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Conference Championship Recap: Blown Opportunities

One conference championship was over when it started, while the other went down to the wire

By Clyde E. DawkinsPublished about a year ago 6 min read
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Conference Championship Sunday: the last stop before the big game. For the 53rd year, the American and National Football Conferences take one solitary Sunday to decide which teams will play in the Super Bowl, and for the second year, these games took place on the final Sunday in January. I myself am old enough to remember when the Super Bowl occupied the last Sunday in January, but I digress. Every year, the conferences rotate time slots, and this year, the NFC went first, which featured the Philadelphia Eagles hosting the San Francisco 49ers.

The scoring was quiet at first, only a 7-0 Eagles lead after one quarter, and the Niners did manage to tie it, but for the road team, the positives ended there. The Eagles literally ran away with this. They scored four rushing touchdowns; Miles Sanders had two, Jalen Hurts had one, and back running back Boston Scott had one. The Niners had nothing but bad luck after Christian McCaffrey's score. Brock Purdy was banged up, turnovers happened, and Niners tempers flared big time. Their faulty penalties and the brawls were the only semblances of fight they showed after CMC's touchdown, and that was just terrible.

Jalen Hurts reached the Super Bowl for the first time in his career

The Eagles won, 31-7, clinching their fourth Super Bowl appearance in franchise history. They are 1-2 in the big game overall, losing Super Bowls XV and XXXIX before winning Super Bowl LII five years prior. If there is any player I'm the happiest for on that team, it's Jalen Hurts. Hurts served as a backup to infamous quarterback impersonator Carson Wentz, but when Wentz continued to throw pick after pick after pick, it was Hurts' time to shine late in the 2020 season. 2021 was Hurts' first full season as the Eagles' starting QB, and his efforts resulted in the Eagles reaching the playoffs after a disastrous 2020 season. This year, in his second year starting, the Eagles went 14-3 and are now in the Super Bowl, with a chance to win their second championship in six season.

As for the Niners, if they want to remain a big superpower in the NFC, they better keep Jimmy Garoppolo as their QB. Brock Purdy had a big winning stretch, but let's face facts, those wins were against nothing teams, and they beat Dallas became Mike McCarthy's incompetent. Jimmy G is San Fran's best bet, and if he ends up going to the Raiders (per the rumors), the Niners are in deep trouble.

The AFC Championship was in the main event/primetime slot, and for the second straight year, it was the Cincinnati Bengals and the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead. Entering this matchup, the Patrick Mahomes-led Chiefs were o-for-3 against the Joe Burrow-led Bengals, with one of the losses including last year's AFC Championship at Arrowhead. Becuase of that, there was a lot of chest pounding from the city of Cincinnati, and yes, from one of their players, Mike Hilton, who referred to KC's stadium as "Burrowhead."

Similar to last year, this game was pretty close. The Chiefs looked like they were in good shape to take down the Bengals; a 13-6 lead at halftime would do that. However, the Bengals tied it up in the third, and they would to it again following another KC touchdown. It was 20-20 for most of the fourth quarter, but the offenses started stalling, and time was winding down in the fourth. Cincy had one chance very late to get into field goal range, but that despondent offensive line failed Burrow again. KC got the ball with 30+ seconds left, but even so, it looked like we would finally get to see the new overtime happen.

That was, until someone decided to have a total brain fart.

The player with the empty expression to match his empty head is Joseph Ossai, a linebacker for the Bengals. After Mahomes ran out of bounds, Ossai--in all of his much less than infinite wisdom--decided to deliver a very late hit to Mahomes, that added 15 yards to the run via penalty. Had he not laid a finger on Mahomes, we'd get that overtime, because 8 seconds were left. The penalty allowed KC to move into field goal range, and Harrison Butker nailed a 45-yard field goal, which would serve as the conference championship winner. Thanks to Ossai's IQ being smaller than his waist, Mahomes got off the schnide against the Burrow Bengals.

Patrick Mahomes reached the Super Bowl for the 3rd time in four years

The Chiefs won, 23-20, reaching the Super Bowl for the fifth time in franchise history, and the third time in four years. Prior to the merger, the Chiefs played in Super Bowls I and IV (winning the latter), and after a five decade drought, the team won Super Bowl LIV, but lost Super Bowl LV. The Chiefs are definitely that team in the AFC, and it appears that the rumors of their decline into prominence have been greatly exaggerated. Remember: this team got rid of Tyreek Hill during the offseason, and they still reached the Super Bowl. That's frightening. Even more frightening: the AFC West was supposed to be so stacked to the point where the question wasn't "Will the Chiefs be knocked off their division perch?," it was, "Which team will do it?" Yet the Broncos sunk, the Raiders were horrid, and the Chargers choked.

Brothers Travis (KC) and Jason Kelce (PHI)

The Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles will face each other in Super Bowl LVII in Glendale, Arizona. There are two fascinating storylines in this year's big game. For one, Andy Reid will be coaching against his former longtime team; the team he took the Super Bowl XXXIX. The other storyline is a historic one, as for the first time in NFL history, a pair of brothers will face each other in the Super Bowl. Yes, it's the Kelce Bowl; Eagles offensive linesman Jason Kelce, and Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce will face each other in the big game. Because they're both on offense, we will not see them on the field together, but even so, it should be a very interesting two weeks in the Kelce household. Each Kelce has a ring; Jason won Super Bowl LII, while Travis got his two years later at Super Bowl LIV. Super Bowl LVII will air on Fox on February 12, 2023. It is the final year of the current three-network rotation, as the four-network rotation that includes ABC will start on the following season, with ABC's first foray in this new deal being Super Bowl LXI.

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About the Creator

Clyde E. Dawkins

I am an avid fan of sports and wrestling, and I've been a fan of female villains since the age of eight. Also into film and TV, especially Simpsons and Family Guy.

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Comments (2)

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  • Mariann Carrollabout a year ago

    It says hockey when this is a football story. I can always count on you for any sports update news. I love you expert sport insight in your stories . Thanks 🥰

  • Denise E Lindquistabout a year ago

    Hockey as a tag?😊💕

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