Kansas City and San Francisco Advance to Super Bowl LVIII

The AFC and NFC Champions have been crowned, and Super Bowl LVIII will be a rematch of Super Bowl LIV from four years ago.

In Baltimore, the Ravens hosted the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs started the season 6-1, but were just 5-5 the rest of the way and looked like they were beatable. But Kansas City, a team with a ton of postseason experience put it together at playoff time, beating Miami at home and Buffalo on the road before going to Baltimore to take on the AFC’s #1 seed. Scoring was held down by the teams’ defenses, though Kansas City QB Patrick Mahomes was 30 for 39 in pass completions, good for 241 yards. Travis Kelce was on the receiving end of 11 of those yards and Mahome’s only touchdown pass. Kansas City had just 89 rushing yards and one touchdown on the ground.

The Ravens on the other hand, proved to be their own worst enemy. Although Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson passed for 272 yards and a touchdown, he also threw a fourth quarter interception in the Kansas City end zone. The pass, intended for tight end Isaiah Likely, was thrown into triple coverage and intercepted by Deon Bush. Wide receiver Zay Flowers, who had 115 yards and a touchdown, fumbled the ball just short of the endzone on the first play of the fourth quarter, wiping out another touchdown as the Chiefs recovered. Jackson also lost a fumble; the Ravens had three turnovers in the game while the Chiefs had none. Add to that the 89 penalty yards Baltimore racked up on eight penalties (including some dumb ones like taunting) compared to Kansas City’s three penalties for 30 yards, and you have a recipe for defeat in a close game. And it was close, but in the end, it was a 17-10 Chiefs win.

Highlights of AFC Championship

Out in Santa Clara, California, the San Francisco 49ers hosted the up and coming Detroit Lions for the NFC championship. At halftime, it looked like Detroit would finally reach the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history. The Lions took a 24-7 lead into the locker room, and were dominating the reeling 49ers. But football games can sometimes be a Tale of Two Halves, and that would prove to be the case here. San Francisco scored 17 unanswered points in the third quarter to tie the game 24-24. San Francisco then scored 10 more points in the fourth quarter and the Lions trailed 34-24. Detroit scored its only points of the second half on a Jameson Williams touchdown reception with 56 seconds left, but all remaining hope was dashed when the Lions could not recover the subsequent onside kick. San Francisco survived with a 34-31 victory.

Like the Ravens, the Lions shot themselves in the foot a few times, starting with head coach Dan Campbell. Twice, Campbell declined field goal attempt in favor of going for it on fourth down; both times Detroit failed to convert and turned the ball over on downs. But there were mistakes made by players as well. Running back Jahmyr Gibbs fumbled on the Detroit 25 yard line in the third quarter, and four plays later, Christian McCaffrey scored his second touchdown of the game that tied the score. There were numerous dropped passes. But in the end, the 49ers showed why they were the #1 seed in the NFC, emerging with a 34-31 victory, and once again keeping the Lions from making it to their first Super Bowl. Detroit’s long suffering fans will have to wait at least one more year.

Highlights of NFC Championship

The Chiefs beat the 49ers 31-20 in Super Bowl LIV; it was the first of four appearances for Kansas City in five years. They lost to Tampa Bay in Super Bowl LV the next year and beat Philadelphia last year in LVII. The Chiefs are 3-2 overall in Super Bowls This will be the first appearance by San Francisco since LIV; the 49ers are 5-2 overall.

Super Bowl LVIII is February 11th at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.