San Fran vs Chiefs In Sin City (And Swift)
By Joshua Garcia
So much for the wild NFL postseason football fans everywhere were hopeful for, the usual suspects will be headed to Super Bowl LVIII (58) following last Sunday’s conference championships. As both number one seeds in their respective conferences took the big stage Sunday, only one would make it out of the weekend with the big W they lusted after all season.
At halftime of the NFC Championship game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, the game looked all but over, as the Lions ran through the Niners defense like it was the practice squad. Detroit looked unstoppable on offense and built what seemed like an insurmountable 24-7 lead at the break, but #1 seed San Francisco pulled a page out of Bill Belichick’s book for the second half.
Shades of the 2017 Super Bowl loomed as the 24-7 lead Detroit had flaunted at halftime grew smaller by the minute. First a momentum-changing fumble, then a touchdown, then another score, until the underdog Lions morphed back into the little engine that couldn’t, like we thought they would be.
To make matters worse when the contest reached crunch time Detroit Head Coach Dan Campbell played Russian Roulette with his team’s historic season, and got burnt by his recklessness. Not once but twice, Campbell decided to forgo the chip shot field goal for 3 points, failing on both and leaving 6 possible points off the board for the Lions.
Dan Campbell’s squad would go on to lose by 3 points, crushing the heart and soul of his fans, players and the city. The 49ers put up 27 points in the 2nd half and earned themselves a spot in the Super Bowl with their 34-31 win.
Down the I-95 in Baltimore the premiere showdown between the kings of the AFC did not disappoint, but the Ravens and Lamar Jackson managed to. Jackson is known to be one of the best protectors of the ball and was anything but that on Sunday, finishing with three turnovers in the 17-10 loss.
Sunday was Jackson’s best chance to prove he is the man in the AFC and shut the doubters up, but he came up short time after time on third down and in the biggest moments for his team. 3-for-11 in the most crucial third down situations is not going to win trips to the Super Bowl and for everything Jackson lacked, Patrick Mahomes did it flawlessly and walked away with the victory.
While Detroit and Baltimore strayed from their game plans and what led them to the championship games in the first place, Patrick Mahomes and Brock Purdy held true to their game plans even when it looked bleak for their teams. The two will now face off with each other as Mahomes looks to enter Tom Brady territory and Purdy looks to end a 29-year championship drought for the 49ers on Super Bowl Sunday.
Editor’s Note: The New York Beacon will be in Las Vegas and will bring you daily Super Bowl stories and pictures beginning Monday, February 5th. Go to: www.newyorkbeacon.com.
