Chiefs Beat Ravens 17-10
Baltimore’s dream season crashes and burns with a 17-10 AFC Championship loss to the Chiefs, Lamar Jackson’s worst game proving costly.
“We’re going to bounce back. Nobody played the game perfect,” Jackson said in the postgame news conference. “I’m angry about losing. We were a game away from the Super Bowl. We’ve been waiting all this time, all these moments for an opportunity like this and we fell short. But I feel like our team is going to build in the offseason, get right, get better, grind and try to be in this position again, but on the other side of victory.”
The offense struggled to do anything against the Chiefs defense and two turnovers in the end zone was too much to overcome. The Ravens were in position to make it a three-point game early in the fourth quarter, but rookie receiver Zay Flowers had the ball stripped while he dove for a touchdown. Jackson would add an interception into triple coverage, that took away an option to kick a field goal to make it a one-possession game. The offense would outgain the Chiefs, but the turnovers were the difference in the game.
“We had a couple opportunities to score down there that we didn’t get the touchdowns, and it really was a defensive struggle, if you step back and look at the whole game, and they were able to score points and we weren’t,” Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said in the postgame news conference.
The defense deserved credit for its effort in the second half as it was able to shut out the Chiefs and gave the team a chance by keeping it close. The Chiefs were held under 100 total yards in the second half and were forced to punt five times. Unfortunately, they couldn’t force a turnover and the Chiefs made enough plays in the end to come out with a victory. Linebacker Roquan Smith and safety Kyle Hamilton were all over the field and both finished with double-digit tackles.
The Ravens offensive struggles really cost them in this game and the Chiefs defense deserves credit for coming up with a good game plan to stop this year’s probable MVP in Jackson.
Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce passed Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice for the most postseason receptions all-time in Sunday’s AFC Championship game against the Baltimore Ravens. Kelce snagged the 152nd playoff catch of his career in the second quarter. The 34-year-old came into the matchup needing seven catches to pass Rice for the most in postseason history. At halftime, he had nine catches for 96 yards and a touchdown.
Injuries:
Kansas City’s Charles Omenihu left with a knee injury, and star defensive tackle Chris Jones was shaken up in the fourth quarter.
49ers Beat Lions 34-31
The San Francisco 49ers, renowned for their struggles with comebacks under coach Kyle Shanahan, defied expectations with a thrilling 17-point comeback victory over the Detroit Lions in the NFC Championship Game.
Despite being one of the NFL’s best teams throughout the season, the 49ers had a history of falling short in clutch situations. But on Sunday, they channeled their inner Houdini, erasing a 17-point deficit in the second half to clinch a 34-31 win and a trip to Super Bowl LVIII. The 49ers’ comeback was fueled by a dominant second-half performance from quarterback Brock Purdy, who threw for two touchdowns and ran for another. The Lions had several opportunities to put the game away in the fourth quarter, but costly turnovers and missed field goals ultimately proved their undoing.
This remarkable comeback ties the 2012 49ers for the largest in NFC Championship history, where they also came back from 17 points down against the Atlanta Falcons to reach the Super Bowl. The victory marks the 49ers’ eighth Super Bowl appearance and their first since the 2019 season, when they fell to the Kansas City Chiefs in Patrick Mahomes’ first championship run.
Injuries:
49ers LB Dre Greenlaw got stinger after a hit on Lions TE Sam LaPorta in the second quarter. He entered the blue medical tent and returned on the next series. 49ers Jauan Jennings was evaluated for a head injury in the second quarter and cleared to return to the game.
The Super Bowl LVIII showdown in Las Vegas is set.
On Sunday, February 11 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, the reigning champion Kansas City Chiefs will defend their crown against the San Francisco 49ers. Kickoff is at 6:30 pm EST.
This will be a rematch of sorts for Shanahan, who gets a chance to avenge his 2019 Super Bowl LIV loss to Andy Reid, the Chiefs’ head coach. With a new cast of stars on both sides, the stage is set for an epic clash between two of the NFL’s elite teams. The Super Bowl LVIII matchup will be the fourth meeting between the 49ers and Chiefs in the past six years, with each team winning two games.
