I hope you’ll forgive this belated commentary on the most exciting day of the NFL season.
Casual Football fans think Super Bowl Sunday is the most exciting day of the NFL season. But real fans know that day is conference championship Sunday.
(“NFL’s Historic Conference Championship Sunday,” The iPINIONS Journal, January 22, 2007)
Sure enough, (the first part of) this conference championship Sunday (on January 20) lived up to the hype. In fact, it might suffice to know that both games resulted in near-exact scores.
Never mind that the NFC title game threatened to be a snooze after the San Francisco 49ers jumped to a 27-0 halftime lead over the Green Bay Packers. This, after the Kansas City Chiefs thrilled us by erasing a 10-point deficit in the second quarter to head into halftime leading the Tennessee Titans 21-17.
AFC
Anyone familiar with my NFL commentaries knows that I think the Patriots are cheaters who too often prosper. This explains the unbridled relish I displayed on the rare occasions when they got their comeuppance. I refer you, for examples, to ‘Giants Stomp Patriots to Win Super Bowl XLVI 21-17,’ February 6, 2012, and ‘NFL Sacks Brady as Court Reinstates Deflategate Suspension,’ April 27, 2017.
(“Conference Championship Sunday: Hail Rams! Hail Patriots (Again)!” The iPINIONS Journal, January 22, 2019)
Sure enough, those Patriots were up to their old tricks:
The Patriots are being investigated for alleged cheating again.
The NFL… is looking into allegations that a Patriots staffer was filming the sideline of their next opponent — the Bengals — from the Cleveland press box on Sunday.
(The New York Post, December 9, 2019)
But at least I can relish the fact that those cheaters are not prospering this year. Because, unlike last year when the Patriots won the Super Bowl, the putatively lowly Titans eliminated them from this year’s playoffs in the first round:
Some combination of stars aligning … and the inevitable ravages of age have conspired to make the Patriots as irrelevant to the postseason as they have been at any point during the Belichick-Brady era.
(SB Nation, January 6, 2020)
And it’s about time. Pundits punctuated this with speculation that Tom Brady will either play elsewhere next year or retire. But he’s too proud to play elsewhere (a la the humiliating swan songs of Joe Montana and Brett Favre), or to retire in such humiliating fashion.
This is why I think Brady will return to New England – even if that means suffering the ignominious end Eli Manning met when the New York Giants put him out to pasture this week. Manning is scheduled to announce his retirement tomorrow.
But enough about Brady; after all, pundits are already hailing Chief’s quarterback Patrick Mahomes as his heir apparent – not only as the game’s best but its most marketable player to boot.
Mahomes was instrumental in their victory in the American Football Conference championship game, breaking the Titans’ backs with a dazzling 27-yard first-half touchdown run as the Chiefs overcame a 10-0 deficit.
Mahomes, who also threw three touchdown passes, gave the Chiefs their first lead at 21-17 with the tackle-breaking run with 11 seconds left in the opening half.
(USA Today, January 19, 2020)
The Chiefs dominated the second half for a final of 35-24.
NFC
Even though the AFC game preceded it, this NFC game played out like the undercard. It did not help that Packers quarterback Aaron Rogers looked more suited for retirement than Brady.
Truth be told, as indicated above, I tuned out after the 49ers effectively ended the game at halftime.
Green Bay tallied a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns against San Francisco, but it was too little, too late for Aaron Rodgers and Co. The 49ers bullied the Packers for nearly 300 rushing yards on Sunday.
(Sports Illustrated, January 19, 2020)
The 49ers cruised to a final of 37-20.
Super Bowl LIV
I have no affinity for or antipathy towards either team. Therefore, I really couldn’t care less who wins.
That said, I’m all too mindful of the heartbreak Mahomes suffered at Brady’s cheating hands last year. Therefore, my default rooting would be to see vindication for him this year.
Accordingly, hail to the Chiefs!
Related commentaries:
Conference Sunday…
Brett Favre…
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