A quick take on Sunday’s Conference Championship games.
So there we have it.
21 weeks of NFL football have left us with the final two teams set to battle it out in New Orleans for the biggest prize in American sports.
The dust is still settling on Sunday’s games. The nearly moments, refereeing calls, agonizing misses and moment of genius. It’s safe to say, having looked at my Twitter feed today, that there are some strong emotions being felt after the Chiefs win in particular.
Chiefs Get It Done Again
The main talking point seems to be the referees and that one particular fourth-down stop. For all the massive plays that Chris Jones has made for the Chiefs over the years, blocking this camera angle is one of his best yet.
While I believe Allen probably made it there, I don’t think there is enough to overrule the decision. People can say that the refs couldn’t have seen enough to rule him short, but that would surely work the other way too, no?
Watching it the first time live, I didn’t think he’d made it, so it’s a bit of a reach in my opinion to suggest that the Bills were cheated there. I actually thought they had a better case on the previous play, when Dalton Kincaid looked to have received a harsh spot.
Overall I thought the Bills got unlucky with a few bad spots, but there were no challenge flags thrown, so you live with it and move on.
I suggested in my weekend preview that if the Bills would have to dominate against the Chiefs in order to win. The Chiefs don’t lose one score games and they navigated the final minutes like they always do. Regardless of previous refereeing decisions, or any conspiracies that are being drawn up, the Bills were outclassed when it mattered most.
Patrick Mahomes receives most of the plaudits for Kansas City’s dominance in recent years, but it was the play-calling that came up big once again. Mahomes is a genius with the ball in his hands, but the amount of easy completions he gets from Andy Reid in the big moments shouldn’t be overlooked.
When it matters most, the Chiefs have a man wide open.
And it’s not just Reid that deserves more praise. Steve Spagnolo’s exotic blitz on the Bills’ final offensive play of the game is another example of the Chiefs play-callers coming up big in the big moments.
With a blitz to be expected, Spagnolo mixed things up to completely fool Josh Allen and set up the Chief’s game-closing drive. Like Mahomes, Allen actually had a wide-open receiver to his left, but was quickly overwhelmed by the pass-rush.
As well as Allen has played this year, I’ve said multiple times that he’s the MVP in my opinion, he gets completely out-foxed on this play. Khalil Shakir is wide open with a blocker in front, if Allen had diagnosed this blitz, then he throws left for a first down.
You can talk about referees or scripts until you’re red in the face, but the Chiefs do it better than anyone right now and the best team won in the end.
Eagles Make a Huge Statement
Earlier in the day, the Eagles produced a flawless performance to obliterate an error-ridden Commanders Philadelphia.
Washington have been the feel-good story of the NFL this year and for them make so many costly errors on Sunday was a disappointing way for their season to end. The only saving grace for Washington is that the Eagles were at their very best and are deserved NFC Champions.
With the game being such a blowout, there isn’t too much to talk about regarding the game itself. Saquon Barkley will go down as one of the best free-agent signings in NFL history if the Eagles go on to win it all, perhaps even if they don’t.
The roster building that the Eagles have done in the last few seasons is absolutely phenomenal and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see this team dominate the NFC for a number of years.
For the Commanders at least, it looks as though they will retain all their coaching pieces next year after Kliff Kingsbury seems to have been overlooked in this year’s head-coaching cycle. The Saints are still yet to appoint a new head coach though, so there’s still a possibility for movement there now that the Commanders’ season is over.
Jayden Daniels looks like a top-five quarterback in the league already and it will be intriguing to see how he fairs in his second season. C.J Stroud was in a similar position after his rookie year and struggled this season.
Overall, the NFL is in a good place when it comes to quarterbacks, with at least six solid starters drafted in the last two years. Richardson and Penix still have to prove themselves over a full season, while J.J McCarthy remains an unknown.
In terms of the Super Bowl, the Eagles and Chiefs are an all-time match-up this year and once the dust settles, hopefully the narrative can shift to one of excitement. The best starting roster in the NFL against an unstoppable mix of fluid offensive flair and defensive genius and play making.
The two best teams in the NFL face off in February, don’t let the clouds of controversy overshadow two weeks of mouth-watering anticipation.
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