“You gotta fight, for your right, to PARRTTYYYY!”
The match-up for Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas on February 11th has been set after a captivating Championship Sunday in the NFL. The Kansas City Chiefs, along with Taylor Swift, their newest big fan, will take on the San Francisco 49ers in Las Vegas.
The Chiefs will look to become the first team to regain the Vince Lombardi Trophy in successive seasons since the 2004 New England Patriots, while the Niners will look to win their first Super Bowl since 1995. At the end of their game, pop superstar Taylor Swift stormed the pitch to celebrate the win with her boyfriend, Travis Kelce and the rest of the Chiefs.
Pro Football Ireland’s Michael McQuaid looked back on an eventful Championship Sunday:
AFC Championship: Chiefs get past the Ravens in an enthralling battle in Baltimore
Every Championship Game is cagey, exciting and full of thrilling moments. It’s clear that the AFC Championship lived up to the billing. Lamar Jackson, who is expected to win the MVP award going up against Patrick Mahomes – the thought of it was just box office.
That being said, going into this game, the Chiefs had ended the season in their worst ever form with quarterback Patrick Mahomes as the starter – they finished with eleven wins and six losses. For some of these games, the offense just did not click – and the tempo of the offense was not existent. The Chiefs were the underdog going into Baltimore.
Forget being an underdog. With Taylor Swift watching on, the Chiefs stormed into a 10 point lead at the half in the AFC Championship, leading 17-10. On the first two possessions of the game, Kansas City scored on both occasions, firstly with Travis Kelce:
OH MY GOODNESS TRAVIS KELCE pic.twitter.com/b8W7hs0ih4
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) January 28, 2024
The Ravens fought back quickly, though, with Lamar Jackson finding Zay Flowers for a 30-yard touchdown pass.
One of the most amazing plays of the game (and season) came in the second quarter, with a 10-yard pass from Patrick Mahomes to Travis Kelce. Mahomes had an unearthly amount of time to make a pass, but the couldn’t find anyone. With the Ravens defense about to absorb him, he threw a pass in the air towards Kelce who made a stunning catch:
THESE. TWO. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/5aH98n8rke
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) January 28, 2024
A two yard run from Isiah Pacheco and a field goal from Harrison Butker meant that the Chiefs went into the half 17-7 up – silencing the Baltimore crowd.
At the start of the third quarter, the Ravens had to bring Terrell Suggs out to get the crowd going. It worked – but when the Ravens got the ball down the field, Ravens WR Zay Flowers made a huge mistake – with a fumble being punched by Chiefs CB L’Jarius Sneed. Just listen to Tony Romo on the commentary:
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, L'JARIUS SNEED!!! pic.twitter.com/rHw8hcuUgG
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) January 28, 2024
The reality is, from this point, the game was cagey. Baltimore struggled to move the ball down the field at times – something that the Ravens have had no issue with all season – and the reality is that the Chiefs defense came up clutch in the end for a team many doubted going into the game.
When all was said and done, Baltimore made far, far too many mistakes. For a team with such high expectations to have three turnovers – two of which were in the red zone and four personal foul penalties, it was never going to be their day. The Chiefs got the job done and Mahomes and Co leave Baltimore with one more game left in their season. For the Ravens, they wonder what could have been.
NFC Championship: San Francisco 49ers defeat the Detroit Lions
The Lions have waited a long time for this moment – for the opportunity to go to their first Super Bowl – and they started the game off with a stormer or a performance.
On the opening drive of the game for the Lions, Jameson Williams made a 42 yard touchdown run look easy – it was the second longest rushing touchdown in NFL Playoff history by a wide receiver.
TURN UP WAYMO!!!#DETvsSF | FOX | #AllGrit pic.twitter.com/S6nf5rh5WA
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) January 28, 2024
Granted, the 49ers were the favourites going into this game. When David Montgomery pushed in a one yard rushing touchdown, the internet started to crumble for Lions fans. The pressure was very much on the 49ers – and they responded early in the second quarter with their offensive talisman Christian McCaffrey, who ran for a 2-yard touchdown following a remarkable display of agility, breaking through three tackles on a brief pass that he skilfully transformed into a 28-yard gain.
The Lions would not be stopped in the second half, going in with a 24-7 lead after a scintillating offensive performance. Rookie Jahmyr Gibbs was impressive when he scored a 15 yard rushing touchdown, before the Lions kicked a Field Goal prior to the half, stunning the Niners fans in Santa Clara.
⚡️⚡️⚡️ @Jahmyr_Gibbs1#DETvsSF on FOX | #AllGrit pic.twitter.com/e5BwETiJUa
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) January 29, 2024
For the 49ers, the start to the third quarter was to be key to any sense of a comeback after being mauled by the Lions offense in the first half.
They got exactly what they needed. Brandon Aiyuk made a huge play, where the ball bounced off Lions CB Kindle Vildor’s facemask – a must see:
Big Play BA! @THE2ERA#DETvsSF on FOX
📱 NFL+ // https://t.co/KTh0i4oaLh pic.twitter.com/vo86PIJWfd— San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) January 29, 2024
Super Bowl a revenge game for Niners
Within minutes, Aiyuk had scored, the Niners had a turnover and Christian McCaffrey had the NFC Championship at a tie game scenario. From then, the game was end to end – but with just under 10 minutes left in the game, the Niners took their first lead, with kicker Jake Moody making a 33-yard field goal.
The Lions made some questionable decisions on fourth down when they could have simply went for three points – and it cost them. With around seven minutes to go, they were unsuccessful on fourth down. When the 49ers got the ball back, Christian McCaffrey and the Niners offense ran down the field to cement the game for the Niners, with a touchdown from Elijah Mitchell. The Lions pulled a score back – but it was too little, too late.
The Lions were bold, but they were too bold. We know how much they enjoy going for it on fourth down and taking the risk, but when push comes to shove, it was a little too much. For the Niners, they have the chance of winning their first Super Bowl in almost 30 years.
So, here we are. A rematch of a Super Bowl a few years back is upon us – with the Niners eyeing revenge. The biggest storylines? Will Kyle Shanahan finally get over the line? Are the Chiefs about to cement a dynasty? The talking will go on and on for the next two weeks as kick-off gets closer.
You can follow Pro Football Ireland on all forms of social media as the Super Bowl takes place in Las Vegas on February 11.
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