By Brandon Simmons
Titans vs. Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs will be hosting the Tennessee Titans for the AFC Championship this Sunday but neither team is supposed to be here…sort of. The Titans started their season off 2-4, then made a QB change, and went 7-3 to lock the 6th seed, then beat the New England Patriots in Foxboro and the Baltimore Ravens in Baltimore. The Chiefs were able to lock down the 2 seed, but almost wasted it with a 24-0 deficit to the Houston Texans, until they scored 41 straight points, 28 of them coming from the 2nd quarter. Both teams faced some improbable odds to get to this point, but here they are, ready to reprise their rematch from earlier in the season.
The had an impressive playoff run so far, but probably their best job this postseason was last week against the top seeded Ravens. They were able to hold the MVP in check for most of the game, sacking him 4 times and causing him to commit 3 turnovers. Their play on 4th downs also helped seal the deal as it generated favorable field position for the offense, who had a field day running the ball for the 3rd straight overall week. Titans running back Derrick Henry had a solid 211 against the Texans, then went for 182 against the Patriots and 190 against Baltimore. The rushing performance helped keep the ball out of quarterback Ryan Tannehill’s hands, despite him helping turn around the team’s season from 2-4 to 9-7, then flip that into an AFC title game appearance.
The Kansas City Chiefs were 2 quarters away from playoff elimination until they caught some lucky breaks and then some. After the Texans botched a 4th down call and kicked a field goal, they were the beneficiaries of a 57 yard kickoff return by wide receiver Mecole Hardman. That set up the first of 4 touchdown passes in the 2nd quarter by QB Pat Mahomes, which brought the Chiefs from a 24-0 deficit to a 28-24 lead. Kansas City kept roaring to 41 unanswered points ad eventually won 51-31. It was a game that saw their offense do their usual explosiveness but also saw the defense rack up some big plays, including 3 sacks by defensive end Frank Clark. Obviously, they didn’t have a great game early on but the secondary was able to prevent in any big plays from the Texans receivers after the 2nd quarter spark.
The Chiefs have a real shot at redemption for this game. In that first matchup, Mahomes was just coming off his kneecap injury but still making plays moving around in the pocket. Rushing is not his first choice, or even his best asset, but when he does get loose a lot of bad things can happen for defenses. Also, Kansas City has playmakers everywhere on offense outside of the quarterback, which makes them difficult to stop. Part of the reason they fell behind was drops and the inability to get into the flow of their offense. Once the latter happened, they kept it going from the 2nd quarter to the end. The Titans stopped the Ravens by limiting Lamar Jackson to what he could as far as running the ball and throwing to his tight ends, and instead they made him try to connect with wide receivers; neither of which were at the level of Tyreek Hill or Travis Kelce. Once they did that, Ravens did not look like the high scoring offense from the regular season, but there is more firepower on the Chiefs offense than on the Titans offense.
Kansas City will find ways to get the most out of those weapons, even if Hill or Kelce is double covered. Guys like wide receivers Mecole Hardman and Demarcus Robinson can pick up the slack until Hill breaks open for a huge game changing play. Yes, Derrick Henry has been a beast, but can lightning really strike twice? Kansas City is very well aware of Henry at this point and are comfortable loading the box to stop him when Tannehill has not shown yet he can be a relied upon in the postseason. That can be detrimental considering the Chiefs offense has the ability so score at a rapid pace. Expect the Chiefs to get their revenge and play with a similar anger to last week’s win.
Packers vs. 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers will be hosting the Green Bay Packers for the NFC Championship. This is a rematch of the Week 12 Sunday night game in which the Niners blew the Packers off the map 37-8. It was a shocking win for the fact that Green Bay would just go on national television and lay an egg, considering they were one of the top teams in the NFC at the time. Since then, the Packers, as well as the 49ers, have maintained their dominance atop the conference well into the playoffs.
The Packers win last week was almost symbolic of how their season has gone. They would have a lot of great moments but some pretty low ones as well. Green Bay had a huge lead going into halftime but let it slip away during the 3rd quarter and well into the 4th; but they were able to hang strong and come way on top. Part of the reason was the damage done by the Smith brothers, Preston and Zedarious, who combined for 4 of the 5 sacks against the Seattle Seahawks. The other reason was because the Packers still have a guy named Aaron Rodgers who can make plays with his arm, which was the case last week. Rodgers threw 2 touchdowns, including one in the 3rd quarter to wide receiver Devante Adams when the Seahawks looked to be catching fire. He ended up sealing the game with 2 3rd down completions late in the 4th quarter.
The 49ers have come into the playoffs making a bang as they have done all season. With wins over the Vikings and Packers, the 49ers have obliterated the top 2 NFC North teams this season and looking to do it for a 3rd time. For San Francisco, everything went right in the Green Bay game, including the defensive line, which mean they were on another level. This unit got 5 sacks, including a fumble return which set up a Tevin Coleman touchdown. This defensive line has been a difference maker for them all season, even in last week’s matchup against the Vikings, the d-line totaled 6 sacks, 2 of them coming from defensive end Nick Bosa. This game might be closer than the last time, but it will still result in a 49ers win. San Francisco is a team that has some crazy battles this season. They beat the New Orleans Saints on the road, they took the Baltimore Ravens to overtime and they beat the Seahawks on the road in the regular season finale to win the NFC West. The Niners do not get enough credit for being mentally tough, and that comes before getting into their actual x’s and o’s. Sometimes playoff matchups are determined by who has the better quarterback and Green Bay does have that advantage with Rodgers. He is a veteran who can recognize any mistakes he made and how to correct them, but he also has a rookie head coach, who has never reached this level before as far as playoffs go. Can Packers head coach Matt LaFleur make the necessary adjustments for this week’s gameplan to avoid the Week 12 massacre? Niners QB Jimmy Garoppolo is no Rodgers, but he has a way better supporting cast around him and can afford him a lot more cushion to screw up before it being effective. In the Week 12 game, he was sacked 3 times; last week he was sacked twice, threw 2 picks and only had 131 yards. The Packers defense is going to be far more worried about Coleman and the other Niners RB’s Raheem Mostert and Matt Breida. Rodgers will have to worry about overcoming the San Francisco pass rush that will be coming on every down. Look for the 49ers to use this as a way to rush to the Super Bowl.