By Dylan Edelman ‘Tis the season to be jolly because it’s playoff time. Though the holidays are distant memories, the fervor for football has taken center stage. AFC Championship: For the first time in 50 years, the Kansas City Chiefs are AFC champions. In what started as an evenly matched first half between Tennessee and Kansas City, the Chiefs commanded the fourth quarter to secure their spot in Super Bowl LIV. The Chiefs held Tennessee to a field goal in the first few minutes of the game, but went three-and-out on their first drive, giving the Titans back the ball. Tennessee responded with an impressive nine-play drive, ending with RB Derrick Henry scoring a touchdown to go up by 10. The Chiefs reacted with a touchdown drive of their own, highlighted by a 24-yard pass to TE Travis Kelce and a touchdown to WR Tyreek Hill. It wasn’t long before the Titans took 15 plays, driving 75 yards for another touchdown. Tennessee was ahead 17-7 but that would be the end to their momentum. Kansas City took over and scored 14 unanswered points as their defense muzzled Tennessee’s offense. The Kansas City Chiefs finally took their first lead of the game at 21-17 late in the first half with a 27-yard touchdown run by QB Patrick Mahomes. After an uneventful third quarter, the Chiefs scored when RB Damien Williams ran a three-yard touchdown on the second play of the fourth quarter. Mahomes threw a 60-yard touchdown pass to WR Sammy Watkins as the Chiefs made it 28 straight points (35-17) after trailing, 17-7. With close to four minutes left in the game, a clever fake punt by the Titans allowed QB Ryan Tannehill a touchdown pass to TE Anthony Firkser, closing the gap 35-24. It wasn’t enough to overcome the deficit built up by the Chiefs in the fourth quarter. Hail to the Chiefs. NFC Championship: The NFC title game pitted the Green Bay Packers against the San Francisco 49ers. For the Packers, their game was too little too late. Neither teams were able to get much going offensively on their first possessions, both of which ended quickly. However, the 49ers second possession proved to be advantageous when RB Raheem Mostert broke through a tackle at the line of scrimmage on third and eight before sprinting for a 36-yard touchdown. By the end of the first, San Francisco led 7-0. Early in the second quarter, San Francisco increased their lead 10-0 with a 54-yard field goal kick from Robbie Gould. Having great field position, at the Packers’ 37-yard line following a shanked punt, the 49ers drove down the field. Mostert ran for his second touchdown, this one a nine-yard dash around the left side to score (17-0). With under two minutes to half, Gould kicked his second field goal, increasing the lead 20-0, while Mostert scored his third TD 45 seconds before the half with a 18-yard run up the middle (27-0). Trying to make a comeback, the Packers scored a touchdown on its first possession in the second half. QB Aaron Rodgers hit RB Aaron Jones on a nine-yard scoring pass. Finally, the Packers posted a score. After a dismal first half, could the Packers actually come back and rally? Mostert replied to Packer’s first touchdown of the game with his fourth increasing the 49ers lead 34-7. Desperate to chip away at their deficit, the Packers scored a touchdown early in the fourth quarter, cutting San Francisco’s margin to 21. RB Aaron Jones scored from inside the one-yard line. A two-point conversion attempt failed when Rodgers could not connect with WR Davante Adams. They then tried an onside kick, but that failed too (34-13). Things started to get interesting when Rodgers led a 92-yard touchdown drive, highlighted by a 65-yard pass to Adams, bringing the Packers within 14 points with 8:13 left in the game (34-20). Unfortunately, that was the beginning of the end. Pushing the 49ers’ lead to 17 points, Gould kicked a 42-yard field goal with just over four minutes left (37-20). Beyond the two minute mark, the game was essentially over when 49ers CB Richard Sherman picked off Rodgers’s deep throw pass. The 49ers deserve plenty of credit for building running the ball with command while controlling the opponent with a forceful defensive line.
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February 2020
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