Welcome back all! We are getting closer to Sunday's two Conference Championship games, that will decide the two Super Bowl participants. First in the AFC it's the Kanas City Chiefs hosting the underdog Tennessee Titans, then in the NFC, it's the San Francisco 49ers hosting the Green Bay Packers.
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Three of those four franchises have long, storied histories, while the Titans didn't become the Titans until 1999. The franchise was the Houston Oilers going back to the early days of the AFL in 1960, before moving to Tennessee for the 1997 season. The Packers are one of the oldest members of the NFL dating all the way back to the 1920s, while the Chiefs were one of the original AFL teams from the early 60s as well. The 49ers became the team of the 80s after winning 4 Super Bowls during the decade.
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With that little history lesson in our back pocket, let's take a look ahead now to Sunday and the two matchups to determine who will square off in the bright lights of Super Bowl 54 from southern Florida. We start in Kansas City.
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The Chiefs played in the very first Super Bowl back in January of 1967 against the Green Bay Packers. That game ended in a 35-10 Packers' triumph and KC hasn't been back to the Super Bowl since a couple years later, when they defeated the Vikings back in Super Bowl IV. The Titans made it to Super Bowl XXXIV following the 1999 season, and came up literally a yard from the end zone on the final play of the game, falling to the "Greatest Show on Turf" St. Louis Rams. One of the two will be back in the Super Bowl for just the third (KC) or second time (TEN)- so, who will it be?
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By now, we are well aware of what the Chiefs' explosive offense is capable of behind the amazing ability of Patrick Mahomes & the bevy of receiving talent surrounding him. Kansas City of course started painfully slow last week, falling behind 24-0 before a series of momentum swings (aided largely by highly questionable decisions by Texans' HC Bill O'Brien), sprang them back to life, and they rallied for a 28-24 halftime lead before pulling away in the second half.
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The Chiefs' can't count on the same happening if the Titans get out to a large lead early. Coach Vrabel has been an outstanding tactician so far in this postseason, and Tennessee is built for a lead. First things first, Kansas City needs to avoid a slow start, and I believe they will.
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Everyone knows what the Titans are going to try to do -bang Derrick Henry for 4 quarters, keep the ball on the ground, churning out yards & the clock, which in turn, will limit how often Mahomes & the Chiefs' daunting offense can get on the field. While the gameplan may seem simple enough - two of the league's top defenses knew the same thing and were unable to stop it in the Wild Card & Divisional round as Henry ran for 180 yards on the Patriots and another 195 on the Ravens last week.
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So, how can the Chiefs slow Henry this week when two of the league's best could not? While that is certainly a pertinent question, the other side of the coin is - how will the Titans be able to score enough points to keep up with an offense that scored 51 last week - after not even scoring in the 1st quarter?
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Well, I believe the answer is they both will have measures of success. The Titans will run it effectively, and the Chiefs will be able to move the ball and score points. TE Travis Kelce is a matchup nightmare and the Titans will struggle to contain him.
PREDICTION-
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Both teams will have success in the first half. Derrick Henry will get the Titans going, and the Chiefs will be able to put some points up. I expect this game to be very close at halftime. In the second half, however, I believe the Chiefs are able to make more plays down the stretch and pull-out a hard-fought victory at home to get back to the Super Bowl for the first time since Super Bowl I & the days of Hank Stram & Len Dawson.
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KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 30 TENNESSEE TITANS 24
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On to the other game that will decide who the Super Bowl representative will be from the NFC. The 49ers ran roughshod through everyone this season, including the Green Bay Packers during a mid-season 37-8 beatdown in Santa Clara. There is a lot to love about San Fran, as they only lost 3 games, two to fellow playoff teams, and all three basically in the closing seconds of the game. They turned in a dominant effort against the Vikings last week, winning that game 27-10, while completely limiting Minnesota's ability to do anything offensively.
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The Packers meanwhile, raced out to a 21-3 halftime lead over the Seahawks, only to have to hang-on for dear life as Russell Wilson led Seattle on a furious 2nd half comeback. The Pack hung-on for the 28-23 victory & punched their ticket to Santa Clara. Aaron Jones ran it effectively (2TDs) & Aaron Rodgers made some pretty amazing & Aaron Rodgers-like throws - especially down the stretch to put the game away.
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The Packers keep winning, but still aren't being given a whole lot of respect for a team that won 13 games and a Divisional round playoff game. Rodgers has always played with a chip on his shoulder, and I'm sure he'll be plenty motivated come Sunday after listening all week to how good the San Fran defense is and how the Packers got completely dominated the first time these two teams met.
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Green Bay of course will have a healthy Devonte Adams in this one, which makes all the difference in the world for their passing offense. Meanwhile, the 49ers have Jimmy G, TE George Kittle (who appears uncoverable at times), and a plethora of backs & fullbacks that can ran & catch. Plus they have the elite play-calling ability of HC Kyle Shanahan. So, who will it be in the late game on Sunday?
PREDICTION-
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San Francisco has been dominant this season. When the D has been on, this team has looked down-right unbeatable. There was a late-season flop at-home against the Falcons, but they deserve a pass for that one. Green Bay, on the other hand, looked downright awful in their two west coast trips in 2019 - getting blown by the LA Chargers in their other foray to California.
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This should be a different trip for the Packers. RB Aaron Jones appears to be in form, and the way Rodgers played last week against a pretty solid Seahawks' defense should have the offense feeling confident going into this one. Devonte Adams had his best game of the season (160 yards, 2TDs), and even Jimmy Graham stepped up and made some plays. This should be an excellent game. I believe the Packers make enough plays to stay in the game, and Aaron Rodgers makes a couple of plays down the stretch to snag one for the Packers. In an outstanding game, Green Bay pulls it out in the end, and we have a Super Bowl I rematch on-tap between the Chiefs & Packers.
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GREEN BAY PACKERS 27 SAN FRANSISCO 49ERS 24
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As always, I appreciate all of the support, and would love to get your picks in the comments section below. My penchant for handicapping NFL games is mediocre at best, so takes these picks with caution lol. Enjoy the games this weekend, they should both be outstanding showdowns between deserving teams.
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