This past weekend, the AFC and NFC championships were played, setting the stage for Super Bowl LVII—which will kick off on February 11th at 6:30 p.m. ET.
In the AFC championship game, the Ravens got off to a rocky start, only elongated by careless plays by QB Lamar Jackson. Meanwhile, the Chiefs’ QB Patrick Mahomes was almost flawless, and the Ravens’ defense was powerless to stop him. The Ravens’ fate was sealed after their WR Zay Flowers had a deadly trifecta of poor plays: a personal foul for taunting, a fumble in the endzone which resulted in a touchback, and then an anger-induced self-inflicted wound on the sideline to keep him out of the game for good.
Later that day, in the NFC championship, the Lions started with a strong 14-0 lead. They were able to keep the lead throughout the first and most of the second quarter. Their momentum came to a grinding halt with a fumble in the third quarter, which spurred something within the 49ers, giving them a second wind. Consequently, the Lions experienced a scoring drought, which allowed the 49ers to come back. Then, after two poor play calls from Coach Campbell, the Lions fell behind and–despite their best efforts to catch up–still managed to lose 31-34 even though they led the majority of the game.
Now, the 49ers and Chiefs will face off in the 58th Super Bowl in Las Vegas. Despite many Americans originally hoping for the Ravens or Lions to prevail in the division championships, hopefully the two winners will give us a memorable game. With Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce leading the Chief’s offense and Brock Purdy and Christian McCaffrey locking down with the 49ers, it can be guaranteed that this Super Bowl will be extremely competitive.