesting.
My pick: Inaccurate
AFC Championship Game
Unlike the NFC Championship Game, this one came down to the wire. Unfortunately, I believe that this one will be remembered for the frankly poor officiating that sure seemed to help lift the Chiefs over the Bengals at Arrowhead last night.
There were a series of controversial calls that benefitted the hometown Chiefs. With less than ten minutes left in a tied game, the Bengals had apparently stopped the dangerous Chiefs offense cold, and were set to get the ball back. But the officials stepped in and called a frankly questionable call against the Bengals, which was followed by another questionable call on the very next play. The Chiefs saw their drive sustained, and the Bengals saw their defense stay on the field, and their own possible field position once they got the ball back worsen. Things like that so late in such a tight game might have really helped to decide the game.
Still, neither team was able to score and break the tie. But the Chiefs had the ball last, and Mahomes and the KC offense are always dangerous. They did manage to get more or less to midfield at the 43-yard line and had a chance at what would have been a very long field goal attempt, by no means a sure thing. But Bengals linebacker Joseph Ossai was called for a penalty after hitting Mahomes out of bounds, which pushed the Chiefs 15 yards closer. Suddenly, the Chiefs had the ball at the 28-yard line, and a field goal looked like a likely conversion. So that was a huge play. There was some controversy regarding the call, although I have to say that, to me, it did look like Ossai hit Mahomes out of bounds, and completely unnecessarily. Ossai slunk down to the bench afterwards, and seemed completely devastated after KC converted the field goal, which effectively iced the win for them.
Fellow Bengals teammate Germaine Pratt also seemed highly critical of the hit on Mahomes by Ossai with eight seconds left in the game. Obviously, that helped the Chiefs cause immensely. He was caught on video yelling as an obviously disappointed Bengals team returned to their locker rock:
“It’s the motherf–kin’ last series,” Pratt screamed out. “What the f–k. Why the f–k did you touch the quarterback?”
From my standpoint, I agree. You know that the refs are always going to be watching for any hit on a quarterback, especially if that quarterback is Mahomes. And to place a hit on him at such a key point late in the game, with literally seconds left, and the outcome riding on the play, and eventually, on the late hit call that gave the Chiefs an unearned 15 extra yards? Yes, there were some controversial calls against the Bengals, which may have indeed helped the Chiefs to win this one. But at that point, the Bengals were still tied up, and the game seemed to be heading towards overtime. The Bengals defense kept coming up big, and that field goal attempt would have been far more uncertain without the extra 15 yards that the Chiefs gained because of the penalty. I still think that Cincy had a chance, and a real chance, to win it. That play was, frankly, boneheaded, and very, very costly.
In fact, I felt like the Bengals had more or less outplayed the Chiefs up to that point in the game.
Still, it was a very tight game, and still could have gone either way. KC had a slight advantage in terms of time of possession, holding onto the ball for over 32 minutes. They earned 357 total yards and 23 first downs, to 309 yards and 18 first downs for Cincy. The Bengals committed two turnovers on the day, both from interceptions thrown by Burrow.
On the day, Mahomes completed 29 of 43 for 326 yards and two touchdowns. Isiah Pacheco ran for 26 yards on 10 carries, although those statistics were a bit deceptive. In fact, Pacheco felt like he was very effective at key times, and was a real torn on the Bengals side, particularly late in the contest. He also picked up 59 yards with five catches. Marquez Valdes-Scantling earned 116 yards and a touchdown with six catches. Travis Kelce, predictably, was a force for the passing games, earning 78 yards and a touchdown on seven catches.
Joe Burrow completed 26 of 41 246 with one touchdown and two INT's in what was ultimately a losing cause for Cincinnati. He also ran four times, picking up 30 yards, which led all Bengals runners. However, Samaje Perine had a decent day, picking up 22 yards and a touchdown on five carries. But the Bengals offense was mostly strongest with the passing attack. Tee Higgins was great 83 yards and a touchdown on six catches. Ja'Marr Chase also stood out with six catches for 75 yards.
Still, the Chiefs now advance to the Super Bowl for the third time in the past four years. Andy Reid now ranks second on the list of most playoff wins by any head coach, and this counts as the fourth Super Bowl that he has reached in his head coaching career. The Chiefs beat the 49ers in Super Bowl LIV, but then got walloped by the Buccaneers the next year in Super Bowl LV. It should be interesting to see how they do, and how they will prepare, for Reid's former team, the Philadelphia Eagles.
My pick: Accurate
Here are some links to articles that address some of the controversial calls against the Bengals from yesterday's AFC Championship Game:
The NFL’s ‘all-star’ officiating crews are ruining the playoffs by Ben Volin of The Boston Globe, January 30, 2023:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/01/30/sports/nfl-playoffs-officiating/
NFL World Furious With AFC Championship Game Referees by Andrew Holleran, January 29, 2023:
https://thespun.com/nfl/nfl-world-furious-with-afc-championship-game-referees
Germaine Pratt screams over Joseph Ossai’s late hit that ended Bengals season: ‘Why the f–k’ By Justin Terranova January 30, 2023
https://nypost.com/2023/01/30/germaine-pratt-screams-over-joseph-assais-late-hit-that-cost-bengals/
The NFL’s ‘all-star’ officiating crews are ruining the playoffs by Ben Volin of The Boston Globe, January 30, 2023:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/01/30/sports/nfl-playoffs-officiating/
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