NFL Playoffs: Championship Weekend

Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Jared Goff, Brock Purdy. Some names that we as football fans are all too familiar with, and some names that are surprising us as the final four Quarterbacks that remain standing in the 2024 NFL Playoffs. While Mahomes has become synonymous with the AFC Championship, and Lamar Jackson is almost a lock to win his 2nd MVP award (fingers still crossed for Dak Prescott), the NFC is a slightly different story.

Brock Purdy makes his second appearance in the NFCCG as the 49ers have been the most consistent, most dominant team in the NFC this season. There were moments that teams like the Philadelphia Eagles showed promise, starting out 10-1, and the Dallas Cowboys, who boasted an undefeated record at home and the top scoring offense in the league at 29.9 PPG. The Eagles went 1-3 in their last 4 with one of the easiest roads to a division title and conference #1 seed, with their final 4 games coming against the Seahawks, Cardinals, and Giants twice (Combined 25-43 record), and ultimately became stagnant on offense and could not get their playmakers the ball when they needed to the most. The Dallas Cowboys on the other hand looked unstoppable on offense at points during the season, scoring more than 40 five times this season, and ending up with the second highest point differential (+193) on the season, trailing only the Baltimore Ravens (+203). Their defense also showed flashes of greatness at moments, but often coming against much weaker opponents, and both sides of the ball failing to rise to the challenge against the eventual postseason performers like the Detroit Lions, the Miami Dolphins, and the San Francisco 49ers.

Brock Purdy was the captain at the helm of one of the most talented rosters in the NFL, with the 49ers boasting 5 Pro bowlers on offense (all starters), and 4 on defense (3 starters). Purdy also has one of the most offensively talented coaches in the NFL with Kyle Shanahan. On paper before the season, the 49ers were essentially penciled into the NFCCG baring major injuries. Christian McCaffery has once again been the leagues best Running Back, and it wasn’t even close. 2000 scrimmage yards, 16 touchdowns, he has been the heartbeat of the San Francisco offense since he was traded from Carolina in 2022. It is easy to look at this roster and say that Purdy is nothing more than a game manager, and all he is doing is not losing the games for the 49ers, not winning them. While Purdy has moments of not looking his best, as all quarterbacks do, there are also moments where he looks like being drafted as Mr. Irrelevant in 2022. You don’t throw for over 4200 yards as a game manager. You don’t have a 3-0 record, and a 111-43 scoring differential against NFC playoff opponents during the regular season as a game manager. Purdy has given the 49ers stability at Quarterback. Someone who won’t give the opposing defenses many turnover worthy plays during the course of a game, and someone who is efficient at getting the playmakers the ball in space. Brock Purdy and the 49ers are the favorites to win this weekend as they host the Detroit Lions. On paper, they are the better team, and while on any given Sunday, any team can win, I am fully expecting the 49ers to win this weekend.

The other half of the NFCCG is the Detroit Lions, led by Jared Goff and Dan Campbell. What a fall from grace it was for Jared Goff, from taking the Rams to the Super Bowl in 2018, to being traded to the Lions in 2021 and going 3-13-1. But Dan Campbell said from the beginning it wasn’t going to be easy, and the road that the Lions were going to take was going to be the hard one. Along the way, they were going to bite off knee caps, get knocked down, get back up again, take chunks out of their opponents, and eventually be the last ones standing. They are 2 games away from being the last ones standing. Goff has flashed at moments what made him the Number 1 overall pick in 2016 by the Rams. 4500+ yards and 30 touchdowns is a fantastic season by most every measure. He also threw 12 Interceptions, tied for 7th in the league with Desmond Ridder and Mac Jones. Goff has also looked, at times, flustered and rushed when playing against some of the Playoff teams this season (0TD, 1INT vs Ravens, 1TD, 2INT vs Cowboys) and even against some non playoff teams (1TD, 2INT vs Bears, 1TD, 1INT vs Raiders). When he’s on, Goff can be a top 5 Quarterback in the NFL, and he’s been just that in the playoffs. 81.9% completion, 277 yards and 1TD against his former squad in the Rams, and 69.8% completion, 287 yards and 2TD against the Buccaneers this last weekend. Goff will likely have to have his biggest game of the season, as well as Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Sam LaPorta doing what they have done most of the season, if they have any chance at beating the San Francisco 49ers. It will be one of the more anticipated NFCCG’s in recent memory, and hopefully it will live up to the hype. I’d love to see the Lions in the Super Bowl, but they will need all of that Dan Campbell magic that they have left. 31-27 49ers.

The AFC is on the other side of the Quarterback spectrum. Patrick Mahomes is making his 6th straight AFCCG appearance, with a current record of 3-2. 2 time Super Bowl Champion, 2 time Super Bowl MVP, most playoff wins for a Quarterback in their first 7 seasons with 13, Mahomes is well on his way to challenging Tom Brady for the GOAT at the Quarterback position. Is this the same as the previous 5 seasons though? The Chiefs come in as the 3 seed in the AFC, whereas they were the 1 or 2 seed in the previous 5 and never having played a road playoff game in the Mahomes era. The offense at times hasn’t looked very efficient, coming in at 15th in the league at 21.8 PPG. At times, Mahomes has looked pedestrian (by Mahomes standards), with games like 1TD, 2INT vs Philadelphia, 1TD, 1INT vs Green Bay, 1TD, 1INT vs Las Vegas, and 0TD, 2INT vs Denver. Given the last 5 seasons, and what we have seen from Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid, there is no reason for us to think that they won’t be adequately prepared for this AFCCG. The Kansas City defense has also been better than years past this season, being 2nd in the NFL in YPG allowed at 289.8, trailing only the Cleveland Browns, and 2nd in PPG allowed at 17.3, trailing only the Baltimore Ravens. Mahomes hasn’t needed to have 500 yards and 5 touchdowns a game this season, and it is a change of pace for the NFL. The Cheifs have become synonymous with the AFCCG, and while the Chiefs have been here many times before, the monster that stands in front of a back to back Super Bowl appearance is tougher than anyone they have faced this season.

Enter Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens. Time and time again, the Ravens flaunt one of if not the NFL’s best defensive unit from top to bottom, and this year is no different. They lead the NFL in PPG allowed at 16.5, and are 6th in the NFL in YPG allowed 301.4. Since 2000, the Ravens have always been about defense, and you can add 2023-2024 as another tally for them in that compartment. What is different about this year is the offense. Lamar Jackson is having another MVP Caliber season, and will likely add one to go along with his MVP from 2019. 3600+ passing, 800+ rushing, 29 touchdowns, and he has been the captain in charge of one of the most efficient offenses in the NFL, with the Ravens ranking 6th in total offense at 371.6 YPG, and 4th in PPG at 28.4. They have looked unstoppable at times in the AFC, and have consistently looked like one of the most difficult teams to beat at any given point this season. Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are coming to town this Sunday, but the Ravens have proven this year that they are the best team in the NFL in every facet of the game. We as fans of the NFL finally get Lamar vs Mahomes in the postseason, and I cannot wait to see how it unfolds. 28-17 Ravens.