NFL 2023-2024: Conference Championships

The Game Room
1

Conference championships are upon us. The Divisional games last weekend featured three 1-possession games, while the fourth was tied at halftime. Hopefully we will see two close games on Sunday.

The weather should be a bit more cooperative that it was last weekend. Sunday’s forecast in Baltimore shows light rain with a high of 48 degrees. San Francisco should be quite pleasant with a high of 67 and none of the downpour that affected Saturday’s game.

Again, all lines taken from DraftKings. Times listed are Central time.

Sunday:

Chiefs @ Ravens (-3.5) 2:00 pm, CBS

Lions @ 49ers (-7) 6:30 pm, FOX

Baltimore looked every bit the dominant team against the Texans, allowing only a special-teams touchdown and piling up 229 rushing yards, 100 by quarterback Lamar Jackson. KC will have their hands full on both sides of the ball trying to score on the Ravens defense and trying to slow down the offense. Don’t forget, however, that Patrick Mahomes is undefeated in playoff road games. (OK, after last Sunday he’s 1-0.)

The 49ers, meanwhile, had to come from behind to beat the Pack, who controlled the game until the last six minutes. A missed field goal gave life to the Niners, who mounted a late TD drive to win. The Lions broke open a close game with two fourth quarter touchdown drives, and then hung on as the Bucs mounted a late charge that fell short.

It’s hard to bet against Mahomes and the Chiefs in the playoffs, but the Ravens looked virtually unstoppable. 7 points seems like too big of a spread for the Niners over the Lions, but Detroit will be on the road for the first time this postseason.

What do you think? Will the #1 seeds survive? Or will one or both of the #3 seeds find a way to upset the top dog?

2

Lions/49ers is 6:30 EST, so 5:30 CST.

3

I’m completely satisfied that my school(Michigan) won the national championship, but I admit that I am starting to get my heart set on the Lions at least going to the Super Bowl. It would mean a lot to the city. We’ve never played in one.

4

I’d be extremely ok with the Lions getting in and a Harbaugh national championship double.

5

What am I going to root for, the 49ers to get their 6th Lombardi trophy, the Chiefs to get their 4th or the Ravens to get their 3rd? Fuck that noise. Go Lions!

Besides which, it’s not right that the NFC North still has two teams that have never won a Superbowl. A division with that much history should be at least a three team situation, on par with the NFC West, AFC East and AFC West. For that matter, same goes for the AFC North.

6

I think the majority of the country is rooting for the Lions at this point. I’m sure the various sports media outlets will put up maps showing local sentiment soon if they have not yet done so

7

I’ve been a Lions fan my entire fan-life. They last won a championship in 1957, the year before I was born.

The city of Detroit went out of its mind with just the playoff appearance. Then they won a playoff game. Then they won another one. I can’t imagine what will happen if they actually appear in a Super Bowl.

Dan Campbell is a god in this town.

mmm

8

The -7 for the 49ers seems completely outrageous. Especially after the past weekend. But, I don’t follow most of the NFC as closely as the AFC during the regular season.

I’d have guessed Ravens as 7 point favorites: absolutely no doubt in my mind that the Chefs are going down, hard. Road game, Baltimore, raw karmic justice, all that.

9

Correct. Fat fingers, obviously.

Thanks for the catch.

10

I’m thinking that the 49ers are simply too tough at home. I think the Lions can give them a game, but I just don’t see a Super Bowl appearance for them.

I thought the Ravens were a shoe-in, and I still give them the nod, but KC has suddenly turned into the Chiefs of 2023, and I think they have a real chance.

11

It’s true. Just being good has been such a change, I don’t know what the town will do if they win the whole thing. It would be the sweetest victory since the Red Wings won their first “recent” cup of the four they won in the 90’s and 2000’s.

12

For that matter so am I.

13

Yes, but his road winning percentage is quite a bit higher than yours.

14

Weather for Santa Clara is mild, partly cloudy and light wind. Shouldn’t be a factor.
If Samuels is playing (and effective), 7 points is about right. A field goal without him for the 49ers.

Baltimore weather Sunday, low 40s, 40-50% rain chance, light wind. Chiefs have been this far most years recently, I rate a small home edge for the Ravens though. I know nothing, nothing!

15

FWIW, the current lines on Draft Kings:

Ravens -4
49ers -7

16

TE Andrews activated for the Ravens. He’s been Lamar’s favorite target.
WR/everything Samuel cleared for the 49ers. Big part of the offense.

All hands on deck.

17

Evidently the NFL scripted the two SB teams before the season started. The Super Bowl logo is unveiled at the start of the season, and for two years in a row it has featured the colors of the teams that ended up competing.

This year it’s purple and red. If the 49ers and Ravens win this weekend, you’ll know it’s a conspiracy.

18

I live in the metro-Detroit area and I haven’t seen so much discussion about pro sports in a long time. I just went somewhere and I heard a guy saying, “If they win, this will be bigger than the World Series, the Stanley Cup, anything…”

You can feel how much the Detroit area wants the Lions to be in the Super Bowl. I hope they make it.

19

I think the Lions hype train is heading for derailment.

20

The Lions are a good team, and the turn around since Campbell got there is pretty damn impressive. And I really want Goff to succeed. And I love the building the Oline, develop through the draft, plan the Lions use as a blueprint. And, any given Sunday. If the Lions can run the ball, and their pass defense plays a ton better than it has, they can win.

But they won’t. The Niners have too many weapons, too good a defense, and Christian Fucking McCaffrey. Barring the Lions winning the turnover battle by a healthy margin, I see a Niners win.