5 things I learned from watching the NFL Playoffs
The Conference Championship brackets are now set
By: Ross Blilie
01/21/24
The NFL Playoffs are in full bloom after four teams were eliminated from the race up to the summit of Super Bowl 58 mountain. If you didn’t pay attention, the San Francisco 49ers, Baltimore Ravens, Detroit Lions, and the Kansas City Chiefs all moved up one step closer towards the summit. The games this weekend were all full of drama except for one – The Ravens versus the Texans. Here are five things that I learned from watching the NFL Playoffs this weekend.
1.Lamar Jackson is definitely the leader in Baltimore
The Baltimore Ravens defense decided that it had enough of the Houston Texans offense after halftime on Saturday afternoon. The Ravens offense also decided that it had enough of the Houston defense and wanted to put them to bed. Baltimore’s starting quarterback and the league’s favorite to win the Most Valuable Player award, Lamar Jackson scored four touchdowns contributing to a blowout win 34-10. With Jackson’s running ability, as well as his decision making skills, it sometimes looks as if he is just toying with his opposition. Much like what Patrick Mahomes has done for the Chiefs in the past. This season though, Jackson is on another level. I would not be surprised if they beat Kansas City next week and moved up to the summit of Super Bowl 58 mountain and battled the Detroit Lions for the Lombardi Trophy.
2. The Bills “shoulda, woulda, coulda”
The Kansas City Chiefs ended up getting a lucky win against the Buffalo Bills in Buffalo on Sunday night. Josh Allen played an amazing game. But according to CBS NFL Analyst Tony Romo, it was Isaiah Pacheco and the Chiefs running game that really took the game to another level. In the 4th quarter with two minutes left in the game and down by three points, Josh Allen made a bad decision to go for the touchdown when he had an opportunity to net a first down. When his pass into the endzone was incomplete, the pressure then went to Tyler Bass the kicker for the Bills. He had to make a 44 yarder just to tie the game at 27 and send it to overtime. Welp, Bass missed wide right and the Chiefs were able to run the clock out. Josh Allen will say to himself “shoulda, woulda, coulda.”
3. The Lions are the team to beat right now
I don’t know what Dan Campbell said or did to get his team fired up, but the last two seasons he’s been a Head Coach of the Detroit Lions, he’s had some really good success. Jared Goff is playing the best football of his pro career and everything else seems to be just clicking at the right time. The game next week between the 49ers and the Lions will actually be a really good one to watch.
4. The 49ers have the Green Bay Packers’ number in the playoffs
The last three times the 49ers and the Packers played in the playoffs, the 49ers were able to come out ahead in those contests. It doesn’t matter who the starting quarterback is for Green Bay nor the 49ers, it just seems like Kyle Shannahan has the 49ers on a roll lately and every time they play the Packers, they come out of the game with the win. If I was, which I will never be, a Packer fan, I’d be super upset and frustrated that our team just cannot seem to find a way to beat the 49ers. Sheesh! I’m really looking forward to the 49er Lions game next week. It will be a good one!
5. CMC is finally healthy and playing well
Christian McCaffrey is one of the best running backs in the league. While he’s fifth on the MVP candidate list, he showed the Packers why he’s tough to tackle. He’s fast, he’s shifty, and he’s just plain tough. In the game against the Packers on Saturday night, he scored the game winning rushing touchdown with ease. All he had to do was run through a gaping hole, make one defender miss and he was in for the score. He ended up scoring twice that game sealing the win. I think Aidan Hutchinson for the Lions is going to have his hands full keeping CMC contained.
In summary, the race up Super Bowl 58 mountain is getting intense. The next two games feature the four best teams in the league right now –The Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs, Detroit Lions, and San Francisco 49ers. I’m really looking forward to watching the NFC Championship game because it features a team that hasn’t been to the playoffs in 32 seasons. It’s also been since 1957 that the Lions have won a league championship. It’s their time right now. I think it would be pretty cool to see Detroit win.
Ross Blilie is an avid NFL fan of the Minnesota Vikings since the 1990’s. He loves to talk about the NFL. He also enjoys attending the University Of North Dakota Men’s Hockey games in Grand Forks, ND. His hobbies also include bowling with his wife and friends, narrating audiobooks, fishing, and even sitting by a campfire with family at Lake Blackduck in Minnesota. You can find Ross on the X app @Rossthenarrator and @pigskintalespod.
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